I received an email message from fellow Minoxer Max, somewhere in the autumn of 2017. He was asking me if I would want to exhibit some of my Minox photographs in Riga, Latvia. The Latvian Museum of Photography, together with Latvian Designers’ Society were showcasing the exhibition «The World with Minox. Riga».
Minox Riga – produced in the VEF factory in Riga, Latvia cca 1939.
The exhibition was to feature materials about the production and development of the «Minox» camera, as well as the pictures taken with it. It was well expected that the Minox Riga (or the “Rigaer”) is going to be the highlight.
I naturally said “would I?”, because it was not only an honour, but a way of paying my respects to Zapp and his contribution to the photography and science, in general. So, I was contacted by the organizers and was asked to send in my Minox photographs, chosen at my discretion, and so I did.
And so, between 25 of Jan to 25 of Feb 2018, the exhibition took place in the capital city of Latvia, and I was told it was a great success. Alas, I was not able to travel, but the Minox photographs we send were greatly commented and appreciated.
These here are the Minox photographs I have sent for the exhibition.
An excerpt from the Museum’s own programme:
«Minox» is a camera that has not lost its popularity to the present day starting with «Minox VEF Riga» model and up to later produced models. This camera is popular not only among photographers, but also widely used in various movies like a spy camera.
In the exhibition «The World with Minox. Riga» at the Latvian Museum of Photography, visitors can get acquainted with the museum collection materials about the production and development of the «Minox» camera, as well as with the pictures that were taken with various types of «Minox» cameras by several amateur photographers. The authors are Denis Ananiev (Russia), Erik Tibell (France), Julian Tanase (Romania), Luis Carvalho (France), Imants Parādnieks (Latvia), Volha Savich (Belarus), Gennady Smirnov (Russia), Maxim Aleshin (Russia), Ādolfs Irbīte (Latvia). They all share a passion for «Minox» cameras, some of them are professional photographers who have their own photo labs and camera collections, but others take the camera only when travelling or during moments of rest.”