Stories in Black and White
Step into the quiet universe of Fritz Ruhmann, born in Eastern Germany in the 1970s and now celebrated for his black‑and‑white explorations of place and memory.
With a Leica Q2 in hand, he moves from the concrete rhythms of European Brutalism to the intimate warmth of Ireland’s people and pubs, and into the abandoned industrial landscapes of the former USSR.
His work, known for its clarity and emotional depth, has earned him numerous international awards, including the Madrid International Photography Award and the Ottawa Art Excellence Prize. Each photograph is a distilled story — a moment where light, structure, and human presence meet.
A Constructed Photographer
Fritz Ruhmann is not a real person. He is an imaginary photographer, his pictures created with Midjourney to explore how authorship, authenticity, and visual storytelling shift in the age of synthetic images. His biography, his travels, his Leica — all part of a deliberate construction.
The project is meant to provoke reflection. What happens when a fictional artist can produce a coherent body of work? When style can be simulated? When recognition can be fabricated?
At the same time, Fritz is a gesture of respect. His images draw on the traditions of the great photographers — the ones who walked the streets, waited for the light, and shaped the language of photography through lived experience.
Fritz is a tribute, a critique, and a thought experiment in one.
