  We investigate the hole and lattice dynamics in a prototypical high
temperature superconducting system La{2-x}Sr{x}CuO{4} using infrared
spectroscopy. By exploring the anisotropy in the electronic response of CuO2
planes we show that our results support the notion of stripes. Nevertheless,
charge ordering effects are not apparent in the phonon spectra. All crystals
show only the expected infrared active modes for orthorhombic phases without
evidence for additional peaks that may be indicative of static charge ordering.
Strong electron-phonon interaction manifests itself through the Fano lineshape
of several phonon modes. This analysis reveals anisotropic electron-phonon
coupling across the phase diagram, including superconducting crystals. Due to
the ubiquity of the CuO2 plane, these results may have implications for other
high Tc superconductors.
