Leica Fotografie international Special Edition Äą 1. 2015
Winners & Finalists
LEICA
Oskar Barnack Award
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2015
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4 Focus
6 JH Engström The Swedish photographer has won the 2015 Leica Oskar Barnack Award for his Tout Va Bien series.
Dear Readers, Photos, photos, everywhere photos! Social Media has become an instrument for distributing photos! Photography is by far the world’s number one hobby. But, hold on… isn’t there something else? Couldn’t we be experiencing a landslide of snapshots that threatens to swallow us up? At this point, it makes sense to take a deep breath and look for examples that can help and inspire us to take better pictures. It’s clear that not every smart phone photographer is an artist, but if they take time to examine outstanding pictures, they can soon develop their own imagery. With this in mind, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award tries, year after year, to present examples that shine like light houses in an immense ocean of photographs. We thank the jury for their efforts and look forward to the pictures series. Andreas Kaufmann, LEICA Camera AG
18 Fabio Bucciarelli The creation of the State of South Sudan was to bring an end to the suffering of the population – a deceptive hope.
24 Anastasia Vlasova The Ukrainian journalist documents the war being waged in the separatist region to the east of her home country.
30 Anni Leppälä Inspired by lyrical works and artistic film direction, Leppälä has created an impressionistic series full of riddles.
36 Igor Pisuk Pisuk reflects his daily life and his emotions in self-portraits and studies of nature.
42 Helge Skodvin The strange behaviour of animals at the Natural History Museum in the Norwegian town of Bergen.
48 Bieke Depoorter A place to spend the night: Depoorter took photographs in the homes of chance acquaintances.
54 Guillaume Martial People as a measure of things: Martial placed himself as an integral part of architectural structures.
60 Danila Tkachenko Leica Fotografie international Special Edition Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2015 LFI PHOTOGRAPHIE GMBH ISSN: 0937-3977 www.lfi-online.de, mail@lfi-online.de Editors in chief: Inas Fayed, Frank P. Lohstöter Art Direction: Brigitte Schaller Layout: Thorsten Kirchhoff Contributors: Carla Susanne Erdmann, Katrin Iwanczuk, Bernd Luxa, Ulrich Rüter, Simon Schwarzer, Katrin Ullmann, Osanna Vaughn (translation) The magazine and all its written and pictorial content are copyrighted, and can not be reproduced without written permission. Leica – registered trademark – 25175
The icy legacy of the Soviet Union: a glimpse at the ruins of progress.
66 Matt Wilson Wilson’s atmospheric images of the United States reveal that the American Dream has seen better days.
72 Wiktoria wojciechowska Cyclists in the incessant rain: Wojciechowska’s Short Flashes series has earned her the Newcomer Award.
82 picture Index
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Leica
Oskar Barnack award
2015
JH Engström
Tout Va Bien JH Engström’s photography gives visual form to existential states. Without focussing on one specific style, Engström collects various impressions in rural and urban scenes – impressions that correspond to his emotions. In doing so, he explores what existence is really all about. 6
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Fina lis t 2015 | Fabio Bucciarelli
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Fabio Bucciarelli
On the brink of an abyss The independence of South Sudan in July 2011 was supposed to put an end to decades of civil war. While people were full of hope immediately after the State was created, just a few years later, Fabio Bucciarelli discovered a young country on the edge of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The Dinka people have a long tradition of cattle raising. A herdsman protects his herd – with a gun if necessary
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Fina lis t 2015 | Ana s ta sia V l a sova
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Anastasia Vlasova
The Sense of War “This is my country, I really care about what’s going on, and I want the world to care as well.” The Ukrainian photographer, Anastasia Vlasova, has been documenting the conflict that has overrun her country, on both sides of the shifting borderline. A reportage on Ukraine at war.
Suddenly between two fronts: pro-Russian separatists control civilians at a check point on the Russian border
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Anni Leppälä
The book of images Finnish photographer Anni Leppälä sees pictures as a way to access what is hidden beneath the surface. Inspired by the impressionistic lyricism of Rainer Maria Rilke, her camera captures an aesthetic beauty that lies somewhere between dream and reality. Excerpts from her poetic cycle The Book of Images.
“Lord: it is time. The summer was immense. Let thine shadows upon the sundials fall, and unleash the winds upon the open fields.” (Taken from Rainer Maria Rilke, The Book of Images)
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Anni Leppä l ä | Fina lis t 2015
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Igor Pisuk
Deceitful Reverence Pisuk applies the principles of subÂjecÂtive documentation to his work, placing his experiences and his surroundings at the centre of an apparently sponÂtaneous and random imagery. Though he approaches his environment with openness, his photography serves above all as a mirror reflecting himself.
Self portraits make up an important part of the series. They are often combined with other portraits or obscure studies of nature or interiors
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Igor Pisuk | Fina lis t 2015
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Fina lis t 2015 | Helge Skodvin
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Helge Skodvin
A Moveable Beast The Natural History Museum in Bergen, Norway, is undergoing a process of renovation that will take various years. Shortly before they were moved into storage, Helge Skodvin visited the mounted animals there for the last time and, with his fine sense for the bizarre, created a post-modern bestiary.
A polar bear tries to remain anonymous after a successful hunt (left); a northern goshawk lifts weights (above)
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Bieke Depoorter
I am about to call it a day A young woman hitchhikes alone through the United States. Night after night, she looks for a place to sleep in the homes of strangers, revealing her vulnerability to them. In exchange, the Belgian photographer Bieke Depoorter has the chance to document her hosts’ daily lives.
Staged, and yet very intimate: glimpses of living environments in the United States
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Biek e Depoorter | Fina lis t 2015
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Guillaume Martial
Parade People in harmony with their surroundings: it is not always easy, but that is precisely what the French photographer, Guillaume Martial, tries to capture in his pictures. An interplay between people and architecture, a choreography made up of form, structure and body language: clear the ring!
“Photography is a medium in which you can play with reality and create your own personal fiction,� says Martial
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Guill aume M artia l | Fina lis t 2015
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Danila Tkachenko
Restricted Areas The Muscovite photographer has created a series of images symbolizing a failed ideology, where statement and aesthetics enter into a convincing symbiosis. The abandoned remains of the pursuit of per fection in formerly secret locations, speak of past triumphs, but also of failures – of a perfect future that never came.
The cultural centre in an abandoned mining town, now a testing ground for bombs (above); what was once the world’s largest diesel submarine (right)
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Danil a T k achenko | Fina lis t 2015
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Fina lis t 2015 | M at t Wil son
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Matt Wilson
Stateside The American Dream is fading, yet Americans still appreciate the principles behind it. British photographer Matt Wilson presents atmospheric images reflecting current impressions of the USA. They are reminiscent of film stills – barely placeable, in diffused light and always bordering on hopelessness.
Somewhere in the broad expanses of the USA – there are surely more inviting places than this motel surrounded by high wire fencing
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Leica
Oskar Barnack Award
2015 Newcomer Award
Wiktoria Wojciechowska
Short Flashes Passing by in the blink of an eye: Wiktoria Wojciechowska photographed Chinese cyclists riding in the inclement, on-going rain. She considers her snapshot-like images are real portraits, as they speak of the truth of an undisguised moment. 72
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