BVG Takeover | Stories | Alex Wright Photography


	HOME STORIES

BVG Takeover

By Alexander Wright | 13^th November 2018

BVG Takeover

By Alexander Wright | 13^th November 2018

BVG Takeover

By Alexander Wright | 13^th November 2018

	Between the 5th and 11th November 2018, I was given the pleasure of taking-over the official Instagram account for the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (Berlin Transport Company, @bvg_weilwirdichlieben). Over the course of the week, I posted my 10 favourite shots from my trip to Berlin over the 2018 easter break. The only condition I was given was that the photos had to relate somehow to BVG's services, which really wasn't that hard since I had many pictures of the cities stunning U-Bahn metro network!


	MONTAG / MONDAY

	I started out the week with one of my favourite shots from my U-Bahn collection. The U-Bahnhof Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz was a station I had seen on Instagram before my trip, and I instantly loved how the roof seems to disappear above the train as it sits in the station.

	Once I finally set up my tripod, I took the below photo of a U2 train leaving the station. I used the 2-second exposure to smoothen out the train as it stormed off into the tunnel and in post editing added gradient fade out for where the train enters the tunnel, giving the train a 'vanishing' feeling!


	DIENSTAG / TUESDAY

	My first post of Tuesday was from my favourite platform on the U-Bahn network, the U55 platform at U-Bahnhof Brandenburger Tor. The minimalistic interior decor of the station looks futuristic and clean, which is something I had not really seen from other stations in Berlin's metro system. I found a spot where the central partings on the roof, wall and platform all perfectly lined up, set up my tripod and waited for the next train to pull in.

	When the first train pulled in, something magical happened! The door of the carriage perfectly lined up with the platforms partition, perfectly separating my composed image in two. Many people who I have shown this photo to (as well as comments from the takeover) think that this photo is GCI, but I can assure you that this place does exist!

	Tuesday's afternoon post was a quick shoutout to my temporary Heimatstation (home station) during my stay. The more traditional yet simplistic design of the platform at U-Bahnhof BirkenstraÃŸe consisted of a single coloured tile design (which is mirrored in many other stations across the network).


	MITTWOCH / WEDNESDAY

	I started off Wednesday with a splash of teal against the iconic BVG yellow. This time it was at U-Bahnhof Nauener Platz, which features these nice teal light enclosures.

	My next post went above ground at the U-Bahnhof Olympia-Stadion's exterior building, which was built in 1913 to service the Deutsches Stadion for the cancelled 1916 Summer Olympics. Nowadays it is used to connect the city to the 1936 Olympic stadium. I ended up taking this photo twice, once earlier in the day, but I ended up liking this shot as the inside of the station is illuminated and shines out of the art deco building.


	DONNERSTAG / THURSDAY

	On Thursday morning we returned to U-Bahnhof Birkenstraße, but this time a shot with a train rushing out of the station! One thing I loved about Berlin's transport system is its iconic yellow colour, which is seen across all BVG's transport services and played a central role in many of my photos during the takeover.

	I then headed back to the U55 platform of my favourite station, U-Bahnhof Brandenburger Tor, to show off how minimal the station looks whilst it's empty.

	For those of you who have visited this station, I'm sure you have noticed the absence of the television screens to each side of the station sign. I decided that I would remove them in editing to bring out the simplicity of this stunning platform.


	FREITAG / FRIDAY

	On my last day of the takeover, I shared one of my favourite photos I took whilst on my mini-break to Berlin. We're going back to the same station as my first post from this takeover, with just a tighter composition focusing on the train and its reflection in the platform edge mirror.

	For my last post in the Takeover, I'm headed back to the minimalistic U55 platform of U-Bahnhof Brandenburger Tor for some more of my favourite shots from my trip to Berlin. These two photos show the moment the train doors perfectly aligned with the parting in the roof and floor, and a nice long-exposure of the train leaving the station.


	FINAL THOUGHTS

	Once again I'd like to thank the social media team over at BVG for giving me the opportunity to take over their Instagram account for the week! I was fun to see the reaction towards my photos from a pool of accounts that don't follow me! I'd also like to give a huge thanks to Marieke Wandel (@mariekewandel) and Christian Obe (@chris_obe) for helping me with German translations, as I'd be completely lost without them!

	If you're interested in more of my photos from Berlin and a behind-the-scenes look at why I took the photos and how I edited them, check out the previous blog post; STORIES: Berlin 2018, or search #awphoto_berlin on Instagram.

BY ALEXANDER WRIGHT

Alexander Wright is a London and Southampton based photographer focusing on architectural and minimalist photography. In his spare time, he enjoys roaming around the streets of London looking for new photo opportunities with his friends. Alexander frequently presents photography lectures and runs workshops at the University of Southampton.

More about Alexander