How the photographer Andreas Teichmann experienced Germany while hiking

by time news

Et was a childhood dream of Andreas Teichmann to hike through Germany. As a photographer for major magazines, he “quickly has images in his head of what something could look like”. But when hiking, everything is random and spontaneous, says the 52-year-old. For more than three months he ran up to twelve hours a day – with a large format camera and recording device in his backpack. The photographs that were taken can be seen in a visually stunning new book.

WELT: As a photojournalist, images are your language. Why are there also QR codes in your book?

Andreas Teichmann: The real thing is important to me, especially in these times of floods of images and image processing options. I want to reproduce the atmosphere of an encounter, of a moment, as authentically as possible and not only add accompanying text to the photos, but also name the place and time of the photo. And the quotes from the people I portrayed, which can be accessed via mobile phone via the QR codes in the book, reinforce the visual impression of the picture even more.

They also give an impression of the linguistic diversity in our country, from the Allgäu dialect to Sylter Frisian. On my two tours, once from west to east and then again from the southernmost to the northernmost tip of the country, I heard a different tongue click on each hiking day, i.e. around 100 dialectal hues, as linguists say.

The photographer Andreas Teichmann hiked from Aachen to Zittau and from Oberstdorf to Sylt

Source: Andreas Teichmann

WELT: Did you feel particularly comfortable or even at home somewhere?

Teichmann: Very often even. But not because of the vernaculars, if you’re alluding to that. I always felt particularly comfortable when the landscape was varied and the weather was right.

This was particularly the case in northern Hesse, on the northern foothills of the Rhön and in Thuringia. So pretty much right in the middle of Germany, where I came twice. But people can convey home, too. In Thuringia, for example, I found the people to be remarkably helpful and approachable, many greeted you there, even mega-cool teenagers.

WELT: Did you expect grumpy Ossis?

Teichmann: I set off as unbiased as possible and therefore tried to approach people with an open mind and without expectations. Of course, I felt different moods in the country. For example, when I walked through regions with high unemployment or an aging population, there was more visible poverty and the conversations often revolved around personal existence.

But what I did notice quite often in the East was the rural exodus of the younger residents. There are a lot of vacant shops and houses there, and large-scale job advertisements for trainees are stuck to the facades. I have met old people who only use their garden for vegetables and fruits to save money.

WELT: The photo book is entitled “Through Germany” and the accompanying text states that there is actually no such thing as “typically German” because people identified most strongly with their region. Does that apply to all regions that you got to know on your hikes?

Teichmann: Absolutely, the people are extremely local patriotic, but they are not interested in North Rhine-Westphalia or Hesse, but rather in the Bergisches Land, Sauerland, Waldecker Land. When I once said in a conversation, “here in the Bergisches Land”, I immediately got the hint “no, the Oberbergisches Land has been here for a long time, the border is over there”.

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WELT: And what is similar and connecting across Germany?

Teichmann: From a photographer’s point of view, I would mention the large proportion of living nature, which is the same in all regions. I knew that 80 percent of our country consists of forest, meadows and fields. But the breathtakingly beautiful and varied panoramas these undeveloped areas add up to surprised me.

WELT: Are there in this country – similar to southern France – very bright, i.e. cheerful areas and in comparison rather gloomy?

Teichmann: A lot actually has to do with the light. It determines our perception. The term photography is derived from the Greek and means: drawing with light. There are three main factors in how sunlight can affect an image: Time of day – the golden hour of sunrise and sunset. Followed by the blue hour just before pitch black. Both influence the color of the motif.

Then the point of view of the photographer: Backlight gives a wonderful drama through shadows and contrast. And finally air purity: in areas with little air pollution or after a rain shower, the light is much clearer and richer in contrast than in haze. Colors and details stand out and mix less.

I was able to determine the first two factors, but not air purity; it depended on the geographic location, i.e. coast, lowlands or mountains, and on the degree of industrialization. But how the images appear to a viewer, whether cheerful or gloomy, is ultimately subjective.

Anton Eckl, here in the forest by the Fischbach near Stocken, always has his favorite toy, a cordless drill, with him on walks

Anton Eckl, here in the forest by the Fischbach near Stocken, always has his favorite toy, a cordless drill, with him on walks

Source: Andreas Teichmann

WELT: One of the objective impressions when leafing through your illustrated book is the fact that only one of the 100 images shows a wind turbine. Do the systems disturb your aesthetic perception?

Teichmann: I haven’t even noticed that yet. All of my motifs came about by chance on the track. Of course I also saw and photographed a number of wind turbines. The fact that these pictures didn’t make it into the book is because my priority was the 100 most exciting encounters with people and landscapes.

WELT: Did you plan it that way from the start?

Teichmann: At the beginning of the hike I had only defined my destination, nothing else. Who and what I encountered, when and where, was completely open-ended. I just let myself drift with the rhythm and speed of walking, a carefree experience that you probably last had as a child.

If there was something to discover and marvel at, I got involved with it. And magically, this method yielded most of the images featured in the book. If I had left just one day earlier or later, my encounters would have been different, I would have met different people, taken different photos – sort of like in the film Run Lola Run. Every decision literally changes the path of life.

On the Reeperbahn in Hamburg: The friends Laura, Cristina, Sirka and Annika are on their way to a concert

On the Reeperbahn in Hamburg: The friends Laura, Cristina, Sirka and Annika are on their way to a concert

Source: Andreas Teichmann

WELT: So you just walked into the countryside like that?

Teichmann: More or less yes, I had only roughly mapped out my routes: the starting point for the first hike was Aachen in the west and the destination Zittau in the east. I started the second hike in the very south, at Haldenwanger Eck near Oberstdorf, and set Sylt as my destination in the north.

I used the Komoot app for orientation on the way, so the daily procedure was easy and always the same: In the morning I entered my final destination on the app, i.e. Zittau or Sylt. Then I only looked at the first 20 kilometers and looked for a place to stay there. My iron rule was to book a room for the night first and then start walking.

WELT: It actually sounds simple.

Teichmann: In theory, but sometimes it took me a while to look for a room, especially in Schleswig-Holstein. Because the shortest way to Sylt led right through the most sparsely populated regions. Instead of my usual 20, I had to walk up to 30 kilometers a day to have somewhere to eat and sleep in the evenings. And to wash my things. I didn’t have much with me because the technical equipment alone weighed twelve kilos. And I didn’t want to carry more than 15 kilos, so I didn’t even have provisions.

The northernmost point of Germany is on Sylt.  It is marked by a simple wooden plaque

The northernmost point of Germany is on Sylt. It is marked by a simple wooden plaque

Source: Andreas Teichmann

WELT: Is that how you got to know the culinary intricacies of German snack bars and taverns?

Teichmann: I was thinking the same thing. A big mistake! Sometimes I wandered through villages without an inn, supermarket or kiosk. I kept looking where I could get water. I refilled my bottle at Cemetery Fountain even when it was half full. Occasionally I rang strangers’ bells. To be thankful for the little things in life – after hundreds of kilometers of hiking I have learned it. I now know how sweet pears from street trees taste and also how safe it is to hike in Germany.

WELT: No wild boar, no wolf crossed your path?

Teichmann: No, my worst encounter with animals was with an angry farm dog, luckily he was chained. Rain, mud and general changes in the weather were really unpleasant when hiking, my nerves suffered, also because of the equipment, which was not allowed to get wet. On the other hand, rain also has its advantages for photographers.

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WELT: Because, keyword air purity, the best photos are taken after a cleansing shower?

Teichmann: Yes, if everything else is right, the motif, the incidence of light, the topography. If you then unpack the technology, the phenomenon quickly disappears. That often happened to me until the 46th day of hiking.

I was in Saxon Switzerland near Hohburkersdorf when a breathtaking rain cloud moved across the country towards me. This time I was fast enough and I managed to take a shot that is one of my favorite shots ever made. The picture hangs in my exhibition as a three-square-meter print, and even when it is enlarged the sharpness is enormous, you think you can see individual drops.

Hohburkersdorf: View from

Hohburkersdorf: View from the “Rundblick” in Saxon Switzerland on a passing rain shower

Source: Andreas Teichmann

The photo and narrative volume “Through Germany. Two hikes in 101 days” has been published in the Picture Pearls Edition, 120 pages, 55 euros. The book contains 100 large and 40 small format photographs by Andreas Teichmann; the renowned GEO photographer ran from Aachen to Zittau in 2017 and from Oberstdorf to Sylt in 2019. There are QR codes in the book for 36 photos in the book that were taken on the second hike, which can be accessed via smartphone. In this way, viewers can also experience Teichmann’s hiking adventures acoustically, bildPERLLER.de/through-germany.

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