Gerd Ludwig

Gerd Ludwig (birth name Gerhard Erich Ludwig, born March 17, 1947 in Alsfeld, Hesse, Germany) is a German-American documentary photographer and photojournalist.

Gerd Ludwig initially studied German literature, political science, and physical education at the University of Marburg, before leaving prematurely to travel in Scandinavia and North America, supporting himself with jobs as a bricklayer, sailor, and dishwasher. Upon his return to Germany, he studied photography with Professor Otto Steinert at the Folkwang Hochschule (now Folkwang University of the Arts) in Essen, graduating with a degree in Photo Design from the University of Essen in 1974. He co-founded VISUM [1], Germany’s first photographer-owned photo agency in the same year. In 1978, he moved to Hamburg and began working for major international publications and advertising agencies.

He re-located to New York City in 1984. In the early 1990s, he signed on as a contract photographer for National Geographic Magazine, focusing on environmental issues and the changes following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. His work in the region resulted in his exhibition and book, Broken Empire: After the Fall of the USSR, a ten-year retrospective published by National Geographic in 2001 [2]. His ongoing coverage of post-Soviet Russia has garnered his distinction as being the western world’s foremost color photographer documenting the region.

Gerd Ludwig is a veteran of the renowned A Day in the Life [3] book series created by David Elliot Cohen and Rick Smolan. He also exhibits his work in galleries and festivals such as the Visa pour L’Image [4] in Perpignan (9), occasionally shoots advertising, and has won numerous photographic awards. Major awards include the International Photography Award’s [5] 2006 Lucie Award [6] for International Photographer of the Year and the 2014 Dr. Erich Salomon Award (Dr. Erich Salomon Preis), dedicated to Erich Salomon, a lifetime achievement award for photojournalists given by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie () (DGPh, or German Society for Photography). In 2015, he received the prestigious Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism [7] from the Missouri School of Journalism. He joined the exclusive INSTITUTE for Artist Management, an agency run by Frank Evers focusing on Fine Art and Documentary Photographers, in 2009.

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