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18th October 2007
Photographer Klaus Mellenthin uses Leaf for fund-raising
Release Issued by Leaf:

Acclaimed Photographer relies on Leaf for major AIDS fund-raising effort in Uganda

Photographer Klaus Mellenthin creates moving images of AIDS-orphans to attract funding for a children's care centre

Waterloo, Belgium, October 18, 2007 – Leaf, the leader in the design of digital backs for professional photographers and developer of the world's fastest digital camera backs, announces that its technology enabled Klaus Mellenthin to use his creative vision for a series of dramatic photographs, depicting life for AIDS-orphans in Uganda. 

  German photographer Klaus Mellenthin is an accomplished studio and location photographer, typically producing unique photography for advertising agencies, graphic designers, editorial publications and major clients such as Reader’s Digest, Bayer, Carl Zeiss, and Merck. Yet when Mellenthin was contacted by client and colleague Susanne Wallemann to provide photographs for a website she was developing, he took an immediate interest in the unusual project. 

"Susanne was building a web site for the St. Moses Children’s Care Centre, a non-profit organization in Uganda that helps house, educate and care for children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS." explains Mellenthin. "The Centre faced a serious funding crisis and without financial assistance, it would have to return the children to life of poverty and uncertainty in their villages. Susanne needed photos that would highlight the plight of the children and encourage much-needed donations."

Once he became involved in the project, Klaus Mellenthin contacted SYMPRA, a well-known public relations agency in Germany, and asked for their support. SYMPRA immediately agreed. In July 2007 Mellenthin traveled to Uganda to capture the unfortunate situation of AIDS-orphans with his camera, a Mamiya 645AFD II using a Leaf Aptus 22 digital camera back. In the rural villages Mellenthin was shocked by what he saw: mud houses without electricity and water, extreme poverty, undernourished children, people suffering from jaundice, tuberculosis and AIDS.

It was a creative challenge to document the severe difficulty of the children's lives, yet preserve their dignity as subjects. It was also crucial to demonstrate that the St. Moses Children’s Care Centre offered a positive environment and required funding to keep its doors open.  Mellenthin chose to focus on the children who live at the St. Moses Children’s Care Centre, and contrast their hopeful images with photos of the villages that they would be sent back to if the Centre had to close. "I wanted my photographs to show the quality of life in the Centre compared to the quality of life in the village communities," says Mellenthin.

Working on location in the villages presented significant challenges for his photo shoots, and Klaus Mellenthin relied on the Leaf Aptus 22 to concentrate on the children, not technical details. “My work benefited from the Leaf Aptus 22’s huge dynamic range,” states Mellenthin. "You can see it in some of the images in the huts, where the exposure was about 4-10 seconds with people, and no light – just some little holes in the roof or in the walls."

The Leaf Aptus 22 camera back redefines user friendliness as the world’s first camera back that includes a large built-in (6 x 7 cm) LCD screen and an innovative graphic user interface (GUI). An integrated battery and CompactFlash (CF) storage card ensure easy shooting. Its powerful hardware offers a continuous non-stop burst and a capture rate of an image every 1.2 seconds. With the Leaf digital camera back’s ability to generate large RAW files, Mellenthin can easily show his images in exhibitions. He looks forward to presenting his photography series in large or even in life-size picture formats.

Since Klaus Mellenthin returned from Uganda, the St. Moses Children’s Care Centre and his images have been profiled in a number of major German newspapers.  Through the visual impact of his photographs, Mellenthin has focused much-needed attention on a project that gives children the chance for a better tomorrow.

Klaus Mellenthin
Klaus Mellenthin began working with Leaf digital camera backs three years ago, first with the Leaf Valeo 22, then the Leaf Aptus 22, and now the Leaf Aptus 75S. He is extremely satisfied with the quality and ease of use. His professional website: http://www.my-photographer.com/

Klaus Mellenthin has posted a video about the St. Moses Children’s Care Centre project on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9vKQNkQQho

The St. Moses Children’s Care Centre
St. Moses Children’s Care Centre, a Christian organization, is situated in Njeru, Jinja, in Uganda. Its main objectives are the care for orphans, abandoned and abused children in the Centre and in the community, regardless of their faith, tribe or race.

More information: http://www.stmosesccc.org/

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