Martin Kollar was 2014’s Oskar Barnack Award Winner for “Field Trip,” a portfolio of images taken in Israel. In the above video, he describes the idea behind this work and how he tried to focus on the future instead of the past.
The aim of the project was to portray the diversity of the country and, in turn, to illustrate the complexity of one of the world’s most disputed regions. With his photographs, Martin Kollar provides a transparent illustration of the residents of this region by capturing everyday scenes as well as absurd and humorous situations. The visual content of his portfolio is diverse and it includes a range of subjects – from documentation of the military presence on the West Bank to landscapes, wildlife photos and portraits of the Israeli population.
Martin was born in 1971 in Zilina, a town in what is now Slovakia. He studied at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and, after graduation, began work as a photographer and cameraman. He was presented his award on July 9, 2014 during the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie festival held in Arles, France.
Congratulations, Martin!
– Leica Internet Team
Learn more about Martin on his website.