Student Life in Black and White

An employee in the University's Public Relations Office was recently organizing the picture archives when she stumbled on 170 black and white photographs hidden away on a hard drive. She was intrigued. How old were the photographs? Who took them? The search led her to Norway.
The photographer Ilja C. Hendel took many analog pictures of everyday life at the University of Freiburg when he was a student here in the 1990s. This group of pictures was one of his first steps toward a career as a professional photographer. Hendel now works and lives in Oslo, Norway. He still takes pictures of laboratories and student life, and he won the German Award for Science Photography in 2013 for his picture reportage about the Institute of Wood Research at the Thünen-Institute in Hamburg. Emilie Häberle talked to the photographer about the recently rediscovered pictures.

Analog learning: A group of students ponders over photocopies and hand-written notes in Kollegiengebäude (College Building) II.
Photo: Ilja C. Hendel

Mr. Hendel, how did you become a photographer?

Ilja C. Hendel: I was studying economics, ethnology, and politics at the University, and in the breaks I would shoot photo essays that I sold to newspapers. I wanted to put the theoretical issues I was studying at the University into practice in front of the camera. It all started when I took pictures of the University cafeterias in 1992 and sold them to the local newspaper, the Badische Zeitung. The paper published the photos on a two-page spread in their weekend "Magazin" supplement. That was the beginning of many years of collaboration.

Ilja C. Hendel studied economics, ethnology, and politics at the University of Freiburg and worked for newspapers as a photographer during breaks.
Photo: Ilja C. Hendel

How did the picture series featuring the University of Freiburg come about?

I did many different series for the Badische Zeitung's university news coverage – for example for news about places of learning, educational issues, and scientific topics. I took most of those pictures in the middle and end of the 1990s. Around the turn of the century, the University of Freiburg's Public Relations Office incorporated 170 pictures of these pictures in its archives and presented them in an alumni exhibition.

Do you remember how many rolls of film you used?

About one to two rolls for each theme. Back when rolls of film were the standard, you instinctively took far fewer pictures than today – maybe two to three exposures for each motif – to keep film development and other costs low.

Do you have a favorite picture in the series?

I like the picture of the serving counter in the cafeteria. I also like the picture of the demonstration, because of its graphic structure.

Students enjoy a full meal deal served on cafeteria trays in the Mensa on Rempartstraße.
Photo: Ilja C. Hendel

Much like today, students took to the streets to protest against tuition fees in the 1990s – here, in front of Kollegiengebäude (College Building) III.
Photo: Ilja C. Hendel

Paper jungle: Books waiting to be picked up at the old University Library
Photo: Ilja C. Hendel


Animal double structures in the Faculty of Biology.
Photo: Ilja C. Hendel

Many technical devices in laboratories that students take for granted today were not as advanced in the 1990s.
Photo: Ilja C. Hendel

To view more pictures from this series, visit us on Instagram.

For more information about the photographer, see his webpage.