An impromptu Hasselblad photowalk with a friend around Munich one day after work sees fast changing light and classic architecture. Join me for a quick walk around central Munich.
I should use my Hasselblad more often, I always say this to myself after I take it out for a spin. I am always surprised by how sharp its lenses are (I own the standard 80mm and a longer 150mm) and by how portable it actually is. I met up with a fellow Hasselblad owner Andrea and we went for a random photowalk around the centre of Munich in search for some interesting subjects.
A bit more about the gear
I had my Hasselblad 501c (80mm & 150mm lenses) and a roll of Ilford Delta 400. I figured the 400 might be better for the very changing conditions on the day. Andrea has (if I am not mistaken) a Hasselblad 500 with a 50mm and 80mm lens. He also had orange and red filters, which came in very handy for some of the shots. Andrea was shooting Ilford Delta 100.
Munich’s Frauenkirche
The Cathedral Church of our Lady (‘Frauenkirche’) is Munich’s most famous church and is visible through most of city due to height restrictions to enable its view. The Gothic cathedral is home to the Archdiocese of Munich and construction was completed in 1488. Its two towers stand at 98.5 meters high. The church is located just off Marienplatz in the centre of Munich and it is a great location to visit (and photograph!). More history and anecdotes on the Frauenkirche here.
I quite like the first shot below, taken with an orange filter. I really enjoy photographs with high contrast. This is an easy building to photograph as it has so much detail and different angles given it is nestled in-between other buildings. The lighting was not as cooperative as I would have liked and some of the shots are a bit flat.
Next time it would probably be worth investing more time and bring along a large format camera, especially for its tilt and shift capabilities to manage the distortion of the buildings.
The shots below are Andrea’s. I think he may have used a red filter for some of these. I really like how contrasty they are. I think he also used my 150mm lens for the middle one if I am not mistaken. All of these are shot on Ilford Delta 100, which I think came out much sharper than mine (same film but ISO 400).
Shot on and around Gärtnerplatz. The bust is that of architect Friedrich von Gärtner, who designed the LMU University and Munich's Siegestor.
The lighting was really very poor so I am not particularly happy with how these shots came out, but decided to include them regardless.
I feel I was missing a bit (or a lot) of contrast in this shot. I quite liked the structure and shape but the final image is busy and it is unclear to me what the subject is. Perhaps a closer shot of the staircase to reveal some details would have been more interesting.
This image is neither as sharp or as interesting as I was hoping it would be.
I was really just looking to finish the roll with this shot so I am not going to make up some special inspiration…
Overall observations
Actually the Hasselblad is a surprisingly good carry around camera for an impromptu photowalk. As it is medium format it does require you to slow down somewhat, but it is also more portable than you would first imagine. It was also really great to hang out with someone else who has the same camera system and geek out a bit between shots. I am always curious to see how other analogy photographers approach their art.
I suppose in conclusion, the light wasn’t great and if all else fails then a beer afterwards will always raise the mood…
See you next time!
Neil
