'Private' -- The Secret Side Entrance to the Airport Sex Shop

You can supply your own interpretation for this enigmatic photo, which

I've entitled 'Private'. Your ratings, critiques and observations are invited

and most welcome. If you rate harshly, very critically, or just wish to

post an observation, please submit a helpful and constructive critique;

please share your photographic knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

Hello John,

The square format approach you have taken to this photo works for me. Like the floor and walls and door frames all have the same working lines. I don't know but perhaps that is what drew my eye to the image. Anyway I do like it.

Best Regards,

Holger

Sometimes the 2:3 aspect ratio pioneered by the 35 mm camera which I find so pleasing just does not do the trick; it can be all wrong for a subject.

A mentor was a personal friend and private printer for Helmut Newton. He related that Newton shot almost exclusively with a Hasselblad, not only for exceptional images with stunning quality and no question of resolution, but also because he intended to crop almost everything.

Now I'm a bit different and adhere more to the order of a photographer like Henri Cartier-Bresson who claimed not to have cropped anything. He supposedly only cropped or allowed one of his photos to be cropped.

That simply is untrue. There are stories of his fights with editors of Harpers Bazaar over their cropping of his photos, and he did not like his photos to be cropped, but they did so. A look also at some other of his photos shows they are not in true 2:3 format and have been trimmed.

True, his books pretend he did not crop, to the extent that his prints come complete with sprocket holes where he misloaded the film so the emulsion was pulled past the sprockets of his Leica, showing sprocket holes when developed and printed, which Cartier-Bresson insisted be shown (as least in his books and through his agency.) (fortunately none of those photos really was worth printing, so his point could be made without jeopardizing his 'art'. He had his cake and ate it too.)

But 'Life Magazine' published a cover of his with their text overprinted on his photo, a sort of cropping, and it appeared the photo was cropped anyway. But still, cover of 'Life'.

Later the myth took over. He encourage myths, too, maybe in part because he was given to his own mythology and understood that myths would promote his everlasting fame. Another myth is that he only used a 50 mm lens.

Balderdash.

He used a variety of Leicas lens focal lengths, as an experienced photographer viewing his captures can see, and was described by contemporaries as going on one assignment with several Leicas around his neck, certainly not all with the same 50 mm lens, and certainly because the lenses were of different focal lengths.

So, there' s the man and the myth.

I like the idea of cropping in the viewfinder. It makes one a better photographer, I feel and takes advantage of the strength of one's camera and one's viewfinder. There is a certain strength to having to conform to the viewfinder's rigidity, but one can carry that to extremes.

Some photos cannot be made to fit within the 2:3 aspect ratio and do very well within a square format or a 4:5 ratio. An ideal camera would have masking for all captures built in.

Some, such as Nikon cameras on their edit function, have capability of editing to some of these aspect ratios (if one 'trims' the size on edit). Nikon understands that the 2:3 aspect ratio (ratio of one side to another) is not ideal for every photo, but is the 'legacy' of the 35 mm format camera, and a good one at that.

This is one of those photos that has done very well by including foreground and nothing to the left.

The left which included a men's room sign and the entrance to a men's room, was cropped.

It detracted.

And ruined the photo.

Cropping and the freedom to crop sometimes can be essential.

I am not an absolutist like Cartier-Bresson claimed to be (in his mythology).

Square format sometimes is just right and sometimes odd formats are just right, as the late master Helmut Newton understood.

It's all 'ad hoc' as far as I'm concerned.

Yet, at the same time, I still prefer to shoot the 2:3 (35 mm) aspect ratio.

I find it very pleasing.

Nice observation, but what about the content?

John (Crosley)

John,

First off thank you for that historic information packed reply. Very interesting. The content of "Private" gives me a feeling of a sterile, clean sort of hospital like atmosphere. I guess thats reinforced by the janitor and his supplies. If it's a bathroom he's about to enter maybe the sign should say "Public". Just kidding. Have a great day.

Holger

Beate Uhse, Germany's largest sex purveyor, and Private, based on Spain, have teamed together to operate this sex shop on the concourse at Muenchen Flughafen (Munich Airport) on the Lufthansa concourse).

There may be more on another or more concourses.

In Frankfurt, Airort main terminal last I counted, there were three sex shops. That was several years ago.

Europeans have a different attitude about such establishments than Americans.

I remember one man purchasing a magazine in a Dutch airport shop (not even a sex shop but a sex magazine at an airport shop), and he insisted the clerk wrap it tightly, so it could not be viewed, and her attitude was 'what the heck, who cares' and this Middle Eastern man told her matter of factly 'I can be killed if I get caught with this.'

Porn it seems carries different 'weight' and 'consequences' in different parts of the world, but it seems carries a similar attraction to men (at least) and in my experience, to a great number of women as well, especially younger, more modern and enlightened women.

This particular 'sex shop' is indeed quite 'sterile' - almost antiseptic. (and no booths) (and everything amazingly high priced, too). I'm not endorsing it.

(This is the 'Private' entrance, tucked away across from the men's room, in case one doesn't want to be seen walking in the main entrance which has a bright red show window, on the main concourse.)

(Surprise!)

I told you so.

It ain't no hospital.

John (Crosley)

This photo is just a little more complex on viewing (and with the explanation) than has appeared at first glance, hunh?

What may have appeared to be a rest room now clearly is the private entrance to a sex shop run by the PRIVATE company, (and Beate Uhse) purveyors of sex films and erotica, such as 'toys' and 'attire' as well as magazine and other paraphernalia, all on the Lufthansa concourse, in case you want to pick up a dildo on your way onward (or home) or maybe a porno DVD.

It's that way in Europe.

All antiseptic, too.

(there, their porn stars generally aren't called bitches and hoes, either, -- with exceptions, of course).

They generally aren't pumped up with silicone either.

And are commonly known as Eurobabes in the industry.

Don't ask me how I know. I inadvertently became an expert on some things -- really quite inadvertently, in part through answering a 'room for rent' ad. (no explanation beyond that, however).

John (Crosley)

Now that is has become relevant -- antiseptic hospital look having been suggested and 'sex shop' entrance having been revealed, I have amended the caption (what you may call the photo's 'title)' to call attention to that fact.

I felt unless it was brought out by the 'discussion' to dwell on that would possibly be gratuiutous -- perhaps somebody might have recognized the typography on the PRIVATE sign for the logo of the sex film, video and Internet company from Spain, and then it would have been relevant, as well.

In any case, now the caption has been changed to reflect the discussion.

(no pandering at this point.)

John (Crosley)