Southern German Meets Center City Chic
Ilford HP5, ei400.
Obviously, this is a crop of a 6×6 (given that it’s from the Diacord L). It works much better in this aspect ratio than its original. I like a lot about this shot (it may be my favorite HP5 shot), and it’s also a gateway shot for a project I’ve started defining.
Here’s this guy, whose fashion is more Tirolean (shades of Lederhosen) with a modern bike and a pair of iPod headphones. I can’t tell if he’s from 1940 or 2010 except for the hints of modern trends around him. Thinking about how parts of 1940 carry to 2010 for me in this shot, I wonder about the parts of 2010 that will carry on from here – and how long they’ll last. I wonder when we’ll stop using earbuds. I wonder what “new” bikes will look like when this one looks “old”. 24-hour ATM – what will that mean to the citizen of 2080? And, of course, balding Adidas-man in the background looks every bit the part of a 2010 jogger (despite his walking pace).
Anyway, lots of work still to do – but I’ve been shooting for this new project for some months now, and I’m finally pulling together material that I’m happy with.
The film cameras are doing what I wanted – enabling me to explore a new style of street photography that is, I think, leading somewhere.
I love how there’s a guy dead center, bright white, but the subject is way over there on the side. Cool.