I have been photographing with varying degrees of intensity since my youth.
It all started with a Praktica SLR camera with interchangeable lenses, which was sold in West Germany under the name Porst – a piece of technology that I still own today.
Many experiences followed: Working in a black and white lab, color negative and slide film, some Polaroid – and finally the switch to digital photography when the first cameras were really convincing.
For many years, my main job was as an engineer for digitization projects.
The eye for structure, precision and design that I honed there is also reflected in my photography.
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Today – in retirement – I have the freedom to concentrate on what has always fascinated me: Moments, impressions and moods.
I take targeted photographs when the light and situation are right for capturing moments that create little stories.
I particularly enjoy working with shapes, lines and symmetries – sometimes clear and reduced, sometimes emotional and spontaneous.
In addition to landscapes and architecture, I also enjoy photographing people, especially my grandchildren.
I try to capture these quiet, concentrated moments when they are completely absorbed in their play – real, unposed and full of life.
“Capturing the moment – and being able to see the result immediately on the display is always fascinating.”
– Manfred Hohlweg
Note: Some of the wording and design ideas in this text were created with the support of ChatGPT 5.0. I am responsible for the content.
Something else personal …
The Porst reflex CX-4 is based on the Praktica LB2 and was manufactured by VEB Pentacon in the GDR for Foto Porst in West Germany.
It is my first SLR camera and has been my companion for decades:
I was only allowed to borrow the camera with interchangeable lenses – 35 mm, 50 mm and 135 mm – for my first photos in the youth group. Pocket money was tight and film and photo material was correspondingly expensive. Later, my older brother had probably noticed how much fun I had with photography, so I was allowed to keep the camera.
Since then, the CX4 has accompanied me on youth camps and vacations, I owe the irretrievable photos of our children to it and I also used the CX4 for professional purposes. Black and white film and slides with the Agfa CT18, which was so popular with amateurs at the time.
Sometimes this camera is still with me today.
Early summer in the morning
You can find out more about the Porst reflex CX4 and cameras from this period on the website of the (virtual) Lippisches Kameramuseum, for example.
Porst reflex was manufactured by Pentacon. As we know today, political prisoners were also used as forced laborers to produce cameras in the GDR. [1)
If you want to learn more about this, I recommend the pages of the Federal Agency for Civic Education or the article by Steffen Alisch:
[1] S. Alisch, “Zwangsarbeit im Fokus. The prison labor in the state-owned enterprise (VEB) Pentacon Dresden”, bpb.de. Accessed December 22, 2024 [Online]. Available at: https://www.bpb.de/themen/deutschlandarchiv/249692/zwangsarbeit-im-fokus-die-haftarbeit-im-volkseigenen-betrieb-veb-pentacon-dresden/
This text is published under the Creative Commons License “CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Germany”. Author: Steffen Alisch for bpb.de
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