Collecting a Top Ten of your hometown is never an easy process. I came up with a harbour heavy Top Ten that also has quite some black and white shots in between. Hope you enjoy it - leave a comment if you like.
Hamburg skyline
June 2014
A not-to-miss tourist attraction in Hamburg is to walk the Alter Elbtunnel from St. Pauli towards the southern side of the river Elbe. But make sure to not just only walk the tunnel and turn around. Take your time to enjoy a view towards the skyline of Hamburg that is way less crowded. This viewing platform on the southern side has the code of arms of the Hanseatic city embedded in the paving stones. Combined with a dramatic sky it makes one of my Top Ten Hamburg pictures.
Moody Dockland
October 2014
The dockland building in Altona is shaped like a parallelogram. I was up for a walk during cloudy and slightly rainy weather in October. All of my pics that day went black and white due to the heavy overcast. I really like the architecture of that building combined with the container bridges in the background.
Barefoot in November
November 2014
This is one of my favorite Hamburg and street photography shots ever. I took it on November 1, 2014 at the river Elbe (near Övelgönne). We had 20 °C that day and this lady went barefoot in the river. The container bridges of Burchardkai make for a nice industrial background. This is what I love about Hamburg!
Blue Port Hamburg
September 2015
Every second year Hamburg illuminates its harbour blue. Especially the landmarks around the harbour are lit up from dusk till dawn. I like this one a lot since it offers a leading line to the right with the Überseebrücke and has the Elbphilharmonie to the left in focus. The iconic shape of its roof was illuminated in blue and gives a sense of its scale and form.
Christmas tree foyer
December 2015
I took a day off in December 2015 before Christmas and went for my favorite Hamburg harbour walk. On my way back I passed a company foyer when I saw all the Christmas trees in it. Outside the window sat a lady with a walking stick that made for a nice street photography shot. Find out more about this pic on my Flickr account.
With the Elbe pilots towards sunset
May 2016
I had the chance to spent a day on a China Shipping container vessel going from the Port of Hamburg to the North Sea. I accompanied the Elbe pilots 130 km via Brunsbrüttel and Cuxhaven to Elbe 1 where they leave the ships again. This picture shows us leaving the Waltershofer Hafen in Hamburg. I really love the skyline-like shadow of the containers in the water. Make sure to check my blogpost and video about this trip!
Elbphilharmonie fertig
December 2016
After seven years of building and ten times the planned costs the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg opens on January 11, 2017. It will hopefully serve the Hanseatic city as one of the best concert halls in the world and definitely as an architectural landmark in the middle of the Port of Hamburg. I shot this picture in December 2016 during my first time on the Elbphilharmonie plaza. This picture even got featured on Instagram by @Elbphilharmonie and received way more than 1.300 likes. A few weeks before the construction workers illuminated windows of the Elbphilharmonie reading "Fertig" (finished).
The Elbphilharmonie plaza is on top of the former warehouse "Kaispeicher A" from 1963 and below the actual concert hall. Happy to see that after years of building and skyrocketing costs people and media will discuss its purpose as a concert hall from now on. If you haven't been up yourself you have to go!
If you are interested in the development of this building over time check this blogpost.
Lighthouses at Containerterminal Altenwerder
January 2017
During a cold winter night at the beginning of this year we drove to Containerterminal Altenwerder to make some long exposure pictures. When turning around I recognized to lighthouses standing in line for big vessels passing the Köhlbrandbrücke. They fire the light to give orientation to navigate this part of the river Elbe. I quite like this shot especially since it is in the middle of the harbour but not many people have ever focussed on this.
Wasserschloss Speicherstadt
April 2017
The Speicherstadt is the only part of Hamburg that UNESCO has awarded world heritage. Within this old warehouse quarter the Wasserschloss is one of the most stunning pieces of architecture. This is the classic shot from Poggenmühlenbrücke towards the little castle.
Containerterminal Altenwerder
September 2017
My birthday gift was a flight with a Cessna above Hamburg and the Elbe river. The three of us with the pilot and our camera gear filled the Cessna pretty much. We had the opportunity to choose our route and went for the classic one: Down the river Elbe, passing the Airbus facility and the harbour towards the city center. This is one of my favs from the trip: The Containerterminal Altenwerder, still one of Europe's most modern ones with automated guided vehicles transporting the containers.
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