Each year the luxury camera brand Leica celebrates its photographers, and it is often a dream for many Leica users to visit its headquarters in Wetzlar. This year Leica has chosen to celebrate one of Germany's most significant photographers, Herlinde Koelbl, who is being recognized with the Leica Hall of Fame Award for her lifetime achievements.
This award ceremony took place as part of this year's Celebration of Photography event held from October 9th to October 10th at Leica Headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany, with an exhibition at the Leica Gallery Wetzlar available until January 19, 2025. Additionally, one of Koelbl's works has been selected as the Leica Picture of the Year 2024.
Herlinde Koelbl is known as a precise observer, experienced author, versatile artist, and sensitive chronicler, building an intricate and multi-layered body of work over the last five decades. Her deeply engaged approach involves publishing long-term studies, often as books, accompanied by extensive exhibitions.
Her debut photobook, Das Deutsche Wohnzimmer (The German Living Room, 1980), was a sociological study that achieved notable success. Koelbl's combination of documentary imagery with personal reflections has become a hallmark of her work. Her acclaimed project Jewish Portraits, first published in 1989, blends direct black-and-white photography with in-depth interviews with contemporary witnesses, delivering a poignant examination of modern German history.
Another celebrated series, Traces of Power – The Transformation of People Through Governance, began in 1991, where she photographed German politicians over eight years. She continued portraying Angela Merkel in this series until 2021, capturing six pairs of images for this exhibition that underscore her conceptual approach. Her hallmark strategy is one of curiosity and impartiality, approaching subjects thoughtfully and with preparation.
In her diverse long-term projects—High Society, Clothes Make the Man, Bedrooms, Hair, Portraits, Writers, Metamorphoses—Koelbl consistently develops each theme with finesse, raising awareness of sociopolitical issues. Leica cameras were her preferred tools for their discretion, and even in the digital era, they remain reliable for capturing subtle nuances. The exhibition at the Leica Gallery Wetzlar includes 47 works from ten series, providing a window into her life's work.
Born October 31, 1939, in Lindau, Koelbl initially studied fashion before discovering photography as her expressive medium in the mid-1970s. She worked on assignments for magazines and developed an extensive range of long-term photographic projects, often accompanied by interviews and sometimes resulting in documentaries.
Her philosophical interviews appeared frequently in ZEITmagazin. Using Leica for 35mm and Hasselblad for medium format, she has published over 20 photobooks and received multiple awards, including the Medal of Excellence (1987), the Dr. Erich Salomon Prize (2001), the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009), and the Bavarian Order of Merit (2013). She now lives and works in Neuried near Munich.
A limited edition of one of Koelbl’s pictures will be available exclusively through Leica Galleries. This image belongs to her latest series, Metamorphoses, where she explores the beauty of fading in the form of wilting flowers. Since 2021, Leica Camera AG has honored outstanding Leica photographers inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame with this recognition. Following Ralph Gibson, Thomas Hoepker, and Elliott Erwitt in previous years, the Leica Picture of the Year 2024 is awarded to Herlinde Koelbl.
During the Celebration of Photography, Koelbl will receive the Leica Hall of Fame Award, alongside the announcement of winners for the 44th Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA). The LOBA-winning series, as well as all shortlisted series, will be on display at the Ernst Leitz Museum until January 19, 2025.
