So I'm the intern. And I'd like to to tell you a little about the agency OSTKREUZ, directly from my workplace.
I'm actually studying Communication Design here in Berlin, but want to photograph. I have always been excited about stories, stories about life, stories that bring the people, from wherever, may it be from South America or from in front of your doorstep, to the people here. My Prof. recommended Ostkreuz to me and now and then I visited the website, and was always inspired by stories like "Living on a Dump" by Jordis Antonia Schloesser, "Sworn Virgins" by Pepa Hristova, now especially by Andrej Krementschouk's "Come Bury Me" (I love the stories he tells from his journeys when he's here), even Joerg Brueggemann's "Same Same But Different" (although he's already off and away in Indonesia, tinkering on another story). So, really, I love stories from other places - I'm young and still have this wanderlust urging me to go - but particularily at home photography can make things visible, which are no longer noticed by the majority of the people. Now I'm finally here (again, on recommendation - of the photographer I assisted the last three months).
Considering the Praktikum.doc I'm supposed to tear out published photographs from magazines, send out the "daily downloads" ("IMPORTANT: Check all image downloads, varify all clients, anticipate possible complications! e.g. "BILD" - largest german yellow press - downloads a picture of one of Germany's most famous television hosts, Guenther Jauch: oh oh"), browse the database for new clients, answer image requests, "gladly do" price arrangements!
Up until now, though, it was actually more interesting than all that may sound like! viz. not only is there the computer screen, but also a bunch of quite interesting people, who in turn do not only sit in front of a screen themselves:
For example, I assisted Annette Hauschild casting kids for a new designer collection (photo). At the end, all the kids were jumping around the "photographer's room", having been animated out of their shyness by the photographer.
© Annette Hauschild/OSTKREUZ
I also pulled out old photographs from the analogue archive (a room full of negatives and prints, many quite some years older than myself, stored away in boxes and cupboards... but more about that later), scanned them, sent the files, ineptly greeted the requester with "Dear Mrs ..." instead of the appropriate "Mr."! At the weekly office meeting I curiously followed the discussions of the established with the younger photographers (I'm not sure, exactly, what it was all about anymore, perhaps the media crisis or the economic crisis, perhaps the different approaches of the photographers, or of the agency... one learns a lot about life here).
Later I listened in on the blog meeting and have now begun to write: "The Intern"", that's me, and I want to, from time to time, allow you a view into OSTKREUZ, want to show you that it's more than just the invisible office in Greifswalder Strasse 216 (only a small, one inch wide sticker next to the bell betrays it), that it's full of hunters and gatherers, full of images and opinions, thirsty for action.
David Vogt
