Werner Bräunig: The German Democratic Republic from the air.

Edition Leipzig, 1969, 166 Seiten mit 159 Bildern. Gebunden Leinen.

Three times we flew over the GDR: the photographs in this book were taken to accommodate the photographer rather than the pilot, and all are oblique photographs taken by hand. Unlike aerial survey serial flights, for which the navigator has to keep strictly on course while the camera works fully automatically, the spotlight here falls on the man behind the camera. The poetical content of a good photograph stems from the object with which the photographer establishes a relationship; this relationship decides as to subject and expressibility, the mastery of the technique being a mere prerequisite. This applies particularly to aerial photographs, which demand imagination, technical know-how and dogged work; successful photographs obtained by chance are rare. Lothar Willmann seeks to open up the landscape by ascertaining its specific qualities with the by no means boundless possibilities of the camera: he works at various heights, angles and in varying light conditions, and takes into account what time of day and what season of the year it is both for black-and-white and colour films to achieve artistic form, using different lenses and detail techniques. The range extends from the lowest permitted altitude to great heights. For this volume, the majority of the photographs selected were taken at less than 8,200 ft., roughly equivalent to the lower flying limits of inland air traffic, which are between 6,600 ft. and 13,200 ft. The air passenger will undoubtedly recognize a good deal, but will also notice that the camera's view is different and that the relationship between distance and proximity, space and movement, is captured in a second. Aerial photographers can make use of angles up to 90° horizontally and vertically; with a more pronounced horizontal view the landscape takes on a three-dimensional aspect and cloud formations can be included, whilst the vertical view tends to produce an effect of flatness. Willmann has developed flight systems of his own, which he calls triangular flight, circular flight, descending flight and 90° flight. Occasionally he approaches the same object at varying heights, as for instance with the Moritzburg in this volume; it thus becomes clear how buildings arrange themselves into large conurbations on the one hand, and how their dimensions are reduced as one gains height on the other. This is one of the effects which make possible the photographic exploitation of geological and geophysical structures, and show how man changes the countryside for his own ends. Willmann has followed up the traces of the past just as much as the evidence of the present; whatever is of historical account he elucidates photographically. Thus it is possible to gain an insight into the correlation between tradition and present-day design; the natural and the cultural aspects of the GDR become visible in their manifold unity. The view from above shows the great extent to which man adapts himself to the natural conditions of his environment: towns and villages, ports and industrial plants are not strewn across the landscape in an arbitrary fashion; streets and railway lines, wherever possible, follow already existing routes, make use of valleys and passes, and of places where rivers narrow, and throw bridges where ...".