Launched a New Site Here – www.dougklembara.com
Germany – Getting to and Traversing Berlin
So we arrived in Berlin yesterday. Immediately the first thing we all noticed was the cool breeze on our skin as we walked off the plane and towards the shuttle. We are not in Texas anymore! The air flight was really nice. Wait! The flight was great but the screaming baby in front of me for 6 hours nonstop and the mom fully reclining her chair on me the whole flight wasn’t. But then I had a few cups of coffee to get me going for a full day after a complete empty night of sleep.
We then made our way to get some winerschintzel and beer while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. After they did we hopped out of the airport and boarded a charter bus for a city tour of Berlin. We drove around admiring and sometimes disliking the really modern architecture. We stopped at the Berlin Cathedral which I liked a lot. It was fascinating to me because every European cathedral I have every been in has been catholic but this one was a Protestant cathedral with statues of Luther, Mecatholan, Zwingli and Calvin on the walls and throughout the nave. I ran around photographed as much as I could and then headed outside for another perspective.
After that we made our way to the Brandenberg Gates. I had been hear about ten years ago and all that I remembered was that there were lime green air couches in the middle of the street. Much to my dismay those couches didn’t make it for ten years but the Gates did. We walked throughout the people and through the gates to the other side of it. As we walked pass the gates and onto the street a man pointed out to us a line of bricks that split the street directly down the middle. It was the base of what used to be the Berlin Wall. I was blown away.
After that we made our way to an open field outside of the German Parliament where locals literally sprawled out and enjoyed the weather. We then jumped into the bus and headed to the Berlin’s Square where plenty of shops resided. We skipped some of the shops and went for the first coffee place we could find. It so happened to be McDonalds and let me tell you. This McDonalds had a café just for its coffee and pastries, never have I seen something like this before. From there we downed the coffee and walked around for a bit, then made our way to our hotel. We had a wonderful dinner and that leads me to now. I am sitting at the desk upstairs writing away and editing away. Wirless internet in the hotel costs 4 euros/15 mins Ridiculous! Thats like 8 dollars ish. So tomorrow I am waking up early and heading down the coffee house across the block to hopefully post this. Well I am tired and I am starting to make less and less sense. Until next time.
– Doug
P.s. Thank you to everyone who is following my trip to Germany, I hope you enjoy the photographs and please keep checking back to see more, hopefully tomorrow.
Finishing Touches on the Book
Hello Everyone,
Right now I am done here at Texas A&M putting on the final touches on the photography aspect of the Aggieland 2010 Yearbook. This year has been incredible and I have had a blast photographing new people and seeing new traditions our school has. One unique story that comes to mind is one we covered on “Haunted Places at A&M”. So with every story there has to be photography so one day I went to the Animal Science Building by the grassy knoll, which is one of the locations that is “haunted”. Thankfully my friend and fellow photographer Stephen Olmon came with me. We went during the day and it was still creepy as all get out. We found the place where the guy passed away but no ghosts, Hah!
On another note I took this portrait of Jerrod Johnson later this semester. It was a really quick shot on Kyle Field but I liked how it came out. I used two flashes directly next to him on full power. It was the beginning of the afternoon so the sun had was very harsh. Anyways thought I share this photo with yall. Also I know the article is older but if you want to read more about Jerrod check out this Sports Illustrated Article.
Well these last couple of weeks I have been placing photos in the designs and finishing up the yearbook. Its been another phenomenal year and I am really excited to see the book in print. On June 19th I am flying to Berlin and I will be daily posting photographs to the blog.
Shameless Plug: If you havent bought your Aggieland yet or just want to go look, go to our website, www.aggieland.tamu.edu
Church Under the Bridge
A while ago I went with my good friend Luis Rodriguez and Andrew Cagle went to Waco, Tx on a Sunday Morning for church. We had heard about this church that was made up mostly of homeless people as well as college students and families that met underneath of an overpass underneath I-10. So we drove up there to see what it was all about. I brought my camera, really didn’t know what to expect.
Well we pulled up to the overpass, which was very close to the Baylor campus. People were scattered all around the place and music was already going. we jumped out and found some empty chairs. It was packed mostly because of the speaker that came in from Philadelphia. Some of you may have heard of him, Shane Claiborne (future post). At this time the music stopped and a guy got up on the temporary stage and welcomed everyone to the service. He prayed for us and then we went on to worship. I sat back after singing a song or two and started just to think about the crowd that was here.
There were people in button downs, men who don’t have jobs or homes, kids from Baylor, crazy people, smart people, families, etc. It was awesome! I don’t think I have every seen such variety in a church before. About that time a huge semi went over our heads and added some noise to our voices. We keep singing for quite a while. People were wandering around the whole time. Homeless were just stopping and hugging random friends. There was joy around but also not a ton of order either. After worship ended, a man stood up and introduced Shane. Shane gave the message for the day and for those of you who havent heard of him let me say, he is a very unique guy. He purposely chooses to be homeless and his calling is to minister to other homeless that way but also he travels all over the country speaking. His message that day was very similar to his bestselling book “Irresistible Revolution” message. He talked of how Christians need to stop reading just their highlighted verses in their bibles and take to heart that ones that command us to feed the poor and love the widows. Pretty much he spoke to us to get up and start walking the walk instead of comfortably sitting at home.
After Shane gave his message we all sat down and they filled up the offering containers and a man got up and explained how communion would work. We were to get into groups of ten or more people who were next to us, friends and strangers. A person or two went up and got the juice and bread and brought it back to the group. We were told we could confess openly our sins or to ourselves and then we were suppose to eat and drink. Our group was made up of Luis, Andrew and me, four Baylor freshman girls and a middle-aged couple. It was cool because after a few quite second, the middle-aged man just kinda started talking about what communion means to him and what scripture says about it, then he passed around the communion.
After communion was over, a man went up on stage and talked about a few things the church was doing. Thanked the organization that brought the food before the service and then everyone was dismissed. We stayed around for quite a while, talking to people and helping put up the stage. Primarily we were waiting to talk to Shane, which we did. More on that to come in a future post.
Overall it was an awesome Sunday morning. Being Lutheran has given me a really cool perspective on Church. One of the points Martin Luther argued was the revolutionary idea that the church was not about the building but the people/ body of believers. His idea about church has never been so real to me until I stood underneath that overpass that Sunday with people smoking cigarettes, reading scripture and watched people of all beings worshiping together to the same Lord, our Christ.
Here is an article “Christianity Today” wrote about Church Under the Bridge.
Magazine Article
Here is Church Under the Bridge’s Official Website
Church Under the Bridge
Qatar Battalion Cover Wins Award
First off sorry I havent written anything or posted anything since Chicago. School has been crazy and work has been packed and since spring break I also got to help launch a movement at College Station called “I am Second”. Take a look at the website that is designed specifically for Texas A&M, its really awesome.
I am Second – TAMU
Last year I designed a cover for the special edition of the Battalion over Texas A&M Qatar for the frontpage. Recently it won an national award for design and you can see that underneath. I spent about 20 hours the week after the trip piecing together a collage of photography from the trip. I took over 2,000 photographs while I was there. I wanted to show more than just a few photographs on the front of the battalion, so this is what I came up with. I also was inspired by a front cover magazine shot of my fellow friend and photographer, Spencer Selvidge. All in all, I was so excited this cover got such acknowledgment.
Last year the Battalion Newspaper wrote a story written about my experience over there, here is the link to it.
Also if you want to see some photography from that trip take a lot at my photo post.
The Lincoln Zoo and Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
Well yesterday was my final day in Chicago and it was great. We started off eating breakfast at B&B’s again, except this time the waiter knew us and he talked and joked around with us before he seated us. He took us to the back of the place and sat us with the regulars, it was a little thing to do but it meant the world to us. We just got to watch people interact and we were away from the craziness in the front of the restaurant.
Something that was really neat about Chicago was the “EL” which stands for Elevated. Their public transportation system or subway was elevated throughout the city and would pass over you when you were walking all the time. I have never seen anything like it. Well after another great breakfast the grandparents and I checked out of the hotel while Amy and Mom did some last minute shopping. We jumped back into the car and then headed to Lincoln Zoo.
The Lincoln Zoo is a public zoo located in downtown Chicago. It was so fascinating because it was free and had been since 1868 when it was formed. The zoo was very historic looking and was separated into different galleries or houses.We went to the small primate house and the lion house, both which were super awesome.
It was really fun photographing and looking at the monkeys because they were having so much fun. This one shot below of the Jojo the gorilla was one of my favorites of the trip because I just sat next to the glass and we made eye contact just long enough for me to snap this photograph.
After we walked around the Lincoln Zoo we became hungry and decided to head to Gino’s Pizza for Amy and I’s first true Chicago deep dish pizza. When we got there we walked in and immediately I recognized a similarity with a food place I eat in College Station, Tx called Freebirds. The walls were covered in permanent markered signatures. The place had atmosphere. Well the waiter described to us that the deep dish pizza’s take an hour to make; they have a cornbread crust and they layer it with the cheese on the bottom with tons of sauce and then whole Italian sausages on top. Well we ordered a large for the family. When it came it we were blown away, the waiter dish out the pizza to us and we all dug in. Seriously, I was full with only one slice but of course I went for a second.
After the deep dish we packed up the car and drove around the city for a little bit longer and then made our way out of the city.
Chicago is such an unique city. It had similarities with other big cities I have been for example, the chaos of downtown like New York City, a main street with stores like Dublin, and it was also like Dallas because it the building seem to stretch out forever. But overall I could not have asked for a better spring break because I was with family. They truly are the some of the best parts of my life and it was such a blessing to get away from college for a bit and chill with them. To everyone who has been keeping up with my trip to Chicago, I thank you. Hope you enjoyed the photos and stories but keep reading the blog because I put up new stories and photos frequently.
The Art Institute of Chicago and a Big Metal Bean
So today I woke up early and went to a corner bakery at the street level of the hotel and posted up the previous blog. I then went back upstairs to meet up with everyone and then headed back down to breakfast. We at B&B and it was glorious. I had the Lumberjack Omelete, which consisted of meat, cheese, and eggs. It also was glorious.
After we had breakfast and coffee we made our way two blocks north to the The Art Institute of Chicago which house many famous works of art, including Monets’ and a few I have seen in books before. The gallery was an interesting place to photograph because I could either photograph the artwork or photograph people looking at the artwork. Enjoy a sample of some of these photographs.
After we spent hours going through the different levels looking at impression and modern art made our way to one of the tallest buildings in the Chicago skyline, the John Hancock building. We went up 95 stories to the observatory where we had a sandwiches and salads. The view from up here was just great. You could look every which way and even from this high up you couldn’t see the other side of Lake Michigan. After we spent time circling the top we went down and walked the streets for a bit.
Grandma and Grandpa went back to the Palmer’s Hotel and Amy, mom and I walked quite a few blocks down to Millennium Park. We reached the park right at dusk so the skies were blue and the streetlights were starting to come on. At first I was a little disappointed because I thought the photos wouldn’t come out but they did. The park is a very modern looking park, wide spaces and stainless steel everywhere. The park had an outdoor amphitheatre and lots of sculptures around it. One of the sculptures we went to was “The Bean”. It looks just like it sounds; it was a huge metal bean like sculpture in the park that people would walk under and around, that’s it. The reflections that came of this huge metal bean were just super fun to play with. I took a time lapse again as well as many wide-angle shots.
After the girls and I walked around in the park, we went to Miller’s Pub and met up with the Grandparents there for dinner. It was great, the food was awesome and it was literally right next to the hotel. Well I have one more full day here in Chicago; hope you have enjoyed the photos thus far. You’re awesome!
Downtown Chicago and Evanston
Today we woke up early, ate breakfast and stopped at Borders so I could get a moleskin to journal through the trip. Side note, I am infatuated with moleskin journals, all kinds of them. They are sooooo awesome.
Okay so we drove for an hour or so and came into the windy city. Chicago was overcast but before I even fully went into the city I knew I would love it. The city rests next to Lake Michigan and the skyline holds one of the tallest buildings in the world, the Sears Tower. We drove on Lake Shore Dr. around the city through various parks and up to the north side of Chicago. We made it up to Evanston and drove through Northwestern College, which was right alongside the coast of the Lake Michigan. I am not sure I you have ever seen a great lake but take my word for it, they look like oceans. After that we drove by Wrigley Field and what was really neat was the surrounding buildings we installing stands on their roofs so people could see the game from them.
We then drove around til we found a local restaurant called Trattoria Demi. It was a small café alongside the rode. We walked in and there were maybe 20 seats in the whole place. The ceiling was lined with Christmas lights (my fav) and the waiter explained that everything was homemade when you ordered it. So I ordered a meatball sub with mozzarella cheese on it. It was awesome. After that we grabbed coffees at the corner shop on that same street and then we headed off.
We drove onwards past the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and then through Concordia University. Grandpa and I are very into our family’s genealogy and we both knew that there was a statue that my great great grandfather Franz Englesman created in Humblot park so we drove there and photographed it. This was so awesome I am honoring it with a different blog post later.
After that we went to our hotel called the Palmer House. While walking it felt like I was checking into the 1920’s. The whole city has a nostalgic feel to it, which I love. Chicago is fascinating because there is just so much history to everything here. Well this hotel is off of State, which is in the heart of downtown. We couldn’t be staying at a better place. Well we unpacked and walked around for a bit. One of the places we stopped was a 12 story Macy’s.
After we walked around we went back to the Palmer House and I through on a sport coat and went with everyone to the all so famous “Berghoff’s Restaurant”. It’s a german restaurant that my family and Grandfather have been talking about since I can remember. That had all the right to talk about it because it was phenomenal. I had Sauerbraten which recipe was found in The Berghoff Family Cookbook. We finished the meal off with German chocolate cake and apple strudels.
After dinner Amy and I walked around State Street, which is one of the main streets downtown and I took some time-laspe photographs. I totally got some weird looks and got harassed by some uber-creepy homeless people but the photos turned out well so I was happy. Anyways thanks once again to all of you who are following my photographic adventures in Chicago this week.
Valporaiso University and Indiana
A few weeks ago my mom called me and asked if I wanted to spend spring break with my grandparents and her and my sister. Of course I said YES. So I came up to from college station late friday and the next morning I got up early around 5:30 in the morning to fly out to Chicago. When we were about to walk out the door my dad said something about picking up something in Indiana. Dumbfounded I asked “what?” and found out that we were really going to Indiana first to drive with the grandparents to Chicago.
So we arrived in Indiana and chilled at the grandparents house for the day. We had a great dinner with them and Uncle Dick and Uncle Mikey. Today we went to church and then started driving to Chicago. We took our time and visited Purdue University as well as Valparaiso University.
Valparaiso University is a small Lutheran College in north Indiana with about 4,000 students. It was founded in 1859 and was one of the first coeducational (men & women) colleges in the United States. We liked Valpo so much that we got out and walked around for quite a while. Once we walked into the chapel we saw an intricate organ as well as stain glass overload. It was glorious. What was also really neat was the amount of natural light that came into the chapel. Well once were done walking around we jumped into the car ate dinner near campus and then headed to a hotel.
Tomorrow we go into Chicago, I am super excited and will keep posting photos and stories through the week. Dad and Grant I know you are reading this, wish you could be here.
Academic Deans and the overall excellence of Texas A&M
Over the last couple of weeks I have had the great opportunity to meet and photograph with some of the most academically influential people at Texas A&M. The reason for this is because we decided at the Aggieland Yearbook to showcase all the different deans and colleges and organize the academic section in that way. Well, each Dean of every college has been awesome. Some are very busy and the shots have been quick and others I got to spend a few minutes with them. One of the Deans that I got to talk life with was the Bush School Dean, Ryan Crocker.
President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush applaud as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker acknowledges the audience after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009, during a ceremony to commemorate foreign policy achievements at the U.S. Department of State. Photo Credit: White House
His secretary met me at the front area of the “Office of the Dean” and took me to a meeting room where I was able to photograph Mr. Crocker. I set up my lighting which was a 580 flash on 2/3 power and a shoot through umbrella that I placed to the left of him and triggered with alien bees. I waited a few minutes after I set up and in walked Mr. Crocker. I took his portrait and after a while we started talking about our overall disgust with the cold and wet weather outside.
After we took the shot in their meeting room we traveled through a secretive side looking door into his office and I took a quick portrait there. I liked this one better because you can see the outside through his window. He explained to me that he hadn’t been in the office long and that was the reason there his walls were not yet decorated. We talked about what my plans were after college. I told him the general answer I usually give saying “I would love to do photography. I feel like God has blessed with me with a good eye for photography and creative mind to produce photographs. So I really think I am going to try at least after college and see if I can get that going”. He replied telling me I should try photojournalism and then he looked at me and encouraged me. It was awesome just being able to talk life with him just for a few minutes. We talked real quick about Texas A&M Qatar and how he was just over there. Except what he meant about just being over was that he was America’s ambassador to Iraq. Before that he was the ambassador to Kuwait and Syria under Clinton’s term and before that he was Bush Sr.’s ambassador to Lebanon. I was blown away by the moment.
For the Aggies who are reading this, how awesome is it that we have people like this pouring into us at different departments. For future Aggies, check out what opportunities await you here. If you have motivation and good foundation, you will exceed here. To non-Aggies, I am sorry you didn’t go here and experience this but use this piece of A&M to understand why we are so crazy about this school.
Everyone, thank you so much for all your support, prayers and encouragement. Photography is a huge passion of mine and I thank you so much for following me and reading about my experiences. This year is bringing a lot of positive growth to “Doug Klembara Photography”. We are creating a flash website, that should be up soon, I have launched a lot of the social media, including twitter, vimeo and a facebook fan page that has more than a 1,000 people following me. There is a lot of change happening but one thing I am so happy to tell you that is not changing is my heart behind photography. I am here to serve God and bring him glory. I love Him so much and my prayer is that I can show you some of His beauty, His people, His greatness through my photography.
Soli Deo Gloria
{Photography. Witness. Passion} 