As a follow-on from a similar shoot I did in Frankfurt, here are my impressions of the architectural wonder that is Munich's subway, U-Bahn München. Join me for a very early trip around some wonderful, awe inspiring, and sometimes downright scary scenes.
A while ago I travelled round Frankfurt's U-Bahn network thinking about Empty Spaces (see post here) very early in the morning. I got some decent shots and even better feedback, and so I thought I would try a similar outing across a variety of Munich"s subway stations. Not least because this underground network has some of the most interesting architecture I have ever seen for a public transportation network.
About the network
Surprisingly, Munich's U-Bahn network is not very old, starting in 1971 for the Munich Olympics in 1972. The network has 8 lines, serving 96 stations, over a distance of just over 100km. For a more detailed history of the network, visit this site. What amazes me is the amount of variety in architectural styles and concepts across the network. A quick google search will show a large amount of photographic work undertaken across the network, with obvious examples like Marienplatz or Candidplatz. A short journey through any number of stations will see a wonderful variety of colours, designs, art, and architecture. Also, the network is very, very clean...a perfect environment for the next edition of my Empty Spaces concept.
About the gear
If I learned one thing from my Frankfurt shots, it was that I would need a tripod...and if possible some faster film. I "upgraded" from Kodak Portra 400 to Portra 800 (120mm format with my Hasselblad system), also bringing along a roll of the wonderful Cinestill 800T film in 35mm format.
Small but mighty.
About the shots
Munich's subway is actually a photographer's dream. From all the colours of the rainbow to futuristic architectural scenes, this underground network lets the imagination go wild. However, what I have not seen in many of the online photographs of the network are shotsthat are clearly shot on film. There are some really wonderful photographs available online, but many seem to be really focused on post processing, and looking at creating a kind of alternative reality.
It's easy to see why though, as the straight lines and bright colours of the stations really work in portraying something very futuristic and different, especially if void of people. In many ways shooting this just on film is harder, as you are instinctively looking for that perfectly symmetrical and overly bright shot, not to mention crisp clean (i.e. not covered in dust from the negatives!). But as always, I embrace film for all its inconsistencies and the underlying "feel" and slow way of composing and shooting that it provides.
And that got me thinking....here I was shooting with film, looking for shots with different perspectives and a different feel. I realised as I was scanning my negatives that rather than simply listing out photographs by station (i.e. boring), I might classify them according to the feeling I got when looking at them.
Here is how I started, before 6am on Sunday morning.
Back to my classification of photos...I wonder if you will agree with some of my sentiments below.
Downright scary
There is something a bit eerie about photography in very large empty spaces. This is especially true when working with medium format film that forces you to really slow down, focus on composition, and really take in the entirety of the scene. As I looked through the final result in this shots, the real emptiness jumped out and made and gave me a bit of a shiver!
Am I in a Bladerunner movie?
The wonderful Cinestill 800T film is well known for its Bladerunner and strong neon lights look, although I had not appreciated how effective this would be in an empty underground stations. Some of these shots could be straight out of the movie, although perhaps I needed a bit more of the bright neon blue lights.
Rainbow delight
Some of the stations really have every colour you can imagine. I think it would be impossible to be in a bad mood as a commuter when you go through these stations. These are some of my favourite stations so far.
Futuristic views
It is funny to call something that hails from 1971 as "futuristic", but some of the stations have an unmistakeable futuristic feel to them. So much so that a lot of the photography you see online regarding Munich's U-Bahn focuses heavily on that overall feel.
My favourite station
My personal station has got to be Munich's Westfriedhof station on the U1 line, which opened in 1998. It has 11 large lamps that cover the length of the station with extremely bright blue, red, and yellow lighting. It is a wonderful station to walk around when it is empty, really being able to take in the simplicity of its lighting and architecture.
Overall observations
I absolutely loved this photography outing, talk about a variety of architecture, colours, and above all: empty spaces! I did need some advance planning to get to my ideal stations in an efficient order, sometimes needing to go above ground on foot as the frequency on an early Sunday morning can be 15mins+ between trains!
Actually from an "empty spaces" standpoint I did quite well up until around 8am, with my only companions prior to that were clearly on the way home after a night out and were not too bothered (or awake) with that I was doing. Towards the end of my shooting time (0930-ish) I had less time to setup the tripod properly and relied more on handheld shots, especially with my Leica M6 + Cinestill 800T combination.
What is also interesting is the very clear difference between medium format 120mm film (my 2 rolls of Porta 800) and the 35mm 1 roll of Cinestill 800T film. You can really see a difference in clarity and depth of the images (especially if viewed on a big screen...hint hint!)
I was also very happy with the Kodak Portra 800 choice, and whilst more post processing would have brought out some brighter lighting, I think it was a good upgrade from Portra 400 I used in Frankfurt. I really enjoyed the addition of CineStill 800T and had forgotten how cool it is for producing some really intriguing shots, especially the red halos, which really work in the context of empty spaces.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed these shots as much as I did taking them!
Cheers, Neil
With so many mirrors around this was bound to happen...
