Conceptually I am now committed to my "Rake's Progress" chronicling the Oktoberfest through the experience of the visitors as they get progressively more inebriated. The photos must look at how people behave towards one another at different stages of drunkenness At the same time I want to illustrate the Oktoberfest through the people who attend. This is the largest "Peoples" festival in the world, it is far more than just drinking.
To that end I have run through the 900 photos I have taken so far and pulled 25 that I think illustrate the concept and act as a first pass selection that will evolve towards the final 12 that will make up the assignment submission.
As a starting point I might use the preparation for the parade, a key part of the underlying tradition that is so important to how the people of the city see the fest. Tourists are thinking beer and party, Muencheners take great pride in the traditions that underpin it.
A key photograph will be the following. I need to get across the sheer size of the event and the number of people who attend. This photograph is about the larger relationship of people as part of the human race, but at the same time looking closer the image contains within it a thousand individual interactions.
Another element that might be interesting to bring out is that the fest is a major cultural event and is heavily broadcast (at least locally). The following photograph contains multiple cultural references. Starting with the TV presence, but balanced against the overtly traditional clothing of the interviewer and the interviewees. The BMW logo on the umbrella then acts to remind us all that Munich is high-tech central in Germany. In the background hoards of people wander through the Wiesn. Yes, I like this one!
The next two photographs reference the way that people can clearly be together and yet utterly ignore each other. Before the whole thing starts there is a lot of hanging around waiting for either a table reservation or more people from the group to arrive. Both of these are high on my keeper list.
The next photo captures just one person (well there is another, see if you can spot them). She is, however, clearly interacting with someone else, but through the ubiquitous mobile phone, probably the most iconic object of the 21st century. I also kind of line the balance in the blue sky and her dirndl.
The next 3 capture groups of people hanging out at the fest, each group culturally different and exhibiting the body language of their community.
This will never make it into my final selection, it does not fit with my story, but it is very tender.
Looking at this set of images, colour, bright bold, saturated, clashing COLOUR, is evident, OK discussion over, I am going Martin Parr all over the ass of this set.
There is something about looking into a lit window that fascinates photographers, we are on the outside observing the inside. Perhaps another form of the Other. I am also drawn to the frame within the frame and the construction of an in photograph diptych.
As the light starts to draw down, colour explodes and the fest starts to get more tawdry
One of the photographs I want for the set is basically people having a mad drunken time. This is proving to be very difficult. There is not much space to get far enough away to make the image work, but at the same time not have people walk in front. In the second of these note the almost cartoon like presence of the fat man at the back. If Stephen Bell drew a Bavarian this is what I think he would look like.
I love you dude - the drink starts to impact
This is an interesting one, they were interacting with the camera, having a laugh trying to spoil my shot. How mistaken, they were the shot! This is another image that I think will make it through, the interaction is with me and so still valid, but at the same time utterly un-posed or self-conscious.
As I get to the end of the descent, the following two are good examples of the state people get into to. I have far worse, vomit stained, unconscious Bierleichen, however, these are grim images and would pull down the brightness, metaphorically and literally. I prefer these two, they are slightly humerous and still burst with colour
I am papping these people, they are not consenting to these photographs and I am the voyeur. With this comes the ethical question of where the line lies and whether or not to cross it. So far I do not have anything that falls into really bad taste, I have not photographed anyone actually vomiting (plenty of chances) and have not actively looked for anyone having sex (again this would not be difficult at the fest if I persevered a little). Neither of these subjects interests me and neither would add to the set - I think the imagination can fill in some of the blanks. The question is whether to include the following photograph. It is intrusive, this is not an easy time for the person on the stretcher or her friends. It is, however, a common enough sight at the fest and illustrates both the downfall, but also the care that is taken by the red cross. My inclination right now is that this is the correct way to close the set, but I really need to think on that and also see if I can get a better image than this.
I think I am in a good place material wise and also have a narrative that will work with the images. Sure there is much more development needed and the final edit is going to be a bitch. Am I missing anything, yes and no! The obvious gap is a lack of imagery from inside the tents. I have a couple of reasons for this. The first is simple practicality, they are not easy to get into especially on a busy weekend when I have the time to be at the Wiesn. The second is that I have done a great deal of photography inside the tents over the years and am not sure what more I can add to what I already have done. On balance, I guess I cannot really create an Oktoberfest set without one shot of the tents.
I have two invites for the weekend, yes people have a table with a space reserved for me and guess what, they are buying the beer! Woohoo and uh'ho! I love beer, really I LOVE BEER - too much, liver is somewhat larger than it should be and it is time to cool it. For the last few weeks I have been only having a beer on Saturday night and even then fewer than I would normally enjoy. Every week I manage this 50 Euros goes into my lens fund - money that might have been spent on a night out becomes my next camera system! BUT, free beer at the Oktoberfest - this weekend might be a break from my abstemiousness. It will also provide a couple of good opportunities to take some photographs inside the tents and a bunch of friends happy to pose. Just need to complete the imagery before the third beer goes down, ability to focus degrades progressively.
Other than imagery from inside the tents, my goal for the remaining shoots is twofold. First to further refine this set, more of the same, hopefully better. The second goal is to do a little work on rounding out the image set with a view to a book. I think this is a topic that will work well in book form and I need to work on something soon to continue developing my book making skills. To that end I need to look at iconography, capturing the small elements of the fest that build together to make the experience so complete. These could include
- Wiesn Herzel (gingerbread hearts - traditional gift for the fest, I bought one for my wife last week, "I mog di" - "I love You" in Bavarian, the local language that is used to confuse northeners)
- Fluffy toy Bayern Loewen (lions - symbol of Munich)
- Brezl (pretzels)
- Sweet stands in close up
- Mass Krug (the big beer glasses - NOT STEINS - that is so wrong - Stein is German for stone and refers to a ceramic beer container, a glass is called a Krug)
- empty beer bottles in the gutter
- Signage for the Wiesn
In other words all the incidental stuff that surrounds the event.
To conclude I think I am in a good place, far better than I expected to be. This takes the pressure off the next few days, I can enjoy photographing the fest without a sense of an impending deadline.
Brilliantly executed in every way. It does seem a shame though to end up on a bit of a downer in terms of the drunkenness etc putting the shawdry on the gloss. Although Martin Par wouldn't give that a miss would he! The 'tender' one with the man sheltering the elderly lady under the umbrella is an obvious contrast and I'm sure there are loads of others but the, as you say, it doesn't quite fit.
ReplyDeleteWhat choices you have to make!
Thanks Catherine, was just commenting on your blog! It'll be tough and with another 500 or so photos will be even harder, but that is a part of the learning process. I am not good at editing from a content perspective, I need to develop that skill. It is one reason why I am reading so many books around art criticism and philosophy. I am trying to better understand my own photographs, let alone anyone elses
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