photokina sparkles with fascinating photographic artistry

photokina sparkles with fascinating photographic artistry The image as the creative end product of the photographic and imaging industry has always been centre stage of every photokina. 2014 will be no different: from 16-21 September almost 30 (!) individual exhibitions in the halls and a high-quality assortment of fantastic artworks in the Leica gallery will wow visitors from around the world and showcase the enormous breadth of the medium that is the image. The spectrum ranges from the artistic-poetic-seeming long exposures by young artist Andr Wagners to the spectacular nature photographs in the outdoor exhibitions of the Environmental Photo Festival Horizonte Zingst.

The artistic top highlight of photokina 2014 is without doubt the Leica Gallery in Hall 1. This year it is under the music banner. The exhibition connects two mutually enriching and complementary worlds: both music and photography communicate without words. In their own way they appeal to human senses, awake emotions and transport people to a state of euphoria, grief or inner contemplation. In combination, each illuminates new facets of the other genre. The exhibition portfolios design is correspondingly wide-ranging. All facets of musical photography are included, from concert photographs via very personal artists portraits to coverage offering enthralling behind the scenes concert insights.

Among the chosen photographers is legendary music photographer Jim Marshal (1936-2010) from the USA. Among the exhibits are his shots of the last Beatles concert and the Rolling Stones Tour of 1972 and a collection of photographs capturing the legendary Ashbury district in San Francisco during the so-called Summer of love.

Photographers such as Glen Craig (A day in the life of Miles Davis), J rgen Schadeberg (Jazz in South Africa) and Anton Corbijn with a series of self-portraits also enrich the Leica Gallery programme. The latter slips in various roles of deceased musicians, for example as Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin and Elvis Presley. Lois Hechenblaikner rounds off the photographic music concept with photographs of folk music fans and their visits to the concert (Von Paradiesen und Apokalypsen - Of Paradises and Apocalypses). These are also supplemented by photographic projects by musicians for whom photography has become a second passion. They include the English singer and songwriter Jamie Cullum and the Lebanese violinist Georges Yammine from Qatar. Canadian rock singer and composer Bryan Adams also presents his series of photos entitled Wounded: the legacy of war, a series on wounded war returnees. Till Br nner, trumpeter, singer and composer, is exhibiting portraits of musician friends and colleagues.

Images of nature

The Environmental Photo Festival horizonte Zingst will be represented with four exhibitions at once. With Butterfly by the photographer Jan Michael Hosan (in front of the entrance south) and - together with GEO - the exhibition Pandas: The unusual way back (in front of the entrance north) two impressive outdoor presentations are included. For the panda images, photographer Ami Vitale accompanied a scientist and television team to the mountainous region of the Chinese province of Sichuan to photograph Giant Pandas that are to be released into the wilderness surrounding the Chinese nature reserve and research centre. This yielded impressive photos of an endangered species. Butterfly exhibits impressive images of delicate butterflies of a size and beauty never previously represented in photographic form. Photographer Jan Michael Hosan went for it and made the colours of the delicate creatures glow using a specially subtle lighting technique.

horizonte zingst also presents the best pictures of the online photo competition heartbeat of nature (passage 2/4) and the exhibition Nomaden am Feuer - Das Naturvolk der Himba (Nomads by the fire - the indigenous people of the Himba) by photographer Michael Poliza on the North Boulevard. This side of the broad Kunene river that separates Namibia and Angola, he encountered the Himba, one of the last nomadic peoples. Approximately 7,000 of them live to this day in the north of the Namib, one of the worlds oldest deserts. Polizas photos capture the nomadic peoples soul with great sensitivity.

The International Nature Photography Award Glanzlichter (highlights) is one of the biggest and most famous German nature photography competitions.

The exhibited award-winning photos document the high standard of nature photography and are at the same time a plea to us all to assert ourselves for the protection and preservation of nature. Of particular interest for visitors: the Glanzlichter exhibition is personally supervised by the competitions organisers. They are available to answer any queries, offer daily tours of the exhibition and provide background information on the respective photos. Location: passage 4/5

In the scope of the photokina, National Geographic Germany will be presenting a selection of the best photographs from the 125-year history of the legendary magazine. The exhibition, comprising 55 exceptional photos, reflects the magazines most important expeditions and coverage. Location: passage 4/5

Treating nature with sensitivity and care, and image authenticity, are of paramount importance in the internationally highly regarded competition GDT European Nature Photographer of the Year. The exhibition at photokina 2014 presents the winning photos from 2013. Location: Hall 6, A-030/B-032

A different take on nature: in his exhibition Visions of Time, photographer Andr Wagner addresses real existing light situations, creating artistic, poetic pictures through the use of long exposures. He succeeds with the camera in expanding visual perception and the image context. Location: Hall 6, Stand C-030/ D-031

350 historic photographs taken by European and indigenous photogr

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