Walther Benser

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Walther Benser (1958)

Walther Benser (born October 23, 1912 in Frankfurt am Main ; † April 21, 2002 in Domburg ) was a German photographer , photo journalist and businessman . His life with the Leica was determined by trips as a freelance photographer around the world, slide lecture tours and the development of his ZEFA photo agency in Düsseldorf.

Life

Former ZEFA headquarters at Schanzenstrasse 20a

The father Erich Benser was a graduate engineer. for mechanical engineering. The mother Greta was a daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn , the inventor of the taximeter and sister of the art historian Wolfgang Bruhn , and sister-in-law of the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe .

The parents separated in 1924 and Walther moved to Berlin with his mother and two siblings . Here he found the enthusiasm for moving images and absolutely wanted to see the film . On the erroneous assumption that the “completely new type of camera” from Leitz , the Leica , was a “cinema film camera” , he applied for an apprenticeship with Ernst Leitz II in Wetzlar .

He started this Easter 1929 as a technical commercial apprentice. After graduating in 1932, Walther Benser was transferred to the Photo sales department with various types of correspondence, particularly in the field of advertising . His photo-technical knowledge was very useful in the implementation of advertising events for the Leica camera and its numerous ancillary devices, so that he first led lectures on 35mm photography in Germany and from 1937 also in all European countries.

In addition to these lecture events, Leitz held a traveling exhibition of Leica photos, demonstrated the relevant devices and gave technical training courses for amateurs and professional photographers to deepen 35mm photography . Benser equipped his lectures and the instruction and advertising material with his own recordings. His style and photojournalistic talent came in very handy in putting together this type of lectures and photo exhibitions.

In 1936 Walther Benser married the painter Ursula Heuser , the daughter of the painter Werner Heuser (1880–1964) and Mira geb. Sohn-Rethel (1884–1974), in Düsseldorf . This marriage had three children: Petra (1937–1985), Klaus (1940–2003) and Sabine (* 1943).

During the war years, Benser belonged to the Wehrmacht as a photo war reporter . His status as an indispensable collaborator for Leitz was declared invalid in 1941 by Walter von Unruh, General of the Infantry . He was assigned to the Nebelwerfer artillery . In 1942 Benser was transferred to the Russian front as a PK photographer for Propaganda Company 691 with marching orders and to Rome , Italy at the end of 1943 .

In 1946 he took over the management of the German News Service photo agency - GNS for short in Hamburg .

“I don't know what prompted Mr. Bermann to invite me on the basis of my application to take over the management of the photo office in Hamburg. Dr. Hugo Freund, the authorized signatory at Leitz, must have convinced him that my work for the period since 1933 made the submission of a so-called "Persilschein" superfluous. This was the name given to the authority's official assurance that no one had participated in either the party or any other Nazi organization. "

Together with the picture reporter of the "GNS" Dr. In 1947 Ulrich Mohr founded the “Drei Mohren Verlag”, a picture posting service.

This was followed by its own productions of images and films, as the DPA , a merger of DPD and DENA , was unable to supply emerging trade magazines with images for advertising and, above all, with color photos from stock photography . At the end of 1950, the publishing house acquired a partner who made his sailing yacht “Etsi” available for regular reporting trips, and so the “Drei Mohren” became “ETSI Bild- und Filmdienst”.

In 1951, Walther Benser and a team started a photo tour across Italy to Africa, both for productions by the publisher and for work as a freelancer for Leitz for Leica lectures.

In 1953 the company merged with Willy Vogt, the owner of V-Dia Verlag in Heidelberg, for the purpose of creating duplicates. In 1956, Vogt and Benser founded the “Central Color Image Agency” under the abbreviation ZEFA at the time. During the start-up phase, Walther Benser put the money he earned with Leica lectures into the image agency . It took eight years for the agency to run fairly well and for around 30,000 color slides to be archived. The partners separated and Benser moved with ZEFA to Düsseldorf-Oberkassel , where his family also lived.

In the 1970s, he renamed his agency ZEFA, so the clients of the offices in London, Milan, Paris, Zurich and Vienna could pronounce the name better. In the 1980s, ZEFA was one of Europe's largest photo agencies.

On April 23, 1992 he was awarded the Golden Medal "for his outstanding achievements in the field of pictorial photography, photographic journalism and education" by the Photographische Gesellschaft in Vienna .

Traveling around the world, freelance photography and the Leica had determined his life. Walther Benser died on April 21, 2002 in Domburg, the Netherlands , his second adopted home.

  • Poster "Color in Light and Shadow" 1965

  • Brochure “Original Benser” camera accessories

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lars Wallerang: Klaus Heuser enchanted his niece - and Thomas Mann. In: wz newsline, October 27, 2013.

literature

  • Walther Heering: In the magic of color. A picture of color photography. Heering-Verlag, Harzburg 1943.
  • Walther Benser: 35 mm Color Magic. 1956. (engl.)
  • Walther Benser: We take color photographs. with drawings by Ursula Benser. Dr. Diener KG, publishing house for photo literature, Neumünster i. H. 1957.
  • Yearbook: Photography Annual 1961, New York 1960.
  • 50 years of modern color photography. 50 years modern color photography. 1936-1986.
  • Walther Benser: My life with the Leica. Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-928126-15-6 .
  • Leica Magic Moments. Exhibition catalog. Solms 1994.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Benser, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German photographer, photo journalist and businessman
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH April 21, 2002
Place of death Domburg