{"id":188199,"date":"2025-12-12T16:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/188199\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:09:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:09:14","slug":"photographer-captures-berlins-partygoers-just-after-leaving-the-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/188199\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Captures Berlin’s Partygoers Just After Leaving the Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AStill in the afterglow of their night out, these Berlin clubbers headed to Chris Noltekuhmann\u2019s studio to have their portrait taken. <\/p>\n

No club scene anywhere else in the world can match Berlin for its mystique, magnetism, and music. The city draws in creatives from all over \u2014 including photographer Chris Noltekuhmann, who has spent the past two and a half years taking portraits of ravers moments after they left the venue. <\/p>\n

Inviting people into his studio, Noltekuhmann sought to capture his subjects in their \u201cafterglow\u201d by using a simple setup and a medium format analog camera. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea for the series actually developed quite organically,\u201d Noltekuhmann tells PetaPixel. \u201cThree years ago, I moved to Los Angeles, and since then Berlin has become my second home. When it comes to going out, Berlin truly spoils you: endless possibilities, any day of the week, at any hour. The city\u2019s club culture is world-famous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ACuong \"ALara \"ADarren
\n \"AMagor \"ALaetitia <\/p>\n

Noltekuhmann got the idea after a night out at the city\u2019s most famous club, Berghain, which often stays open all weekend. \u201cMany of the clubs I went to when I first moved to Berlin don\u2019t even exist anymore. The city is constantly in flux \u2014 nothing lasts forever. Berlin Night After Glow is my attempt to freeze a moment of this culture before it changes yet again.\u201d <\/p>\n

Initially, Noltekuhmann shot just his friends, but the project grew and grew. He ultimately photographed 350 people on over 400 rolls of film; 160 of those frames have been curated into a book.<\/a><\/p>\n

Noltekuhmann captured DJs, musicians, actors, dancers, scientists, architects, and many others. \u201cThe beauty of Berlin is: everyone goes out. And that diversity was something I wanted to make visible,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n

Berlin\u2019s unique clubbing scene means that people leave the venue at odd times of day. Noltekuhmann would tell people to come to his studio whenever they leave the club, meaning people would come in the morning, or sometimes closer to noon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing was always unpredictable, which was part of the charm. People came from all over Berlin\u2019s club landscape: iconic spaces like Berghain, KitKat, Tresor, :\/\/about blank, Sisyphos, Renate, and many smaller underground venues,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\"ATal \"AThomas \"AHarrison \"AJennifer <\/p>\n

Noltekuhmann shot all of the photos on Kodak Portra 400 medium format film, using a single lens on a Mamiya RZ67 and HMI lighting to create a consistent visual language. <\/p>\n

\u201cI always gravitate toward an analog look because, to me, it feels timeless,\u201d he explains. \u201cFilm has a cinematic feel, a texture and depth that\u2019s incredibly difficult to replicate digitally. That was a big part of why I chose to shoot this entire project on medium format film.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI also believe people behave differently in front of an analog camera,\u201d he continues. \u201cEvery frame feels precious. The Mamiya RZ67 is large, heavy, and has a loud shutter, which I used intentionally. I wanted people to feel slightly intimidated, to take the moment seriously. It creates a shift in energy.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kodak Portra 400 was \u201cthe natural choice.\u201d Its properties are well-known: rendering smooth skin tones in a warm, natural way. \u201cPortra 400 gave me enough ISO to shoot around f\/5.6 at 1\/125 to 1\/60, depending on how far the bellows of the RZ67 were extended with the 110mm lens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AKarl \"ATetsumasa \"ANiclas \"ADanya <\/p>\n

The film was developed at Noltekuhmann\u2019s local lab in Berlin. \u201cThey still use a hanging development method for C41, which is quite rare today. Medium format film has no perforation, so it\u2019s very fragile,\u201d he notes. \u201cThis lab is one of the last I know that still develops C41 by hand, which gave me the confidence and consistency I needed for a long-term project like this.\u201d <\/p>\n

Noltekuhmann made handmade darkroom prints at Contact Photo Lab in Los Angeles. \u201cThey\u2019re incredible \u2014 you can even book the darkroom yourself. I wanted the project to stay as authentic and analog as possible. But printing every single image by hand wouldn\u2019t have given me the color consistency needed for a full book.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mamiya RZ67 is a wonderful but tricky camera: the farther the bellows extend for close focusing, the more light you lose in the exposure. That meant I needed a workflow that allowed subtle corrections in post to achieve a unified look across the entire series.\u201d <\/p>\n

It meant everything was scanned on Noltekuhmann\u2019s Imacon Precision 3, an old drum-style scanner. \u201cIt\u2019s a diva and only runs on Windows XP, but it delivers results that are the closest thing to a traditional darkroom handprint,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"AJosefa \"AKarma \"ARyan \"AVladislav <\/p>\n

Noltekuhmann is a very successful commercial photographer, having captured stars like Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, Ewan McGregor, and Gisele B\u00fcndchen. He shoots all of his personal projects on film and clients love his analog look. <\/p>\n

\u201cShooting a full commercial campaign entirely on film is tricky. I work a lot with celebrities for luxury clients, and their PR teams want to check images immediately on set and make quick selects,\u201d he says. \u201cBut despite these limitations, clients still love the analog feel.\u201d <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Noltekuhmann always brings an analog camera with him on commercial shoots as a visual reference tool. \u201cI shoot a few frames on film, then develop and scan them. Those scans often become the foundation for the color grade and overall look in postproduction.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"ADennis \"ADJ-MCR-T \"ANadya <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Berlin\u2019s clubs have long been a sanctuary for outsiders, creatives, queer communities, and anyone seeking a space where identity, expression, and freedom are lived without inhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI travel a lot and spend time in many different cultures. It constantly reminds me how fragile the freedom is that we enjoy in Berlin \u2014 and in Europe in general,\u201d says Noltekuhmann. \u201cThe openness, the fluidity, the ease with which people can express themselves here is anything but guaranteed. In many places, that kind of freedom either never existed or has slowly disappeared.\u201d <\/p>\n

To purchase a copy of Berlin Night After Glow, head to Noltekuhmann\u2019s website.<\/a> For more of his work, check out his Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Image credits: Photographs by Chris Noltekuhmann. <\/p>\n