Zur Person

Photographer Christoph Gödan is specialized in portrait, feature and industrial photography for well-known magazines, annual reports and public relations for companies and NGOs.

From 1990 to 1996 he studied visual communication (Photography and Media) at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld. Degree dissertation "The Death in the Present" about the war crimes in Bosnia and Croatia, realized by a grant of the DAAD and contract works for the magazine „Stern“.

1992-1999 numerous journeys through the war and post-war areas on the Balkan on behalf of magazines, such as „Stern“, „Greenpeace-Magazine“, „Neue Zürcher Zeitung“ and freelance projects.

Since 2005 several trips to Africa (a.o. Somalia, Tanzania, Kenia, South Africa) for free projects and different clients.

On a two-month long trip in 2006 and 2007, the photographer has portrayed and interviewed more than 50 families in Tanzania and South Africa, who are massively affected by AIDS & HIV. The destruction of traditional family structures by the AIDS pandemic was captured in his work "The grand mothers". Old women were brought here in the focus, who have to educate a large number of AIDS orphans in extreme poverty. Since 2007 this exhibition is touring almost without interruption through Germany and Switzerland and has been shown in more than 30 cities.

The grand mothers documentary was nominated in 2008 for the Unicef Photo of the Year Award. In 2010 this series was selected on the shortlist of the Henri Nannen Prize and won First Prize at Mediaprize of German Kindernothilfe. In the same year his photographs from the campaign „Water for Africa“ were honorable mentioned at the Unicef Photo of the Year Award.

Since 1999 the photographer is a member of agency laif (www.laif.de) in Cologne. He lives in Osnabrück, Germany.

Clients & Agencies:
Kap AG I PPS-Pipelinesystems I Habau GmbH I Essent Energies (NL) I Bertelsmann AG I Bertelsmann Stiftung I Staatliche Ethnographische Sammlungen Sachsen I Zollanvari I ILF Consulting Engineers I Salzgitter AG I Wintershall I Stiftung Deutsches Holocaust Museum I Caritas I Redaktion 4 I Schöller Corporate Communications I Kircher&Burkhardt

Publications:

Der Feinschmecker I Der Weingourmet I Chrismon I Der Spiegel I D.Lux I Greenpeace-Magazin I Lufthansa-Magazin I Stern I Focus I Zeit-Magazin I Kulturzeitschrift DU I RUND I NZZ I Brigitte I Wirtschaftswoche I Evonik-Magazin I Change I Frankfurter Allgemeine I Financal Times I Die Zeit I Zeit-Magazin I Kontinente I Impulse