"Hal around the World" -- color PICTURES of Frankfurt, Germany

After his night at the Goth club Hal's mood was greatly improved.

Though I had had my share of issues with the camera, I hoped that the

"official" roll would turn out better. So two days after the trip to

the Goth club, I took Hal for a four-hour walk around Frankfurt,

Germany, photographing the sights of the city. Despite the bad weather

the days before, the day had been predicted to be sunny with only a

very slight chance of rain. In fact, the weather turned out much

better than the forecast had predicted, the hot spring sun shone for

nearly twelve hours without a single cloud in the blue sky. As I

wasn't prepared for this, I was completely exhausted at the end of the

tour. Hal of course was having a good time and would have loved to

shoot yet another roll.

<p>

Having expected less sunshine, I had put a roll of 400 ASA film into

the Halina Paulette. This proved to be problematic as it was really

bright -- see below in tech details. All in all, I got 38 ½

frames out of my roll, from which 34 are going to be uploaded (I shot

some pictures twice and some didn't turn out as desired).

<br> 

</p><p>

<tt><i><b><big>Some Technical Details and Background Information for

Late Reader:</big></b></i></tt>

</p><p>

All pics posted by me where shot with the Halina Paulette electro of

the "Hal wants to travel the World" project initiated by Andrea

Ingram. This camera is equipped with a Halinar Anastigmat 45mm f/2.8

lens that stops down to f/16 and focuses down to 3 feet. The shutter

goes from 1/250th to 1/30th second and has a "B" setting. I used a

roll of Kodak Porta 400NC color negative film in the camera. All

shots were taken handheld.

</p><p>

Some pictures were taken with a 77mm polarizer filter that was pushed

against the folded lens hood. This was necessary because it was so

bright that subjects in bright sunlight would have been overexposed

even with Hal at his fastest speed fully stopped down. I also wanted

to minimize glare in some shots. This makeshift use of the polarizer

as a ND filter lead to a couple of unexpected problems: For example,

when the filter was not held exactly in the center of the lens, some

vignetting occured at the corners of the image. You will see what I mean.

<p>

This time I tried my best to use the faint frame lines in the

viewfinder to compose my shots. Besides the somewhat wrong choice of

film, the biggest issues were the unexpected light leaks that showed

up on the developed film. Read my posting from April 26, 2005 for more

on the quirks and flaws of this camera.

<br> 

</p><p>

<tt><i><b><big>HAL WANTS TO TRAVEL THE WORLD</big></b><big> -

Diary:</big></i></tt>

</p><p>Feb 26, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BIaN">

Andrea's first posting about the Halina Paulette and a PICTURE

</a></b>

</p><p>Feb 28, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BJll">

Andrea shows more Halina PICTURES and an idea is born...

</a></b>

</p><p>Mar 10, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BS9p">

Hal has arrived at Roman in Vienna, Austria

</a></b>

</p><p>Mar 11, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BSLw">

Hal's PICTURES of Vienna

</a></b>

</p><p>Mar 20, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BZ2T">

Hal fails to show up in Germany

</a></b>

</p><p>Mar 31, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Bh1T">

The long wait continues

</a></b>

</p><p>Apr 12, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Bon4">

Hal returns to Roman in Austria</a></b></p>

<p>Apr 19, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BttP">

Hal has finally arrived in Frankfurt, Germany</a></b></p>

<p>Apr 26, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Byf7">

About the quirks and defects of the Halina Paulette camera</a></b></p>

<p>Apr 28, 2005: <b><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00C05A">

Hal's b/w PICTURES inside a Goth Club in Frankfurt, Germany</a></b></p>

I never waste a single square millimeter of film when I shoot a roll of film. After inserting the film and advancing it just once, I immediately used the film to take a quick snapshot. Here you can see me in my dirty bathroom mirror. I am dressed in my grubby street photographer outfit that arouses only very little attention. Normally I am snappily dressed in dark colors with a nice black coat. And as I am nearly six feet tall (180cm) an inconspicuous approach is usually out of the question. People notice me and often become uncomfortable or averse when I take out a camera. With that (very useful) floppy hat (sporting the logo of the local football team) and old leather jacket I look like your average loser and nobody minds my business.

<p>

f/2.8, 1/250th second, focus at 4ft. Not cropped.<div></div>

Right across the street from where I live is a synagogue. I quickly take my first real picture with Hal and hope the policemen guarding the place don't notice me. Since 9/11 there is always a police car with two bored officers parked in front of it and once I was approached by them when I was just taking a couple of pictures of my girlfriend's cat in front of my house. I told them they should better look out for low-flying airplanes instead of harassing me and frightening my cat.

<br>Not the best composition but I am glad I didn't cut off the roof. Note the light leak on the right side of the frame.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

Frankfurt's architectural trademark are the many skyscrapers of German and international banks. On my walk towards the city center I took this shot, depicting that Frankfurt is also a very green city with lots of trees and parks.

<br>Again I tried not to cut off something, this resulted in a large empty space in the upper part of the frame. Note the vignetting from my inexperienced use of the polarizer on top of the lens hood.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at infinity, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

This is a friendly cat that lives a couple of streets from where I live. She often lies sleeping in the sun, but here you can see her in the shade of a parked car. Not the smartest move you might think, but this tough-looking cat is quite old and must know what she is doing.

<br>I miscalculated the distance. Note that despite the lens hood the cheap lens still flares/glares. Darkened for your viewing pleasure.

<p>

f/8, 1/60th second, focus at 3ft. Not cropped.<div></div>

The first stop at a typical tourist destination. This is the old opera house and you find its

neo-greco exterior on every third picture postcard of Frankfurt. It was devastated by bombs in the Second World War and only the outer facade remained. There was a lot of controversy in the early seventies about what to do with it. Frankfurt's mayor at that time, Rudi Arndt, suggested blowing up the ruins to get them out of the way -- for the rest of his life he had the nickname "Dynamite Rudi" because of this idea -- but he was outvoted on this issue and eventually the old opera house was reconstructed. By that time, however, Frankfurt had already built a modern new opera house and didn't need another one, so they turned the <i>Alte Oper</i> into a concert hall instead.

<br>Finally a somewhat nice composition. I must have moved the focus ring while holding the polarizer against the lens hood, but luckily depth-of-field was rather huge. The wild colors are courtesy of the polarizer.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 15ft(?), polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

The bane of Frankfurt: bankers! These creatures haunt the streets of my home town at noon and walk always like they own the city. Here is a small herd of various ages at a traffic light, returning to work, planing their next evil scheme.

<br>While quickly turning the stiff focus ring from infinity to 7 feet I must have also moved the speed ring by accident. This shot was overexposed by about three stops and I only noticed my mistake while writing down the tech details. At that time the bankers were long gone. Note how well my camouflage is working, they not even noticed that I was taking their picture. There is also a strong light leak on the left side of frame.

<p>

f/16, 1/60th second, focus at 7ft. Not cropped.<div></div>

Thanks to the many skyscrapers, Frankfurt has the most American-looking skyline of any German city. This is the reason why Frankfurt is to Germans also known as "Mainhattan" [the river Main flows through Frankfurt]. Americans usually can't follow this thinking because Frankfurt is so totally unlike New York: neat, clean and the people are friendly. It all depends on your point of view.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

Moving deeper into the bankers' territory, one can find strange displays of humorous art pieces. This huge inversed tie is really standing in front of the main entrance to one of them financial buildings.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

Another impression of the financial district. Usually there are fountains in the water here, but unfortunately these were switched off. So I had walked the whole way for nothing.

<p>

f/11, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

From the bank towers it is only a short walk to Frankfurt's Main Train Station. I tried my best to frame a nice picture of the late 1880s building, but Hal's lens just wasn't wide enough. Entering the huge station, I came across a display of the European Space Agency that was advertising itself and some magazines of some popular science publisher. Hal soon became pretty excited upon seeing these rockets.

<p>

f/4, 1/60th second, focus at 15ft. Cropped a little.<div></div>

Finally Hasselblad's claim that their cameras were the only ones that went to the Moon can be disputed. As you can see here, Hal and I took a short joyride to the Moon and I used Hal's self-timer and a tripod to take a quick snapshot. Lighting wasn't perfect, but in contrast to those staged NASA shots this picture is real.

<p>

f/8, 1/125th second, focus between 10-15ft. Cropped a little.<div></div>

Back on Earth we continued exploring the Main Train Station. We came across the pride and joy of the German rail company, the intercity express (<i>ICE</i>). This high-speed train is said to be the pinnacle of German engineering. It connects the major cities and of course always runs on time. Although the German Rail in heavily subsituted by taxpayers, it is still often cheaper going from one city to another by airplane.

<p>

f/4, 1/60th second, focus at 30ft. Not cropped.<div></div>

Here is another view of the inside of the Main Train Station. It was opened in 1888 and it is still one of the largest train stations in Europe with 25 platforms and over 1,500 trains departing every day. After some problems of glass plates falling down from the large skylights, the station was renovated for a couple of years and now looks quite modern despite its age. Fun fact #582: When the station was built, there was some public outcry of why it was so inconveniently located a couple of kilometers away from the city. Since then Frankfurt sprawled and nowadays the Main Train Station lies more or less at the edge of the center of the city.

<br>As you can see, at this aperture Hal has serious problems with sharpness.

<p>

f/5.6, 1/250th second, focus at infinity. Not cropped.<div></div>

Outside of the Train Station lies the <i>Bahnhofsviertel</i>, a rather seedy area with lots of brothels and strip bars. In the eighties the name of this quarter was nationally known as a high-crime area, organized crime violence and failed policing. Mainhattan indeed. Frankfurt has still the top crime rate of all German cities and the <i>Bahnhofsviertel</i> is still one of the biggest red-light districts of Europe, but it isn't as bad as they show it in the movies. It is very close to the financial district and in the working hours poor immigrants, blissful tourists, adventurous bankers and the red-light crowd mingles. While street photography might be rewarding here, I wouldn't want to carry a camera around here openly, especially at night. Still I faced all dangers and took a quick snap for you.

<p>

f/5.6, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft. Cropped quite a lot.<div></div>

Here is another shot of the <i>Bahnhofsviertel</i> at daytime. Two weary homeless people or junkies are counting their money while life goes on around them. In the background you can see the Main Train Station.

<br>Again, despite the lens hood the picture quality is not so hot even when not shooting directly against the sun.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus between 15-30ft. Cropped quite a bit.<div></div>

Hal and me left the <i>Bahnhofsviertel</i> and walked back towards the city center. We passed the European Central Bank where they have erected a big Euro sign that displayed a countdown that showed up to the second when the new currency would replace the old cash money. This happened on January 1, 2002, and since then the Euro sign still remains as a reminder of the true rulers of Frankfurt. The day was still very sunny and you can see space-out bankers/tired travelers/forgotten crime victims lying in an adjacent small park.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

Frankfurts brightest kid is still Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. And they keep rubbing it in, at school, at university, even in the streets. While walking thought the <i>Gallusanlage</i> (a small park), Hal and I walked by the monument that was erected in his honor in 1844. Actually, it is located less than 150 meters from the Euro sign, and together these two monuments represent what every Frankfurter ought to be: classically educated and a wealthy taxpayer. Me and Hal were neither, so we moved on.

<br>Yes, the greens really look like this in this picture. I guess it is an effect of the polarizer filter.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

About one hundred meters after the <i>Goethe Denkmal</i> Hal and I stumbled across this scene: police offers have captured some suspect, probably a drug dealer. In the shade of a tree I snuck a little closer and took a quick snapshot, hoping the policemen would not notice me. Thanks to the <i>Recht am eigenen Bild</i> (right to one's own image) law publishing photos of normal people (and this includes police officers) without their consent is not quite correct -- regardless of if the pictures were taken in public or not. A press I.D. might be useful, but it is safe to say that street photography is somewhat in a legal grey area here in Germany.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft. Cropped quite a lot.<div></div>

We finally have arrived in the historic center of Frankfurt. Here you can see see the famous <i>Paulskirche</i> (St. Paul's Church) were in 1848 the representatives of the German national movement held the first assembly of the Frankfurt Parliament. Thanks to this the former church is today known as the cradle of German democracy, but the whole thing happened in a very German way: The Frankfurt Parliament took a long time to draw up a very sophisticated constitution for a united Germany, but first Austria and then Prussia withdrew, and the movement for unity collapsed when Frederick William IV of Prussia refused to become emperor. Well, of course we Germans always comply with authority and there was no unified Germany for 23 years and no democracy for 70 years then.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus between 15-30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

This statue of a grumpy, half-naked old man is under an arch between two old buildings close to the <i>Paulskirche</i>. It is one of my standard subjects when I shoot a test roll. The arch is know as <i>Seufzerbr�cke</i> (bridge of sighs), because it leads to the finance department of the city where you have to part with your money (*sigh*).

<p>

f/8, 1/125th second, focus at 10ft. Cropped a little bit.<div></div>

On the other side of the arch one finds these two fellows.

<p>

f/8, 1/125th second, focus at 15ft. Cropped a little bit.<div></div>

Now this is what you Americans must have been waiting for: genuine medieval German buildings. This is the <i>Römerberg</i>, Frankfurt's oldest square which seemingly boasts beautifully restored 14th and 15th century buildings. It is probably the number one tourist destination in the city. Only insiders know that this harmonious-looking row of houses was not built until 1983. These buildings are reconstructions of 15th and 16th century houses, which stood here until 1944, when Allied air raids leveled most of the historic center of Frankfurt. Regardless of whatever they tell you in the brochures, thanks to the war there are only a few buildings older than 60 years and even less 100+ year old ones. And most of them are your usual renovated tourist sites like that old church or this restored birthplace of someone famous. I always get a chuckle out of the throngs of tourists <i>oohing</i> and <i>aahing</i> over this authentic replica architecture.

<p>

f/16, 1/250th second, focus at 30ft, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>

For the last one thousand years Frankfurt has always been an important trade center, especially since 1240, when the German emperor placed the annual trade fairs under his protection. These trade fairs happened right here on the <i>Römerberg</i>, where still the traditional Christmas Market is held in December. Across from the aforementioned buildings is the <i>Römer</i>, where today the city parliament of Frankfurt is seated. It used to be a place where foreign merchants (like from Rome) to the trade fairs used to be housed, that's why it is called <i>der Römer</i> (the Roman) -- it has nothing to do with the tiny Roman settlement that used to be here in ancient times.

<p>

f/11, 1/125th second, focus at 30ft. Not cropped.<div></div>

Another view of the picturesque <i>Römer</i>. In the background you can see the bell tower of the <i>Paulskirche</i>.

<br>If you are wondering why Hal has suddenly no problems with backlighted scenes, I have to tell you that I was standing the shade of yet another church while taking this shot.

<p>

f/8, 1/125th second, focus at infinity, polarizer. Not cropped.<div></div>