Maximilian Mann | Lumix Festival für jungen Bildjournalismus

Maximilian Mann
Fading Flamingos

The lake used to attract many visitors, but it has now transformed into a barren, salty landscape. The drought brings more and more salt storms that affect both agriculture and the health of the population.

Masoumeh lives in Daryan, about 20 kilometres from the lake. Over the past few years, temperatures have risen here as well, and the climate has changed. People have started cultivating various agricultural products as an experiment.

Until a few years ago, it was possible to take a boat from one side of Lake Urmia to the other. This is no longer possible because of the low water level.

Altogether, around 450,000 tonnes of salt are extracted industrially every year. On the area of the former lake, many agricultural workers take salt for their own needs.

The Museum of Natural History in Urmia is devoted to the flora and fauna of the biosphere reserve. In ancient times, the climate was more temperate than it is now. Historical sources prove that the lake teemed with fish and that oak and juniper grew in the area.

Kazem-Dashi is a well-known rock formation and a popular attraction in the province of West Azerbaijan. Many Iranians visit this place the weekend.

The region is known for its apple production. The apples are also exported to the neighbouring countries of Iraq and Turkey. Because agriculture consumes so much water, it is the main reason that the lake is drying up.

Reza (foreground) and Ahmed live in Urmia and own a field near the village of Bari, directly by the lake. The waste from agricultural production is burnt before winter.

Rahim, 31, is a shepherd. He lives in Osalou with his mother and two sisters. He has studied, but he enjoys the tranquillity of the village and would like to keep working as a shepherd in Osalou.

Nearly 600 people live in the village of Gurchin Qaleh. As the villages around the lake are shrinking, the state has taken on the maintenance of this village and is rebuilding the centre.

A trout farm in the village of Karimabad. Because the salt concentration of Lake Urmia has been so high for centuries, there are no more fish in the lake.

The Urmia Lake Research Institute was established in 2013. 20 scientists and five laboratory assistants investigate topics such as the shortage of water in the lake.

Iran’s Lake Urmia has shrunk because of people’s wasteful treatment of water resources. This dried-up riverbed now consists only of salt.

Teenagers play football in their free time in the Kurdish village of Jabal Kandi. Above all, it is young adults who leave these villages due to the tough economic situation.

Vegetables, fruit and fresh fish are sold at the market in Urmia. The fish come either from local fish farms or the Persian Gulf.

Hamams are not only places to wash and relax, but also important gathering places. Although these steam baths enjoy a long tradition, they are becoming increasingly rare in Iran.

The teahouse in Galgachi used to attract many visitors. However, nearly all the inhabitants of the village have moved away. Only 35 of the original 150 homeowners have remained. Mojtaba Maayed (left) and Ghasem Mohebat are farmers; they still live in the village, right by the lake.

Agricultural workers process the harvest on the area of the former lake. They live in the village of Gamichi, which was once directly by the lake. Translated, the word Gamichi means “sailor”.

Tourists from Tabriz spend their weekends at the lake.

Largely unnoticed by the rest of the world, Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran has become the scene of an environmental disaster. Where just ten years ago the water lapped at the village walls, there is now a vast desert. Ships that once carried people from one side of the lake to the other now lie on the shore like beached whales and fall apart. Saline winds from the desert spread over the fields and cause the harvests to dry out. The inhabitants of the villages have been robbed of their livelihood and are fleeing to the surrounding cities – the villages around the lake are dying. Lake Urmia was once the second-largest salt lake in the world, but within just a few years, its area has shrunk by 80 per cent. The causes are both climate change and the immense water consumption required by farming. The damage to agriculture and tourism has been estimated at several hundred billion euros, and up to five million people are threatened with resettlement.

Climate
Everyday Life
The Environment
Village

3 Questions

1. The door opener: Can you describe a formative moment in your career as a visual journalist?

The most important moment was definitely the start of my studies. That was the initial impulse for an in-depth examination of many areas of photography. And that led me to meet many inspiring people who brought me further along my way, both photographically and as a person. Above all, establishing the DOCKS Collective in 2018, and its inherent mutual motivation, but also the discussions and arguments about photography, was and still is hugely important.

2. The decisive moment: When did you first encounter your topic and why did you decide to cover it photographically?

In my opinion, the climate is the central subject of my generation; it has always been important to me. In spring 2018, my research led me to Lake Urmia and the environmental disaster there. I was surprised that I had never heard about it before. After all, it was one of the world’s largest salt lakes. I wanted to find out more and in September 2018, I travelled to Iran for the first time. An environmental disaster like the drying-up of a lake is a global problem caused by human activity. This is why, in my opinion, it is important for photographers – both local and international – to report on it.

3. The future: What could the visual journalism of the future be like?

More photographs are being taken than ever before in human history. Nevertheless, I am firmly convinced that photojournalism is needed more than ever. We need authors who show us their view of their surroundings so we can better understand all the small and large changes in the world. And in the future, this will happen less and less via traditional magazine publications alone. We young photographers in particular must find new story forms and see the opportunity that lies in them. And there are many possibilities: social media, multimedia, virtual reality and more.

1) Was unterscheidet deine Herangehensweise von den, Fotograf*innen, die sich mit dieser Problematik ebenfalls auseinandergesetzt haben?

2) Was hat sich deiner Meinung nach in der Region nach der Veröffentlichung deiner Arbeit und den Arbeiten anderer Kolleg*innen diesbezüglich verändert?

3) Womit musstest du persönlich hadern, als du in der Region warst?

Found in Research

Maximilian Mann: Statement

IAFORD Documentary Photography Award

Curated by Daniel Rodríguez

*1992 in Kassel, Germany
Maximilian Mann studied Photography at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and is a member of the DOCKS collective. In his documentary work, he examines environmental topics and socially disadvantaged groups. In 2019, his project on Lake Urmia in Iran won the Felix Schoeller Photo Award for the best project by an up-and-coming photographer; in the same year, Mann received the BFF Scholarship. In 2020, he was awarded with a scholarship from VG Bild-Kunst. In the same year he won the 2nd Prize for the World Press Photo Stories in the category “Environment”.

www.maximilian-mann.com
@maximilian_mann

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