The key question that I posed myself whilst taking these photographs was essentially what is a single person, is it the only person in the frame or the person in the frame about which the photograph is made. Is one person standing in front of a crowd a single person, or perhaps the question is how to photograph a person in a crowd and leave them looking alone.
Another question concerned scale and invasion of personal space. I am using small discreet cameras for these projects and in the case of these shots a fixed 35mm lens. This focal length is fabulous for what I would describe as environmental portraits, i.e. when the goal is to show the person in the context of where they are. However, it is verging on a wide angle focal length and not a good choice for situations that tightly frame an individual. A single person is potentially very small in the frame, unless I get extremely close. When photographing weddings I find this focal length to be ideal for full body portraits of the couple, switching to a 135mm for tight head and shoulders shots.
35mm focal length in hand, I walked in the center of Munich through the Englischer Garten, the cities central park. This is a very popular place, containing beer gardens, running/riding tracks, stream, lakes, and most importantly plenty of open space for the mostly apartment dwelling citizens to chill and get some sun.
My first two images look at people moving, placing them very deliberately in the frame such that they have a path to follow into the space. Each of these shots provide a sense of where they are and clearly what they are doing. The chap in the first image casually walks whilst reading his book, suggesting a calm tranquil spot, whilst the slightly blurry runner contrasts with his motion and focus.
At the center of the park a large beergarden seating up to 5,000 does a brisk trade in liter glasses of beer. This guys job was to ensure that whenever anybody came up to the beer supply there was always a full glass ready for them. The groups of glasses divide into Radler (Shandy for cyclists) and Helles (the regular blond Munich lager). A person working is a good target for candid photography, being busy they are unlikely to register me and also provide a sense of purpose in the image.
I was there early and so the tables were just filling up enabling this photo of someone having a lunchtime Mass (Liter of beer). He is too small in the frame, although I do like the pattern the tables make as they lead to him.
Further into the city this guy make a better subject at this scale. The side of the cathedral is simple and unfussy enabling the eye to more easily pick him out of the image. As with most other images in this sequence I find I am more comfortable with his presence over to one side of the frame.
Back in the park, an easy shot is someone lying on the grass relaxing. I could have got much closer, but that would have lost the sense of scale and space that this image delivers. He really has the place to himself, although not for long. It was in the high twenties and the crowds were on their way.
I am still rather nervous taking photographs of people who are clearly aware of me and so often opt for situations where the person is already focused on some activity, in this case reading in a cafe. The problem that this image brings is that the photograph has no presence, it is quite lifeless. Eye contact or at least a lower perspective would have helped that.
Similar case of a single person outside a bierkeller, however in this case two people are in the frame as I am reflected in the window taking the shot.
At the beginning of this project I asked the question about whether a person alone in a crowd constituted a single person. In a sense it is a pointless question as this is clearly an artificial exercise, however, it does beg the question of how to frame a person in a busy place in such a way that they appear alone. The old lady below is an easy case, she is well separated from the crowd.
This is a little more difficult, this speaker making a political statement was surrounded by people to his front, but not in a way that I could not crouch down and shoot. The shot does not have enough separation between him and the people in the background to work very well.
This one is the best of the set. The musician is clearly alone and yet surrounded by people in this very busy shopping street.
The biggest challenge I faced with these photographs was the focal length that I had chosen to use. As I previously mentioned 35mm is an excellent focal length for groups of people or for showing an individual against a landscape, but it does not isolate in the way that a mid to long lens could. I think for this type of framing either a normal lens in the 50mm range or a medium tele such as an 85mm would be a better. The 85mm would provide much better separation of subject from background especially at a wide aperture and also would distance me from the subject creating a more comfortable shooting experience. However, this comfort would show and the images would lose some of the engagement that getting in clode should provide. That is assuming that I do get in close. This is going to need some thought.
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