• Telegram from Ufa
    25.09.2009 | Linn Schröder, Heinrich Völkel | On the road

    Dear reader,
    we apologize that we are only able to offer this post in German.
    Please use one of the translation programs on the internet (e.g. Google Transator) to translate the interview into English.
    Your sincerely,
    The Ostkreuz blog team

    Dienstag, 22.9., Flughafen Berlin-Tegel, 12:25 Uhr.


    Linn Schröder und ich, Heinrich Völkel, sitzen in einem startenden Flugzeug, das uns via Moskau nach Ufa in Russland bringen wird. Hier im Südural werden wir als Referenten einen Workshop betreuen, der "Wie fotografiert man Veränderung - Jugend im Islam" zum Thema haben wird. Mit uns reisen vier Foto-Studenten aus Deutschland. Florian Oellers (Ostkreuz-Schule), Lia Darjes, Nele Gülck und Johannes Mengel (alle HTW Hamburg) werden zusammen mit 11 Nachwuchsfotografen aus Ufa und ganz Russland 4 Tage lang zum Thema arbeiten und fotografieren. Ankunft 2:15 Uhr im Hotel.

    Konferenz

    read on ...

  • 4. November 1989
    25.09.2009 | Christoph Wilde | "Radfahrer"

    Christoph Wilde: Hello Harald, the following picture from the archive shows the mass demonstration which took place on Alexanderplatz on 4 November 1989.

    Großdemonstration - Alexanderplatz, Berlin 1989
    © Harald Hauswald/OSTKREUZ

    Where did you take it?

    Harald Hauswald: The photo was taken from the café of the television tower, it was a bit difficult to shoot through its coated double-glazed windows. 


    CW: What did it feel like assisting this event? 


    HH: It was oddly uplifting to see so many people gathered for the first non-state-run demonstration since the uprising on 17 June 1953.


    CW: Did you realize the effect the mass demonstration would have? 


    HH: I would never have thought that this photo would one day be displayed at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (it is part of the exhibition 'Ostzeit - Stories from a vanished country'). Many people had the vague hope that the GDR government would implement timid reforms but I don't think anybody predicted that we would all be given passports only a couple of days later. 


    CW: Thank you, Harald.

  • Manila
    21.09.2009 | Espen Eichhöfer | On the road

    Manila

    Manila, the capital of the Philippines, has estimated 20 million inhabitants. The majority of the people of this city, because of the lack of land reform, migrated from the countryside to the city. Their life here in Manila is poor, but compared with life in the province often better. The people here settle in every conceivable corner, that the city provides as possible occupations (hence the term "squatter area"): port facilities, at the course of rivers, bridges, actually everywhere.

    read on ...

  • Frank Schinski
    21.09.2009 | Dawin Meckel | Inside OSTKREUZ
    Dawin Meckel: Hello Frank, you have been a junior member of OSTKREUZ - agency of the photographers for more than six months now. What made you apply to OSTKREUZ?

    Portrait - Frank Schinski

    © Andreas Meichsner

    Frank Schinski: My intuition. I was impressed by the 'spirit' of this collective already during my studies, I felt that I would fit in and when I had finished them I simply called Betty. 

    DM: What are the benefits of a group led by photographers compared to big agencies like laif or Focus?

    FR: I was never part of an agency like Laif or Focus. The idea of being one of hundreds of photographers represented in a database always discouraged me from applying. OSTKREUZ is a rather small agency, only few photographers are admitted and I think this fact carries certain advantages, especially as regards personal exchange among colleagues. 

    DM: At what point of your photographic work do you see yourself at the moment - is the connection to the collective a sort of turning point in your career? 

    FR: I wouldn't say so. The term turning point implies turning back and going in a different direction. I think OSTKREUZ offers a good opportunity to continue on my way. 

    DM: Are there any topics which particularly interest you as a photographer?

    FR: Yes, there are, I'm particularly interested in subjects with a sociological background. 

    DM: Do you have a rather intuitive or conceptual approach to photography –are you rather a hunter or a collector?

    FR: Both. At the beginning of a photographic project I make a concept how I would like to proceed, I define a frame to drift in and coincidence becomes my best friend.

  • OSTZEIT - Finissage
    20.09.2009 | OSTKREUZ | Books/Exhibitions
    On 13 September 2009 the OSTKREUZ exhibition "OSTZEIT - Stories from a vanished country" ended with a panel discussion entitled "The change in the perception of GDR life in today's collective memory" with photographers Sibylle Bergemann, Harald Hauswald and Thomas Hoepker (Magnum), writer Ingo Schulze and presenter Marion Brasch. 

    The audience was taken in by the fascinating stories the participants told about their lives in the GDR. Hoepker was the first West-German photo journalist to get an accreditation for the GDR. After initial difficulties he was warmly welcomed by a group of photographers led by Sibylle Bergemann, Arno Fischer, Ute and Werner Mahler and still today fondly recalls the circle of friends he was cordially admitted to. 
    Ostzeit - Finissage

    read on ...

  • Viking hat.
    18.09.2009 | Christoph Wilde | "Radfahrer"

    Christoph Wilde: Hello Harald, I have found the following picture in our archive.

    Harald Hauswald on the way to a football match, 1988, GDR

    You accompanied football fans on their way to a football match in 1988. Which match were you going to see?


    Harald Hauswald: The photo was taken in 1990 and the match took place in Wolfsburg, the Union fans had rented a coach. 


    CW: You are wearing a Viking hat.


    HH: The hooligans put it on my head for the photo, they thought it was funny.


    CW: Who won the game?


    HH: I remember match results only in exceptional circumstances, I would have to make a phone call if you wanted to know for sure. Many of the guys are walking Union databases and ready to retrieve every single match.


    CW: Thank you, Harald.

  • How To Make A Book With Steidl
    17.09.2009 | OSTKREUZ | Books/Exhibitions

    Bookprint at Steidel

    Buchcover 24h Berlin

    The Idea
    This book attempts that which is actually impossible: to capture an entire day in the life of a city. Twenty-four hours, from one sunrise to the next. That said, the book does not seek to reduce a day to simply a number of hours or minutes. Rather, a day consists of different moments that come into being when – for an instant – what was, what is, and what could be are revealed at the same time. When photography manages to record such moments, then the sense of time held within them is suspended, made permanent. That is the wish of this book, to stop time and to preserve it, and thereby to create a record for the future: to know how things once were, and how we once lived. All on a single September day in Berlin.

    read on ...

  • Visa Pour L´Image
    09.09.2009 | OSTKREUZ | On the road

    The "Visa Pour L'Image Photo Festival" in Perpignan/France is probably the most important festival for photojournalistic photography. For five days OSTKREUZ photographer Thomas Meyer, the office representatives Andrea Schewe, Joerg Brueggemann and Christoph Wilde were among the collectives to represent OSTKREUZ at the festival. At the same time, the "24hBerlin" book was presented at C/O Berlin, so that many OSTKREUZ photographers unfortunately could not join the event. A lot of picture editors looked at the photo booklets, which were produced especially for this event - and optioned a few features. The new website was introduced there as well, and pleased at once. To summarize the trip: It was good to have been there - have met old friends again and have gained some new ones.

    Booth at the Visa Pour L´Image

    At the screening

    © OSTKREUZ