Assignment 2: Initial Thoughts

The Oktoberfest, Munich's annual homage to utter drunken excess. If you have not been, nothing I can say here will prepare you for the experience. It is an assault on the senses, an insane kaleidoscope of colour and noise. A massive fairground combines with 14 beer tents. Each day 500,000 people will visit, half of whom will be drunk by the time they leave. Each tent belongs to one of Munich's 6 breweries and serves a single type of beer brewed specially for the event. The beer is 6% alcohol and only served in Liter glasses, a single one puts you firmly in what the UK would describe as binge drinking territory or what Germany would call a warmer upper. I usually give up after 5, but on one memorable occasion managed 7 of them, and yes the hangovers are monumental.

The Fest runs for 16 days from 11am to 11pm. Although called the Oktoberfest, it really takes place mostly in September ending on the first Sunday of October. Saturday will be day 1 and will be characterized by much tradition. There will be a parade of beer drays pulled by heavy horses, brass bands will bang out the traditional Oompah music we associate with Bavaria, men will wear more leather than is healthy, the wonder bra will enhance many a dirndl, and then at 12 the mayor will open the first barrel and yell "O Zapft ist". The drinking will then begin in earnest.

It is seriously good fun and a gift to photographers, the only issue really is how to photograph it. So far I have either taken the usual drunken snapshots that accompany the event or taken a serious look at the architecture of the place. This year, I am going to use the event as my subject for an assignment. Assignment 2 asks for a study of the relationships between people. The fest offers up the full gamut, from romance (3 married couples, close friends of ours met at the Oktoberfest), through drunken camaraderie, to collapse. Violence is present, although far less than would be expected, but there is a chance for conflict. When the day ends ambulances arrive to remove those incapable of movement, another form of relationship.

I am not 100% sure exactly how I am going to address the fest this year, but here are a few thoughts:

I will shoot in colour, not to do so would be madness
I want the whole spectrum of relationships, the good and the bad
I am going to experiment with flash, not something I would normally do for a documentary subject, but the night shots will need some help as the people will be back lit - thinking Bruce Davidson here
I plan to engage with the people in some of the shots, I want natural, but I also need to get in close
I want to capture the vibrant madness of the event and the sheer drunken joy of the attendees
From a framing perspective I will try and fill the frame. This is becoming a personal style statement and I want to stick with it for the time being

I think my overall goal will be to portray the joyful side of the fest counterbalanced with a few images that illustrate the dark side. I may even mix colour and black & white to emphasize the point. I don't have a set narrative in mind, I will develop it as I go.

To set the ball rolling here are some photographs from previous years and some flippant comments

This is the Hippodrome, the poshest and smallest tent, half the size of the next one up. Most tents seat between 5,000 and 7.000 people. Tent is not that accurate a noun.

Lot's of people attend

As I mentioned, would be criminal to shoot the fest in B&W

OK, not very social documentary, but great fun - watch out later in the evening, these rides can cause problems for those who have over done their festivities