Pictures taken by the Fotobus-Society at Visa pour l’image Perpignan.
Cameras were provided by Nikon Deutschland.
#nikonfotograf #nikon #nikondeutschland #nikkor #fotobus #fotobus_society
@fotobus_society
The German government is currently searching for a final repository for highly radioactive waste from our generation. This material is to be safely stored for one million years. This is a photographic work about the nuclear legacy of our era, which will occupy humanity for the next million years. In terms of content, we are reaching the limits of what is imaginable. Photographically, at the limit of what can be visualised. The project attempts to make a both conceptually abstract topic tangible, as well as to make an invisible topic visible. The project is a collaborative work by Martin Lamberty and Jann Höfer. It is a photographic search for traces.
When I think of home, I think of the the frost that freezes my nostrils while breathing. I smell the smoke from the wood stoves that everyone in my Stepanovka uses for heating, as the endless Russian gas has not yet found its way to our suburbs. Sometimes, in Stepanovka, you cannot see the stars; the smoke from the chimneys mutes all colors and sounds.
Born in Russia the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, I moved to Germany in 2019. I told my German friends a lot about this place, of which beyond stereotypes, hardly anyone knew anything. Since the beginning of the war, I doubt whether I truly understood what defined my homeland. It has turned into a collection of dusty memories, and I can no longer say if these memories ever corresponded to reality.
In the week after the war began, I wrote a letter to my parents but I never sent it. We’ve talked about the war once. They would say: about the special operation. The longer it lasts, the deeper the scars become, and the further apart our parallel universes drift. Over the Christmas 2022, I returned for the first time to see my parents and to capture the feelings that accompany me: the pain, the loss of identity and home, and love for people who believe in a different reality. What remains of a home when one’s own country becomes a perpetrator? Who do you become when your own family suddenly feels like strangers?
My story is not unique. These breaks go through many Russian families and the whole Russian society. My first trip home was a way to confront myself with the new reality, a challenge and an attempt of a dialogue. In a time of loss, confusion and pain I want to keep photographing my own family, my friends and the society, that I once was a part of. I want to reflect on how this war transforms us and keep the belief that personal bonds are stronger than the entropy, that tears us apart.
A new Iron Curtain runs through Europe. Once again, the world is divided into two blocks. Young people experience this for the first time. For older people, history seems to be repeating itself. That’s why the term is back: The Iron Curtain.
On a map, where all states are accurately separated from each other and are often just empty spaces, probably each of us could draw the new, old dividing line. It would run along the borders with Russia and Belarus, and it would be easy to believe that there really was a steel thing or a wall like the one that once stood in Berlin. But it is not like that. Seen up close, there are only poles between rocks and birch trees, closed roads, disconnected pipelines, dormant twinning agreements, reawakened fears and nuclear threats from the Kremlin. Another word like out of a history book.
What does it mean to have Russia as a neighbor? What does it mean to live now, at this time, at this global breaking point? What does everyday life look like for people who remain invisible on maps?
This is what we want to find out on an expedition along the border to Russia. Through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland to the Ukraine. We want to travel by bus, train and car. A long journey lies ahead.
The Nikon Fotobus Grant supports photographers who are either enrolled in a full-time university program in Germany, Austria or Switzerland or are not older than 30 years. Funding is provided for the creation of a photographic project. All genres of photography are welcome. Application is free of charge.
Submission start: October 8th, 2023 Submission deadline: November 1st, 2023 Announcement of shortlist with 20 projects: December 1st, 2023 Payment of funding and start of funding period: December 15th, 2023 Announcement of the three funded projects: December 15th, 2023 End of funding period and submission of final report: December 15th, 2024
FAQs
I am not a student, can I still participate?
Yes, but only if you are not older than 30 at the time of your application and live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Your nationality does not matter.
I am a student, but older than 30. Can I participate?
Yes, as long as you are enrolled in a full-time university program in Germany, Austria or Switzerland at the time of your application. Your nationality does not matter.
I am a resident in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, but I have another nationality, may I apply?
Of course you can!
Do I have to be a Fotobus member to apply?
No, you do not have to be a Fotobus member! If you are interested in a free membership, please go to here
We would like to submit a group project, is that possible?
Yes. Group projects by two or more photographers are allowed, but all members of the group must meet the eligibility requirements.
Can I submit multiple applications for different projects?
No. Individuals may submit only one application, but may additionally participate in a group application.
Can I apply multiple times with the same project?
Yes. The same project can be submitted again the following year if it has not yet received Nikon Fotobus Grant funding.
Does my project have to have already been started?
No. You can apply either to create a completely new project or to continue a project that has already been started.
How can the grant money be used?
There are no requirements for how the grant money can be used. However, the final report must describe exactly what the money was used for.
Does my project have to have been photographed with a Nikon camera or to be continued with a Nikon camera?
No.
I am still a student at the time of application, but will have graduated by the time the grant is decided. Can I apply?
Yes.
I am not studying photography but another subject, may I apply?
Yes.
Does the Nikon Fotobus Grant offer advice or comments on applications?
No.
Will my images be sold?
No. You retain the copyright to your images. Only the images of the funded projects may be used in connection with the Nikon Fotobus Grant, e.g. to advertise the Nikon Fotobus Grant in the following year.
Some of the images in my application have already been published or have already received another grant. Is this a problem?
No.
Is there a time frame in which the images in the application must have been created?
No.
My work uses AI-generated images, can I apply with this work?
No. We only fund photographic projects.
Can I submit a video project?
No.
My project uses other media besides photography, may I apply with this work?
Yes. The core of the project must be photographic. In addition, other elements such as texts, found images, documents, drawings, etc. can be used.
Teilnahmebedingungen
1. Eligibility
All photographers who, at the time of submission, are either enrolled in a full-time university program in Germany, Austria or Switzerland or are not older than 30 years and reside in Germany, Austria or Switzerland are eligible to participate. The nationalities of the applicants are not relevant. Group projects of two or more photographers are permitted, but all members of the group must meet the eligibility requirements.
Individuals may submit only one application, but may additionally participate in a group application. The same project may be submitted again the following year if it has not yet received funding from the Nikon Fotobus Grant. The copyright to the images remains with the applicant(s). The pictures of the funded projects may be used in connection with the Nikon Fotobus Grant, e.g. to advertise the Nikon Fotobus Grant in the following year.
2. Application
The application deadline is November 1, 2023 at 11:59 pm Berlin time. The application is free of charge, exclusively via Picter and consists of a project description, a maximum of 30 images in total and a biography.
a) Project description A description in English or German of the photographic project to be implemented with the help of the Nikon Fotobus Grant with a maximum of 3,000 characters. We recommend a compact and precise project description. You can propose a completely new project or the continuation of a project you have already started. All genres of photography are welcome. Questions that should be answered:
What is your project about?
What photographic method of working will be used?
What genre of photography is the work most closely associated with?
In what ways are you or your group particularly suited to create this project?
What social contribution could the project make?
How will the grant money be used?
b) Pictures An overall maximum of 40 images from a maximum of two projects may be submitted. Project 1: a maximum of 20 images from a completed project Project 2: a maximum of 20 images from an unfinished project to be continued with the help of the Nikon Fotobus Grant Applications with only one project are permitted. It must be made clear at the beginning of the project description whether it is a completed project or an unfinished project to be continued with the help of the Nikon Fotobus Grant. The format and length of the captions can be chosen by the applicant. The quality of the selection and sequence of images is part of the jury’s review.
The copyright of all submitted images must be held by the applicant(s). We support photography only. AI-generated images are therefore not permitted. Image manipulation and staging are permitted, e.g. in conceptual works, but must be made transparent in the captions. Applicants accept the Code of Ethics of World Press Photo.
c) Biography A biography in German or English with a maximum of 1,500 characters.
3. Funding
Funding is provided for the creation of a photographic project. A total of three project grants will be awarded, for 5,000 euros, 3,000 euros and 2,000 euros. Each of the three supported projects will receive a Nikon Kit Z f + 40 SE. The total amount of the grant will be paid out immediately after the announcement of the winners. There are no requirements for the use of the grant.
The winners of the Nikon Fotobus Grant are obliged to submit a final report at the end of the funding period of one year, which includes the new images of the funded project and a description of the use of the funding. The Nikon Fotobus Grant winners also agree to mention the Nikon Fotobus Grant in future publications of the funded projects in publications, books, online media, exhibitions etc.
