The Camera Conquers Unknown Photographic Territory (Die Kamera erobert fotografisches Neuland)

Over his long career Heinz Hajek-Halke worked in fields ranging from advertising to reportage to scientific photography, always maintaining an enthusiastic commitment to the expressive techniques of experimental photography. In these selections from a larger set of nineteen images, Hajek-Halke manipulates tabletop setups of ordinary objects like ball bearings, broken glass, and figurines to produce the impression of Expressionist landscapes or ships at sea. Including himself in the photographs—and revealing the objects as they lie “at rest” on ordinary bookshelves—he tips his hand, turning the craft behind the illusion into his subject. Although the series was never published, an inscription on the reverse of the first photograph suggests Hajek-Halke’s pleasure in the work. It translates to “Successful playing around with fantasy and camera: Sunset on the Moor.”