Hans Steiner

100,000 pictures, or just 15 minutes of the life of a photographer

A small pause on my publications, today I want to tell you about Hans Steiner. I discovered his work yesterday (better late than never) by doing a research on photographers that worked in the in between the two World Wars. A documentary of Daniel Girardin realized by David Monti, produced by the museum of the elysee, which retraces the destiny of the photographer Hans Steiner. One of the greatest Swiss photographer of the 20th century and has left nearly 100,000 photographs, a visual encyclopedia, which is also an existential manifesto. The documentary opens with a photo of fetuses marking the beginning of his life. Commented by the voice of Adrienne Butty Buccarelli who asks a simple question; What remains of the life of a photographer when the years have passed, when his acts his thoughts are an inscription in the reality only scattered traces in the labyrinth of the time. Who can say when the present time is over, who knows where the memory begins? Hans Steiner has inherited an immense archive of nearly 100,000 photographs. Thoses pictures he took at the speed of 120th second represents barely 15 minutes opening of focal length of a camera. Either 30 seconds of opening each year he worked …

Hans Steiner covered several topics; Daily life – Swiss politics – The mountain – The Swiss Army and the war – Industry and modernity …

I do not tell you more, I let you watch, listen, admire this documentary published generously by the University of Lausanne (UNIL) which retraces the life of Hans Steiner.

The video is all the way down and if you have any suggestions on photographers that deserve to be shared do not hesitate.