Sunday was the final day of the second edition of PHOTOPIA, which took place on the campus of Hamburg Messe und Congress from 13 to 16 October. Under the heading of #shareyourvision, the Who’s Who of the international digital imaging scene gathered for the PHOTOPIA Summit and many other events staged throughout the city. Organisers, exhibitors and visitors alike delivered a positive summary of the event.
On all four days the unique PHOTOPIA spirit and a general sense of enthusiasm for all things Imaging were clearly felt, and the concept behind this innovative live event format was as compelling as the previous year: In a relaxed atmosphere more than 10,000 visitors enjoyed a veritable festival for the eyes against the exceptional backdrop of 350 shipping containers stacked up in the halls. “What we have seen and heard, and the inspiration, product-based entertainment and information we experienced in a programme comprising roughly 500 individual features is hard to beat,” said Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress, who was utterly pleased about the outcome of the festival. “The exhibiting companies were able to get the most out of the container concept, creating fantastic worlds for industry and private visitors alike.” The idea PHOTOPIA Hamburg embodies once again fulfilled his expectations, he added. “The industry truly embraces the city of Hamburg as a hub. Together with our partners we are in a great position to become Europe’s leading event for the Imaging sector.”
Christian Müller-Rieker, Managing Director of the industry association Photoindustrie-Verband (PIV), confirmed this impression, saying: “The industry deserves this kind of an anchor event that can highlight the innovative potential of this sector and has an impact on the public while enabling an exchange of views and ideas between manufacturers and retailers, and in particular, personal interaction with the end customer. As the inspirational hosts of PHOTOPIA we are pleased to support this effort.”
Photographic art, imaging trends and a touch of glamour
Rankin, the British star photographer and patron of the 2022 event, expressed his unequivocal enthusiasm about the setting of PHOTOPIA and the staging of his two exhibitions, “Icons” and “Selfie Harm”: “It is a great honour for me to be at PHOTOPIA in Hamburg. To me, the idea of sharing my vision is the essence of photography. When you look through a lens, it doesn’t matter whether you are using an expensive camera or a smartphone – you can show the world how you view it. This is why I feel very attached to the PHOTOPIA hashtag, and I hope that all people visiting this event will indeed share their visions.”
International photographic artists showcased their work in more than 20 individual exhibitions. For the first time PHOTOPIA included an NFT gallery, as well. The interest in digital photos in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFT) was huge, and the crowds were packed in the halls. No wonder the Imaging Festival placed at the very top of the list of photography projects on OpenSea, the leading NFT Marketplace, and trended globally.
Appearances and visits by successful content creators and well-known photographers such as Dagi Bee, Karo Kauer, Kristian Schuller, Joachim Baldauf, Caro Daur, Maya Leinenbach, Paul Ripke and Younes Zarou attracted plenty of attention, lending some extra glamour to the event. In their talks and live productions they presented the latest approaches and trends in the digital business. Two concerts by star DJ David Puentez were additional highlights of the festival, drawing an audience that was more than ready to celebrate.
A world premiere, 82 companies, and a massive portion of expert knowledge
More than 80 companies from Europe, Canada and Taiwan presented their innovations and services for recording, editing, processing, storing, displaying and sharing photographic and video content at the Summit. As a major point of attraction in the well-attended “Vlogging” section, major industry player Sony presented its latest development, the vlogging camera ZC-1F, to the public for the first time. Other major brands represented in the exhibition halls included Adobe, BenQ, Canon, Cewe, DJI, Fujifilm, Hahnemühle, Leica, Nikon, Panasonic, Tamron and WhiteWall.
The drone photography exhibition, complete with a 1,000 cubic-metre FlyZone, and the Slow Photography section entirely dedicated to analogue photography, also attracted numerous visitors. A wide selection of speeches, workshops, photo walks and set-card shootings completed the multi-faceted programme offered by the exhibiting companies. In addition, plenty of expert knowledge was shared on the stages and exhibitor platforms. On three days, the Creative Content Conference presented an inspiring programme for all content creation, photography and video professionals. Areas of specialisation covered included documentary, wedding and advertising photography. Not to forget the high-profile speakers, including top executives from the industry and independent experts, who presented their innovative concepts for the imaging business at the ImagingExecutives@PHOTOPIA conference under the heading of "Intelligent Progress”.
This PHOTOPIA was a full success
High satisfaction levels were confirmed by the visitor survey conducted by an independent market research institute on behalf of Hamburg Messe und Congress. At 43 per cent, the share of industry visitors was similar to last year’s. Professionals and hobby photographers were equally enthusiastic about the wide range of activities available at the imaging festival. 92 per cent gave top marks to PHOTOPIA, and 91 per cent would recommend the event to other people. The main motives for visiting the fair were the desire to learn about novelties, products and trends and the opportunity to try out things hands-on.
The next PHOTOPIA Hamburg will take place from 21 to 24 September 2023.
