Captured moments: Finding the beat in Berlin

Wandering through festivals, parks, and city streets is candy to me as a photographer. There are so many opportunities to capture passing action, fleeting moments, and meaningful interactions that make you smile, laugh, or admire the human spirit.

In May, I wandered through the Carnival of Cultures in Berlin, Germany, an annual street festival that is a boiling pot of cultures, all vibrantly displaying their music, food, dance, and art. As you wind through the booths, stop to take in a stage performance, or decide to indulge in some exotic nibble, everything seems to whirl around you -- from Peruvian and Jamaican to Moroccan and Japanese to Balkan and German, to a wild mélange of everything in between. The Berlin streets throb with a joyful, intercultural display of passion and creativity, all begging to be photographed.

Then there are the Jamaican drummers…. After taking in the more “formal” stages and booths, my friend and I wandered to a large park across the street. This is where the magic happens, with throngs of Jamaican drummers, dancers, and musicians gathering in casual groups to create a beat that vibrates through your body and makes you want to move. It’s an improvisational fiesta of sounds and sights. I couldn’t tear myself away!

Kneeling in front of one particularly vibrant drum circle, I was mesmerized by the simple happiness all exuded. Hands flew, bodies moved, and onlookers would jump out for an impromptu dance and then melt back into the crowd, just in time for another couple to take their turn to twirl and bounce in front of the musicians. One woman even continued to gnaw on her chicken while bobbing and whirling.

I kept my lens focused on the musicians’ faces and tracked with my mind how they were interacting to notice repetitive movements I could foresee and be ready to photograph. Then, I found one face that particularly grabbed my eye. Something about his hat, his beads, the twinkle in his eye – and the cigarette dangling from his lips – kept me focused on him. I kept my shutter speed moderate so his slight movements wouldn’t end up out of focus, but I hoped my speed was slow enough to catch a little blur on his flashing drumsticks. My aperture was set wider, so much of what was around him would not be in 100-percent focus.

Photo by: Sigrid Doesseler

And then I waited. He drummed. I waited. He drummed. I kept waiting. Com’ on, look at me, I thought, trying to send my silent thoughts his way. Then for a fleeting moment he did just that.  He turned his head, stared straight at me and into my lens, with a slight smile sneaking out around his cigarette as if to acknowledge me. Then he was back into his music. A man dancing between us managed not to throw his arm smack into the interaction, thank you!

I don’t know this drummer’s name. I wish I did, but that moment of locking eyes means I will not forget his face. Ever.

And that is the kind of inner joy I gain as a photographer from passing moments with others I may not know and may never know—moments that once captured and frozen in time will live on.

• Camera: Sony A7mIV

• Lens: Tamron 28-200, f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD

• Shutter speed: 1/100^th

• Aperture: f/5.6

• ISO: 500

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— Story by Therese Iknoian

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