|
Friday,
May 11:
6:45 – 7:15 pm
Fritz
Pölking (digital slide presentation)
Adventure
Wildlife Photography
Fritz
Pölking, born in
Krefeld
,
Germany
in 1936, had already started with wildlife/nature photography in
1951. He is said to be the pathfinder of modern wildlife
photography in
Europe
and counts as one of the biggest in this field on an
international level. Who better to let the "adventure
wildlife/nature photography" pass in retrospect then the
honorable member of the "GDT" (German Wildlife
Photography Association)? So let's rewind the film and take a
look at its beginning.
The first
exposures on film were from the end of the 19th
Century. They were made by Ottmar Anschütz in 1884 with his
famous series of pictures about storks and Reginald Lodge who
took the first outdoor pictures of a breeding northern lapwing
in 1895. The next photographers to push the virtual trigger of
our imagined camera were the great English nature photographers.
Back then, Richard Kearton, George Yeates and Eric Hoskins had
already been concentrating on taking pictures of birds. So it
really wasn’t very surprising when an exhibition in
London
by the "Zoological Society Of
London" in 1912 showed pictures of 174 different types of
birds, 95% of which were taken under non-domestic conditions –
out in nature.
Not only
the wildlife/nature photographers behind our imagined camera
came and went – technology also changed. Colored film was put
into the cameras, telephoto lenses were being attached and the
sharpness came through auto focus. Then one day a microchip took
over the function of saving pictures and pushed the film out of
the camera. But – what has Fritz Pölking written on his
website: "it isn’t the great camera that takes great
pictures; it is the photographer who is outdoors at the right
place, at the right time."
The
victorious journey of wildlife/nature photography will go on and
continue without fail in spite of all the changes and with new
technology towards greater shores, with pictures from all 5
continents and of all flora, fauna and landscapes. The "adventure
wildlife/nature photography" will continue and Fritz Pölking
will let you take part in it in Fürstenfeldbruck.
Saturday,
May 12: 1.30 – 2.30 pm
Fritz
Pölking (digital slide presentation)
A
Moment out of the Lives of Birds in Pictures
Fritz Pölking,
born in
Krefeld-
Germany
, in 1936, had already started with wildlife/nature
photography in 1951. In 1968 he became "Master of Photography"
and as of 1970 he was also a publisher of books and magazines
about nature. It was he who published the only magazine for
wildlife/nature photographers called "Tier- und
Naturfotografie" (animal and nature photography) which was
the predecessor of the current "NaturFoto". His being
voted "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" in 1977 in
England
and the "Naturfotograf des Jahres" (Wildlife/Nature
Photographer of the Year) in 1977, 1981 and 1992 in
Germany
are an example of his commendations. Now, in
the digital era, he passes on his knowledge and shares his
experience in workshops and on photo trips.
He is said to be the
pathfinder of modern wildlife photography in
Europe
and counts as one of the biggest in this
field on an international level. He has earned many merits
around the subject of wildlife/nature photography besides his
own photographical opus. As such he is a founding father of the
"GDT" (German Wildlife Photography Association) and
honorary member as of 1993. In that same year he was awarded the
"Fritz-Steiniger-Prize" for his service to wildlife/nature
photography.
The 70 year old is
dedicated to wildlife/nature photography with enormous
enthusiasm, no matter if he is flying to
Florida
to photograph ospreys or to
Spain
to take pictures of storks. The pleasure he
derives from nature and photography has never gone, on the
contrary, it may have even grown stronger in the past few years.
Fritz Pölking, within
his function as wildlife/nature photographer, considers himself
a journalist with a camera. He sees it as his duty to give fast,
accurate, nuanced and accounted renditions of moments in nature
- and above all, pristine. He can document moments of nature
only with his camera. That is what makes photography unique and
distinctive for him.
The pictures by the man
from Greven shown on the screen during his presentation at the
Events Forum in Fürstenfeldbruck: "Momentaufnahmen aus dem
Leben der Vögel" (pictures of moments from the lives of
birds) are also distinctive; no matter if it is of kingfishers
in the Munsterland of Germany, ospreys in Finland, white-tailed
eagles in Norway and Alaska, penguins or perhaps herons and owls
in Florida.
His
pictures of birds show moments straight from nature –
beautiful, suspenseful, humorous, informative or dramatic; and
whoever listens to him will understand that Germany´s most
famous wildlife/nature photographer considers the world of birds
as a gift to photography.
|
