This past weekend I saw a person with a nice Leica rangefinder camera standing outside the shop my partner and I were in, so I asked him about his camera, how long he had been a photographer, etc. I am getting more and more into photography and I love hearing from others about their photography, cameras, etc.

It turned out I met Christian Klopf, a doctor here in Berlin. He said he moved to Berlin in 1986 and has been taking photos here for decades.

Then, on his phone, he showed me an old photo he had taken and I recognized it immediately – his photo is printed on this house:

I walk past this photo often. There are many photos setup along the historical path of the wall in my neighborhood and it never occurred to me that the people who took those photos might still live here, might still be taking photos nearby. I mean of course, but also wow.

Sometimes taking photos of mundane subjects or everyday activities can seem unimportant. However, it’s good to be reminded that documenting and capturing the state of the world is always valuable. You never know when a photo might end up being historically important or even a bit famous (famous to me at least 😆).

It was great to meet Christian and you can follow him on Instagram, like I do.

I am very inspired to get out there and take more photos. 💪