There are few places in Germany one could really call 'tough', the legacy of nearly 70 years of genuine democratic socialism. However, if one was to really go looking, there are areas of Frankfurt, Bremen, Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg that locals advise people to avoid. The roughest two of these, Friedrichshain in Berlin and St. Pauli in Hamburg, have been two of my favorite places to shoot analogue. Unfortunately, in both areas I had only about one hour to work as I was supposed to be on holidays with my wife 'cough' - sorry sweetheart!
In September of this year, we were in Hamburg for a musical production in which my wife's sister played a lead roll. I enjoy a good musical but my heart was hungry to pace through St. Pauli with a roll of film. My wife agreed to walk through there if we'd walk afterwards to the Elbphilharmonie (her cousin planned the glass construction) so off we went. Sandra has had about the most typical upbringing a German can have: Try to do well in school, study or do an apprenticeship, get a good job, find a sensible partner and avoid dangerous situations. The first three she succeeded at, for the fourth she got a crazy Australian and the fifth is getting harder to keep. Especially since we were walking straight into St. Pauli.
The truth is that St: Pauli is a wonderful place to have a chat. Since embarking on this analogue film adventure, I've realised just how open and friendly most people are. Additionally, the lower one goes on the socio-economic ladder, the closer one comes to absolute truth. What is truth? Well, it has something to do with being as close to one another as possible and in St. Pauli, that is easy to do.
To be fair, my wife didn't feel as comfortable as I did and she took off whenever I talked to people. Something in her 'decent German' upbringing has created a wall that's just too hard to break. However, I felt safe and 'real' sitting on the street, going into a smashed up bar and chatting with the folks outside the Salvation Army care building. No one asked for money, no one threatened me, no one was indecent and everyone was happy to be photographed.
Not everyone has to talk to each other and privilege is a difficult barrier but no one should be assumed to be worthless. As Nana used to tell us as children, each of us, whether the homeless Oma on the street in St. Pauli or the Semi-Swabian Australian, has a bright side and a dark side. We're all some combination of light and shadows and with the folks in Hamburg's toughest suburb, I saw a lot of light.
Within an hour of taking these photos, my wife and I were licking overpriced ice-cream at a hipster ice-creamery just outside of St. Pauli. As I looked around at the pretentious Sunday afternoon crowd with half beanies rolled down their foreheads, graphic-designer tattoos and fresh sneakers, I couldn't help wishing for just one more hour with the folks I'd just been talking to. Give me smiling, simple, honest people any day.
Leica M4 | Elmar 50mm 2.8 | Ilford HP5 @ 800 | Kodak D76 1:1 @20° 16:30
