From November 2014 until March 2015 I strolled through the streets around Gesundbrunnen in Berlin-Wedding everyday. In this area in Berlin mostly workers of a turkish origin and their descendants live. The history of this area goes back to the 70s when numerous immigrants settled down in the former French occupation zone in West Berlin. Wedding has always been an area where workers lived due to the cheap rents. They gave this area its multicultural character. Today the streets are characterized by Halal butchers, waterpipe coffee shops, casinos, kebap shops and grocery discounters.

Every time I come back there, the heartless atmosphere is dragging me down. But, however, the awkward energy that came from emotionless faces, grey houses and gloomy backyards fascinated me.

Back when I moved from the South of Germany to Berlin in 2014 I lived in Prenzlauer Berg a borough next to Wedding which is the complete opposite. It is one of the most expensive areas in Berlin. Here, everything is colorful and happy kids are playing in green parks. On my way to work I had to go through Wedding and were fascinated because I haven’t seen such a place before. I realized very quickly that I wanted to capture this certain mood in my pictures.

I’ve photographed with a Leica M9 and the 50mm Summicron Type IV. Especially the stealthy appearance of this camera helped me. Like this I was able to photograph without being noticed. Even though I’ve been the only person in this area who ran around with a camera. Besides it is very light which made it easier for me being out and about all day long. All pictures where taken on ISO 1000 because the mix out of speed and using higher f-stops seemed perfect for me in combination with the filmlike grain of the M9.

I was born in 1992 in Bavaria and got fascinated by photography at the age of 18. I began very early to photograph mainly in black and white. Until now I mostly focused on street photography and documentary. Today I live in Berlin and I am currently working on my first photo book.

To know more about Amadeo Wolfgang Kulzer, please visit his official website.

Leica M

The Leica. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.