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During this time, he had only one goal: he wanted to take pictures of families all over the world who best reflect the traditions and social conditions of their communities. Equipped with a Land Rover, a camera and a portable studio, Ommer traveled to 130 countries. He interviewed and photographed more than 1000 families, which led to his family album of planet earth – 1000 Families.

But what does this project have to do with Carl Zeiss? The Planar T* 2,8/80, Makro-Planar T* 4/120 and Distagon T* 4/50 lenses accompanied Ommer on his tour of the world. He used Hasselblad cameras equipped exclusively with Carl Zeiss lenses. After all, he depended on professional tools for his monumental project. The reliability of the photographic equipment is the key when a photographer is trying to take a picture of a large Peruvian family somewhere in the Andes far away from civilization.

His four years of work have paid off. Ommer decided to take the same picture of each family: in front of a white background with the same lighting. This puts the focus squarely on the families. Many of the portraits were already on display in exhibitions and magazines while the project was still being completed. 1000 Families was the finished result and was a complete success. It is a collection of individual and expressive photos on 576 pages, which all have one thing in common: they were taken with lenses from Carl Zeiss.

November 18, 2008