Assignment 2: Early Morning

Friday saw my last chance to photograph the Oktoberfest.  I had an invite for the evening session, an old friend's company was provided food and beer. With the weather looking bleak for the remaining weekend I needed to make the most of the day, and with the invite this would provide the chance to shoot both inside and outside.  I am going to create 3 individual blog entries providing a visual chronicle of the day, starting with this one.  I got up bright and early to be at the Wiesn just after dawn to see what it looked like without the visiting hoards.

It was quite strange, when I first arrived the place was completely empty apart from trucks making deliveries, replenishing the hundreds of small food stands that line the avenues.  Gradually as time passed people trickled in and started queuing outside the tents, locals who knew that the only way to guarantee a seat on a Friday with a reservation was to turn up at 8:30am and wait.  The first beer is served at 10am so they did not have too long to wait, although starting at 10! Ow!

I captured a set of photos in which there is emptiness and order where usually there was crowds and chaos.  A fellow student remarked of one photo that the image interacted with the viewer as it allowed the eye to explore the space.  Not sure if this would work with the brief, it might be a stretch too far.  In any case these images provide an alternate view of the Wiesn, the landscape is revealed, the recent rain adding to a gloomy sense of absence.  These images are unlikely to find their way into my final set of 12, but they are excellent documents to add context in a book format.