Exploring Hamburg with Instax cameras and a question that’s not so simple.
What is actually typically German? Armed with this question, children from a Hamburg school set out—equipped with Fuji Instax cameras and their very own perspective on the city. Together with Mike Gamio from fotogloria, I accompanied them on this photo workshop.
At first, the task sounded simple. But as they explored, it quickly became clear: what you consider typical is sometimes hard to find—and even harder to capture in a photo. The children had to look closely, think carefully, and decide which subjects answered the question for them.
The event kicked off with a reading by Martin Verg from his book “100x typisch Deutschland,” published by Carlsen Verlag and illustrated by Jan von Holleben. Afterward, everyone headed into the city with their cameras. Back at the venue, the photos were selected and discussed together: What do we see in them? And why does something seem typically German to us?
The workshop took place as part of the laif foundation’s “BildBotschaften Hamburg” program, in collaboration with Carlsen Verlag and Jan von Holleben’s initiative Kids ❤️Photography.
Credits & Links
Mike Gamio / fotogloria
BildBotschaft Hamburg / laif foundation
Kids Love Photography von Jan von Holleben
Martin Verg – „100 mal typisch Deutschland“, Carlsen Verlag
