Ein Freund, ein guter Freund
Comedian HarmonistsEin Freund, Ein Guter Freund - Comedian Harmonists
It is IMPOSSIBLE to be sad while listening to this song. Unless you’re using soundtrack dissonance for your new film, in which case I hate you forever for ruining this song for the three of your friends who will see it.
(more stories about the German assistant—one day he was shocked that we didn’t know this song and sang the whole chorus right there. He can’t sing. At all. But if this song were a person, it would be him. We almost died of endearment.)
August Sander, Pastry Cook, Cologne, 1928, gelatin silver print, George Eastman House
August Sander, Pastry Cook, Cologne, 1928, gelatin silver print, George Eastman House
August Sander’s Chef portrait is a good example of an environmental portrait done well. The straight on direct eye contact really allows the viewer to feel the essence of this man. It is very difficult to capture someone without them putting on a façade. This photograph shows an honest interpretation of this chef in his surroundings. Sander shows the chef mixing something in a bowl while standing next to the counter. We can tell that the room is a kitchen even though there is very little light in the background.
Sander’s choice about the lighting of the subject in relation to the lighting of the background is what makes this photograph great. The chef is very well lit, both sides of his face and body are almost evenly exposed. But then, as our eye is brought back into the background by the lines on the right, it gets dark and out of focus. This helps to emphasize the chef as he stands in his white uniform. There are two hints of light in the background that help give the viewer a sense of the space. There is a streak of light that is hitting the floor, and another streak of light up against the back wall. If we didn’t have this little bit of light then we would lose a sense of the space. Sander chose to give the viewer just enough information to understand where the subject is. This two splashes of light on the background stop the viewer from getting lost in a black abyss. Besides taking a great portrait with a strong connection to this man, Sander also used light in an extremely affective way to show his environment.
Mike Finkelstein
