First German Street Photography Festival

The first German Street Photography Festival took place in Hamburg from 21 to 23 June 2019. In addition to a photo competition with the theme “My Kiez” and a symposium with many interesting lectures and discussions, the focus was on the exchange between street photographers. The initiators of the German Street Photography Festival Marco Larousse, Martin U Waltz and Siegfried Hansen The aim was to put the no longer young but still delicate plant of street photography in Germany in the right light so that it can grow.

Street photography is not my biggest photographic hobby, even though I try this subject every now and then. But I couldn't miss the opportunity to experience new inspiration. Attentive readers of my blog also know that co-initiator Marco a long-time and good friend is. It made sense to combine the pleasant with the useful and get hired as an event photographer. A very good decision, as I know after this weekend. But one after anonther….

Where are the Hamburg women?

The German Street Photography Festival will be a gathering of German street photographers. Cologne, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hanover, Nuremberg, Munich are the cities from which collectives or street photography clubs imagine themselves - sometimes even two. During the breaks I talk to people from Karlsruhe or Iserlohn and then Nice, Prague and Romania. But where are the Hamburg women? Of course there are female photographers present, but far too few. There is no higher-class meeting on this topic with German photographers in this country and the locals are missing out on this great opportunity. And there is no association of street photographers of any kind in Hamburg. But I would be surprised if the map remained white for long after this weekend. By the way, the people of Nuremberg have one Database of German photographers, who give street photography a face in Germany.

Definitions and rules in street photography

At the beginning of the symposium we agree on terminology: street photography not only sounds terrible, it is also misleading. With German thoroughness, some in Germany are ruining Wikipedia. You can find enough content on the Internet to do this - the entry there on street photography is one of them. So forget the term. Street Photography – Street photography is much better and easier to understand. Now people who are not very familiar with this difficult profession just have to understand that street photography works best with people in the pictures. This is nothing new and also logical. I would like to refer you here on my notes the lecture by Zack Arias that I heard in London in 2013.

Add people. They give your pictures scale, time and location. And it helps to connect the viewer to the picture.

Zack Arias, 2013 at Gulf Photo Plus in London

There are few rules in street photography, a lot is allowed. Different perspectives on the genre make it so interesting, diverse and exciting. At the Photoslam at the end of the day on Saturday and Sunday it becomes clear that some rules are advisable to apply.

• Just because the image is a snapshot, it still has to be neatly constructed.
• Overlapping bodies does not help with image composition
• Writing is just distracting
• Street musicians and beggars are only included in street photography in exceptional cases
• Black and white is not an end in itself
• Focal lengths over 50mm (calculated on a XNUMXmm format) are rarely needed

The three initiators Martin, Siegfried and Marco make this clear with a lot of humor in the images submitted in the blind testing of the Photoslam. Those present are all the more pleased about the many successful photos.

Inspiration at the symposium

In between there are many lectures and great inspiration in the symposium. Marco Larousse, who gave a very good and encouraging speech on street photography in Germany on the opening evening, brings everyone up to date on the latest case law. Siegfried Hansen reveals his beginnings and then valuable tips on how he trains his viewing habits. His interesting pictures prove him right. Pia Parolin from Nice shows how she was able to help with her pictures after the attack and created a wonderful street photography series. Birka Wiedmaier jumped in at short notice and was able to report on her photo walks in her neighborhood - from the metropolises of Moscow and Istanbul. Martin U Waltz included his own website and participation in social media. As usual, he gave lots of good tips and suggestions.

My conclusion from the first German Street Photography Festival

Oh, how happy I am that I took the weekend off. The atmosphere and people were simply unbelievably good. Sure, there is always potential for improvement the first time. Anything else would be surprising. The space for the many great conversations should be increased. When street photographers from all over Germany – and sometimes even further afield – come to a city like Hamburg, they naturally want to get something in front of their lens. More good examples of the power of street photography could be presented at the symposium. But all in all it was a really great event. Marco summed it up well at the end:

The first German Street Photography Festival was like a family reunion. Only without envy and resentment.

Marco Larousse at the end of the event

Personally, the weekend really motivated me to try this difficult field of street photography more intensively. And I made lots of new friends. I can only hope that this variable art form of photography will gain new momentum in Germany. Reducing it to the legal situation does not do justice to street photography. Empathy is also of enormous importance for this type of photography.

Thanks to the efforts of the initiators who made this festival possible in the first place. Thanks also to the sponsors Panasonic Lumix, Cozyspeed, Skylum luminar and also Soul of Street, their subscription of their magazine I can highly recommend.

In any case, this festival is literally crying out for a repeat. I would be happy to be there again.