In late winter, just 36 hours after our trip to Oman, I stayed in Baltimore for a conference. Knowing as a result of the massive jet lag I would likely be getting up very early, I brought my Nikon Z6II and the superb Z50mm f/1.8 S. I decided to sort the pictures in this post by location rather than chronologically, as days and locations are completely mixed.

First off, the hotel of course. I decided to save some money and stay about 10 minutes on foot away from the conference I attended. Maybe not the best idea in Baltimore and it was 10 minutes in the “wrong” direction. Anyway, I had an interesting view from the room and I also experimented for the first time ever with multiple exposure.

Next up, downtown Baltimore. It has been a while since I felt a bit unsafe when travelling, but Baltimore appeared to be rough, especially considering there was barely any sun and it was raining most of the time. Makes me want to rewatch The Wire though.

I saw a lot of artistic and musical references throughout the city, many of them as graffitis. Maybe the rough exterior of the city creates a lot of creativity? In fact I have no idea what I am talking about, I am generalising from the fact that one of my favourite bands, Beach House, is from Baltimore. What I do know is that they are clearly proud of their Ravens.

Initially, the steam coming from the sewers completely baffled me. I had seen this in movies and TV shows, but never in real life. It smelled terrible, but reminded me a little of French vanilla ice cream, which I guess is now dead for me. Combined with the rain and wet streets, it made for a great motive.

Baltimore has been a major US seaport for many centuries and after withstanding an attack by the British in 1814, it inspired the writing of a poem which should later become the national anthem. I felt much safer there than downtown and two hours before I had to fly home, the sun was finally showing and created a magical atmosphere in the inner harbour. Maybe I did this city injustice after all.