KdK Carnival of Cultures ~ 2015

Yes, I'm a lucky girl! I have a friend in Berlin who puts me up (or puts up with me... as the case may be) and also shows me the beautiful side of the city every time there is an event in Berlin I like to attend. We always have a nice time chatting and this time we did so to the early hours so we had a late start going to the Carnival which we were going to shoot as the groups assembled in the side road in the morning. Saying that, we were late but far too early for the last groups who were due to start later in the afternoon.

It was a beautiful day and the sun shone down on us at midday when the parade started. That is never a good thing for photography! However, there was also lots of shade under the trees in this particular road which was a good thing for me and also for the groups - 62 of them altogether - who had some hours to spend here before entering the main road into the procession. So, I tried to mainly use the shade to get some pictures.

This carnival comprises a lot of different people from all over the world donning their traditional attire or fantasy costumes representing figures from film and TV ~ even some German TV-personalities could be spotted amongst the participants. Some groups were making aware of social problems like immigration, racism and the ever present financial issues Berlin faces with living space being turned into developments by big corporations.

As I had to catch my ride back home to Bremen I could not stay all day so I had to miss a lot of groups, particularly the reggae groups and trucks of YAAM, Reggae In Berlin and the Dutch Soca Lovers, which I am sure were awesome. Thankfully though, I saw Franky Fyah of the Soca Twins preparing his truck and later quite a few other members of this group including the lovely Barney Millah and Alison who were all getting into the party spirit which must have culminated much later that night according the postings I later saw on facebook!

The past few years have been critical as to the financing of the Carnival and the street festival and in particular this year it was not clear if it could actually take place. I am glad it did and I was able to see a fraction of it alongside the other 1.5 million visitors! Hopefully, the German saying "Totgesagte leben länger! (The condemned live longer!)" will hold true and I can attend it again in the future! It was quite an experience to see so many people - masses of them - working for one aim: Party and Enjoy Life!

Here is a link to this event with more information in English. For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos of the slide-show above!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/KarnevalDerKulturenBerlin?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Please click "LIKE" https://www.facebook.com/CNicelyPhotoGraphy

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". I'm looking forward to hearing from you and hopefully to see you again next year!

Reggae Nights ~ April 2015

Reggae Nights # 127 was held at BDP, Hulsberg in Bremen again. I arrived a little late but still caught the lovely Lovers Rock set Roots Ashanti played including my favourite Lukie D and his cover of the Ed Sheeran song "Thinking Out Loud". Also, for the first time I saw Roarin' Sound from Bremen! Niceness all the way!

Here is a link to this event on facebook. For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/ReggaeNights127?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" it there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Nuff love to all ♥ ♥ ♥

World Beat Bremen ~ Caribbean Groove

"Caribbean Groove" was the motto of the World Beat Bremen e. V.-Party on April 11, 2015. As you know ~ if you know me ~ this is my thing! So I went along to Bürgerhaus Weserterassen with my camera to capture the event organised by World Beat Bremen e. V. and take in the beats including reggae, ska, calypso, reggaeton, soca, zouk and more played on three different dancefloors by varying DJs (details on the flyer) and accompanied by very moody light shows.

The photos:

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/WorldbeatCaribbeanGroove?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Feel free to tag yourself in the photos on my Facebook Photography Page and "Like" it there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com". Thanks and see you soon!

Lukie D performing Calling live @ YAAM in Berlin

Yes, I love learning new things. So this weekend I dedicated to learning more about video editing in Adobe Premiere and After Effects. I am at the beginning here but I produced a video the soundtrack of which was recorded on my little gem of a sound recorder at the last live show I went to in Berlin featuring the wonderful singer Lukie D.

Since I was taking pictures there I asked Winey Winey Sandra if she could record the video - which she kindly agreed to do it. She recorded the whole show holding her little Powershot steadily up in the air without a tri- or monopod! Respect for that! The camera is not really made for video and so some of it is out of focus but I still love having the footage.

Big up David DubAkom and Faby DubAkom for the song and David for giving me the idea to make a video in the first place!

Please check out my previous post about this show here and visit my Facebook Photography Page. Feel free to tag yourself and "Like" the page there to follow my new postings. Should you have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie at cnicely dot com".

I'm so looking forward to ReggaeJam in July of this year where Lukie D will be performing! I hope to see you there, too!

Peetah Morgan in Bremen

Peetah Morgan of the Royal Family of Reggae Morgan Heritage came to grace the stage at Eventloft, Schuppen 2 in Bremen. I captured the event and the party surrounding it. Unfortunately, most people didn't wish to be photographed by me. However, I still have a few nice captures as you can see in my slide-show below the photos.

This excellent singer is so dearly loved by everyone and especially by the African community abroad as well as on the whole continent of Africa - as is the whole Morgan family. Needless to say, the largely African massive was singing along to all the songs and holding a vibe glued to every movement of Peetah's lips. This culminated in Peetah taking off and meeting with all his fans in front of the stage taking pictures with everyone patiently! It was a joyful time for all those who came and were able to seize this moment.

Later I even managed to capture an image with Peetah holding the www.helpjamaica.org-flyer. I was very happy it worked out. I'd like to say big thanks to Kalin, King Ralph and DJ Laye and big ups to Roots Ashanti and Bikini Bottom Sounds for creating the right athmosphere around Peetah's show.

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or Androids please click/follow the link below to see the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/PeetahMorgan?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Alternatively, you can see the photos on my Facebook Photography Page. Feel free to tag yourself and "Like" the page there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie @ cnicely dot com".

Thanks and see you soon!

Lukie D at Yaam in Berlin 2015

Lukie D is coming to Germany! I was elated to hear this news and did everything in my power to be in Berlin for his performance - a good chance to go to Berlin where I had not been in many years to also meet some friends and keep some links. I love Berlin though I had not been in winter before.

Luckily, the universe was gracious with me and my favourite singer from Jamaica. It was a little cold but relatively warm for this time of year. Now it was time to check out the newly re-established venue Yaam! Perhaps you can see from the photos that it is quite an interesting location. The stage is big enough for a band although this time Lukie D would play a soundsystem-backed show - Supersonic Sound did the honours and they are the ones we have to thank for this European tour Lukie D was on. Big ups for this to Supersonic - Spida and Panza to be exact.

☆ Panza ☆ Lukie D ☆ Spida ☆

Entertaining Backstage

I took so many pictures it slipped my mind to catch a picture of the play list but it was a very good mix of rocking dancehall and sweet lovers tunes all presented in Lukie D's charming way sprinkled with jokes and banter. We had a good laugh and a wonderful time. And cheers Lukie D with "his Hennessy" aka sky juice or "wata" as they say in Jamaica!

So, this time I made a video with my photos so I could include the lovely jingle Lukie made for me and one of my tunes of the moment by him - yes, there is more than one. Here I have included "Somewhere" which was produced by Total Satisfaction Records on the Again Riddim last year.

♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥



♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ♥

You can see these and some other photos on my Facebook Photography Page. Feel free to tag yourself and "Like" the page there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie @ cnicely dot com".

Personally, I cannot wait to see Lukie D again at ReggaeJam in July of this year! Hope to see you, too!

Samba Carnival Bremen • Feburary 7, 2015

30 years of Samba Carnival in Bremen! Imagine how many people braved the Bremen weather over the years! The temperatures in February don't change much - although this year it was quite "warm" and it was not raining, much less snowing - until about an hour after the parade started!

I didn't get to see/hear the introductory play at "Am Markt" this time as I made my way through the huge crowd to where I wanted to position myself to get some good shots. Along the way I saw quite a few people who had come along in costumes or at least a carnival hat. This year's parade was under the motto "CIRCUS", which was a great opportunity for some wonderful costume creations as you can see in the photos.

A large part of Bremen's Samba Carnival are actors of Blaumeier-Atelier, who wear hand made masks and costumes. Most of them bring along some food for thought as they interact with the crowd as you might be able to spot in some of the photos, so check out my slide-show below these photos:

Here is my slide-show with all 364 photos of the parade:

For all of you reading/viewing with iPhones or androids please click/follow the link below to see all the photos!

https://picasaweb.google.com/102895067673602587741/BremerKarneval2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Alternatively, you can see the photos on my Facebook Photography Page. Feel free to tag yourself and "Like" the page there to follow my other photography postings. Should you want to have your photo removed or have a query, you can also contact me there or at "chrissie @ cnicely dot com".

Thanks and see you next year!