18. APRIL 2025
Magnum Photos Group Exhibition
3rd to 5th June 2025
Curator: Robert Hyde
Galerie Joseph, 43 rue des Tournelles, Paris
10 am to 6 pm
3rd to 5th June 2025
Curator: Robert Hyde
Galerie Joseph, 43 rue des Tournelles, Paris
10 am to 6 pm
15. MARCH 2025
I am delighted to announce that one of my images from the LFI Gallery has been selected for a special exhibition as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations for Leica. The photograph will be on display in an outdoor exhibition at the historic Lottehof in Wetzlar, the birthplace of Leica. Entitled ‘Around the World with Leica,’ the exhibition will feature 50 photographs selected from over a million submissions to the international LFI Gallery in a daily curation process. Since the introduction of the first Leica in 1925, this camera has accompanied photographers around the world – including me. It captures images that show people in their everyday lives, in moments of stillness or movement, with depth and dignity. The exhibition invites visitors on a visual journey from Wetzlar to Malawi, from India to Australia – an empathetic look at life in all its diversity. If you are in the area, I highly recommend visiting the exhibition in Wetzlar in summer 2025.
20. DECEMBER 2024
Room for Encounter
On the streets near the Château d'Eau metro station, I always find a place that reminds me of what Irving Penn called a ‘neutral space’ (see Irving Penn, Worlds in a Small Room, 1974). Although we are standing in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Paris, the scene is transformed for a brief moment into an improvised studio: a space that belongs neither entirely to me nor to my counterpart, yet is open to both of us.
In this neutral space on the street, it is not about elaborate staging or backdrops – all that matters is the natural light and the silent agreement to meet each other without distraction. For me, this brief pause is a gift, because it allows encounters to happen: the fleeting facets of our personalities that otherwise remain hidden in everyday life suddenly come to the fore.
The result is portraits that are both accidental and intentional. The people I meet on the street bring their own stories with them and agree to a dialogue that takes place not in words but in gestures and glances. It is precisely in this small intersection that I find the fascination of photography: it has the power to preserve moments that not only outlive us, but also remind us how close we can be in our humanity.
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The photo project will take place between 6 January 2025 and 29 March 2025. I will be at the Château d'Eau metro station twice a week with my photo trolley.
At the end of each photo session, I will ask the person portrayed to sign a model release form for my photo project. This serves to protect both the person portrayed and myself through a clear agreement.
At the end of the project, I will compile 25 selected photographs into a narrative series. This will be evaluated by curators on 14 and 15 May 2025 and then exhibited at the Magnum Photos gallery in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
13. JUNE 2024
On 15 August 2024, I will move to Versailles, France, to participate in the documentary programme of Magnum Photos & Spéos in Paris for one year.
05. APRIL 2024
You can find my extended profile on LinkedIn – I welcome connections and exchange:
www.linkedin.com/in/bertmeyer
www.linkedin.com/in/bertmeyer
I’m Bert Meyer, a German-Dutch documentary photographer. My path into photography has grown out of a life shaped by craftsmanship, cross-cultural experience, and many years of development work in Africa and India. Trained as a wood mechanic, I moved to Cameroon in 1996 with twelve toolboxes and a deep desire to build something lasting – both in a practical and human sense. There, I established a carpentry workshop for young people. Within this context, I began working with photography – as a way to honour and make visible everyday life. Over the years, my camera has become a tool for quiet observation and genuine encounter. It serves less as a means of representation and more as a practice of attentiveness – a way of meeting people in their natural environment with respect and care.
01. JULY 2023
The photo book Das Leben verstehen – aus dem Blickwinkel Afrikas (Understanding Life – From an African Perspective) invites readers to take a fresh look at humanity from an African perspective. The pictures were taken during my years of working on the African continent and show everyday life, people and landscapes that have become familiar to me over time. Complemented by African wisdom and proverbs, a thoughtful dialogue unfolds between image and word. The book is also available as an eBook.
20. SEPTEMBER 2022
My newsletter is now available - you can subscribe to the service via Mailchimp. It is published once or twice a year and offers insights into my photographic work. The aim is to expand my network and deepen the exchange - initially in German, later perhaps also in English, depending on where most subscribers come from. Subscribe now and stay updated!
01. JULY 2022
Publication @ Black & White
07. JANUARY 2018
In the first issue of 2018 of Leica Fotografie International (LFI), one of my images will be published in the Lightbox section. The photograph can be found on page 118 of the German-language edition. This represents an important milestone in my photographic development and offers me the opportunity to present my work to an international audience. I am delighted that my image will appear in such a prestigious magazine and hope that it will inspire many people. Being published in Lightbox is a wonderful motivation to continue sharing my passion for photography and developing my creative work.
11. MAY 2016
Picture of the week @ LFI Online
16. MARCH 2016
Picture of the week @ LFI Online
My portfolio ‘In the North of Cameroon’ has been published on the Leica Photography International website. The reportage is based on a trip I took with Catholic bishops to the Extrême-Nord region in 2014, amid growing tensions caused by Boko Haram. The images and accompanying text reflect my personal connection to Cameroon, where I worked as a carpenter for over a decade.