The City I Thought I Knew: Berlin Rediscovered

Finding Art and Community in Mark Fearnley's Street Photography Workshop

Feb 27, 2025

Dan D’Ascenzo - Urban Petal - Berlin (From my upcoming exhibition in Maastricht)

Little Housekeeping: All pictures in this publication are mine (unless stated otherwise). They are copyrighted and cannot be used without my permission.

Available for iOS and Android

I visited Berlin many times back when I was working in the music industry. Many of my musician friends also moved to the city to develop their journey.
At the end of 2022, I decided to join a workshop by famous fine-art street photography artist Mark Fearnley, whose dramatic black and white compositions have influenced countless photographers, including myself. (picture of his work below).

It was a sunny September day, though not very warm for that time of year. We met at the Museum Island area, where I connected with the other participants. I knew instantly we were a group of like-minded fellow street photographers. Though I'm typically a lone wolf (aren't we all, as street photographers?), something told me this would be a special day. There's nothing quite like being in the company of people who speak your language.
The level was high. Most participants were established photographers. But the beauty in this is that no one is looking at the follower numbers you have on IG.
That’s to me the essence of a non-zero-sum game community.

(PSST: I already did my warmup session before the meeting point :) That's our secret.)

Mark is a really cool guy. I like his vision and how he sees the world through photography. He also explains very well what he sees. His approach taught me to:

Look for dramatic light and shadow interplay
Wait patiently for the perfect human element
Trust my instincts while staying open to feedback

Of course, you should ideally already know how to use a camera, which, luckily, I did a bit.

I discovered Berlin like I never had before, seeing familiar streets transformed through new techniques.

I think these are some of my favorite pictures I've taken in my career so far.

But perhaps the most unexpected revelation was about community itself.
This revelation transformed my approach to photography (and creatives solopreneurs)
It's why I've built my own photography community where we share techniques, locations, and honest feedback without fear.

When photographers support each other rather than keeping their "secrets," everyone's work improves exponentially.

I’m opening the community here on Substack and I’m looking for bêta tester.
Limited in time and for max 10 people: Join here

Now, if you have the chance to join one of his workshops, I highly recommend it.

Now, let me share how I saw and still see Berlin since then through pictures.

For the nerds out there (like myself), gear used:
- Leica Q2 Monochrom
- Fujifilm X-PRO 3 (XF18mm f2)