Leica Hall of Fame Award

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

Elliott Erwitt is considered one of the world's best-known photographers. 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.