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Gabi von Dallwitz's avatar

Danke Ari, as usual, I love the lighting in all of these, and am so glad you shoot b & w with your « really nice cameras that work » ;-)

The history and your writing bring these shots to life. Looking forward to more visual lessons from you.

Thanks for the inspiration, can't wait to get Berlin in front of my camera this summer!

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Hi Gabi, I just wanted to say thank you for sharing these kind thoughts. I'm sorry for the very late response, I missed this comment the first time around as I was skiing in France and not looking properly at my Substack during those couple of weeks. I hope you have a wonderful time in Berlin this summer.

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Gabi von Dallwitz's avatar

Well, you had a proper excuse! Besides, no expectations of responses. Just like to be appreciative of peoples talents. No worries, looking forward to more of your work!

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Daniel Anguiano's avatar

Love the “note about the gear part”

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Bonnie Marquez's avatar

I want to tell you how much I enjoyed your post. I love your photos in the Black and white. I love that the pictures really tell the story as you write your article so vividly. I felt I was right there with you. I will be recommending you and I hope to see more of your posts. Blesssings to you and Love and Light Always xxx

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Szabi Erdélyi's avatar

Great read! Coming from Hungary this calls close to heart. 😅

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Thanks for reading and I'm glad this resonates as someone from a former Eastern Bloc country!

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Dave Mead's avatar

This is fascinating Ari, thank you for sharing.

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

My pleasure; thanks for taking the time to read and comment!

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Philip Osmulski's avatar

Modern political overtones aside, it remains to be said the civil planners of the former East were far ahead of the game when it came to the "15-minute Cities" trend that is all the rage in our time...We went from what the West would have then deemed as "oppressive" to "desirable, comfortable and sustainable". Ironic, isn't it?

The German movie "Good Bye, Lenin" came to mind whilst reading your references to The Truman Show and David Lynch. Fitting for the subject matter at hand, I highly recommend it!

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

You're so right about the 15-minute cities thing. I think there were some genuinely good and well intentioned ideas within this style of urban planning. It's been a while since I saw Goodbye Lenin, but what a fantastic film and very appropriate analogy.

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Daniel Graham's avatar

Great photos, Ari, as always. The entire post reminded me of an obsession I had with the history of the GDR that lasted about six months during my early twenties, but I'd not heard of Eisenhüttenstadt, fascinating read!

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Thanks Daniel! The GDR is very fascinating; I hadn't heard of Eisenhüttenstadt either until I procrastinated with Google Maps!

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Lin Gregory's avatar

This is an interesting read Ari, it sounds like a fascinating place to visit. The streets look so quiet for what appears to be a town with grand ideas originally - very surreal.

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Thanks Lin. It's fascinating because it's so utterly ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. And that contradiction makes it so surreal.

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Jem Bullimore's avatar

Fascinating read. Definitely Lynchian.

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Thanks Jem! I'm sure David Lynch would have loved this place.

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Susanne Helmert's avatar

Interesting read. I have never been to Eisenhüttenstadt, but your words and photos paint a good picture of it. Thank you!

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Thanks Susanne, I appreciate it. I didn’t have a huge amount of time there so it was very much a first impressions piece. But I’m planning on documenting more of both the German and Polish sides of the Oder River.

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Liam Jones's avatar

Interesting place, I love composition of the photo with the furniture

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Thanks for reading. Appreciate the feedback in the photo.

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søren k. harbel's avatar

So interesting.... Thank you for this. Nice photographs and great context.

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Certainly a fascinating place. I just read that Tom Hanks came here as a tourist in 2019 too, and apparently he loved it.

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Alicia Paley's avatar

Really interesting. Your photos look like you captured a ghost town or a movie set. They’re a bit surreal.

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Ari Magnusson's avatar

Thanks Alicia! It really did look like this. I wish I had more time to explore, but I think I will go back again soon to take more photos.

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