By Heinz Richter
Today would have been my father’s 113th birthday. He hasn’t been with us for almost 47 years, but this date will always be a special day for me and my sister. We both owe him our profession and for that I will always be thankful. He is also responsible for my interest in Leica cameras. I have written on several occasions that I received my first Leica, a model II with 50mm f/2 Summar for my 5th birthday from my father. That was only the beginning. Over the following years we learned many of our photography skills from him. He was a Fotografenmeister (Master Photographer), and it was through his influence and teaching that both of us set out on a career as professional photographers. To this day I am still influenced by what I learned from him. Even this blog most likely would not have materialized without him.
Heinrich Richter
Photograph by my sister Marlies Amling
Thus I hope the readers of this blog will allow me this moment of personal reflections.
My father always encouraged me to take pictures, to experiment, to find my own way. For that reason he gave me that Leica. This used to be his personal camera and some of the photographs in this article were taken with that camera.
He attended the Hamburg School of Photography. After graduating he worked as an apprentice with several different photographers and finally earned his degree of Fotografenmeiser (master photographer).
St. Pauli Landungsbrücken Subway Station in Hamburg
Hamburg Harbor
Throughout his career, he never specialized, instead his work ranged from portraits and weddings, via architectural work to product photography. That is something I am quite thankful for because it allowed me to do the same in my own life.
Unfortunately, cancer took him from us much too early. I frequently reflect on the fact that I am now almost 15 years older than he was when he died, and on all the conversations we could have had, had he only lived longer.
Two photographs that my father took of me
My sister is now a very successful photographer in Germany. We often talk about what could have been. For instance, our dad was an incredibly skillful retouching artist. It still amazes me what he was able to do with a brush and some retouching colors. We will never know what he would have thought of Photoshop, but we are convinced he would have taken to it quite readily. As a matter of fact, I am sure he would have readily embraced digital photography as well, but I am also convinced that he would have missed the skills that used to be necessary to be a successful professional photographer before the digital age.
My mother
from a paper negative
I have several of his cameras in my own camera collection. I still marvel at his Plaubel Peco Universal view camera. The majority of photographers today probably have no clue how to operate such a piece of equipment. Digital photography, combined with computers and software programs like Photoshop have virtually eliminated the need for such camera equipment. Yet I am very thankful that I still learned to use cameras like it, as well as most of the other, “old” skills that were necessary to succeed in the field of professional photography. For that I am forever thankful, dad.
Suburban Hamburg
Rothenbaumchaussee, Hamburg
Boltergasse, Barntrup, Germany
I helped my father to take this photograph in my hometown
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For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right
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Herr Richter, appreciate that you honor your father. Remarkable photographs of you as a little shaver. Also, his photographs are lovely! Thank you for sharing your thoughts about him and his life as a photographer.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful tribute to your father.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your kind comments.
DeleteThank you for showing some of the excellent work your dad did.
ReplyDeleteI especially like the images of the harbor in Hamburg.
ReplyDeleteHow did he capture the sunrays in the picture of the Rolthenbaumchaussee?
ReplyDeleteHe enhanced them with negative retouching.
DeleteWhy did he print the portrait of your mother from a paper negative? Doesn't the texture of the paper have a tendency to show in the enlargement?
ReplyDeleteThe photograph was taken shortly after WWII when a lot of photo materials were in very short supply. Film was part of that, and a paper negative was a solution. Using single weight or an otherwise thin paper did help to reduce the problem with the texture of the paper. In addition, he used a 9x12 cm (appr. 4x5 inch) size negative to keep enlarging to a minimum. The photograph shown was scanned from a 25 x 35 cm (11x14 inch) enlargement.
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