16 Comments

When I lived in Albania the preponderance of M-Bs was put down to vehicle trafficking. Higher end models were the result of insurance fraud with the connivance of German owners. The standing joke was that the Albanian tourist board's advertising slogan for Germany was 'Come to Albania. Your car's already here. '

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That explanation makes more sense than the other I was given - "We need good cars because we've got bad roads." Btw, love the standing joke! 😀

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When the iron curtain came down, we talked about the "Polish triathlon": It's when you cycle to the swimming pool but have to walk home.🤷‍♂️

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Loved reading the piece Ben and the photographs are amazing. specially like the reflections on the merc window! Congrats!

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Much appreciated, Santiago! Really glad you enjoyed it. I'm always interested to know which images resonate. So, thanks for saying that!

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The second image is pretty interesting sort of post punk post soviet blend ! Intriguing

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That one is from inside a bunker museum Bunk'Art 2. It's an art installation called "Monster of Dictatorship" designed by Raimonda Zajmi to show the missed freedom and the suffering of communism.

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Amazing! Powerful piece

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Aug 6Liked by Ben Rook

Great start to the day, thanks Ben and good to see you have found your groove

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Thanks for taking the time, Michael. Glad you enjoyed it!

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Great piece again, Ben! I really enjoyed reading it!

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Thanks for that, Daniel. Makes it all worthwhile. 🙂

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Another great essay! Besides the cultural/political commentary, I really enjoy the top down beach shot of the two guys under the beach umbrella. That's the type of image I really like. Looking forward to the zine!

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Thanks, mate. Really appreciate the feedback. A late afternoon game of backgammon shot with 35 mm (50 equivalent) on my "new" X-Pro2.

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While the quality of these images are down to the artist, this is interesting to me. I am actually thinking of acquiring an X-Pro2. Seems to be an ideal everyday camera.

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Yeah. It works for me. It's made me slow down a bit and be more intentional. I borrowed a friend's for a few hours before making the decision.

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