Galeria Sław

“I don't take pictures of dogs. To me, dogs are people.”

Elliott Erwitt is considered one of the world's best-known photographers (1928 - 2023). His works, which are mostly in black and white feature not only prominent personalities but also memorable moments in contemporary history, are considered modern masterpieces of photography. As a self-confessed dog fan, the four-legged friends also play a special role in his photographic work. The subtle humor in many of his images is Elliott Erwitt's trademark. He was born in Paris on July 26, 1928, the son of Russian immigrants, and spent his childhood in Milan. In 1939 the family emigrated, via France, to the USA. The passionate cosmopolitan returned again and again to the metropolis on the Seine, the scene of some of his first photographic excursions in the 1940s and the founding headquarters of the Magnum - always with his Leica.

Walter Vogel – his repertoire of subjects is diverse, and his style is unmistakeable. Whether as a chronicler of the social background of the Ruhr Region, a cosmopolitan travel photographer, an avid fan of the circus, a nighthawk of the cabaret and night club scene or a lover of espresso coffee: the experienced eye and perfect precision with which he documents his times in unforgettable images is instantly recognisable. 

Although Walter Vogel is today seen as one of Germany’s greatest reportage photographers, his way to photography, or rather the courage he showed in making a profession out of his passion for photography, began at a relatively late period in his life. Despite having discovered his interest in photography in his youth, he concentrated on his education and later worked for many years as an engineer in the chemicals industry. He diligently saved the money he earned during his apprenticeship as a machine fitter and, by 1954, was already able to afford a Leica IIf.

His profession took a new direction at the age of thirty: Vogel enrolled to study photography under Otto Steinert at the Folkwangschule in Essen. He began work as a freelance photographer after completing his exams and, alongside advertising and fashion photography, magazine photography then became one of the mainstays of his work. With his first self-published book (For Sale, 1980), Vogel discovered a new role, as the author of the text accompanying his pictures. His espresso book, published in 1993, marked his breakthrough in the world of publishing. Although this project was also uncommissioned, Vogel’s instinct for the subject subsequently triggered a whole series of publications about the world of coffee – long before it became a lifestyle trend. A multitude of photo books reflecting the entire spectrum of his work has since been published. With a visual language characterised by authenticity, precision and sometimes by sublime humour, Vogel is one of the great German photographers of the analogue age – the Leica Hall of Fame Award expresses and confirms the appreciation and recognition of the photographer and his work over a period of more than fifty years.

In June 2018, Leica Camera AG will be honouring Bruce Davidson for his lifework with a place in the Leica Hall of Fame – an accolade for an exceptional photographer whose photography has changed the world and touched hearts everywhere.

Bruce Davidson, born 5 September 1933 in Illinois, lives in New York City and began taking photographs at the age of ten. In his last year at high school, he won first prize in the animal life category of the Kodak National High School Photographic Award. He studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology from 1951 to 1954 and, after graduation, began work as a darkroom technician at Eastman Kodak. He went on to study at the Yale University School of Design, and graduated from there in 1955. He has been a full member of Magnum since 1959. His first solo exhibition opened at the MOMA New York in 1963. His began his project ‘East 100th Street’ in 1966. He has already been honoured with numerous awards and prizes.

The acclaimed photographer Joel Meyerowitz was honoured for his lifework with the Leica Hall of Fame Award and a major exhibition in the course of the ‘A Celebration of Photography’ event held by Leica Camera AG on 18 January 2017.

Joel Meyerowitz was born in New York in 1938 and grew up in the Bronx. He studied painting and initially worked as an advertising art director. Meyerowitz began shooting on 35 mm colour film in 1962. In the following year, he alternated this with black-and-white before returning to the richness of storytelling in colour. New York always remained the dominant focus of his life as a photographer – from his early works from the 1960s to his evocative images taken at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11. Meyerowitz lives and works in New York and Tuscany.

Leica Camera AG, this year is not only celebrating 100 years of Leica photography, but also the 60th birthday of its legendary Leica M rangefinder system, honoured Thomas Hoepker with the Leica Hall of Fame Award as a Leica M photographer who captured people and events of contemporary history and for his decisive contribution to the genre of reportage photography in the second half of the 20th century. In 1962, he started as a photographer traveling the world and since then has captured moments of international stature that still impress today. For instance the portrait of the boxer Muhammed Ali and the world-famous picture of the burning World Trade Center. With the group of young, seemingly carefree people in the foreground, it became a synonym for trauma overnight.

Podczas targów photokina 2012, Wietnamski fotoreporter Nick Út został uhonorowany wyróżnieniem Leica Hall of Fame Award. Jest on twórcą jednego z najbardziej znanych zdjęć wojennych w historii. Wykonał je 8 czerwca 1972 roku, kilka minut po zrzuceniu czterech bomb z napalmem na miasto Trang Bang. Przerażone ofiary z Wietnamu, wliczając w to krzyczące dzieci oraz nagą, mocno poparzoną od wybuchu bomby - 9-letnią ofiarę napalmu Kim Phuc -biegnącą w stronę fotografa. Nick Út uchwycił ten moment za pomocą swojej Leiki M2, jego zdjęcie przyczyniło się do ożywienia ruchu antywojennego i ostatecznie otrzymał nagrodę Pulitzera. 

Od ponad 30 lat, urodzony w 1950 roku, McCurry nieustannie podróżuje i dokumentuje światowe konflikty. Za swoje fotografie uzyskał wiele nagród, a dokument o Sowieckiej inwazji na Afganistan przyniósł mu międzynarodową sławę. Wśród wielu wydarzeń jakie sfotografował znajdują się: wojna irańsko iracka, wojna w zatoce perskiej oraz w Jugosławii. Wysyłał też raporty z Libanu, Tybetu, Jemenu i Kambodży. Jego najsłynniejszym zdjęciem jest "Afgańska dziewczynka" Sharbat Gula. Zdjęcie to wykonał w obozie dla uchodźców w 1984 roku. Od 1986 Steve McCurry jest członkiem agencji fotograficznej Magnum.