Magnum Photography by Patrick Zachmann

 November 9th, 2022


Patrick Zachmann

By: Connor Albaugh


Patrick Zachmann Beijing by night. China. 2005. © Patrick Zachmann | Magnum Photos

Requirement: go on https://www.magnumphotos.com/, research a photographer that appeals to you, find one photograph, and comment on it in 3-4 paragraphs. 

        It feels like it has been ages since the last blog post. Having written a paper on a photobook and a summary reflection on a body of text, this gave me the opportunity to “warm up my hands” so to say for this blog. This blog is a rather interesting one, mainly because we have the freedom to choose any photographer we deemed to be “appealing” in a sense. On behalf of my own photography, I really like to include color into my work as well as photograph during the night hours. This was an emphasis while I searched through countless numbers of photographers on the magnum website, and I happened to come across one that I really liked. The photographer I chose for this blog to analyze and provide detail for is Patrick Zachmann. 

        The talented Patrick Zachmann’s life began “in Choisy-le-Roi, France in 1955” (AllAbout). He had held the role of a “freelance photographer since 1976” until he had ultimately “joined Magnum in 1985” (AllAbout). This means that he was not formerly apart of any company, and was essentially self employed through the work he would produce. In 1990, Patrick had officially “become a member” of the Magnum team. Through his photographic work, he did his best to diversify his style as he “worked with both analogue and digital film, color and black and white, and used multiple multimedia formats” (AllAbout). “I don’t want to repeat myself like many photographers do by developing a special style” as Patrick comments (AllAbout). I found this extremely important because the fact that he was able to vary these types of photography in his works makes him a more unique photographer in the sense that the viewer may not be able to identify his style for a particular work or series easily. He aimed to be different, and unlike most photographers who all have their owned coined style which is easy to catch on behalf of their works. 

        Upon finding Patrick as a photographer to analyze, I came across a series of his where he photographed China during the nighttime. It is quite fascinating that the beauty created by the nighttime persuaded him to ultimately “photograph in color” (Magnum). Previously, Patrick was prominently photographing in black and white. “He had always been drawn to night-time atmospheres and would photograph different parts of the underworld at night” (Magnum). Despite him not being particularly inclined as a “night owl” so to say, “he stays awake throughout the night in metropolises” because he really enjoys the opportunity night brings to capture great photographs (Magnum). Everything at night seems to be brighter, of more emphasis, mainly because the daytime light can distract people from beautiful things and prevents them from seeing the true detail of a certain area or object. 

        The photo that I ended up selecting happens to come from “Beijing, China in 2005” (Magnum). Patrick had a rather interesting experience with China because he found no such night life to photograph. There wasn’t any of this extravagant nightlife “between 1982 and the 1990s” (Magnum). But, this didn’t necessarily mean that China didn’t have nightlife, or more explicitly, Patrick had not yet discovered the night life that he so desired. This “nightlife” in China was “secretive, hidden, and underground” which means that one who yearned to photograph such an atmosphere had to go and find it. In this sense, it didn’t come to Patrick, but simply the fact that Patrick went and found the nightlife he would come to photograph for many years. He found that “Chinese cities were alive at night because people would go into the city for work all day and then find themselves distracted by the night activities until they felt fatigued” (Magnum). Having found the nightlife, this was ultimately the reason for Patrick staying out late most nights because there was so much color and this gave him an incredible feeling to bring his camera and create some incredible work. A city whose vision “shifted from a sad blue grey uniform turned into a world of bold, extravagant color” which Patrick had said upon his discovery of such beautiful surroundings in China. 

        The photograph of Beijing, China during the night time in 2005 taken by Patrick Zachmann is shown above at the top of this blog. When I first saw this photo, I was very drawn to it because the vibrant colors that the photo had depicted. Compositionally, I think it is very well organized and composed. There are a lot of things to discuss on behalf of this photo which included the building, hanging lights, the black night color, and the car. The building has a red sign which white symbols and black Chinese lettering with a green line below them along with white lights around a yellow and red frame for the windows of the restaurant. The hanging lights outside of the restaurant are red with white light on the inside and are held up by red wires. They have a back bottom and are hung over top of a black car. The black car shows the building along with the lights because of the reflection of the light off of the car. The car happens to be an Audi, which is a luxury version of a Volkswagen. There also happens to be brown chairs to the right of the car, likely for people to sit outside and wait for a seat in the restaurant while still being able to enjoy the beauty of the night time lights. Overall, the colors match really well in this photograph. The red lantern lights with white light match really well with the colors of the window frames on the restaurant. They also match with the white light within a red boundary on the sign of the restaurant. Additionally, the presence of the night time sky is black and the black color above the restaurant does an excellent job to accentuate the colors of the restaurant. They seem more brighter and allows the viewer to see smaller details in a better capacity. The black color of the car shows the reflections of specific overhead red designs hanging from a wire above the lantern lights. Again, the mere fact of the black color of the car allows for the red color of the designs to be more prominent and allows a different view to be seen of the restaurant being that it is displayed upside down on the hood of the car. The one part of this image that I don’t necessarily like is the large pole. It takes away from the overall beauty of the photograph and also blocks details of the photograph that are necessary for the analysis. It blocks one of the symbols of the Chinese restaurant along with colors in the window frame of the restaurant. The intention of this photograph is definitely for the colors shown, as the red, white, green, yellow, and black colors all complement each other very well when it comes to being in close proximity with each other. The background of this image is by far the most entertaining part which happens to be the restaurant. Patrick’s ability to capture the lantern lights and the wire they were held on serves as “leading lines” which direct the viewer to the main attraction in this photograph. It makes it seem as if I was walking up to the restaurant to eat there or as if I was simply standing in the street or in a car looking at the restaurant which could be one of many attractions I see while traveling through the city of Beijing. The focus of this image is well done, as Patrick makes it very easy to key in on the beauty and vivid detail surrounding this specific area in Beijing from the colors of the lights to the people seated in the restrained enjoying some sort of food. The framing of the image is done well, as the foreground is visually entertaining while the colors of the frames around the restaurant windows are also prominent for this image. The perfect amount of detail is captured here, as there are no elements that distract the viewer from being able to establish some sort of sensory, physical, or emotional meaning for this photograph and what it means to them. The lighting is well done, as it can be particularly hard to find the right lighting during the nighttime. However, Patrick does an excellent job of each element in this photo is well lit and easy for the viewer to see and analyze. Last but not least, my favorite part of this image is the hanging lantern lights. I really like they are held up by a wire and they do a family good job of lighting the surface below them. The red color of these lights makes me feel energized and alive, as did the night life for Patrick. Not only do these lights have my heart, but Patrick’s mood in this image is incredible. It makes me feel like it is a Friday night and you are going out to dinner with family or friends. There is no stress involved or obligations to fulfill, but merely to admire the beauty of such an incredible atmosphere and be nothing but relaxed as you and your loved ones enjoy the night time hours and what they have the capability of showing to the public. 


Sources


In text citation (Magnum)
        

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