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L e i c a F o t o g r a f i e I n t e r n at i o n a l E n g l i s h E d i t i o n
Tuan A
nh Le Protti o s a Tomm
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l e g o V r Walte
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Repeat Winner of the TIPA Award – 2013/2017
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Lfi 8. 2019
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88 | winners and Finalists
74 | L e i c a S L 2 At the heart of the new SL2 is a 47-megapixel sensor, powered by the new Maestro III processor. Almost every other element has also been optimised
The winner of the 2019 Leica Oskar Barnack Award is Mustafah Abdulaziz, while the newcomer award goes to Nanna Heitmann. An overview of both the winners and the finalists
8 0 | INTERVIEW
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Part two of our interview with Stefan Daniel, Head of Product Management at Leica, revolves around the Q2, the APS-C range, the L-Mount and the new SL2
104 | Books Tuan Anh Le: from his The Stranger series
84 | special Editions Every year since 1975, Leica have introduced special variants of their cameras in limited editions. The most recent releases are the M Monochrom “Signature”, the M10-P “ASC Edition” and the Leica CL “Bauhaus” with a blackfinish camera body and lens
1 0 6 | f e s t i va l s
Walter Vogel 6 | L e i c a h a ll o f fa m e
Honouring one of the greats of German reportage photography: Walter Vogel has been inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame for his life’s work
Robin Hinsch 2 2 | J Ì ND Ù
The future is happening now! A 23-day journey took the photographer to eight of China’s high-tech megacities With its optimised ergonomics, the SL2 appears distinctly more compact than the SL
New publications by Tomas van Houtryve, Anja Conrad, Joel Meyerowitz und Lia Darjes
Tommaso Protti 3 4 | TERRA VERME L HA
The Carmignac Award-winner documented the conflicts in the Brazilian Amazon region in ruthless black and white images
Herlinde Koelbl 4 8 | SEISMIC P RECISION
Discover a world of imagery at Paris Photo, the Photolux Festival in Lucca, Italy, and the LagosPhoto Festival in Nigeria 1 0 8 | L e i c a G a ll e r i e s The programme for Leica Galleries around the world, including iconic works by Steve McCurry at the newly-opened Leica Gallery in Madrid 1 1 0 | I n t e rv i e w Sebastião Salgado is the first photographer to receive the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. We spoke with jury member Felicitas von Lovenberg 114 | my picture On the way to Los Angeles, David Nissen discovered that the motif finds the photographer and not the other way around 114 | imprint
German living rooms, target ranges and portraits: a glimpse at Herlinde Koelbl’s oeuvre on the occasion of her 80th birthday
Tuan Anh Le 62 | the stranger
A photographic meditation on the relationship between humanity and the landscape, and a journey in search of one’s own self
Cover: Walter Vogel, Boy, Düsseldorf 1955
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L e i c A H a ll o f f a m e
Walter Vogel A chronicler of his time and classic reportage photographer: Walter Vogel has been inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame in honour of his life’s work. Here is a selection of motifs from five decades – in black and white, of course. These perfectly precise records of the analogue era continue to fascinate to this day. 6 |
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LeicA M
Robin Hinsch JÌNDÙ
One photographer, eight cities, 23 days: criss-crossing China with a Leica M, Hinsch’s series reveals the promises for the future and the ailments of the present.
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With a great sense for detail, Hinsch looked for a common denominator between cities such as Hong Kong, Chongqing and Guangzhou. The logistic challenges imposed by the brief time available soon became a part of the project for the photographer
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As though defined by a glistening dystopia, the pictures challenge the viewer to find a sense of security within the strangeness, calm within the unsettled, and order within a visual chaos
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LeicA M | SL
Tommaso Protti
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The strong tensions in the Amazon region can been seen just as much in the cities as in the rural areas. Above: A member of the Guajajara Forest Guard on patrol. Indigenous activists like him are regularly harassed, threatened and in the worse cases, even murdered. Left: A leader of the movement of landless farmers close to the CanaĂŁ dos CarajĂĄs region. The movement is fighting for agricultural reform in the whole of Brazil
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L e i c A C L ASSICS
Herlinde Koelbl SEISMIC P R ECISION
An exceptionally diverse life’s work, distinguished by a unique style of storytelling that simultaneously serves as objective documentary and insightful commentary: a homage to Herlinde Koelbl, one of Germany’s most important contemporary photographers, on the occasion of her 80th birthday.
The series Das Deutsche Wohnzimmer (The German Living Room), 1980, is a fascinating study of Germany’s social classes: The Home of Rudolf and Inge R. (manufacturer and painter)
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Schlafzimmer (Bedrooms), 2002, was created in London, Berlin, Moscow, Rome, New York and Paris. Fashion designer Wolfgang Joop in Berlin
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LeicA sL
Tuan Anh Le th e s tra n g e r
In his series, Tuan Anh Le speaks about people’s existence within the broad expanses of nature, and about the relationship between people and the landscape. Using fantastic, surreal compositions, he goes in search of his own I.
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“To me, the meaning of being a photographer is quite literally to be ‘writing’ with light. As far as I’m concerned, lighting is the most difficult, but also the most interesting aspect of a photo,” Anh Le explains
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A Gr e at F e at Leica sl2
Along with an enormously high resolution, the Leica SL2 delivers next-level quality in every aspect of its performance – while its almost universal compatibility with Leica lenses makes it the ultimate all-rounder in the company’s camera catalogue.
Has it really been four years since the SL was introduced to the market? At the time of its release, the Leica SL was considered a small revolution: not many people (with the exception of Leica M photographers, of course) had embraced the idea of a future that belonged to mirrorless system cameras, as opposed to the mirror reflex cameras that had traditionally dominated the market. The SL2 now continues this success story. At first glance, the new camera seems very like its predecessor, and even the spec sheet reveals little more than the introduction of the Leica Q2’s sensor to the SL system. But appearances can be deceptive; in reality, almost every element of the SL2 is brand new – including a much more powerful sensor, increased process74 |
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ing power, vastly improved video capability, a new operating concept, and an array of added features. N ew ca mera b ody. The
SL2’s body has been entirely redesigned in line with a classic three-part construction: the central section is now made of magnesium alloy, while the top and base plates continue to be milled from aluminium. Another subtle change is that the edges of the camera have become more rounded, while the trim now also covers the front of the camera body; the handgrip has been reduced in size, and now features an indentation on the inner surface for increased comfort and security. As a result of these design details, the SL2 – despite having almost exactly the same dimensions as the SL – actually feels
much more compact and ergonomic. On the rear of the camera, the four unmarked keys that were previously positioned on either side of the display have been replaced by three clearly labelled buttons to the left of the (larger and higher-resolving) screen. The SL2’s new operating concept – adopted from the Leica Q2 – is considerably more streamlined, not least due to the fact that the display now also serves as a touchscreen. In addition to the classic camera menu, Leica have introduced two dedicated status menus for stills and video recording, so that the main parameters for either mode can now be adjusted separately from each other – a practice that is unusual but extremely convenient. A look through the Leica
EyeRes® viewfinder reveals yet another improvement: a new OLED display, which now offers a resolution of 5.76 megapixels. New interior. While all
of these enhancements are valuable, the key component of any digital camera is the image sensor – and this is where the SL2 has made a remarkable leap: with 47 megapixels (which Leica only recently premiered in the Q2), the SL2 offers almost double the effective resolution of its predecessor – a truly →
The SL2 features a brand new camera body, with a leather trim that now also covers the front of the camera. Next to the rear display are three clearly labelled keys, which have been adopted from the Leica Q2
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Leica
Oskar Barnack Award 2019
Speci al e d i t i o n L FI: The special edition of LFI
with detailed information about the twelve selected series for the 2018 Leica Oskar Barnack Award, is now available at the LFI Shop (lfi-online.de/shop). LOBA ex h i b i t i o n s : Photolux Festival, Lucca, November 16 to December 8, 2019. Further locations are under planning.
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Each year, projects submitted to the Leica Oskar Barnack Award cover a broad range of socially relevant subjects. In addition, the competition also offers surprising insights into the world of artistic photography and provides a forum where the connection between documentary reportage and a more artificial approach can be revealed, as is true in the case of this year’s winner, Mustafah Abdulaziz, and winner of the newcomer award, Nanna Heitmann. Abdulaziz’s monumental Water project is one he began eight years ago to explore how humanity deals with nature at the elemental, hedonistic and religious levels. In an essay laden with metaphors both subtle and striking, he underlines our dependency on the supply of this essential element. Heitmann considers her Hiding from Baba Yaga series as a documentation of life along the Yenisei River in Siberia, yet it is inspired by Slavic folklore and illustrations for Russian fairytales. So, even more than reportage, she views her project as documenting the mythology of the region. “I look for dream-like images,” she explains. Members of the jury for this year’s competition included Milena Carstens (Head of Photo Editing ZEITmagazin), Steve McCurry (photographer), Max Pinckers (winner of LOBA 2018), Karin Rehn-Kaufmann (Art Director and Chief Representative Leica Galleries International) and Enrico Stefanelli (Director Photolux Festival Lucca). In her congratulatory message to the winners, Rehn-Kaufmann referred to the fact that “Abdulaziz and Heitmann had asserted themselves over the 2300 participants from 99 countries, convincing the entire jury with their impressive, relevant and touching photography”. This year’s winner will receive prize money of 25 000 euros and Leica M equipment valued at 10 000 euros; the newcomer winner will be awarded 10 000 euros and a Leica M camera with lens. Short-listed finalists can each look forward to a cash prize of 2500 euros. In addition to Abdulaziz and Heitmann, works of other photographers also stretch the boundaries beyond simple documentation: Rafael Heygster’s series about the staging of war; Swedish photography-duo Johan Willner & Peo Olsson, with their exploration of the ‘heaps’ phenomenon; and, in particular, Tomas van Houtryve, with his series dealing with a forgotten and ignored chapter of American history. At the same time, it is fair to say that classic reportage photography within the current contexts of war, migration, crisis and conflict, continues to have a strong presence in LOBA 2019. In this regard, jury member Steve McCurry says, “Contemporary reportage photography deals more creatively with the political, social and environmental aspects of life. It reaches a broader general public because it goes beyond just magazine publications. Nowadays you can see reportage photography at exhibitions, in books, in projections or on the streets. I really believe that all the walls, papers, and monitors that show us the world in which we live, will contribute to educating people. LOBA plays an active and positive role in meeting this challenge. I can’t imagine anything more important than documenting everything on our planet that is influenced by humanity. Photography, just like painting or literature, should be defined by freedom and artistic expression. I myself tend towards stories that explain the world to me as seen through another person’s lens: race, migration, climate change; these are all important subjects that we need to examine closely.” Bernd Luxa
Mustafah Abdulaziz, Water, 2019 LOBA winner, see also the next page
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