Gerd Ludwig (birth name Gerhard Erich Ludwig, born March 17, 1947, in

Alsfeld Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany. Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is in the center of Hesse and part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. It is well known for its well-preserved old ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) is a German-American

documentary photographer Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional pho ...

and

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

Biography

Gerd Ludwig initially studied German literature, political science, and physical education at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

, before leaving prematurely to travel in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

and North America, supporting himself with jobs as a bricklayer, sailor, and dishwasher. Upon his return to

, he studied photography with Professor Otto Steinert at the Folkwang Hochschule (Folkwang Academy, now

Folkwang University of the Arts The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in E ...

) in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

, graduating with a degree in Photo Design from the

University of Essen The University of Duisburg-Essen (german: link=no, Universität Duisburg-Essen) is a public research university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the 2019 ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', the university was awarded ...

in 1974. He co-founded Visum, Germany's first photographer-owned photo agency in the same year. In 1978, he moved to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and began working for major international publications and advertising agencies. He re-located to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1984. In the early 1990s, he signed on as a contract photographer for

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

, focusing on environmental issues and the changes following the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. His work in the region resulted in his exhibition and book, Broken Empire: After the Fall of the USSR, a ten-year retrospective published by National Geographic in 2001. His ongoing coverage of post-Soviet

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

has garnered his distinction as being the western world's foremost color photographer documenting the region. Gerd Ludwig is a veteran of the renowned ''A Day in the Life'' book series created by David Elliot Cohen and

Rick Smolan Rick Smolan (born November 5, 1949) is a former ''Time'', ''Life'', and ''National Geographic'' photographer best known as the co-creator of the ''Day in the Life'' book series. He is currently CEO of Against All Odds Productions, a cross-medi ...

. His work has been shown in museums such as the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria; at festivals such as the ''Visa pour L'Image''

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

; and galleries. Major awards include the 2006

Lucie Award The Lucie Awards is an annual event honoring achievements in photography, founded in 2003 by Hossein Farmani. The Lucie Awards is an annual gala ceremony presented by the Lucie Foundation (a 501 (c)3 non-profit charitable organization), honoring ...

for International Photographer of the Year, the 2014

Dr. Erich Salomon Award The Dr. Erich Salomon Award (Dr.-Erich-Salomon-Preis), dedicated to Erich Salomon, is a lifetime achievement award for photojournalists given by the German Society for Photography (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie, DGPh). Winners *1971 ''St ...

(Dr. Erich Salomon Preis), dedicated to

Erich Salomon Erich Salomon (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1944) was a German Jewish news photographer known for his pictures in the diplomatic and legal professions and the innovative methods he used to acquire them. Life and work Born in Berlin, Salomon studied ...

, a lifetime achievement award for photojournalists given by the

German Society for Photography German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(DGPh), and the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism from the

Missouri School of Journalism The Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. The school provides academic education and practical training in all areas of journalism and strategic comm ...

in 2015. Based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, Gerd Ludwig continues to photograph primarily for National Geographic Magazine while working on personal projects such as ''Sleeping Cars'' and bringing back into light work from his archive, such as early color portraiture of

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

and

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...

Chernobyl coverage and crowdfunding

Gerd Ludwig first photographed the aftermath of the

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...

for National Geographic Magazine in 1993, and again in 2005. In 2011, he created a

kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign that supported his return to the

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, Belarusian: Хона адчужэння Чарнобыльскай АЭС, ''Zona adčužennia Čarnobyĺskaj AES'', russian: Зона отчуждения Чернобыльской АЭС ...

to continue his ongoing coverage of the aftermath of the world's worst nuclear disaster to date, becoming one of the first internationally recognized documentary photographers to utilize

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

for a personal project. While the campaign was still in progress, the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...

brought renewed attention to Chernobyl, nuclear energy issues, and his project, eventually pushing the funding to nearly 200% of its initial goal. The images resulting from Gerd Ludwig's return trip to Chernobyl have been published and exhibited globally including at the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

(EBRD) Headquarters in London; presented at the LOOK3 Charlottesville Festival of the Photograph in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

(); and led to the creation of his iPad app (now discontinued), The Long Shadow of Chernobyl. In 2012, the app was awarded 1st place in the

National Press Photographers Association The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) is an American professional association made up of still photographers, television videographers, editors, and students in the journalism field. Founded in 1946, the organization is based in at ...

's annual Best of Photojournalism contest in the Tablet division. In 2013, he returned to the Zone to report on the cleanup efforts and the progress of the

Chernobyl New Safe Confinement The New Safe Confinement (NSC or New Shelter, rarely Arka) is a structure put in place in 2016 to confine the remains of the number 4 reactor unit at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in Ukraine, which was destroyed during the Chernobyl disast ...

. Having covered the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster for two decades, he teamed up with Austrian publisher Edition Lammerhuber to publish The Long Shadow of Chernobyl (essay by

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, quotes by

Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suff ...

). The book received international acclaim and was awarded the Photobook of the Year award by POYi in 2015.

Sleeping Cars

''Sleeping Cars'' is the result of Gerd Ludwig's ongoing personal project documenting where cars in Los Angeles reside at night— tucked into driveways, proudly displayed in front of homes, glowing under street lamps, covered with tarps or simply left bare. The vehicles rest against backgrounds of varying ambient light on the winding streets of the Hollywood Hills to the flat gridded suburbs of the Valley. Nestled in the low-lying fog of these distinctly Los Angeles neighborhoods, the vehicles begin to take on personalities of their own. The project was published as a monograph by Edition Lammerhuber in 2016, with new images posted to the Sleeping Cars Instagr

Quotes

* "A great photograph touches the soul and broadens the mind." * "Technique and composition in photography are equivalent to grammar and syntax in prose."

Bibliography

* AO TEA ROA: Island of Lost Desire. Hundertwasser in New Zealand (

Albrecht Knaus Verlag The Albrecht Knaus Verlag (also Knaus Verlag, the company's preferred spelling is KNAUS) is a German publisher of fiction and nonfiction based in Munich. It was founded in 1978 and is now part of the Random House publishing group. The publisher be ...

, 197

* BROKEN EMPIRE: After the Fall of the USSR (National Geographic Society, 200

* RUSSLAND — Eine Weltmacht im Wandel (National Geographic Society, 200

* The Long Shadow of Chernobyl (Edition Lammerhuber, 201

* minus 2/3 (Rocky Nook, 2016

* Sleeping Cars (Edition Lammerhuber, 2016

* Il Flash Invisibile (Apogeo, 201

Anthologies

* What Meets the Eye — Images of Rural Poverty (International Fund for Agricultural Development, 2003) * In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits (National Geographic Society, 200

* Wide Angle: National Geographic's Greatest Places (National Geographic Society, 200

* Witness: The World's Greatest News Photographers (Carlton Books, Ltd, 200

* What Matters (Sterling, 200

* Visions of Paradise (National Geographic Society, 200

* National Geographic 50 Greatest Pictures (National Geographic Society, 2011

* Festival La Gacilly-Baden, I Love Africa, Evelyn Schlag and Gerd Ludwig Artists in Residence (Edition Lammerhuber, 201

National Geographic Stories

* "The Putin Generation" National Geographic: December 2016 * "Museums-Magie" National Geographic Germany: December 2015 * "On a Roll" National Geographic: July 2015 * "Two Cities" National Geographic: March 2015 * "Die Stadt, die immer wird" National Geographic Germany: November 2014 * "The Nuclear Tourist" National Geographic: October 2014 * "Searching for King Arthur" National Geographic Germany: January 2014 * "Tomorrowland" National Geographic Magazine: February 2012 * "Crimea: A Jewel in Two Crowns" National Geographic Magazine: April 2011 * "Soul of Russia" National Geographic Magazine: April 2009 * "Jakob der Reiche" National Geographic Germany: March 2009 * "Moscow Never Sleeps" National Geographic Magazine: August 2008 * "Send Me to Siberia" National Geographic Magazine: June 2008 * "Vitus Bering" National Geographic Scandinavia: October 2007 * "Vitus Bering" National Geographic Germany: February 2007 * "Marktl" National Geographic Germany: May 2006 * "The Long Shadow Of Chernobyl" National Geographic: April 2006 * "Napoleon In Germany" National Geographic Germany: November 2005 * "The Salton Sea" National Geographic: February 2005 * "Nibelungen" National Geographic Germany: December 2004 * "Russia Rising" National Geographic: November 2001 * "Russlands Seele" National Geographic Germany: November 2001 * "The Brothers Grimm – Guardians of the Fairy Tale" National Geographic: December 1999 * "A Comeback for the Cossacks" National Geographic: November 1998 * "Russia's Iron Road (Trans-Siberian Railroad)" National Geographic: June 1998 * "Moscow. The New Revolution" National Geographic: April 1997 * "Reinventing Berlin" National Geographic: December 1996 * "Toronto" National Geographic: June 1996 * "Soviet Pollution," National Geographic: August 1994 **"Lethal Legacy: Pollution in the Former U.S.S.R." **"Chernobyl: Living With the Monster" *"A Broken Empire" National Geographic: March 1993 ** "Russia: Playing by New Rules" **"Kazakhstan: Facing the Nightmare" **"Ukraine: Running on Empty" * "Main-Danube Canal Links Europe's Waterways," National Geographic: August 1992. * "The Morning After: Germany Reunited" National Geographic: September 1991.

External links

Gerd Ludwig websiteGerd Ludwig InstagramRussian Destiny, presentation on YouTubeThe Long Shadow of Chernobyl KickstarterThe Long Shadow of Chernobyl: A Photo Book KickstarterThe Long Shadow of Chernobyl, a long-term project by Gerd Ludwig
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig, Gerd 1947 births Living people People from Alsfeld American photojournalists Emigrants from West Germany to the United States Documentary photographers