Hans Blohm

Hans -Ludwig Blohm ( born November 12, 1927 in Rendsburg ) is a photographer and writer who specializes in portraits and architecture, but also on technical objects. More than three decades he toured Canada and Alaska, to take pictures of the Inuit living there. Lives in Ottawa, he traveled there 16 times and put it back over 300,000 km. He sailed the Mackenzie Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk on the Beaufort Sea and sailed in the remote and uninhabited coves of Labrador.

His photographs appeared in numerous books, he has published 17 books ( including children's books ), 23 of his photographs served as motives for Canadian postage stamps. Much of its collection were taken over by the State Archives.

Origin and Youth

From 1943 to 1944, Blohm Naval Auxiliary was in Kiel and was a member of the guard force for Admiral Doenitz. He originally wanted to be a bookseller, but worked as a carpenter and in 1955 champions.

Early Blohm found pleasure in photography, especially since his father was an avid amateur photographer. In 1949, Blohm bought his first camera, a DiAx with a 50 mm lens. He traveled with the camera Europe and hitchhiked with a friend for three months through Lapland, where it was first enthusiastic about the Arctic regions.

Emigration to Canada, Marriage, Fotografiererfahrungen

In 1956, he accompanied a friend from childhood. Ingeborg Ramm had emigrated in the previous year. The two married on November 2, 1956 and remained in Canada. There she went to Ottawa, where they taunted three children. By 1958, Blohm again worked as a carpenter, then he got a job as a school photographer in the Western Quebec School Board and in Eastern Ontario. He photographed numerous Einraumschulen. 1958-1963 he worked as a technician in darkrooms, however, after he had asked for a raise, immediately dismissed. Unemployed, he tried to get to jobs, and just before he was about to give, he received from the National Film Board of Canada $ 600 for a collection of recordings for two picture books about Canada, namely Year of the country and call them Canadians.

Starting in 1963, he found a job with Photo Features Ltd.. He made ​​the project work for the Ottawa Citizen. For the Toronto Star, the first news agency of the country was established.

Photographer of the CBC, independence

In 1966 he went as a photographer finally self-employed, for Expo 67 in Montreal worked on the preparation of exhibitions. In 1969 he founded Photo Blohm, which he in 1971 in Blohm Associates Ltd.. renamed.

1977 Blohm traveled with his daughter Heike in the Yukon and Alaska. He wanted to scan the new bridge over the Eagle River, the northern steel bridge. This special steel, which could withstand the harsh weather conditions, was produced by one of the customers Blohm, from Stelco in Hamilton. This place, the Dempster Highway, Blohm returned in 1978 and 1979 returns. He created together with other photographers in 1980 a picture catalog of all works of art in the National Gallery of Canada.

Contacts with Inuit

With the local people he came in 1979 for the first time in close contact, as he was allowed to photograph a gathering of elders from all corners of Baffin Iceland at Pond Inlet. At the founding of Nunavut, he was allowed to be present during the negotiations. In particular, contractual agreements, such as the Agreement in Principle in Igloolik, the contract is signed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in Iqaluit and the hoisting of the new flag of Nunavut on April 1, 1999 he has documented. From the Makivik Corporation, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated and from the Canadian Geographic, he received further orders to photograph the Inuit.

During this work, more than three decades he wrote his book The Voice of the Natives - The Canadian North and Alaska. It was published in English (2002 ) and German (2005) and includes texts by the Inuit themselves, in their own language Blohm the work could also translate (published in 2010). It also contains an exchange of letters with the senior Justice JE Richard by the Supreme Court ( Supreme Court ) of the Northwest Territories. At the Frankfurt Book Fair, an issue on 7 October 2004 was presented.

Industrial Photography

In addition to his Arctic work, he photographed many times in the Canadian Parliament, in addition, he took part for the National Film Board of Canada at the funeral of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, as he had been present when the deceased at a party congress of the Liberal Pierre Trudeau had been replaced.

For companies such as Mitel, Nortel, Mosaid, Motorola and others, he sat technical products such as wafers or microchips in the scene. In 1986 he tried in his work Pebbles to Computers with Anthony Stafford Beer a technological world history. To this end, he traveled to 13 countries; this appeared a calendar and a one-hour documentary on TVOntario.

Exhibitions, honors

His exhibition From Bona Vista to Vancouver Iceland was presented by the Goethe Institutes in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, and with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade ( external (trade ) Ministry ) also installed in Europe.

Blohm's images have been published since more than 30 years at Masterfile, Canada's largest agency for Stock Photography. 180,000 of his photos were acquired by Library and Archives Canada. He received the Order of Canada.

Works

• With Lorraine Monk, Gail Vanstone: Canada with love / Canada avec amour. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1983.
• Paul Russell: The Beauty of Ontario. Toronto: Methuen Publishing 1983.
• Paul Russell: The Beauty of Quebec. Toronto: Methuen Publishing 1984.
• Paul Russell: The Beauty of the Maritimes. Toronto: Methuen Publishing 1984.
• By Claus- M Naske: Alaska. Toronto: skyline Press 1986.
• With David Suzuki, Marjorie Harris: Science Landscape - The Nature of Canada. Toronto: Oxford University Press 1986.
• Anthony Stafford Beer, David Suzuki: Pebbles to Computers: The Thread. Toronto: Oxford University Press 1989.
• With Heike Blohm, Rudi Haas: Egg- carton Zoo II Don Mills: Oxford University Press 1992.
• With Lorraine Monk, among others: Canada = Canada avec amour with love. Willowdale: Firefly Books, 2001.
• The Voice of the Natives - The Canadian North and Alaska. Manotick: Penumbra Press, 2002.
• The voice of the natives. The Canadian North and Alaska. Wesel: M. and H. von der Linden, ( German translation of The Voice of the Virgin ), 2005.
• With Hartmut Lutz, Alootook Ipellie: The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2007.
• With Hartmut Lutz, Kathrin Grollmuß, Alootook Ipellie: Abraham Ulrikab at the Zoo: Diary of an Inuk 1880/81. Wesel: vdL 2008 ( German translation of The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab ).
• Nunaqaqqaaqsimajunut nipigijaujuq Kanatami ukiuqtaqtuani Alaska milu. Ottawa: Photo Blohm Associates. Inuktitut ( Translation of The Voice of the Virgin ), 2010.
• Karl -Heinz Raach, Karl Teuschl: Canada, Stürtz 2010.

Honors

Professional Photographers of Canada gave Blohm in 1972 the title Craftsman of Photographic Arts, and two years later the Master of Photographic Arts. Since then they have countless other awards from associations, cities and regions. In 2005, the airline First Air chose one of the portraits, the Blohm had made to install on their aircraft. Ottawa has a Blohm Drive and Blohm Court # 1 and # 2 are two apartment complexes in Hunt Club Park, where prominent Canadian photographer served as namesake. As the highest honor he was appointed in December 2011 as the Member of the Order of Canada. The right to the letter C. M. to add the name, he was awarded the Governor General of Canada.