A Fotomarathon is a competition under extreme circumstances. Within 12 hours participants must put together a series of 12 photos. One city, 12 hours, 12 topic. (For the 24h-Photomarathon there are 24h time and 24 topics, respectively.) In times of digital photography it is a bit easier to find the right illustration for each theme. However, one thing remains the same: photos must be made in the given order. And each individual theme is revealed during the Fotomarathon day itself.

Every year the Berlin Fotomarathon stands under a special overall theme. In previous editions these were “Life is a Game”, “Water”, “Playing with Numbers” or “The Dream of Flying”. The overall theme remains a secret until the start and it should be a leit-motiv throughout the whole series. Ambiguous individual themes are given to the participants, and they put their creativity and intrepretation to the test. Spontaneity, resourcefulness, perseverance and an ability to have fun are thereofre all basic components for a successful photo series. At the end of a Fotomarathon day every series is a photo documentary of a unique summer day in Berlin.

Whoever suceeds to have good ideas until the end and to bring the themes together creatively and in an artistic manner, is surely capable of finding a place among the best ten series. The winning series are curated by an independant Jury of high quality members.

Around four weeks after the competition, all series are exhibited during a whole weekend. The Series are presented as uncut stripes of film, three meters long. In this way, visitors can see each series in itself and also the interpretation of each individual theme.

How does a Fotomarathon work?

The Fotomarathon starts in a prominent place in Berlin and leads the participants throughout the city, with three intermediate stations in different parts of town. At the Finish line, after twelve hours of Fotomarathon, participants download their photos from their cameras. A special software will be used to make sure that photos were taken following the chronological and thematic order established. Every time participants reach an intermediate station, long-resistance photographers can recover some much needed strength. At the same time, they receive a new list of themes and information on how to get to the next station.

In addition to producing high level photography, the Fotomarathon challenges participants to discover the city from a new perspective. Those who want can also use a tripod, passers-by become participants, friends turn into art directors and lighting assistants.

Through the exclusive meeting points and thanks to a bit of local history, which every participant receives in each of the stations together with the themes, the Fotomarathon becomes a twelve hour voyage into unchartered territory -even for experienced Berlin connoisseurs.

Anyone who feels like it -and has a digital camera- can face the challenge presented to mind and soul. Both amateurs and professionals, original Berliners or visitors are welcome -the most important thing is to be creative, perseverant and tireless. The number of participants is limited, and the registration process can be done online in this website.

The participation fee is 29 Euro, which include the processing of the photos, the entry to the Exhibition -and some hope to win something precious at the award ceremony.

Would you like to know more? You can read the Rules of the Game here and see the themes of previous Fotomarathons in our archive.

Legal Formalities to the Fotomarathon logo and website contents

Our Logo is a copyright protected word and logo, registered in the German Patent Office under the number 300 72 154.4/41. The Logo and Isologo were created by Sylvie Hartmann and Thomas Kolb for the Berlin Fotomarathon.

The use of the Fotomarathon Logo and Isologo is only allowed after written permission of the owner of the copyright. The Berlin Fotomarathon logo must not be used without permission.

We welcome cooperation and are willing to support new initiatives. If you are planning a similar event please contact us, we would be glad to share our experience.

At the same time, we would explicitly like to point out that all of our texts, photos and layouts are protected by copyright. They must not be used, distributed or changed without our permission. While we are flattered if our event serves as inspiration, if you are planning your own Fotomarathon, we encourage you to formulate your texts using your own words.

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