Photo: Still from Stainless, Alexanderplatz by Adam Magyar
I am constantly amazed by the incredible effects that some people are able to create with a camera and editing techniques I could only dream of mastering. One of the most mind-blowing Berlin videos I have seen is Stainless, Alexanderplatz by Adam Magyar, a Hungarian photographer based in Berlin.
Stainless, Alexanderplatz is a super slow motion video of people standing on the U-Bahn platform. The video was shot with a custom built system based around an industrial camera, generally used for quality checking items produced on factory assembly lines. Over the years, Magyar has honed his equipment to suit his techniques.
He started out using a tripod for his work shot from the underground train platforms but a fine from the transport police in New York led to him finding a way to shoot handheld with his scanner in his backpack. To further improve his mobility and draw less attention to his equipment he developed his own iPhone application for processing and viewing the images he shoots.
This is how he sees his work:
In STAINLESS I scan rushing subway trains arriving to stations. The images record a number of tiny details of this moment. We see people staring towards their destinations standing at the doors framed by the sliding door windows. They are scrutinizing the uncertain future. Similarly to all my images, their main motivation is arrival. The darkness of the tunnels deep below the city turns these chemically clean mock-ups into fossils of our time.
Stainless, Alexanderplatz
Stainless, Alexanderplatz, shot in Berlin, is just a small part of a larger project that has taken Adam Magyar to a host of other cities across the world – check out his Vimeo channel and website for more details and more incredible videos and I highly recommend you watch the presentation below for PopTech where he talks about his techniques and equipment.
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