Germany Brandenburg Gate Long Exposure

The Brandenburg Gate is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, Germany, and is arguably the best-known landmark of the country.

For best results, you need a long exposure of at least 120 seconds. That’s because there’s about 2x to 3x more traffic heading in the direction of the white lights as the opposing red lights, meaning you want to capture only one traffic lights worth of cars with the white lights but two traffic lights worth of cars with the red lights. This can make timing tricky, but practice it a few times and with a little luck and perseverance you should eventually capture a shot where the two light trails are roughly in balance.

It goes without saying that you’ll need a tripod and wide angle lens. This image was captured during the Festival of Lights, meaning there’s additional background colours behind the Gate itself, but any clear evening is a good opportunity to recreate this long exposure.

Finally, there is a pedestrian crosswalk directly West of the Brandenburg Gate, and at the exact mid-point of the crosswalk there is a small traffic island where you can stand with your tripod for this shot, which is centred exactly on the Gate itself.

Brandenburger Tor metro station is nearby, served by both S-bahn and U-bahn trains. There are also plenty of buses that stop nearby.