Bernd Becher (1931-2007) and Hilla Becher (1934 – 2015) were German conceptual artists and photographers that worked as a collaborative duo. They are best known for their typologies of industrial buildings and structures. They are the founders of the ‘Becher School’ and influenced generations of documentary photographers and artists. They have been awarded the Erasmus Prize and the Hasselblad Award.

My Favourite Photograph

In this photograph natural daylight will have been used to capture it. You can tell because of the soft tones and natural contrast within the photograph. The photograph is slightly over-exposed as can be clearly seen in the background so a slightly higher ISO such as 400 or 800 may have been used along with a potential shutter speed of 1/20-1/80. A deep depth of field has been used at the whole of the photograph is in focus.

There is no colour in the image as it is a black and white photograph. This shows that the viewer should be looking at the details of the subject instead of colours. There is a wide tonal range, ranging from the contrasting shadows of the structure to the over-exposed background. There is clear texture in the structures which makes the photograph more realistic to the viewer and gives it a slight 3D effect.  There is pattern and repetition in the beams of the structures which makes the photograph more aesthetically pleasing for the viewer.

Bernd and Hilla Becher would document architectural structures all over Germany. They took photos of similar typologies and would make compositions of them all together. This is just one example of the work that they would do. They captured the pleasing aesthetics in the buildings deemed ugly and showed the country that there is more to it if they look closely. The Becher couple documented all sorts of structures and worked to open the countries eyes to what was right in front of them.