Arnd Manzewski in Five Photographs
A Hong Kong-based photographer whose flickr photostream is filled to the brim with fine work.
The modern world of photography is a diverse and crowded place. There are more good photographers making images today than there have ever been, though the chances of any one of them ‘making it’ seems to have shrunk to practically nothing.
One photographer whose work rewards investigation is Arnd Manzewski. He has posted close to 6000 photos on flickr, and the majority are of the highest quality. In recent years his fascination with the people he sees on the streets of Hong Kong and Tokyo has formed the back-bone of his work. You could say that he is engaged in one long project: a typology of faces. It is the perfect cure for anyone naïve or xenophobic enough to think that ‘they all look the same’.
- Untitled, 2011
I’ve chosen this particular photo as it’s representative of so much of Arnd’s work. The subject is well lit and distinct against a busy background; by shooting with a long lens wide open he focuses our attention on the one person, and in a city that buzzes like Hong Kong does this is an untold luxury, the effect captivating.
Arnd has hundreds of photos like this; browsing through them is hypnotic and curiously relaxing. You feel as you slide from shot to shot that you are really seeing something true about the city, and about the people he has seen. Arnd’s ability to transport is one of his greatest strengths.
2. City Safari, 2013
As photographers we are told again and again that the camera is not so important. Whilst there is certainly truth in this adage, the right camera — and certainly the right lens — can add tremendously to our appreciation of the resulting photo. Recently Arnd upgraded his equipment to the Nikon D800; this image shows the clarity that is possible with such a high resolution sensor matched to a good long lens.
But complimenting the camera is not giving Arnd his due; this is an excellent capture, the fleeting moment when a young girl sees a camera pointed in her direction. There is a look of gentle surprise on her face, an expression not yet fully formed playing on her lips; there is an ambivalence that suggests she is just as likely to smile next as to frown.
3. Working Days, 2012
Another example of the kind of ambivalence street photography captures is given above. This gentleman knows that we are looking at him, and he must rightly be considering the state of his shirt, flecked as it is with dirt and blood from the slaughterhouse. And yet there is something so evocative, so devil-may-care about his look — you could mistake him for a male model. The cigarette tucked into the corner of his lips, coupled with the scruffy Van Dyke, just finish the portrait to perfection.
Arnd possesses this rare ability to pull out of people the hidden side of their personality. Sometimes it comes as a reaction to his presence, to his camera being pointed their way, but more often it’s just great timing, and an excellent photographer’s eye.
4. Weekend Feeling Hong Kong, 2012
Is this man dancing? Celebrating a great catch? Stretching after an hour too long at his post? We’ll never know. The great attraction of street photography is that, once the moment has passed, the story is lost and all that remains is the image, a moment in time that tells us nothing but lets us imagine everything. Certainly the photographer might know the full tale (as Arnd tells me he does in this case), but it becomes a choice of whether or not to share it. I won’t — I prefer the idea of people looking at this image and making up for themselves a story that they like.
5. Hong Kong Winter, 2012
As well as being something of a typologist and street photographer, Arnd is a documentary photographer. He has shot many excellent photos of this butcher’s, for example, and when the world has moved on his images will remain to recall a day lost to us. In this way he follows the traditions laid down by Atget and Abbott, of travelling around one city and looking more closely at it than anybody else.
There are more photographs uploaded to services like flickr and 500px every day than it would be possible for one person to view. It therefore stands to reason that there are hundreds of photographs that are published every day that are technically very good, that have a lot to recommend them, and yet are overlooked by the world at large.
Popularity and success, when they do strike, are often misdirected. A photographer can attain a certain level of popularity on sites like Pinterest by taking a decent shot of a sandwich; chances are, though, that the photo is popular because the sandwich is.
It is important, therefore, that photographers like Arnd Manzewski receive the attention they deserve. They need to be congratulated for sticking so firmly to the task, even when it costs more in effort and equipment than can ever be recouped. The history of photography is littered with tales of disappointment and neglect; too many photographers (Vivian Maier being a prime example) are not discovered until they have passed away, or are too old to reignite their careers.
In other words, when you find a photographer whose work you really, really appreciate, don’t keep them to yourself. Let the world know.
