LFI Magazine 7/2020 E

Mikhail Kirakosyan

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Alexandre Chamelat

Peter Bialobrzeski

Sven Zellner

Micha Bar-Am

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Over 30 000 photographers present more than 700 000 pictures in the LFI Gallery. Included in this issue: a disturbing mask, a breath-taking view and a colourful match

The new high-resolution M10-R met with a very positive response – including from British photographer Lucy Laucht, who was among the first to put the camera through its paces

P H OTO

82 | ONE R 1-INCH The modular One R 1-Inch Edition action camera by Insta360 is now also available with a Leica lens module featuring an unusually large, 1-inch sensor

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Sven Zellner, from his Denjiin Myanga series

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8 6 | H UAW E I P4 0 P R O + Huawei follows up the recent release of its flagship smartphone with another variant, distinguished by two new tele lenses 8 8 | L E I C A W E LT The New York-based audio specialist Master & Dynamic has created two ANC headphones for Leica’s Noctilux-inspired 0.95 design collection

Micha Bar-Am 6 | LEICA CLASSIC

The Magnum photographer is known as the “Eye of Israel”. A tribute on the occasion of Micha Bar-Am’s 90th birthday

Peter Bialobrzeski

Isabel Muñoz in Madrid; Remsen Wolff in Amsterdam; Harry Gruyaert in Antwerp; Tina Freeman in New Orleans and Ren Hang in Milano 1 0 8 | F E S T I VA L S The eleventh Ethical Photography Festival will take place in Lodi, Italy, from September 26 to October 25, 2020

26 | GIVE MY REGARDS TO ELIZABETH

109 | LEICA GALLERIES

Published thirty years later, the photographer’s graduate piece offers deep insight into England during the Margaret Thatcher era

The programme of Leica Galleries around the world, including Key Ogata in Kyoto, the 6 x 6 Show in L.A. and Alan Schaller in Taipeh

Sven Zellner 4 0 | D E N J I I N M YA N G A Get set, go: the One R 1-Inch Edition action camera with a lens module by Leica

New publications by Kristian Schuller, Piotr Zbierski, Josef Koudelka and Peter Fink

Daily life for six siblings in the wild Denjiin Myanga settlement on the outskirts of Ulaanbataar, the capital of Mongolia

Alexandre Chamelat 54 | LITÓSFERA

This series of surreal images was produced during long hikes through the volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands

1 1 0 | I N T E RV I E W Diandro Donecker, Managing Director of Auktionshaus Grisebach in Berlin, speaks about photography as a collector item 114 | MY PICTURE Ana María Arévalo has selected a picture taken from her prison series, Días Eternos 114 | IMPRINT

Mikhail Kirakosyan 64 | WE ARE LIKE THEM

The Moscow Zoo was closed during the lockdown, giving the photographer all the time in the world to capture his touching animal portraits

COVER: Micha Bar-Am, fashion show for female Israeli soldiers, 1963

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A new version of the LFI app for iOS devices is now available at Apple’s App Store. The app version 3.2 includes many improvements and layout adaptations. It now supports the formats and resolutions of current iOS devices. Furthermore, improvements to the app’s user interface were implemented. When reading LFI issues in landscape format, the navigation menu fades out, so that the image can fill the whole screen. This setting was already integrated into the app for iPhones, and is now available for the iPad. In the LFI Gallery section, in addition to the Leica Master Shots, the categories and the Picture of the Week, the popular Challenges segment has also been included: you can now find all the previous challenges, as well as the current one, in the app. Further more, a few small bugs and errors have been corrected. Adapting the app for Android devices is now in the works. The app is available for free at the Apple App Store: bit.ly/lfi_app

M I C H A B A R -A M

He is known as the “Eye of Israel”; yet, when asked about his photography, his answer is surprising: “I’m never really happy with the results of my work, and I’m always trying to improve myself and find new perspectives.” Even so, the fact that Micha Bar-Am’s decade-long photographic career has made him the most important chronicler in Israel, is not up for debate. Many of his motifs have been considered iconic images for a long time. This issue now presents a selection of his best pictures. 4 | LFI

A L E XA N D R E C H A M E L AT For his Litósfera series, Alexandre Chamelat went on long hikes across the bizarre, volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands. In doing so he encountered only very few people. When he did, they were either surfers or – he assumes – shepherds. On the whole, the language barrier made it difficult for him to communicate. Even so, “a look and a smile are often much more important than words, and allow you to draw close to strangers and take their portraits,” the photographer explains.

P E T E R B I A LO B R Z E S K I

Over the past seventeen years, the photographer has published his diverse body of work in the same number of monographic photo books. With his latest production, the photographer returns to the early days: the Give my Regards to Elizabeth series being presented in this issue was the final, graduate piece he prepared for the Folkwangschule in Essen. Unpublished at the time, his perspective of British society thirty years on is a remarkable discovery, made all the more topical because of Brexit.

Photos: © Micha Bar-Am/Magnum Photos, courtesy of Tina Ruisinger; © Paul Gouëzigoux; © Kochi Biennale

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He is considered the most important chronicler of the State of Israel: for many decades, Micha Bar-Am has documented the country’s struggles and aspirations, highs and lows, armed conflicts and everyday life. In honour of his 90th birthday, we present a selection of the Leica photographer’s remarkable oeuvre.

LEICA CLASSIC

Micha Bar-Am

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Beduin Children in the Negev Desert, 1957 (top). In the eye of the storm: Artillery barrage on Israeli soldiers and Egyptian prisoners, Suez Canal, 1973 (left); Previous page: Homage to Rodchenko, Thirst, 1962

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Survivors searching for their relatives’ names at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Centre, Jerusalem 1981

Trenches at the Kibbutz Hatzerim, Negev 1956 (top). Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Dayan (1915–1981) in a meeting with Palestinian elders, Qalandya 1967 (left)

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Ultra-orthodox protestants, seeking to prevent women from praying at the Western Wall, are throwing back gas grenades employed by the police, Jerusalem 1989 (top). Family portrait whilst sheltering from a gas attack during the Gulf War, Ramat Gan 1991 (left)

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Bold perspectives of a parade in the city of Beersheba, often referred to as the ‘capital of the Negev’, 1973

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Clothes lines outside Jerusalem’s Old City Walls, viewed from the West, 1976 (top). Freed hostages arriving at Ben Gurion Airport on July 4, 1976: commandos of the Israeli Defence Force saved 102 passengers by storming a hijacked Air France plane in Entebbe, Uganda (left)

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Demonstration against the withdrawal from the occupied Sinai Peninsula, Ben-Yehuda Street, Jerusalem, 1957 (top). Portrait captured in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv’s artist quarter known as ‘Little Paris’, February 1967 (left)

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Fashion show at the Bahad 12 military training base for women, Tzrifin 1963 (top). Soldiers learning Krav Maga, an Israeli self-defence discipline, Wingate Institute 1972 (left). Self portrait with a smuggled camera, Mount Scopus enklave, Jerusalem 1958 (next page)

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Photos: © Micha Bar-Am / Magnum Photos

M I C H A B A R -A M Born in Berlin on August 26, 1930, as Michael Anguli; his father was the manager of a department store in Ulm; in 1936 the family emigrated to Palestine, he grew up in Haifa and on a kibbutz. He was an active member of the antiBritish underground; his codename, Bar-Am, stayed. In the 1950s he co-founded a kibbutz, worked as a welder and locksmith before starting to make a living with photography. Received the Robert Capa Award in 1959 and 1960, and worked freelance from the mid-sixties onwards. In 1961 he married Orna, with whom he has three sons. He has been a correspondent for Magnum since 1968, remaining the agency’s only Israeli member. In 1974 he helped establish the ICP in NYC; from 1977 to 1993, curator for photography at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Bar-Am lives in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv.

MAG NU M PHOTO S.CO M BA R -A M .D E : More pictures can be seen

in the project room BarAm, Berlin B Ü C H E R : (selection) M I C H A BAR -AM : KIBBUTZ (Beit Shturman Museum, Ein

Harod 2019); MICHA BAR-AM LOGBOOK (Israel Museum, Jerusalem 2017); MICHA BAR-AM’S ISRAEL: INSIGHT (Walter König, Köln 2011); ISRAEL: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY – THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS ( Simon & Schuster, New York 1998)

Water, at last: rarely has the visceral longing for salvation been visualised in a more palpable form. The strictly pared-down, tightly framed scene has a sculptural power, making it a perfect homage to the expressive constructivism of Russian avant-garde artist Alexander Rodchenko. Like many of Micha Bar-Am’s images, this masterful shot is comprised of few graphic elements: the tilt of the head, the arch of the arm lifting the liquid to the subject’s lips – all skilfully separated from the background of a searing, bright sky. A self-taught photographer, BarAm initially pursued a number of different occupations. It was only when he began to be recognised for his distinctive visual style, that he decided to dedicate himself to the medium fulltime. Prior to this, he had worked in the port of Haifa, became an active member of the pre-state underground, and was drafted to fight in the ArabIsraeli war of 1948. Later, he had several jobs on a kibbutz. “My first encounter with a Leica was when my friend Yoav received a camera from relatives who had immigrated to Israel after WW2. Yoav was generous and lent me his Leica so I could experiment with it – and we were fascinated by the results. The compact size and simple operation was a big change from the bulky cameras at home. My path to visual adventures had begun,” he remembers. “My life changed when I finally bought my first Leica – vintage 1930, the year I was born. In a small notebook, I began recording the exposure times and lighting conditions of every photo I took and, gradually, by trial and error, I taught myself photography. On weekends I would display my work on the bulletin board in the communal dining hall, and eventually my photos began to be published.” Since the founding of the State of Israel, Bar-Am documented its development. His first book, Across Sinai, was published in 1957 – after which he became a photojournalist for Ba-Mahaneh, the magazine of the Israeli Army. He photographed everyday life on the kibbutz, the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, the hopes and hard-

ships of new immigrants, and accompanied the Eichmann trial in 1961. He also covered every major conflict in the Middle East – however, he never thought of himself as a war photographer. “Working at the scene of the action, I adopted Robert Capa’s saying: ‘If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough’. But in retrospect, I’d like to add a corollary: if you’re too close, you lose perspective. It is not easy to be fair with the facts and keep your own convictions out of the picture. It is almost impossible to be a participant as well as the observer, witness and interpreter of an event. The effort brings great rewards and, equally, great frustration.” This realisation in itself might well have played a vital role in his international success. Even when documenting political conflicts, the human experience tends to be his primary focus. “The tension between the outside dramas and daily life at home was a challenging issue to express,” he explains. And yet, he managed to capture the complexities and contradictions of Israel’s everyday reality in his images. A prime example is a picture that is especially close to Bar-Am’s heart: taken during the Gulf War in 1991, it shows a mother and her two sons crouching in an air-raid shelter. All three are wearing gas masks; the woman protectively cradles the family cat in her arms. It is a solemn scene, but at the same time captivating with underlying drama. It also represents a deeply personal memory – as the people in the picture are the photographer’s own family. Throughout his career, the now ninety-year-old has compiled a huge archive of images, which he is currently categorising in digital form. “Today I am no longer active as a photographer, though I do have a small digital Leica V-Lux 20 which I use to record my grandchildren as they grow up.” Without doubt these pictures, too, will be characterised by the photographer’s unique vision. ULRICH RÜTER

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Peter Bialobrzeski GIVE MY REGARDS TO ELIZABETH

Great Britain left the EU last January. Thirty years previously, the Hamburg photographer lived there, exploring the UK way of life; its strange customs and codes. His pictures document societal fractures that still persist.

A club in the Putney district of London, 1992; in the background a portrait of Princess Elizabeth in 1951, the year before her coronation, taken by Yousuf Karsh

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Always up close to people with his Leica: street scenes in Crook, County Durham, 1992 (above); youths in Wood End, Coventry 1992 (top right); a special jacket design, seen in Earls Court, London, 1991 (below)

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Picnic in pastels, group portrait in the outskirts of London; Epsom, Surrey 1992

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It is often just small gestures and accessories that Bialobrzeski captures in his series to draw attention to British class society: Epsom, Surrey 1992 (top); Private Estate, Surrey 1991 (top right); Chilham, Kent 1992 (below)

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Clothing codes, ties and caps in specific colours define the college you belong to; Putney, London 1992

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While travelling all over England, the photographer looked for the most diverse places: Foleshill, Coventry 1992 (top); the London tube, 1991 (top right); Crook, County Durham 1992 (below); a street in Easington, 1992 (next page)

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PETER BIALOBRZESKI has published seventeen books in seventeen years. He is known primarily through his studies of Asian megacities. Born in Wolfsburg in 1961, he studied Politics and Sociology, before becoming a photographer for a Wolfsburg paper. He then went on to study photography at the Folkwang schule in Essen and at the LCP in London. Today he works regularly as a Professor of Photography at the University of the Arts in Bremen.

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The book, Give my Regards to Elizabeth, was completed in 1993: the format and sequence of images; even the title had been decided. With a mock-up copy of his final thesis for the Folkwangschule Essen, the recently graduated photographer, Peter Bialobrzeski, did the rounds at the Frankfurt Book Fair, but the publishers he approached were not interested in his photographs. Only British publishers, like Thames & Hud son, were friendly. However, at that time, the recession in the UK economy was impacting the book market and the connection came to nothing. Bialobrzeski had left Germany, where reunification euphoria still reigned, and moved to a country of growing unemployment and depres sion. Margaret Thatcher’s neo-liberal politics left a deep mark on the United Kingdom and its people. Bialobrzeski used colour to capture the country’s – for him strange – class-oriented soci ety. That his images have lost none of their brilliance or social topicality, is clear in the book recently published by Hartmann Books in Stuttgart, in collaboration with Britain’s Dewi Lewis Publishing. The first edition is almost sold out – the photo book appears to have struck a successful note, for which Brexit is surely also partly responsible. We spoke with the German photogra pher about the project. LFI: What was the reaction to the draft book back in the day? Peter Bialobrzeski: In fact, I was praised by many people, though not directly from people in the photography scene. In contrast, I was dis missed by the publishers. And why publish it now? It really is connected to Brexit. I always knew that at some point I would treat myself to the book – time and again I would look at it and find that it was good. That’s why I always wanted it to be as close to the mock-up as possible.

What does the printing look like – did you rescan everything? I photographed, quite classically, the original analogue prints with a repro camera, because I wanted to retain the colouring of the old Tura photo paper. Is this what gives the pictures their suggestively nostalgic colours? Yes. In part it is quite magical, and time and again it reveals how the development of photography was so de pendent on the technical possibilities. My series came about at a time when colour photography was actually being introduced into colleges. How did you come to be in the United Kingdom at the time? It was a private matter. I had been together with an English woman for five years. We met in China, and then I did an internship at the Network Photographers Agency in London, and while studying also worked as a Pic ture Researcher for the Sunday Times Magazine, which was extremely well paid – at least from the perspective of a young guy from Wolfsburg. Even so, life in London was somewhat precarious, wasn’t it? Yes, England was pretty expensive. My one-year, DAAD grant didn’t stretch very far. I had to eat cheap, so as to be able to buy more film. Could you have photographed a similar series in Germany as well? Nowadays I see it somewhat differ ently. My perception of England at the time was of an oppressed country. A divided society, where one side knew nothing about the other; and that wasn’t something I knew of Germany at the time. However, I have the feel ing that Germany today is much more divided, though the levels reveal them selves differently here. Was it clear to you back then that you were making a political book, even if at a first glance the pictures don’t seem to reflect that? The pictures were seen as political in England, right from the beginning,

as the class-specific contrasts were immediately recognisable there. For example, there’s a picture of two men with strange striped caps and ties – with the colours of a specific college, which would not be immediately seen as a code here in Germany, but maybe as something rather tasteless. In Eng land it’s easily identifiable, which then also refers to the places, the horses, or where you have a picnic. It’s just read in a different way. In the motifs taken in England, you were pretty close to the people Yes, I found it easy to be. My training is in journalism after all. Even as a lo cal reporter in Wolfsburg I got up close to people – the standard lens at the time was the 28mm. It’s easier to be close because you can better control the frame. Back then, I was impressed by Garry Winogrand, Gilles Peress and Alex Webb; the way they managed figures on the street. Later on, I kept further away, as a way to practice bet ter control of the picture frames. Does this type of photography still appeal to you? Yes, it does, very much so. Nowadays, however, you have to consider ethics, because of the possibilities of face recognition you can do people harm. For me that’s the toughest argument; but I don’t see it as an either/or ques tion. I will continue my City Diaries, and also working with a large-format camera and tripod. However, I can divulge that I’m thinking about photo graphing people in Germany close-up in the near future. INTERVIEW: ULRICH RÜTER

B IALOB RZE S KI.N E T B OOK: GIVE MY REGARDS TO ELIZABETH;

96 pages, 48 colour images, 29 × 23 cm, English/German; Hartmann Books, co-published with Dewi Lewis Publishing EQUIPMENT: Leica M6, Summicron-M 35 f/2

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Sven Zellner

D E N J I I N MYA N GA

Denjiin Myanga is one of the countless wild settlements that are losing themselves within the rapidly-growing bacon belt surrounding Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Sven Zellner followed the turbulent daily lives of six siblings living in the settlement.

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About 60 percent of the population of Ulaanbaatar live in yurt districts around the city. As a guest of one of the numerous families living there, the photographer and film maker, Sven Zellner, experienced daily life on the outskirts of the big city, with everything that comes with it. The living conditions are bad, the winters are freezing cold, the air is highly polluted and there is virtually no security for the inhabitants. The children and their dogs ensure that no unwelcome person comes onto the family’s plot while their mother is out for work

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Future prospects in the district are murky. Rents in Ulaanbaatar are pretty much unaffordable for people coming from outside, and those living in the settlements on the edges of the city are obliged to eke out an existence living in traditional yurts and often subject to extreme weather conditions

“I find eyes, or the whole face, absolutely fascinating, and I always want to know what the person is about,” the photographer explains. He met the six siblings who are at the centre of his reportage project, while scouting for film locations

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“The best images happen when I’m not looking for pictures, but taking a very intuitive approach,” Zellner says describing his work. This intuition served him well on the streets of Denjiin Myanga. He was berated and threatened on various occasions when taking pictures

During his time in the settlement of Denjin Myanga, the photographer visited single parent Byambaa and her six children. Because the father has abandoned the family a long time ago, and the mother has to spend most of her time earning money in a beauty parlour, the daughters take care of the home. In the meantime, the brothers roam around the old Chinese part of a cemetery close by and take care of their dogs. When asked what they want to do later on, two of the siblings say that they want to earn a living by selling combat dogs

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“ M ORA L LY-SPEA K I N G I T ’S P RO B L E M AT IC TO TA K E P HOTO G RA P H S I N T H E YU RT D I ST R I C T. E V E N S O, T H E S E P I C T U R E S SH OW WH AT L I F E R EA L LY LO O KS L IK E T HE R E . ”

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Zellner and his Leica capture rare impressions. There are only a few people not actually living in Denjiin Myanga who are able to get a glimpse behind the walls of the yurts

SV E N Z E L L N E R Zellner studied camera at the University of Television and Film in Munich, and published his first photo book when he was 22 years old. He is the producer and cameraman for the film, Schwarze Milch, directed by Uisenma Borchu, and celebrated his documentary feature debut as director of the movie Preis des Goldes (Price of Gold). His photographs have appeared in Geo, Terra Mater, Die Zeit and SZ, among others.

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Sandwiched between its two large neighbours, Russia and China, Mongolia – one of the least populated countries in the world – is living a veritable shadow existence. Even so, the photographer and film maker Sven Zellner has fallen captive to this country of vast steppes in north-east Asia, capturing new and intense impressions each time he visits. His photo reportage about a nomad family living on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, delivers a raw and unembellished account of the reality of life for adolescents on the edges of the big city. Mr. Zellner, what do you consider an exciting motif worth to capture? I believe I’m very curious. I’m interested in people and like to observe them. I find eyes, or the whole face, absolutely fascinating and I want to know what the person is about. I was never into uncovering information through speaking – I prefer to simply watch. But I don’t want to be intrusive. When I have an assignment, I carefully consider what I want to photograph to tell a story and how I can use my photographies to create specific correlations. The best thing, however, is when I leave all these thoughts behind and simply react – when I’m not searching for images, but taking a more intuitive approach. What does Mongolia mean to you? The country and the nomadic lifestyle have impressed me deeply. I feel connected to the people and the Gobi Desert has an indescribable effect on me. But I don’t have a glorified idea of Mongolia; I’ve spent time with illegal gold diggers, and I’ve been at the coal mines of Nalaikh, which have the highest death rate among miners. What’s more, the country is being exploited by multi-national mining concerns, there’s corruption… You have to take a lot of time to really get to know it. That’s why I keep coming back and still don’t really know the country.

How did you come to connect with your protagonists in Ulaanbaatar? I was in the yurt district looking for locations for our film Schwarze Milch (Black Milk), which was still a rough idea at the time. I met the boys at a well when they were fetching water. They were accompanied by their combat dogs and I began taking pictures of them. I decided to document their lives, and so went to visit them every day. How did you communicate? I understand a bit of Mongolian, but not enough for longer conversations. It’s a pity but also an advantage, because then I can fully concentrate on observing. Uisenma Borchu, the director of Schwarze Milch, was also with me on one occasion. She questioned the children, the mothers and the neighbours in Denjiin Myanga. What characterises daily life for people living in the settlement? The people live in traditional yurts made of felt (ger), and small houses on fenced-in plots (khashaas). The roads are unpaved, the water supply depends on wells, and the toilets are latrines. The winters are very tough. There’s a coal oven for heating and cooking in every of the yurts, but in many cases the people burn plastic. People survive in very bad living conditions and there’s heavy pollution in the air. That all sounds very extreme… Yes, most people are lacking any prospects to solve their problems for themselves. Funds for improvement projects are misdirected by corrupt politicians. The people are ignored and get frustrated, giving rise to increased domestic violence and alcohol problems. For the locals this is, in fact, their normal everyday life.

at times. One man went after me with an iron bar, telling me repeatedly that I shouldn’t take any pictures. When I held out my hand to him, however, he calmed down, though in retrospect he was probably very bothered by the fact that I took photos in the district. What do you think about that? Morally-speaking my work is problematic. I have my doubts: I think that the pictures are a document of the times; at least they show what it’s like there. But is it right to publish these pictures? The youngsters and their mothers gave their agreement, but I still don’t really know what they think about it. What photographic approach did you take to this sensitive subject? I don’t believe I’m any better or worse than the people I photograph. I feel connected to them and I know that it’s a privilege to be able to do this. I was simply lucky. The people make it possible because they allow it and accept me, even if I am an intruder, a stranger. How was it to do photographic work with these adolescents? It was difficult to get the boys to simply do their own thing in front of the camera, rather than performing for the photos. At the beginning it was virtually impossible, it took a lot of time. What did you learn from your project in Denjiin Myanga? I was able to practice being patient. Above all, I learnt that I couldn’t plan everything as I had imagined. You have to take things as they come, and you shouldn’t get angry if things go differently to what you’d hoped. INTERVIEW: DANILO RÖSSGER

SVE N -ZE LLN E R.DE

Was it difficult to establish a connection with the people living there? Not really. The boys were friendly straight away. Understandably, there were also adults who were sceptical of my taking photographs in their district. Because I was easily recognised as a foreigner, I was berated and threatened

LF I-ON LIN E .DE /B LOG: SLIDESHOW WITH FURTHER PICTURES EQUIPMENT: Leica M (Typ 240)

with Summicron-M 35 f/2 Asph

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LEICA Q

Alexandre Chamelat LITÓSFERA

Extensive treks across the Canary Islands led the photographer to surrealistic motifs. Equipped with a Leica Q, Chamelat captures fascinating, disconcerting images that speak of so much more than just a volcanic landscape and its geological past.

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Above: Israël and his dogs shortly after a surfing session at Punta Gorda on Fuerteventura; left: rocks in Timanfaya National Park on Lanzarote. The term litosphere (“stone sphere”) – Chamelat named his series Litósfera – refers to the earth’s crust and part of its mantel; previous page: elephant sculpture on Fuerteventura

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Above: View over La Graciosa from the Mirador del Rio on Lanzarote; top right: the flag of the Canary Islands blows in the wind on Fuerteventura – the blue strip in the centre symbolises the sea, the yellow one the sun, and the white one peace; bottom right: in the north of Fuerteventura, and a sculpture on Tenerife

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Above: A petrified plant in the black, lava soil on the volcanic island of Lanzarote; left: shepherd in the over 2000 metre-high caldera of the Teide, a geological structure of volcanic origins on Tenerife; following page: a raven on Fuerteventura – one of the smallest subspecies of Corvus corax

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A L E XA N D R E C H A M E L AT Alexandre Chamelat was born in Les Lilas outside Paris in 1990, he grew up in Toulouse and now lives in Bordeaux. A graduate from the École de Photographie et de Game Design (ETPA), his artistic approach is based on exploring territories, and is often closely related to people and the earth. His photographic approach is both aesthetic and documentary. Chamelat is a member of the photographer collective Cyclop. A L EXA ND R E C HA M ELAT. F R LF I -O NL I N E .D E / B LOG : ONE PHOTO — ONE STORY EQUIPMENT: Leica Q,

Summilux 28 f/1.7 Asph

The landscapes are barren and raw. They spread out inhospitably, as though reaching for infinity; or at least to a distant, uninhabited region, somewhere at the edge of the world. If it was not for the fact that every now and then you can spot a lone figure in Alexandre Chamelat’s pictures, seeming to appear from nowhere, you might well imagine that the impressive pictures were taken on the moon, or in the endless expanse of a desert. The reality is that Chamelat and his Leica Q, which he describes as “discreet, compact and ideal for travelling”, wandered all around the Canary Islands. So, although appearing to be set in outer space, the series was actually photographed on a volcanic archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – from Tenerife to Fuerteventura and on to Lanzarote. “Surfers and shepherds are like Aeolus, keeper of the trade winds, the ones holding their breath between two ocean waves, the others following paths worn over the centuries,” Chamelat says, describing what he saw. And though his few protagonists appear lost, they do, in fact, know exactly where they are going. Just like Chamelat himself, who explored the island on hikes sometimes lasting up to nine hours. He wandered far from the coastlines and beaches, far from the masses of tourists. The series is a continuation of his Entre Deux Vagues (Between Two Waves) project that he completed in 2019, which dealt with nature and the surfing culture along the French Atlantic coast. “The trip to the Canary Islands arose from a desire to discover somewhere new, a place that could expand on my previous project,” the photographer explains. Once he arrived at his destination, Chamelat quickly discovered a fascination for the diversity of minerals that exist all over the island, and that are typical for this particular landscape. With a volcanic history stretching back more than 80 million years resulting in the incredible variety of unusual types of rock formations found on the islands, the Canary Islands are, from a geological perspective, one of the most interesting landscapes on the planet.

Charged with sand from the Sahara, the Calima, a strong, hot wind from the east, seems to emphasize this and further petrify the island. Litósfera – the geological term for the solid, outer shell that encases planet Earth – is the rather appropriate title of the series that took Chamelat to these apparently lost landscapes. “I didn’t really look for these places, and of course, they’re not actually lost,” he explains, adding, “I think it is the perspectives and also the retouching that strengthen this empty, desert-like impression.” In addition to the clever compositions which offer proof of a precise eye that knows how to organise a motif within the picture frame, it is the even, diffused light that makes the pictures appear colourless, causing the viewer to feel disoriented within the spacetime continuum. Is it morning twilight or the haze of the midday heat? A thin veil of pale, dove blue sweeps across the background of all the pictures with an irritating uniformity. This homogeneity in the series produces its own unique atmosphere, allowing the viewer to become immersed in a surreal, even dream-like, universe. “I photograph at every time of day to achieve this particular lighting mood,” he explains, “preferably when this thin veil appears in the sky. Afterwards, I refine and perfect the details with retouching.” These manipulations are an important part of his photographic work and it is not surprising that Chamelat compares his post-production work to painting. “When I retouch a photo, I feel my way around, trying things out, cropping and removing. I do many little things, and it’s all these small details that give my work its homogeneity.” During the retouching process, he removes any element that disturbs his eye, so that the viewer only gets to see the image once he is satisfied with it. In other words, this photographer is a painter who is producing a work of art, inviting the viewer to take a dream walk. KATRIN ULLMANN

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Mikhail Kirakosyan WE ARE LIKE THEM

Taken at the Moscow Zoo, the Georgian photographer considers his series a social project. He speaks about the fascination, beauty and grace of the animals. He also believes they are more similar to us than we can imagine.

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He spent more than a week waiting for the lion. Mikhail Kirakosyan sat in front of the animal’s enclosure for two to three hours every day, waiting to capture his essential nature. Finally, the King of the Jungle is exposed in a black and white picture: the wild mane, gaping mouth, sharp teeth and furrowed brow. The feelings the image stirs up are of anger, rage and aggressiveness. Kirakosyan says, “I try to produce pictures that reveal animal emotions and characters that look similar to human ones. I take a close look, in the hope of capturing a chance incident and a special reaction. It is like hunting with a camera.” Kirakosyan’s project We are like them, was produced during the corona virus pandemic. The Russian capital had imposed a lockdown: tourists stayed away, the Red Square was empty, and the Moscow Zoo was closed to the general public. This offered an opportunity to make a serious photographic study of the animals: without distractions and with complete concentration. The Georgian photographer sent his concept to the zoo director, and wound up more or less moving into the zoo. Keepers helped him to get organised, providing him with insight into the animals’ characters, behaviour patterns and habits. “I really love animals,” Kirakosyan explains. “I’m fascinated by their aesthetics, beauty, perfection and individuality. Animals have a therapeutic affect on me; when I am close to them my mind is at peace.” The lizard looks mischievous, the elephant is trumpeting, the zebra appears serious and thoughtful, the orangutan is relaxed, as though he has risen above everything. Over the course of weeks, Kirakosyan took photos, applying a classic portrait style and capturing those particular moments when the animals looked most like humans. He often sat for hours at an enclosure, and the animals some-

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times fell asleep while the photographer waited for his moment. Kirakosyan was inspired for this project after reading The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin. The book suggests that the outward expressions of different emotional states in animals have much in common with human beings. The photographer considers that We are like them is his way of illustrating Darwin’s theory. The pictures were taken with a Leica S007, which Kirakosyan considers the ideal medium format camera: compact and applicable for all photography genres – from reportage to production. “An important feature for me was the fact that the camera is waterproof, because it rained quite often while I was working on the project,” he says. “It’s delightful to know that pictures taken with the S007 can be printed in 120 centimetre by 180 centimetre format without any loss of quality.” Kirakosyan also decided to capture the portraits in black and white, so that colours and the accompanying drama would not prove a distraction for the viewer. In this manner, he hoped to communicate the situation, and the animals’ moods in a clearer and more explicit manner. Though his work does not make any political statement, Kirakosyan hopes that his series will provoke positive emotions in the viewer, and possibly the need to protect animals. “It’s a social project that aims to reveal the uniqueness of nature’s creatures, and the value that animals have for humanity.” The photographer’s favourite animal is the leopard. Kirakosyan admits that it was hard to tear his eyes away from it during the photo shoot. The photographer spent two days observing the sleek feline and waiting for the right moment, but the leopard was always too far away. Until a moment came when he approached the photographer for a couple of minutes, posing at the perfect distance, then suddenly sprang forward and ended up stuck on the cage. You can find more about this at LFI-online.de/Blog. KATJA HÜBNER

MIKHAIL K I R A KO S YA N Kirakosyan is an architect who has also been a photographer for 16 years: “My aim isn’t to just produce fleeting images, but rather pictures that capture a moment in time.” He has been photographing with a Leica S for six years now, and is a member of the Federation of European Professional Photographers, the Union of Georgian Photographers, and President of the Leica Club International. WWW.MIKH AILKIRAKOSYAN .RU LF I-ON LIN E .DE /B LOG: ONE PICTURE — ONE STORY EQUIPMENT: Leica S (Typ 007) with Leica-Adapter H and Hasselblad H lenses (120mm Macro, 180mm, 30–90mm and 300mm)

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C R E S T O F A WAV E LEICA M10-R

Rarely has a new M model been met with such a positive response as the recently released M10-R. British photographer Lucy Laucht took the camera on an excursion along the Cornwall coast.

Judging by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the new M10-R, it seems that Leica have managed that rare feat of getting every single aspect of a product ‘just right’. Even the online community – usually better known for its fault-finding tendencies than its willingness to be easily pleased – expressed praise and approval when learning about the nature of the camera’s improvements. The M10-R is distinguished by a higher resolution, broader dynamic range and better performance at high sensitivities – all of which we were able to experience first-hand in the course of our initial test. Leica’s decision to add the new M10 variant to their product catalogue as an alternative, rather than a replacement of any of the existing M models, also seems to have been very well received. At this point in time, a fair few photographers have had the opportunity to take the M10-R out into the field and form their own opinions about the camera’s capabilities. Among them is British photographer Lucy Laucht, who went on to share her impressions of what must be the most high-performance M ever made. NE W CA M E RA , O L D

In terms of technical specifications the new M10-R is closer to the M10-P than the M10 and features a significantly higher-resolution sensor

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L E NSE S. A passionate Leica photographer, Laucht decided to pair the M10-R with her own lenses. The question of compatibility – which seems to be at the forefront of many people’s minds – was not something the photographer was particularly concerned about when making her selection. Instead, she was preoc-

cupied with an entirely different problem: “My two favourite lenses are the 35 and 50mm Summilux,” she revealed. “And I do sometimes find it quite difficult to choose between them.” Many potential M10-R customers are indeed wondering how their existing lenses will fare on the stateof-the-art camera. The worry is that the extremely high-resolution sensor will highlight the weaknesses inherent in older lens models – therefore limiting M10-R owners to using newer, more high-performance optics. In our initial test, however, we found that the M10-R emphasises the unique traits of older lenses in a way that merely brings out their original character. When asked whether she felt restricted in her choice of lenses, Laucht’s response could hardly have been more to the point: “Not in the slightest. All of my lenses worked brilliantly on the M10-R.” In essence, the camera’s high resolution does not represent a potential drawback to counteract or work around; instead, it is an added benefit that is available to the photographer if and when required. In other words: the M10-R is simply an M10 with enhanced capabilities. Another advantage is that M10 photographers will feel instantly familiar with the new M10-R. When we asked Laucht about the differences between the two cameras, the photographer could only think of one: “There is a noticeable difference in image quality – the sharpness and amount of details are undeniably next-level.” →

Photos: © Lucy Laucht; product photography: Leica Camera AG

1/350 s, f/4.8, 200 ISO; page 80: 1/500 s, f/1.7, 200 ISO; both Summilux 35 f/1.4 Asph

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Above: Summilux 35 f/1.4 Asph, 1/1500 s, f/2.4, 200 ISO; right: Summilux 50 f/1.4 Asph, 1/1000 s, f/4, 100 ISO

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Above: Summilux 35 f/1.4 Asph, 1/750 s, f/1.7, 100 ISO; left: Summilux 35 f/1.4 Asph, 1/500 s, f/6.8, 200 ISO

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ZOOMING IN. The increase

Lucy Laucht appreciates the M10R’s compact dimensions and discrete operation. In addition to all of the traits associated with M cameras, the M10-R also offers an exceptionally high image quality that makes it suitable for a much broader range of tasks

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in resolution can be utilised for greater image quality or, alternatively, for the purpose of magnification – something Laucht was particularly pleased about. “I love to capture busy beach scenes, which often means having to adjust the framing retrospectively. It’s great to be able to do this without compromising on image quality.” On the other hand, a higher resolution is considerably less forgiving when it comes to camera shake. Even a slight movement that would not usually equate to a full pixel in a lower-resolution camera, might well become visible on the M10-R, especially if you zoom to pixel level. Often, however, the effect is no longer apparent when the image is viewed as a whole. As for the existing M10: while it is true that the difference in resolution between the M10 (5976 x 3992 pixels) and the M10-R (7864 x 5200 pixels) is palpable in practice, there is no doubt that the M10 is still a very long way from becoming redundant. M10-R photographers will also appreciate the new variant’s broader dynamic range, which has been increased by around one stop. This is especially evident in the improved rendition of details within the brighter parts of the image. The new sensor reduces the likelihood of blown out highlights, so that difficult lighting conditions are somewhat easier to navigate compared with the M10. In fact, some M10 photographers slightly underexpose their images on purpose, in order to recover more highlight details in post-processing.

With the M10-R, there is no need for such precautions, as the increased dynamic range provides plenty of reserves. Laucht was quick to confirm this: “I’m specifically thinking of this image I captured on a boat, in very hard light,” she explains. “I was able to shoot directly into the sun, and still managed to retain a lot of highlight details.” FAST E NOUGH. There is one aspect of the M10-R to which Leica gave a lot of thought during the development process, but which is rarely mentioned now the camera has reached its clientele: the new model’s processing speed. The M10-R is equipped with the same motherboard and

storage capacity as its fellow M10 models. This results in a slightly lower burst frame rate (as the buffer fills up faster) and might, in theory, cause some minimal lag on the display. But theory is not the sum of all wisdom – and in practice, it takes a great deal for any Leica M to be pushed to the limits of its capacity. Of course, you could provoke this outcome by shooting consecutive frames until the buffer starts to choke. However, this is not something M photographers typically aspire to – and if it were to be a priority, there is always the alternative of the slightly faster M10. In 'all classic areas of application, the M10-R shows no sign of insufficiency.

Laucht immediately confirmed this when we asked her about possible restrictions in the camera’s performance: “With my way of working, I noticed no delays whatsoever.” It is safe to say that most owners of a Leica M will be less concerned with rapid-fire shooting than they are with the unobtrusive, observational approach that is characteristically associated with rangefinder photography. It is precisely for this reason that Laucht is such an ardent devotee of the rangefinder camera, and views the M10-R as a new affirmation of everything it stands for. “I tested the M10-R in Cornwall, where I was working on a project that involved hik-

ing along the South West coastal path, and meeting the area’s creatives along the way,” she explains. “I love how small and swift this camera is. The shutter is extremely quiet, so you are able to take pictures in many situations without drawing attention.” And there is another aspect to the camera she found especially appealing: “The image quality is so extraordinary that I will be able to use the M10-R for my commercial projects. So for me, this camera is a game changer.” It was only when we asked which problems she had encountered with the M10-R, that the photographer seemed at a loss: “However much I think about it, there really weren’t any.” HOLGER SPARR

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AC T I O N , P L E AS E ! ONE R 1-INCH EDITION

Insta360 and Leica have joined forces to create an action camera that is in a league of its own. The One R 1-Inch Edition – equipped with an unusually large sensor and highquality Leica lens – is also available in Leica Stores.

A Leica camera is commonly regarded as a high-precision instrument, to be treated with great care and protected from hazardous environments; it is also a tool that is almost synonymous with the mindful compositions of classic photography. If available, Leica owners will certainly make use of a provided video function – but you would hardly expect them to attach their camera to the end of a selfie stick. The Insta360 One R 1-Inch Edition, co-engineered with Leica, is practically the polar opposite of everything we have just described: this camera is made for action, and has been specifically designed as a hardy companion for sports and outdoor adventures. Exposure to the elements is just par for the course – in fact, the One R 1-Inch Edition 82 | LFI

even doubles as an underwater camera. Leica announced its strategic partnership with Insta360 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early 2020. The first collaboration with the actioncamera specialist has now yielded the One R 1-Inch Edition. The modular system is comprised of the core module, the lens module, and the battery base. The lens module was developed in conjunction with Leica – resulting in the action camera’s unusually large, one-inch sensor and powerful Super-Elmar-A 14 f/3.2 Asph (full-frame equivalent) ultra wide angle lens. MOD U LA R D E S IGN . In

addition to the Leica module, Insta360 offers two other lens modules, which can be purchased sepa-

rately: the 4K Wide Angle module and the Dual Lens 360 module. Thanks to two 180-degree lenses positioned on opposite sides of the unit – each with a focal length of 7.2 mm (full-frame equivalent) – this module captures 360-degree panoramas. Selected files can then be exported to a postprocessing software, where the footage can either be edited into a film viewed from a specific perspective, or stitched into an interactive, 360-degree video that lets the viewer look in every direction. These videos can subsequently also be played back in a VR headset. Action cameras are mostly used to capture videos – usually while the person filming is also in motion – so it is important that they are light-weight and robust. Despite its modular con-

struction, the One R fulfils both requirements. Once the battery, core and lens modules have been attached together, the three-part ensemble is placed inside a stable frame. This ensures complete cohesion, and allows the camera to be mounted onto virtually anything via the tripod thread and various accessories. The fact that the One R 1-Inch Edition was co-engineered with Leica is something that is strongly emphasised in the manufacturer’s product information. Leica’s involvement is reflected, for example, in the camera’s sensor size: in contrast to the 1/2.3-inch sensors used in the other two modules that are currently available – the 4K Wide Angle and the Dual Lens 360 – the Leica module is equipped with a signifi-

cantly larger, 1-inch sensor. As a matter of fact, the current Leica V-Lux features the exact same sensor size, albeit with a slightly higher resolution. With its very respectable 19 megapixels, the Leica module clearly outperforms the standard 4K Wide Angle variant, which offers a maximum resolution of 12 MP. At the same time, however, it still has larger pixels than the two other modules’ smaller sensors – resulting in reduced image noise and a broader dynamic range.

The One R consists of three parts – the battery base, core and lens module. The core module stays the same in any configuration. Leica developed this edition’s lens module, featuring a large, 1-inch sensor and ultra wide angle lens

A PP, O R NO AP P. The introduction of a larger sensor for improved image quality was not, however, the only contribution to come out of Wetzlar. Leica also provided the Super-Elmar-A 14 f/3.2 Asph – a wide angle lens with an extremely short focal length and slight fisheye character, as is customary for action cameras. In the process of exporting the image files from the smartphone app, it is possible to reduce the angle of view by a small margin. This provides users with a spectrum spanning roughly from a wide angle to an ultra wide angle. In contrast to the alternative lens modules for the One R 1-Inch, the SuperElmar-A 14 f/3.2 Asph protrudes over the unit itself – so much so, that it can even be removed to enable the attachment of accessories. The Super-Elmar-A is not as light-sensitive as the smaller lenses found in the other modules; but this is more than compensated for by the large sensor, so that recordings made in low light (be it at night or in interior spaces) still come out → LFI

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In conjunction with the small, very robust camera, the extreme wide angle lens enables unusual photographic perspectives

The One R is primarily geared towards video capture (pictured: a still frame), and is largely impervious to shock, water and dirt

unusually well for an action camera. The Insta360 One R 1-Inch Edition can be operated in several ways: the core module contains a tiny touchscreen and shutter button, which are useful if instant access is required. A far better option, however, is the Android and Apple smartphone app, which can be paired with the camera via Wi-Fi. Yet another possibility is the Insta360 GPS Smart Remote – and even an Apple Watch can be used to control the camera with the aid of an app. While photos are saved onto the SD card or smartphone as either JPEG or Raw files, the camera uses its own format for videos. Once the footage has been cropped as desired, the app or free software can convert it for further processing in Windows or macOS. An especially impressive feature is the in-house developed FlowState stabilisation, which works in conjunction with a gyro chip to counteract even the most powerful camera shake – for example if a bicycle is hurtling across off-road terrain. Its extraordinary perfor-

mance seems all the more astounding when considering that this type of image stabilisation is purely electronic and not based on a floating lens element. CO NC LUSI O N. Video cap-

ture is, without a doubt, the One-R’s main area of expertise. Thanks to the selfie stick (a rather unfamiliar object for the typical Leica photographer) and the outstanding image stabilisation, the captured videos resemble footage shot with a rig-mounted camera or drone. The lens module codeveloped with Leica takes the recording quality to the next level, not least by ensuring good results even in fairly low light. In essence, the Insta360 One R 1-Inch Edition combines the traits of an action camera with the quality habitually associated with Leica. If you mostly shoot still photographs, there are many alternative options that are easier to operate and more suited to the task – but when it comes to capturing life in motion, this little gem is pretty much unsurpassed. HOLGER SPARR

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Something of this visual integration process goes into a drawing. However it is equally true that there are photographs which do embody the quality of the scene, and express the essentials, the essence of the subject. It is in fact all a matter of the man behind the camera, his imaginative faculty, his instinct for pressing the release. The millions of snapshots which do not match up these demands are no evidence for the alleged poor expressive power of the photograph as compared with the drawing.

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Holiday Photography under Fire – under this title there appeared in the feuilleton of the Frankfurter Allgemeine of June 11th an article which cannot be permitted to go unchallenged. The author advises tourists to take to sketching rather than photography, basing his argument on the fact that at best a photograph can only freeze a random instantaneous phase of movement, and the same applies to portraiture and to animal and landscape photography. This is all true enough – but it is not the whole truth. It is a platitude that vision is something quite different from photography, inasmuch as the eye is in continual movement, and so integrates the most diverse aspects of the scene before it, to give an impression which in the end is truer and more comprehensive than any photograph can be. EN_LFI_03_2020

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THE FIFTH ELEMENT H U AW E I P 4 0 P R O +

Five cameras, improved zoom capabilities and an elegant ceramic back: Huawei released its flagship model earlier than expected and, for the first time, achieved pole position on the global smartphone market.

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At the end of July 2020, the Canalys Market Research Institute released its report on worldwide smartphone shipments during this year’s second fiscal quarter – which, as we know, encompasses the immensely challenging period of the global coronavirus lockdown. The published data revealed that Huawei had superseded Samsung and, for the first time, taken the lead in the highly competitive smartphone market. This development was generally viewed as a surprise – especially as the trade restrictions imposed on the Chinese company by the US (prohibiting access to the Google Play Store) were widely expected to inhibit sales. And indeed, the prospect of going without some of their favourite apps has made many customers outside of China think twice about purchasing a new smartphone from the P40 series, despite the exceptional performance these models are able to offer. “Taking the lead in the smartphone market is representative of our credo, ‘make it possible’. A year ago, not many people might have thought this to be possible, but we have always believed in ourselves,” explains William Tian, Huawei Manager in Germany. For the Chinese company, looking at global sales of 55.8 million devices in the April–June period (around two million more than its Korean competitor) must feel like balm to the soul. Of course, the early release

of the P40 Pro+ was undoubtedly beneficial, as this meant that shipping of the new model could start in the second quarter, rather than autumn of this year. It is also more than likely that the competition will catch up once more in the near future. But this does not detract from the company’s remarkable achievement – which is a testament to the power of the Chinese market, a supply chain that functions even under difficult circumstances, and the continuing advancement of Huawei’s native AppGallery. Whether Huawei will maintain its leading position throughout the summer remains to be seen. A+ FOR QUAL IT Y. A num-

ber of manufacturers add plus-signs to product names in order to indicate a larger display. In the case of the Huawei P40 Pro+, however, the plus-symbol stands for improved features and performance. The dimensions of theP40 Pro+ are the same as those of the P40 Pro. Both models are equipped with the speedy Kirin 990 5G processor and have 8GB RAM. However, the Pro + offers 512 gigabyte ROM as well as faster wireless charging. Most of the differences, both in terms of ergonomics and appearance, can be found on the rear panel. The Huawei P40 Pro+ is distinguished by an especially resilient back made of ground ceramic powder. While this makes the new model 15 grams heavier than the Pro variant (bringing its weight up to 226 grams), the polished, black or white surface results in an exceedingly elegant appearance.

The camera array has increased in height and now accommodates five cameras, as Huawei and Leica Camera take the evolution of smartphone photography to yet another level. QU IN TU P LE CA M E RA .

Without a doubt, the greatest strengths of the new camera ensemble – the Leica Vario-Summilux-H 18–240 f/1.8–4.4 Asph – are its telephoto capabilities: the new SuperZoom camera alone offers a 10x optical zoom, which is equivalent to a full-frame focal length of around 240 mm. Once again, this feat is achieved by a periscope-style design, whereby the infalling light is reflected inside the phone five times. The second new camera comprises a classic, 3x optical zoom. In addition, the P40 Pro+ mixes data from both cameras to facilitate a 20x hybrid zoom. For the photographer’s convenience, a picture-in-picture frame pops up in the upperleft corner of the display as soon as the zoom level is set to 15x or higher, showing the exact position of the zoom. For those who covet even longer focal lengths, the smartphone provides an impressive, 100x maximum zoom. Despite its improved image stabilisation, this feature still requires a steady hand. However, given the camera’s ability to capture both low-light shots and long exposures with excellent results, a smartphone tripod might, in fact, be a very useful purchase to consider.

Enormous focal length range: These images were captured with the 18mm super-wide-angle camera (top), the 10x optical zoom (middle), and the 100x zoom, equivalent to 2649 mm in full-frame format

DAVID ROJKOWSKI

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M AS T E R & DY N A M I C 0.95 LEICA WORLD

Since 2017, the New York-based audio company Master & Dynamic has designed several headphones for Leica’s 0.95 Collection. We spoke with founder and CEO Jonathan Levine about music, photography and design.

When the Leica Noctilux-M 50 f/0.95 Asph was released in 2008, it was the fastest aspheric lens ever produced for the full-frame format – a status it continues to hold to this day. With its extremely narrow depth of field at open aperture, it introduced photographers to compositional possibilities that had never been available before. In 2015, Leica decided to pay homage to this extraordinary lens by launching the 0.95 Collection, which enables premium brands to create accessories that echo certain elements of the Noctilux’s exterior design. The first items in the 0.95 Collection were three exquisite pens by S.T. Dupont, along with a special design variant of the French company’s famous gas-filled lighter. The accessories referenced the Noctilux’s external traits with details such as the knurled cap of the fountain pen. This was followed by Leica’s own release of 88 | LFI

based company – which was only founded in 2014, but quickly made a name for itself within the high-end audio scene – has released two further Noctilux-inspired headphones, whose noisecancelling properties set it apart from previous models. Jonathan Levine is the founder and CEO of the New York-based audio company Master & Dynamic, whose aim is to “marry beautiful design with serious sound quality”

the Noctilux ‘Edition 0.95’, limited to 95 units worldwide. Once again, the lens body featured the distinctive knurling that had also distinguished the 0.95 accessories by S.T. Dupont. These products have since sold out, as have most of the headphones created for the 0.95 Collection by Master & Dynamic. Now however, the New York

LFI: What prompted you to establish Master & Dynamic in 2014? Jonathan Levine: When my oldest son, Robert, was around 15 years old and working as a DJ and producer, I noticed a gap in the headphone market – it was difficult to find a pair of headphones that married beautiful design with serious sound quality. I’m an entrepreneur by nature and have always had strong views when it comes to design, as has my co-founder and partner, Vicki Gross. So we were excited to create these objects of beauty – headphones that both my sons would be proud to use.

LFI: How would you describe your company? Jonathan Levine: We are passionate, some say obsessive, about design, materials and craftsmanship. We are firmly rooted in our brand and product, but at this stage in our growth, we are also smaller and younger than most of our direct competitors. So I like to think of our company as something of a ‘challenger’. Not just in the sense that we are competing with household names, but we also intend to challenge certain norms in the headphone industry and personal audio market – because we re-imagine how to make the best product. From materials to collaborations, we tend to do things a bit differently, and we are proud of that. LFI: What led to your partnership with Leica? Jonathan Levine: The idea of collaborating with Leica actually came about →

New designs by Master & Dynamic for Leica’s 0.95 Collection: MW07 Plus earbuds with charging case in black-finish stainless steel (top left, below right), and the wireless MW65 over-ear headphones. Both systems feature active noise-cancelling technology; the in-ear MW07 Plus offer an additional ambient listening mode

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before Master & Dynamic launched… I’ll explain. One of the exercises we did in the early days, when we were defining our brand, was to go around the table and ask ourselves: if we were making watches instead of headphones, which brand would we like to be? If we were a car company, which one would that be? We did this for numerous industries that we admire. We were all in agreement as to which camera company we’d want to be: Leica. Many aspects of Leica – iconic design, precision engineering, tactility – were things we very much admired. At my core, I’m a product guy. You could say that partnering with Leica was the realization of a dream for me.

LFI: When did you first learn about Leica? Jonathan Levine: Discovering that iconic Leica logo as a young man is what I remember most. It tends to draw you in as a focal point on this amazing piece of industrial design. Upon picking up any Leica camera, you’re immediately struck by both its weight and tactility. It feels substantial. It feels permanent. You innately know that you will have this object for a long time to come. I am sure that, subconsciously, this has driven my approach to developing our products at Master & Dynamic. LFI: A lot of musicians are avid photographers, and many photographers are

devoted to music. Is there a connection between music and photography? Jonathan Levine: There are so many connections. Both art forms are like capturing lightning in a bottle – a moment in time, or a moment with a musician and his instrument. They can each tell stories without using words, and play a huge part in memory and nostalgia. All of our photographer friends, such as Dario Calmese, Danny Clinch, Erik Madigan Heck, Dennys Ilic, Chi Modu and Jason Peterson, use music to focus and inspire their creativity. LFI: Are you a photographer yourself? Jonathan Levine: I take photographs on a daily basis,

WITH JOSH LEHRER & DAVID FARKAS OF LEICA STORE MIAMI

TO WATCH PAST & UPCOMING LIVE LEICA DISCUSSIONS VISIT

WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/REDDOTFORUM

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both with and without a camera. As a visual person, I am constantly seeing things and discovering images. As a designer, I am always finding inspiration and ideas in the world around me: a shape, a detail, a color, a material, a texture. The spontaneity with which you can capture an image, store it and recall it is a huge benefit in my design process. LFI: Music and photography both revolve around compositions. How important is the quality of your chosen tool – whether it’s a camera or headphones? Jonathan Levine: Essential. As music lovers, we know that a good pair of headphones allows us to hear details in music that

we’ve never heard before, and appreciate it in a whole new way. It’s the same with a high-quality lens or camera. The Noctilux-M 50 f/0.95 reveals details that even the human eye can’t see. Welldesigned tools facilitate this extraordinary attention to detail that so many artists possess – and so many music and photography lovers appreciate. LFI: This is your third contribution to the 0.95 Collection since 2017. How did you interpret Leica’s design language this time around? Jonathan Levine: We took the matte black of the camera’s body as a design element, even extending it to the case of our MW07 Plus

True Wireless Earphones. This is a new color and finish for us, as our charging cases are typically made of polished stainless steel. It was also an interesting creative challenge to apply Leica’s signature branding to the True Wireless Earphones, as they’re quite small. We used the 0.95 logo as a graphic element, as well as the red on the multi-function button, which really pops. LFI: What are the technical advantages of the MW65 and MW07 Plus over comparable products? Jonathan Levine: With the MW65 Headphones, it was incredibly important for us to make an active noisecanceling (ANC) head-

“IT WAS A L S O A N IN T ER E ST IN G C R EAT IV E C HA LL EN G E TO A P P LY LEICA’S SIGNATURE B RA N DIN G TO T HE T RU E W IR ELESS EARPHONES, AS T HEY’ R E QU IT E SMALL.”

phone that did not sacrifice on sound. Too often, headphones feature ANC that provides the user with quiet at the expense of the detail and richness of sound. We made it our mission to have our ANC enhance, rather than detract from, the quality of the music. In the case of the MW07 Plus earphones, the use of acetate sets them apart visually, while its 10mm beryllium driver is a key component in producing Master & Dynamic’s signature sound. The battery life is also pretty stellar, even if I say so myself. There are 10 hours of listening time in the headphones – 40 hours with the charging case – so you can take them anywhere. INTERVIEW: BERND LUXA

CMY

the peninsula hong kong

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B E S T O F L F I . G A L L E RY

HOME ALONE “This picture is part of a project that I began to work on at the end of October, 2019. The idea was to capture all those spontaneous moments you experience when you are home alone – though, it wasn’t done in the way a documentary photographer might have done it. I wanted to give the scenes of daily life a sort of dream-like quality.” Tuan Anh Le Leica SL2 with Vario-ElmaritSL 24–90 f/2.8–4 Asph

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L IG H T BOX

SPEECHLESS “This motif aims to give visual expression to the French author and poet Alfred de Vigny’s saying, ‘Silence alone is great; all else is weakness‘. While the aspect of silence is reflected in the gridded, cage-like mask of the model, I find that the hands balled into fists to the right and left of the picture add another powerful component.“ Daniel Schrick Leica S2 with Summarit-S 70 f/2.5 Asph

T H E C YC L I S T “This picture shows a bridge in Antwerp that is well-known among pedestrians and cyclists. The bright sunlight falling through the holes in the bridge’s structure, produces this beautiful, overall effect. As the cyclist came into view within the picture frame, I took advantage of the moment and hit the button.” Geert Verstrepen Leica M10 with Summilux-M 50 f/1.4 Asph

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L A D O L C E V I TA “This picture was taken in San Felice Circeo, a mystical place in the Lazio region, where great directors such as Pasolini, Fellini and Bertolucci made their films. It is inspired by Italian black and white movies from the sixties, such as La Dolce Vita. It’s as though you can feel the sun, hear the Mediterranean and smell the flowers!” Max Malatesta Leica M10 with Apo-Summicron-M 90 f/2 Asph

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B A C K S TA G E

S K Y S TAG E

“The models in this picture were taking a cigarette break during a fashion show in Cologne, which is why I wanted to be as discreet as possible when I took the photo. I had taken part in the event various times as a model myself, so it was the first time that I was behind the camera and exploring the scene.”

“The modernisation of Tokyo’s Shibuya district is supposed to be completed by 2027, and Shibuya Scramble Square was open to the public in November 2019. When photographing this building, it was important for me to find a particular perspective that would entice its reconstruction. I think I managed it pretty well!”

Sebastian Trägner Leica M10 with Summilux-M 35 f/1.4 Asph

B.B. Yuta Leica M (Typ 240) with Summilux 35 f/1.4 Asph

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A COLOURF U L M AT C H “The man with the orange glasses and a blue jacket immediately caught my attention, because the colours were such a good match for the display in the window of this department store in Paris. The afternoon lighting and the shadows shaped each passer-by, just like cinematographers would shape their performers.” Wenpeng Lu Leica Q2, Summilux 28 f/1.7 Asph

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METRO “Whenever I get bored roaming the streets of Istanbul, I take the underground and travel short distances instead. Once I was waiting at Taksim station when I saw this wonderful background. This photograph actually represents something very special for me, as it was the first that I sold during my first solo exhibition.” Mehmet Esen Leica M Monochrom with Summicron-M 28 f/2 Asph

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Break the rules. Change their view. Tell the bitter truth. Challenge the status. Stand strong. Don’t look back. Stay hungry. Find the spark. Risk. Fail. Repeat. Succeed.

LEICA M Whatever it takes - be original. beoriginal.leica-camera.com LEICA. DAS WESENTLICHE.

Photo: Kristian Schuller, Lera Ábova, Actress, from Anton’s Berlin, published by Hatje Cantz

P H OTO – B O O K S – E X H I B I T I O N S – F E S T I VA L S – AWA R D S –

J O S E F KO U D E L KA RUINS

KRISTIAN SCHULLER

Photos: © Kristian Schuller 2020; © Josef Koudelka/Magnum Photos; © Peter Fink 2020, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; © Piotr Zbierski

A N TO N ’ S B E R L I N

Ode to Berlin: In his latest publication, the Romanian-German fashion photographer Kristian Schuller (born 1970) introduces viewers to the vibrant and multi-faceted world of Berlin’s nightlife scene. The book is brimming with celebrities, but also features revellers who the photographer approached in the capital’s exclusive Berghain Club. Well-known actors, artists, dancers, gallerists, stylists and musicians are joined by colourful characters with occupations such as personal shopper, drag performer, dance captain – or simply, ‘human being’. Schuller’s compositions are as diverse as the people he portrays: some eccentric and flamboyant, others quiet and toned down. Throughout the book the city itself plays a vital role, as the clichés associated with Berlin are both emphasised and playfully brought into question. Created in collaboration with the photographer’s wife, stylist and fashion designer Peggy Schuller, the volume (whose title references the couple’s son) is also a treasure trove of glimpses into the history of portrait and fashion photography. A group of actors posing inside cardboard boxes might be seen as a homage to the compositions of Will McBride, or bring to mind Richard Avedon’s uniquely orchestrated shot of Andy Warhol’s Factory entourage, captured fifty years earlier. With Anton’s Berlin, Schuller (who studied under FC Gundlach and Vivienne Westwood) lets countless influences culminate in a visual cocktail that certainly feels intoxicating, but bears little risk of a hangover. 224 pages, 150 images, 25 × 32.5 cm, English, Hatje Cantz

Between 1991 and 2015, the legendary Magnum photographer (born 1938) travelled across twenty Mediterranean countries to capture the enduring beauty of Ancient Rome and Greece. Rather than depicting ruins within landscapes, his panoramic images turn the remainders of these ancient worlds into fascinating landscapes of their own. 368 p., 170 images, 24.4 × 32.1 cm, Thames & Hudson; French: Éditions Xavier Barral; US edition: Aperture

P I OT R Z B I E R S K I ECHO SHADES

Visualising spirituality: With his intense monochrome images, the Polish photographer Piotr Zbierski (born 1987) seeks to convey more than the eye can see. After the publication of Push the Sky Away in 2017, the artist’s second book once again ventures into realms beyond our material world. On his extensive travels, Zbierski – who won the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer

PETER FINK MY MIND’S EYE

Peter Fink (1907–1984) dedicated his life to beauty – be it as a designer, art director or photographer. This first comprehensive collection of travel photos, street scenes and impressions of rural and city life, is the perfect opportunity to discover the American artist’s work. 208 pages, 188 images, 24 × 28.8 cm, English, Kehrer

Award 2012 – witnessed shamanic rituals in Siberia, spent time with Ethiopia’s Omo River tribes, and explored the mountains of Indonesia. His mysterious scenes capture the magic of the moment, whilst also leaving room for the viewer’s own interpretation. 224 p., 130 images, 17 × 22 cm, Engl./Polish, Pix House; Engl./French edition: André Frère Éditions

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R E M S E N WO L F F

H A R RY G R UYA E RT GA L L E RY F I FT Y O N E , A N TW E R P

In the early nineties, the photographer spent a lot of time at the American Hotel in Amsterdam. He was working on a series of transgender portraits, of which over 50 now make up the exhibition, Amsterdam Girls. From glamorous to vulnerable, the pictures reflect life beyond the spotlight for transgender people. September 11 — December 6, 2020 Photo: Remsen Wolff, Kzaviera, Amsterdam 21 May, 1992

REN HANG FO N DAZ I O N E S OZZA N I , MILAN

Summer in Siam is one of the most popular songs by the Irish folk-punk group, The Pogues. It speaks of a Thai summer, of the heat and of a moon full of rainbows. Maybe the song was written because the summers in their own country are rather dull and grey: misty and 18 degrees. Harry Gruyaert’s pictures present his protagonists spending the best time of the year under a cloudy sky, swimming in the sea, sitting on cliff-tops, and standing in front of ice cream parlours. They do the kind of things that are typical for summertime: they do them in full of colour, but everything happens under a blanket of grey, rainy weather, which is why the island and its meadows are such a juicy green. The Irish Summers exhibition speaks about the summer days the Belgian photographer experienced while travelling around Ireland in 1983 and 1984. The pictures from that time, that originally only appeared in projects and books, are now being shown as an independent series at Gallery Fifty One. “I had so many pictures of the sea-side that I didn’t even know I had. Places attract me. I don’t have a concept. Things attract me, and I attract things as well,” the Magnum photographer says, speaking about the comprehensive collection of images, which resulted from his countless encounters with water-front locations. The Irish coast is just one of them; so the series should not be seen as an individual outcome, but as the process defining his artistic creativity. Gruyaert is a traveller, an observer, a street photographer who captures moments of transition. And in the end it is all imbued with colours – in other words, with life. September 8 — October 24, 2020 Photo: Harry Gruyaert, Ireland, County Kerry 1983

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TINA FREEMAN NOMA, NEW ORLEANS

Lamentations is the title of the series Tina Freeman has been photographing over the last seven years – from the wetlands of Louisiana to the glacial landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic. Using diptychs, she combines pictures from the various regions, telling stories about climate change and the connectivity between the different landscapes. September 13 — October 11, 2020 Photo: Tina Freeman, The Ilulissat Cemetery, Greenland

In the beginning there was the nude. Or, as Ren Hang explains it, “People come to this world naked; so the naked body represents people’s original condition. By shooting nudes, you can feel the person’s real and authentic existence through their naked bodies.” His work is like an anthem to people’s physical forms, their sexuality, beauty and vulnerability. Hang frequently places the human body in unexpected compositions and perspectives: abstract, surreal, provocative. His pictures reveal the feelings and longings of the younger Chinese generation; their fears and loneliness. With photography, the Chinese photographer is being honoured with a retrospective for the first time. Over eighty photographs, videos, books and magazines will be on display. Hang died in 2017 when he was just twenty-nine years old. September 13 — November 29, 2020 Photo: Ren Hang, 2014

Photos: © Harry Gruyaert/Magnum Photos; © The Remsen Wolff Collection, courtesy of Jochem Brouwer 2020; © Tina Freeman; © Ren Hang, courtesy Stieglitz19 and The Estate of Ren Hang

FOA M , A M ST E R DA M

Cadavre Exquis is the term used to describe a method developed in surrealism, where chance plays a part in the production of texts and images; and the gallery adopted this tactic to chose its selection of photos by Isabel Muñoz. Director, Blanca Berlín, explains: “The approach served the surrealists to create concatenated sequences, and allows us today to choose images that represent something important in a career.” Coup de coeur brings together a chronological retrospective and contemporary exhibition by the Catalan

I SA B E L M U Ñ OZ GALERIA BLANCA BERLÍN, MADRID

artist, with iconic examples of her platinum prints and unpublished pieces. It begins with a virtually unknown photograph from the 1982 Lewis Carroll series, then goes on to the Tango series from the 90s, and finally Yakuza, her latest project created in Japan during the pandemic. “Over time, I discovered that I was unconsciously taken by the

early works and guided to what would later become the leitmotif of my career: love and ecstasy,” Isabel Muñoz says. Consequently, it does not matter if the artist captures flamenco dancers, members of an Iraqi, religious brotherhood, or gang members in Salvador: it is people who are at the centre of her artistic photography – caught between sensuality and appearance, intimacy and community. September 10 — November 14, 2020; Photo: Isabel Muñoz, Untitled, Japan series, 2020

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E T H I C A L P H OTO G R A P H Y F E S T I VA L

In 2020, nothing seems to be quite like it used to be. This also applies to the Ethical Photography Festival, which takes place in Lodi, North Italy, for the eleventh time. In light of the pandemic, the event will be subject to numerous changes. Exhibitions will be displayed outdoors, safety measures will be put in place, while ticket sales have been mostly moved online. The past few months might well have altered our perspective on photography itself: festival visitors will view the showcased works in a new, unprecedented context, as we are collectively entering an unfamiliar world in which many certainties have been thrown into question. In short, this year’s edition will be different from anything that has gone before. 108 | LFI

Francesco Caggese: Sotto lo stesso cielo (Under the same sky), 2019 (very top); Monica Pittaluga: Lockdown – The Time Left; 2020

The majority of exhibitions are dedicated to the winning works of the 2020 World Report Award, which is divided into the following categories: Master Award, Spotlight Award, Single Shot Award, Short Story Award,

Student Award and, for the first time, the Mother Earth Award. The latter was introduced to reflect the nature of this year’s festival edition, whereby visitors will engage with the exhibits under the Lombard city’s open skies. Additional presentations in various locations will explore topics such as news, reportages, and humanitarian organisations. A particularly poignant feature of this year’s edition is a selection of photographs taken in Codogno, the first Italian city to be declared a Virus Red Zone. The images tell the story of life in times of the pandemic – heightening our awareness of the extraordinary period of history we are living through. www.festivaldellafotografiaetica.it

LODI, SEPTEMBER 26 — OCTOBER 25, 2020

LEICA GALLERIES SALZBURG

Oskar Anrather: Das Spiel vom Sterben des reichen Mannes AUT | 5020 Salzburg, Gaisbergstr. 12 July 31 — November 7, 2020 S ÃO PAU L O

Currently closed BRA | 01240–000 São Paulo, Rua Maranhão, 600 Higienópolis SINGAPORE

Currently closed Jeff Garlin exhibits in L.A. (l); Nuremberg presents Dr. Paul Wolff & Alfred Tritschler (r.)

STUTTGART

BOSTON

LOS ANGELES

Leica Women Foto Project Exhibition: Debi Cornwall, Yana Paskova & Eva Woolridge

The 6 x 6 Show: Neal Preston, Jesse Diamond, Maggie Steber, Deborah Anderson, Alan Schaller, Jeff Garlin

USA | Boston, MA 02116, 74 Arlington St. March 5 — October 25, 2020

USA | West Hollywood, CA 90048, 8783 Beverly Boulevard July 16, 2020 — January 10, 2021

SUZHOU

MADRID

CHN | Suzhou, Moonlight Dock, No.1 Guanfeng Street, Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu

C O N S TA N C E

Esther Haase: Move! GER | 78462 Constance, Gerichtsgasse 10 July 29 — October 23, 2020 DÜSSELDORF

Walter Vogel: Gabi im Sassafrass GER | KÖ Galerie, Königsallee 60, 40212 Düsseldorf September 10, 2020 — January, 2021 Photos: © Jeff Garlin; © Dr. Paul Wolff & Alfred Tritschler/all rights reserved Thomas Sommer, Offenburg

SIN | Singapore, Raffles Hotel Arcade, #01-20/21, 328 North Bridge Rd., 188719

FRANKFURT

Exhibition with Pictures from the Collection of Renowned Photographers GER | 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Großer Hirschgraben 15 September — January 2021 KYOTO

Kei Ogata: Koha no Shozo (Portraits of Cool Japanese) JPN | Kyoto, 570–120 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama-ku August 1 — November 5, 2020 LONDON

Behind the Scenes of No Time to Die: Images from the latest James Bond film in the making GBR | London, 64–66 Duke Street W1K 6JD October 5 — November 16, 2020

PhotoEspaña: Elliott Erwitt

Claus Friedrich Rudolph: Voll. Fett. Lecker. GER | Calwer Straße 41, 70173 Stuttgart July 7 — October 17, 2020

Not known at time of publication

ESP | 28006 Madrid, Calle de José Ortega y Gasset 34 July 1 — October 9, 2020

TA I P E H

MELBOURNE

Currently closed

TWN | Taiwan, No. 3, Ln. 6, Qingtian St., Da’an Dist., Taipei City 106 May 25 — September 30, 2020

AUS | Melbourne, VIC 3000, Level 1 St Collins Lane, 260 Collins Street

TO KYO

MILAN

M’innamoravo di tutto – featuring originals from Werner Bischof, Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Franco Fontana among others

Alan Schaller: Metropolis

Kundo Koyama: Restaurant JPN | Tokio, 6-4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku July 23 — November 3, 2020 WA R S AW

Not known at time of publication

ITA | 20121 Milan, Via Mengoni 4 September 30 — November 21, 2020

POL | 00–496 Warsaw, Mysia 3

NUREMBERG

LOBA 2020: The Winners

Dr. Paul Wolff & Alfred Tritschler: Frankfurt to Nuremberg by Motorcar

WETZLAR GER | 35578 Wetzlar, Am Leitz-Park 5 October 23 — February 7, 2020

GER | 90403 Nuremberg, Obere Wörthstr. 8 October 5, 2020 — January 16, 2021

VIENNA

PRAGUE

AUT | 1010 Vienna, Walfischgasse 1 August 8 — November 11, 2020

Vasil Stanko: Family Portrait

Phil Hill: The Racing Photographer

TCH | 110 00 Prague 1, Školská 28 September 10 — November 1, 2020

ZINGST

PORTO

GER | 18374 Zingst, Am Bahnhof 1 September 1 — December 10, 2020

Alfredo Cunha: Leica Years – 50 years career using Leica

Nomi Baumgartl: Eagle Wings – Protecting the Alps

POR | 4000-427 Porto, Rua d. Sá da Bandeira, 48/52 September 12, 2020 — January 5, 2021

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“ T H E A RT T RA D E I S A P E O P L E ’ S B U S I N E S S .” I N T E RV I E W

Photo left: © August Sander; photos right: © Werner Mantz, © Thomas Ruff; all pictures courtesy Grisebach GmbbH/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020

Founded in 1986, the Auktionshaus Grisebach, Berlin, has also been auctioning photographs for more than twenty years. Managing Director Diandra Donecker speaks about chance finds and expensive collector items.

LFI: Which photographic era is in par-

ticular demand at the moment? DIANDRA DONECKER: On the whole, vintage photographs from the 1920s to 40s are highly valued, as well as contemporary works by Peter Lindbergh, Candida Höfer and Thomas Ruff. LFI: What are your highlights since you’ve been working for Grisebach? DONECKER: In 2018 we were able to present a rare – and in perfect condition – Moholy-Nagy photogramme from his Bauhaus years in Weimar: it went on to break the record as the most expensive photo ever sold on the German market. Furthermore, in the autumn of 2019 there was a collec-

tion of 72 pictures by August Sanders, Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts (People of the 20th Century), that came from the time when the photographer was still alive. In addition there are a diversity of photographs that really touch me because of their provenance, or that I personally like a lot. LFI: Since when has Grisebach been offering photos and to what extent? DONECKER: Grisebach has included Photography as an independent segment since 1998. We’ve been working for a long time to ensure that photography and art be dealt with on equal terms. However, at the moment photography is only around 10 percent of the Grisebach revenues. LFI: In your opinion, since when has photography been seen as a coveted art form among collectors? DONECKER: In the United States, this has definitely been the case since the seventies. In Germany it still seems to get stuck here and there. Why is that? I can only imagine that it’s due to the technical peculiarities, the reproducibility and sometimes the challenge of tracing editions, edition numbers, stamps, and so on. →

Above: Thomas Ruff, from his Porträts. 1983– 85 series (1998); left: Werner Mantz, Kölnische Zeitung building at the International Press Exhibition, Pressa, at night, Cologne 1928; left page: August Sander: Confectioner, CologneLindenthal, around 1928. From his Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts series, 1912–32

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Clockwise from the top: Horst P. Horst, Hands, Hands, Hands, New York 1941; László MoholyNagy, Untitled, Weimar 1923/25, vintage photogramme; Gertrud Arndt, negative portrait Wera Meyer-Waldeck, Dessau 1930

Above: Albert Renger-Patzsch, Das Bäumchen, 1929. The famous picture of the young cherry tree was one of the photographer’s favourite motifs, and was sold at Grisebach in 2016 for 70 000 euros (including surcharge)

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Photos: © Horst P. Horst, courtesy Grisebach GmbH; © László Moholy-Nagy, courtesy Grisebach GmbH; © Gertrud Arndt courtesy Grisebach GmbH/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020; © Bettina Rheims, courtesy Grisebach GmbH; © Ren Hang, courtesy Grisebach GmbH; © Albert Renger-Patzsch, courtesy VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020

Above: Bettina Rheims, 7 Novembre, Paris, from her Chambre close series, 1991; below: Ren Hang: Untitled, 2014

LFI: To what degree are full series, compared to individual motifs, collector’s items of potential interest? DONECKER: That’s a good question. Photographers such as, for example, Beate Gütschow, Tata Ronkholz, Stephen Shore or Irving Penn, largely conceive their work in series; and yet individual motifs can also make a strong statement. Portraits by August Sander or Thomas Ruff are seen in sequence in a different way, without a series needing to be complete. In other cases, as in the Das Denkmal series by Sibylle Bergemann, or The Brown Sisters series by Nicholas Nixon, it definitely makes sense and is exciting to see the whole sequence. LFI: What role do the size of the editi-

ons play and whether they are signed?

in someone’s face. They can make a good picture even more attractive; but at the same time, if they are too heavy or massive that can spoil things. LFI: What fields do people interested

in photography come from?

DONECKER: We have interested parties

and bidders from all areas, including private individuals, museum representatives and professional collectors. With prices that can start at 500 euros and end at 500 000 euros, we can count on clientele coming from rather different levels of income and background. In addition, of course, there’s a mixof private individuals, traders, and also institutions. LFI: Do you hunt for chance finds, like the photographs by Vivian Maier?

DONECKER: The art trade is a people’s business – long-term, good and close relationships are absolutely essential. A lot of discipline, energy, stamina and patience are also very important. Buying art has a lot to do with honesty, trust and an understanding of the work and of the customer – as well as knowledge and expertise. LFI: You don’t only sell, but also advise in questions of evaluation. DONECKER: Definitively, we offer this as a complementary service. In other words, if you discover something in your grandparents’ house you can send us a snapshot of the front and back sides; as well as details about size, date, artist’s name and title. It’s always helpful to have information about the provenance; how and when was the

“ I AS S U M E T H AT T H E P H OTO M A R K E T W I L L C O N T I N U E TO G R OW I N T H E N E A R F U T U R E . ”

DONECKER: It’s an important criteria. A print run of six is sold out faster than a print run of 200; a print run authorized and signed by the photographer is more desirable than a posthumous print run published by the estate. In general, people like to purchase numbered prints, because then they know that there are only so many copies of this particular motif in this specific size. The registration and the possible recording of the first sale are the responsibility of the publisher, usually in collaboration with the photographers and/or their galleries. LFI: To what degree do a print and

frame belong together? DONECKER: The question of framing is exciting and important. Anyone starting to build up a collection, should also immediately look for a framer. Frames are like a border, like the eyebrows

In your opinion, do you think these kind of finds are repeatable? DONECKER: You should never say never, but I think it would be hard to repeat. In the case of Maier, a lot of things came together: very good quality, exciting picture compositions, and ultimately the immediate support of an important gallery – in this case Howard Greenberg in New York. LFI: How are works delivered to you

or how do you go about acquiring them? DONECKER: Customers or dealers report back to us independently and make offers; then there are also relationships that have grown with private people or dealers over the years, who we contact for the season and speak to directly. In addition, I’m in New York and Paris at least twice a year, where you can re-establish connections or pick up new threads…

work acquired? Who was it inherited from – all information you can get. LFI: What do you see as future developments for the photo market? DONECKER: I assume that the photo market will continue to grow in the near future; compared to other fields, the photo market has more affordable prices, so a beginner collector with a relatively small budget can achieve a lot and put together a nice collection. INTERVIEW: Carla Susanne Erdmann

DIAN DRA DON E C KE R was born in Frankfurt

am Main in 1988. She has an M.A. in Art History, Newer German Literature and Law from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. After a time at Christie’s, she started managing the Photography Department at Grisebach in 2017, and became a Managing Director in 2019, together with Micaela Kapitzky. N EXT AU C TION : Photographie 323,

November 2020, www.grisebach.com

LFI: Which prerequisites are necessary in the art auction business?

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LEICA FOTOGRAFIE I N T E R N AT I O N A L

A N A M A R Í A A R É VA LO MY PICTURE

Beauty behind bars: The Venezuelan photographer took this picture while she was working on her long-term project, Días Eternos (Endless Days).

72nd year | Issue 7.2020

LFI PHOTOGR A PHIE GMBH Burchardstraße 14, 20095 Hamburg, Germany Phone: +49 / 40 / 2 26 21 12 80 Fax: +49 / 40 / 2 26 21 12 70 ISSN: 0937-3977 www.lfi-online.com, mail@lfi-online.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Inas Fayed A RT DIRECTION Brigitte Schaller EDITORIA L OFFICE Katrin Iwanczuk (senior editor), Denise Klink, Bernd Luxa, Danilo Rößger, David Rojkowski PICTURE DESK Carol Körting L AYOUT Thorsten Kirchhoff TR A NSL ATION, SUB-EDITING Robin Appleton, Hope Caton, Anna Sauper, Osanna Vaughn CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Carla Susanne Erdmann, Katja Hübner, Ulrich Rüter, Holger Sparr, Katrin Ullmann M A NAGEMENT BOA RD Steffen Keil

From the Días Eternos series, Venezuela 2018

MEDIA SA LES A ND M A RKETING Samira Holtorf Phone: +49 / 40 / 2 26 21 12 72 Fax: +49 / 40 / 2 26 21 12 70 E-Mail: holtorf@lfi-online.de Valid ad-rate card No. 48, 1 January 2020 REPRODUCTION: Alphabeta, Hamburg PRINTER: Optimal Media GmbH, Röbel/Müritz PA PER: Igepa Profimatt

Venezuela is a country in crisis, with more than five hundred detention centres where inmates can wait years before their case comes before a court. I shot this portrait in 2018 while working on a project about the conditions of women inside detention centres and prisons. In order to achieve the intimacy I was looking for, I used to ask the guards to leave me alone with the women for as long as possible. Beauty has always been important for Venezuelan women. Inside these centres, women take care of their looks even if they do not have any mirrors or visitors. That day, the cell was particularly overcrowded: 22 women sharing one small room. They spent the afternoon doing their hair and applying make-up. This woman had the longest hair, so the other inmates helped her get her hair done. When she was finally ready, I asked her to let me photograph the result. Ana María Arévalo, born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1988, studied photography in Toulouse. She uses photography to produce visual narratives with high documentary value. She received a grant from Women Photograph for the Días Eternos project.

LFI 8/ 2020 WILL APPEAR ON OCTOBER 30, 2020

114 | LFI

DISTRIBUTION LFI (USPS no 0017912) is published 8 times per annum. Subscription price per annum (including shipping) worldwide: 80 €; Digital subscription: 49 € LFI is also available as an app at the Apple iTunes store and at Google Play. LFI SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE P. O. Box 13 31, D-53335 Meckenheim Phone: +49 / 22 25 / 70 85-3 70 Fax: +49 / 22 25 / 70 85-3 99 E-Mail: lfi@aboteam.de All articles and illustrations contained in the magazine are subject to the laws of copyright. Any form of utilization beyond the narrow limits imposed by the laws of copyright and without the expressed permission of the publisher is forbidden and will be prosecuted. LFI prints carbon neutral and supports climate protection projects in Northern Germany. Please find out more at: climatepartner.com

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