Assignment 4: City and Park

My current challenge with this assignment is finding the correct context within which to present the photographs that I am developing.  The subject has always been clear, the people of Munich, the problem I am grappling with is how to bring that into a framework that will capture the essence of Robert Frank's influence on my work.  I learned during the Landscape course that the objective is not to simply copy my chosen influencer's style but to channel their work through mine.  What can I learn from Robert Frank that helps with the development of my own visual style.

I think I have made it pretty clear that I am not comfortable in the photography of people, I prefer things, landscape, structures, stuff that can be solved using a camera.  The reason I am doing this course is because I do not like it, this is a stronger learning experience because I am struggling with it.  The problem with that statement is that my visual style conflicts with the demands of social documentary.  I continually look for precision in my work, I like high contrast and strongly defined photographs.  Frank was very different, his images are often "hazy" and the subject obscured - they require a reading.  He reacted rapidly to situations, took a photo and moved on, I like to linger and try to work out what it is I want to say with a photo.

Where this brings me is the challenge of finding a linking theme to this assignment and then tying it back to Frank.  A while ago I rejected the idea of creating my own "The Americans", but styling it "Die Muenchener", a study of the people of my city.  I find myself drifting back to this idea, but in a shorter form, 12 photographs that illustrate the people of the city.  There is a risk in such an approach of creating an August Sanders does Robert Frank.  My goal is not a typography, what I want to create is a social statement about the people of Munich, each photograph revealing different aspects of the city that go beyond a set of interesting photos of people.  They need to speak of the social issues, politics, and concerns of the people, perhaps subtly, perhaps overtly.  The influence of Frank is the twofold, first his approach to creating the photographs, an extended study imply exploring and photographing stuff that interests me.  The second is the comment,  the statement made by the photographs on what I see around me, they need to contain within them a narrative.  One of my challenges is that I look for simplicity in my imagery, I try solve the geometry of what I observe, that might not be the correct approach for photographs that need a complex internal narrative.

Visually I have chosen B&W for these photographs.  This is not inspired by Frank, but is a personal response to the material I am creating, I simply find that mono works better for these subjects.  I initially considered completing the whole course in mono as a learning experience, that is no longer my goal and for sure assignment 5 will be colour.

Since reconnecting with this course I have once more picked up my camera on a regular basis, trying to get out every weekend and take a few photographs.  The last two weekends were no different.  We continue to enjoy a warm sunny and very dry winter, in my 20 years in Munich this is the first winter that has not been characterized by fierce cold and heavy snow.  Last weekend the temperature in the shade hot 17 degrees, people were sunbathing in swim suits, on the 15th February, Mad!  I captured some interesting images, one or two that have possibles written on them, others that simply said something to me.  All are a study of the people of Munich and I hope all say something.

Heading into twon I took the bus to Muenchener Freiheit, just north of the city center, giving me a good 2km walk into the city.  I sat on the back seat and looked down along the interior.  I think this is too complex visually, but it is a record of a space that many ordinary people find themselves in and the girl to the right working away at her smart phone is very characteristic of modern life.  Not a keeper, but it interests me and might be part of a wider study.

Getting closer to the city I passed the Tambosi cafe, a great sun trap and well they simply obliged.  Like this a lot, it contains many elements of city culture and has a dynamic created by the kissing couple.

A group of tourists, possibly exchange students camp out in the center of Odeons Platz, Americans I think (German students wouldn't hang out here, it is not cool).  This is a photo better defined by its structure than its narrative, so not very strong.  There would need to be more movement to make it work.

This on the other hand is also very static, but full of elements that talk to where we are.  There are technical issues with the image, a shallower depth of field would have yielded a better separation of the foreground, but I think I can cope with that.  There are a lot of beggars in Munich these days, but this guy is not one of them.  He has a profession of sorts,  collecting used bottles discarded by tourists who do not realize that we recycle almost everything here and that those bottles have quite a high deposit (as much as 20p).  Collect 10-15 and he can buy a beer and watch the world go by from his perch in the winter sun.  Within the frame is also a Bavarian flag (hints at Frank's inclusion of flags) as well as a reference to the cities main newspaper.  I think this has a good internal narrative as well as capturing an element of Munich life.

OK, not terribly sophisticated, but half the world seems to have given up with actually looking at stuff.  It seems that it is more important to record something to show to friends rather than to actually experience it.  Kind of odd to go home and show people what your telephone did on it's holiday.  Not a keeper for this assignment, but a possible for a more extended presentation.

Now this is an image I like.  When I took it, my mind was on the group of people approaching.  Then the guy to the right entered the frame and the girl raised her arms in joy.  Job done?  It was not until I looked at the photo on the computer that I realized that I had much more.  The reflections of the people in the ceiling add an extra depth to the photograph.  I cut the photo into a letter box to emphasize the ceiling whilst retaining the people and their dynamic.  Of course I am attracted to the geometry of the circles, reflections and the vanishing point almost at infinity.  However, this also captures the sense of the modern city and the ant like existence of the people within and yet the emotional engagement they have with each other.  Very probable!

In the same area there are a number of cafes with the high tables very typical of Munich.  This captures the ethnic diversity of the city and again could be filler, but it is not strong enough.  The man at the back confuses the foreground couple and there is not enough gesture to make the photograph speak.

A week later I switched from the city center to the parks, lapping up the warm winter sun.  This is a gentle image and speaks of loss and absence, it's narrative lies in asking who Thomas W. Schmidt was.  Looking closer we get a small clue, the brass plate reads "Fur unserer Lieben Flaneur".  For our beloved Flaneur, a French word that google tells me means Loafer, but for every photographer has the special meaning of a street photographer who ambles along waiting for the event.  Cartier Bresson springs to mind.  Here was a man who enjoyed a walk and probably spent time enjoying the view from this spot.  I am not sure about this one, it says a lot to me and I find within it a rather lovely narrative, but is that enough.  Maybe.

Another Shaun image that attempts to create distinct planes of structure, not one for the assignment, but nice...

This has potential, there are a lot of different stories within this image,  the question I would have is that it might be too structured, again I am trying to create a single dimensional flat canvas against which to portray the people.

The next two speak of the sun and the warmth, combined with the conviviality of beer garden.  In the first image it is the shadows that make the photograph interesting, not sure that photographs of people backs would be strong enough for the assignment.

I have a number of photographs like this one, it is a grab shot capturing the crowded world of the beer garden.  As a documentary shot I think it works, it captures a sense of Munich, but is probably not strong enough.  There would need to be a stronger engagement with the camera or more happening in the frame.

The last image in this entry has no chance of making my assignment, but is my personal favorite of them all.  It would not work well in B&W, the colour of the people picks them out against the background.  What makes the image for me is the absence of the leaves.  It reveals the scattered positioning of the people better, all over are small vignettes that contain within them stories that ask to be told.  I also find that the summer behavior of the people conflicts with the clearly winter landscape creating a slightly strange surreal atmosphere.

I think I am getting towards a good set of possibles for this assignment, in fact I could probably now complete this assignment and call it a day.  However, I am finding the exercise of getting out each weekend to create photographs to be an enjoyable one and want to continue a little longer.  I appreciate that every new set of photographs simply makes a final selection more difficult, but that is a problem I can happily accomodate.