On September 2, Leica Camera held a photo contest in partnership with Red Bull Germany and Red Bull Illume. The prize was the chance to participate in a photo workshop hosted by Fred Mortagne during photokina in conjunction with the Red Bull Illume and the Red Bull Offsprings. We were overwhelmed by the number and quality of the submissions. Overall, we had 48 submissions from 12 countries, including Panama, Argentina and Abu Dhabi. Fred was tasked with selecting the eight winners. However, it was rather difficult to make a final decision so he picked nine winners instead!
Congratulations to: Cora Berndt-Stühmer, Fabian Reichenbach, Julien Fincker, Kristin Ludwig, Mike Größinger, Philipp Henke, Wilhelm Westergren, Daniel Gomez Flores and Lukas Felgendreher.
Q: Fred, what were your criteria in the selection process? Why did you choose these winning photographs?
A:  Many of the submitted photos were already extremely impressive and very professional. I selected participants who, for the most part, are still at an early age in photography, and closely linked to skateboarding. Knowing skateboarding, and being passionate about it, is the starting point to skateboard photography. I didn’t select people who already have a pretty good understanding and knowledge of the important ingredients for shooting skateboarding. These people will progress well on their own, being already on the right path.

Q: It’s thoughtful that you’re giving the next generation a chance to learn from you. How did you design this workshop? What will the participants expect to learn from you?
A: The workshop will start by teaching the crucial basics:

• Quick debrief about each participant’s photo entry with which they were selected.
• Understanding the subject
  • What can or cannot be shown, as far the skateboarding action itself.
  • When to trigger the camera for capturing a trick.
  • What is the right instant? I’ll show them examples from my pictures.
  • Understanding the importance of the context. What must be shown in the picture for a proper understanding of the action? The typical mistake made by non-skateboarders is to isolate the skateboarder from the spot, giving no chance to understand the scene. Understanding the importance of being able to show in one picture the things before and after the trick itself, meaning showing the take off and landing zones, which then give a precise idea of the size of the spot, the speed necessary, the potential danger, and the difficulty of the trick.

• Composition
  • Using and organizing the visual elements at their disposal, to create an interesting composition.
  • Analyzing the environment to visualize the different possibilities and options, and taking advantage of them. Finding geometrical lines or shapes to help create interesting compositions.
  • Determining the right angle for a scene, with the choice of lenses, understanding the differences.
  • Positioning yourself in the environment, getting closer, or further away from the subject, trying to get a clean background, working with foreground.
  • Working with shallow depth of field.
  • Shooting without flash and understanding it can be possible even when it might seem impossible.

• Tips for shooting in a busy environment like a competition, where there are many elements bringing visual pollution to the image, and working around with this by being creative and finding solutions.

Thank you, Fred! We’re looking forward to the workshop.
– Leica Internet Team
For more information on the workshop, stay tuned as we’ll be covering this event and all events from photokina across Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest and Google + with #DasWesentliche.