The digital blind date

01/03/10

Carl Zeiss announces winners of photo contest on “digital culture”

Israeli photographer Netanel Hadad has won the Carl Zeiss photo contest on ‘digital culture’ for his work entitled “The digital blind date”. A man and woman are seated across from each other at a table with a glass of wine, looking at one another in the candlelight. They talk, talk, talk. It’s their first date - they haven’t met before.

Is this a normal blind date? Almost. There are just two laptops on the table. The couple is meeting virtually. They are both ‘hiding’ behind their computer screens. “The picture won because it deals with a tough topic beautifully and creatively. There’s great atmosphere in this image,” says photographer Edith Held from Berlin, who assessed the contest entries. “The photographer plays with the details and thus renders the story into the image perfectly. I really like the idea behind it.”

How are digital media changing the way people interact with each other? How do computers, the Internet and mobile devices influence our daily lives? What is the digital culture? From December 15, 2009 until January 15, 2010, photographers and photo enthusiasts were invited to capture their ideas about this topic in exciting images. Participation was open to anyone, provided the pictures were shot with a ZEISS lens, using SLR reflex cameras to cameras of a mobile phone.

Hadad’s image was created with a Hasselblad camera and Planar T * 2/80. The picture was inspired by his personal experience. ”I met my wife through the Internet. Fortunately there are no geographic boundaries on the Web. Now I can finally capture how strongly the digital culture has influenced our lives.”

A total of 1,018 images from 58 countries were submitted during the contest. An international jury including of Edith Held and photographer Jürgen Müller selected a shortlist of 10 photos. Winner Netanel Hadad will receive a ZEISS SLR lens of his choice. The second-place winner is Dutchman Joeri van Veen, who wins a set of Cinemizer Plus video glasses and an Ipod Touch 8 GB. Third place goes to Spanish photographer Juan Leon, who will receive a Nokia N 86 mobile telephone.