Photomanipulation nominee

2023 I worked through the paintings, photos and material of my grand uncle who was an academic painter from the German Empire into the 1960ties and whose paintings came to me. During the 1st worldwar he met his wife, whom you see on this nearly 100 year old picture, and in the early 20ties his daughter – the girl on the picture - was born. He painted her several times, once after this old photo. His touching story is documented in pictures and writing. I spend a lot of time with the daughter, who was a really impressing woman and told me about her loving parents. The boy on the picture is my father. In several layers I integrated the painting of my grand uncle in the digitally restored 100 year old photo and integrated the photo in one of my photos of a more than 300 years old oak tree in Stuttgart, not far from the place where the daughter, my aunt, lived. If you follow the view of the daughter you can discover the painter. This picture summarizes my experience of this year which gave me a glimpse of an empathetic, loving family in difficult times.

Johanna Hurter is a professional photographer from Stuttgart Germany. She is pursuing several long-term projects that focus on the interactions between humans and nature. Her work has been awarded in numerous international photography competitions.