Assignment 4: Friday 1st October

This post is the first of a number that will record my exploration of Haidhausen in search of subject matter for assignment 4.  Rather than label each entry with either subject or location I am just using a date stamp, as whilst each photo study will target a specific subject, I am also walking through a rich and varied street environment in which subjects and locations will present themselves.

This particular outing targeted the office buildings and infrastructure around the Ostbahnhof, Munich's second large mainline railway station.  The light was very varied and whilst good for some buildings was poor for some of the station images.  All of the following photographs were taken using my 5D2 and 24mm tilt shift lens, ideal for any subjects that include large buildings.  As discussed before the need for a tripod slows the photographic process down and forces a more considered view.

First of all here are two office/apartment buildings, typical of more the more modern ugly buildings in the city, but photographically interesting

These buildings contrast with the more traditional frontage elsewhere in the district

However, my first target for this outing was the Telekom building with its interlinked towers.  These buildings are on one side of the railway lines leading into the Ostbahnhof and so it is possible to create images that include the trains.  Also opposite the tracks is a small area of overgrown parking for a building whose occupants left some time ago.  This enables a presentation layering 4 elements, the chain fence, scrub growing in the car park, the trains and in background the large structure of the office block.  The decision then is to find appropriate framing:

These images are the same building taken from the right hand side in the above images.  I was standing just in front of the cylindrical building, which can be seen reflected in the first of these two photographs.  In the second the strong reflection of the sun in the building forced me to shorten the exposure and resulted in the deep blue sky behind - no polarization filter.

At the railway station my problem was that the image I wanted was facing west into a setting sun and so very difficult to control exposure and flare in the lens.  This is the best of a bad lot

Turning the camera around a completely different viewpoint and quality of colour:

Outside the station and walking onto Orleons Platz this is the other side of the Ostbahnhof.  Again the lighting is wrong for this image as the sun is casting large shadows from the building behind me. Shadows present a major challenge when shooting inside the city

As I turned to head home I stopped at a couple of cafes and restaurants.  In these images I have tried to include some of the people of the area.  If I have a camera to my face people avoid me, when it is on a tripod people tend to ignore me, strange

In the heart of Haidhausen is a small cluster of small two story houses, including a large Alpine style house.  This small street is a remnant of an old village encompassed now by the city

That was my first serious exploration to obtain images for the assignment, no selection yet, but maybe 1 or 2 that might meet the increasing standard expected