I had a ton of options for this project. I knew I either wanted to choose a photo from our trip to Disney, which I do not have any recollection of because I was only one, or our trip to Germany, which I remember a lot from and quite fondly. As you can see from Instagram, I had a good opportunity to pick a “Phantom of the Opera” picture and talk about how my mom thought it was fate that I grew up to love it so much, but I felt that was too predictable. The picture I picked was one of our whole family (one of the people in the picture is not blood-related, but I “adopted” him as my brother) in front of my favorite place in all of Germany: Neuschwanstein castle! Some of you Disney experts know it as “Cinderella’s castle.” She is one of my favorite Disney princesses, so the matter was settled.
This picture could be considered both a landscape and a portrait. Wikipedia defines landscape photography as “spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes,” (“Landscape photography). Wikipedia also defines portrait photographs as “a person or group of people that displays the expression, personality, and mood of the subject. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is usually the person's face, although the entire body and the background or context may be included,” (“Portrait photograpy”). Two-thirds of the photo is my family, and one third is the beautiful Neuschwanstein castle.
“I remember it was hot that day. We were all wearing shorts,” Paula Brining states. “The forecast called for rain and when we got to the parking lot there was an overcast, but it never rained.”
Ronald Brining added, “It broke 100 that day, which the Germans never see. People were dying in Berlin because of the heat. The heat wave was making headlines and was all over the news. We were used to it. Well, it’s rare over here [New Jersey], but it’s unheard of over there.”
He then told me a story of how we had to take a rest on the way to the actual castle because we had to walk up a very large hill. He bought us water; I took the glass and chugged it. In a few seconds the contents of the glass were spat out all over the ground. Germans drink mineral water, which Americans are not really used to; I am one of them. I still can not drink mineral water to this day. If you want water that is not mineral water at a restaurant you literally have to order “water from the tap.”
The picture was taken in August of 1998 towards the end of our family trip. We were staying in Ulm and since Neuschwanstein is in Bavaria (near where we were), we decided to go at that time.
RB: “We got there early to wait in line. The tours ended at a certain time during the day and they only took a group of 10 or so people. It wasn’t guaranteed that you would tour the place that day if you did other things before getting in line for the tours.”
PB: “And they had different tour guides who would speak in different languages. So if you were French you could take the tour in your own language.”
“We took the pictures on the bridge after we had seen the inside,” Ron reminded me. “In fact, that’s where we got the picture [a sketch that sits on our bookshelves].”
“There was an artist doing small scale sketches on the bridge. And the big figure of Neuschwanstein I got years and years before. I never thought I’d actually go to the place, but there we are. It’s crazy to think about it,” Paula smiled as she thought about it.
She told me the history of the castle that she could remember, saying how King Ludwig had it built. It took years and years to finish and he only spent about twelve days in it. “He put Germany into debt just to have it built, and he barely used it! It was beautiful.”
We sat there talking about all that we remembered. I told her how I still can see the ballroom in my mind every time I think about our time there. “Ah! Yeah! They say he had it built to compare to that of the palace of Versailles.” What she recalled, but I had no memory of was the grotto, but we both agreed the glass swan sculpture was magnificent and no one would be able to forget it.
The picture, itself, was taken by another tourist. It consists of my family (from left to right) Jochen Lotz, Ronald Brining, Paula Brining, Elizabeth Brining, and myself. “I didn’t even recognize Beth!” Ronald exclaimed. “She looked so different from what she looks like now. And your mother and I were so thin then!”
I picked this picture because for me it applies stadium, “which doesn’t mean, at least not immediately, ‘study.’ But application to a thing, taste for someone, a kind of general, enthusiastic commitment, of course, but without special acuity,” (Barthes 26). That is the family portrait aspect of this photo. However, the photo also applies punctum. “sting, speck, cut, little hole – and also a cast of the dice,” (Barthes 27). The castle in the background draws my attention and pierces me with its beauty.
It is extremely nice to see how a photograph affects each and every one of us. When I look at this picture I remember different things from that day than my parents do. And yet, we all sat around and just talked about it. The history of the castle, the day we took it, and the stay in Germany overall. I was too young to remember every thing about it, but I remember loving it, especially Neuschwanstein. I would love to return to it and see it today. I am sure I would remember a whole lot more the second time around.
Works Cited:
Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida. New York: Hill and Wang, 2010. Print.
Brining, Paula. Personal Interview. 17 Feb. 2014.
Brining, Ronald. Personal Interview. 17 Feb. 2014.
“Landscape photography.” Wikipedia. n.p. n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
“Portrait photography.” Wikipedia. n.p. n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014
This picture could be considered both a landscape and a portrait. Wikipedia defines landscape photography as “spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes,” (“Landscape photography). Wikipedia also defines portrait photographs as “a person or group of people that displays the expression, personality, and mood of the subject. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is usually the person's face, although the entire body and the background or context may be included,” (“Portrait photograpy”). Two-thirds of the photo is my family, and one third is the beautiful Neuschwanstein castle.
“I remember it was hot that day. We were all wearing shorts,” Paula Brining states. “The forecast called for rain and when we got to the parking lot there was an overcast, but it never rained.”
Ronald Brining added, “It broke 100 that day, which the Germans never see. People were dying in Berlin because of the heat. The heat wave was making headlines and was all over the news. We were used to it. Well, it’s rare over here [New Jersey], but it’s unheard of over there.”
He then told me a story of how we had to take a rest on the way to the actual castle because we had to walk up a very large hill. He bought us water; I took the glass and chugged it. In a few seconds the contents of the glass were spat out all over the ground. Germans drink mineral water, which Americans are not really used to; I am one of them. I still can not drink mineral water to this day. If you want water that is not mineral water at a restaurant you literally have to order “water from the tap.”
The picture was taken in August of 1998 towards the end of our family trip. We were staying in Ulm and since Neuschwanstein is in Bavaria (near where we were), we decided to go at that time.
RB: “We got there early to wait in line. The tours ended at a certain time during the day and they only took a group of 10 or so people. It wasn’t guaranteed that you would tour the place that day if you did other things before getting in line for the tours.”
PB: “And they had different tour guides who would speak in different languages. So if you were French you could take the tour in your own language.”
“We took the pictures on the bridge after we had seen the inside,” Ron reminded me. “In fact, that’s where we got the picture [a sketch that sits on our bookshelves].”
“There was an artist doing small scale sketches on the bridge. And the big figure of Neuschwanstein I got years and years before. I never thought I’d actually go to the place, but there we are. It’s crazy to think about it,” Paula smiled as she thought about it.
She told me the history of the castle that she could remember, saying how King Ludwig had it built. It took years and years to finish and he only spent about twelve days in it. “He put Germany into debt just to have it built, and he barely used it! It was beautiful.”
We sat there talking about all that we remembered. I told her how I still can see the ballroom in my mind every time I think about our time there. “Ah! Yeah! They say he had it built to compare to that of the palace of Versailles.” What she recalled, but I had no memory of was the grotto, but we both agreed the glass swan sculpture was magnificent and no one would be able to forget it.
The picture, itself, was taken by another tourist. It consists of my family (from left to right) Jochen Lotz, Ronald Brining, Paula Brining, Elizabeth Brining, and myself. “I didn’t even recognize Beth!” Ronald exclaimed. “She looked so different from what she looks like now. And your mother and I were so thin then!”
I picked this picture because for me it applies stadium, “which doesn’t mean, at least not immediately, ‘study.’ But application to a thing, taste for someone, a kind of general, enthusiastic commitment, of course, but without special acuity,” (Barthes 26). That is the family portrait aspect of this photo. However, the photo also applies punctum. “sting, speck, cut, little hole – and also a cast of the dice,” (Barthes 27). The castle in the background draws my attention and pierces me with its beauty.
It is extremely nice to see how a photograph affects each and every one of us. When I look at this picture I remember different things from that day than my parents do. And yet, we all sat around and just talked about it. The history of the castle, the day we took it, and the stay in Germany overall. I was too young to remember every thing about it, but I remember loving it, especially Neuschwanstein. I would love to return to it and see it today. I am sure I would remember a whole lot more the second time around.
Works Cited:
Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida. New York: Hill and Wang, 2010. Print.
Brining, Paula. Personal Interview. 17 Feb. 2014.
Brining, Ronald. Personal Interview. 17 Feb. 2014.
“Landscape photography.” Wikipedia. n.p. n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
“Portrait photography.” Wikipedia. n.p. n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014