Through Art, Across Oceans
https://angelika-vogel.pixels.com
For Angelika Vogel, creativity has always been part of life’s rhythm. Based in Berlin, she began her career not behind the camera but in the classroom, working as a preschool teacher in diverse and vibrant schools across the city. One particular post, at a European school focused on French and German language and culture, still lingers warmly in her memory. “The children loved language, music, dance and art,” she recalls. “And so did I.”
Angelika’s own creative journey began in earnest at age fifteen, when she was assigned a school project on paintings of children by famous artists like Picasso. “That’s when my interest in art truly began,” she says. She explored many forms over the years—crayon work, painting, and eventually photography, where she found her true voice.
Her first inspiration came from seeing the work of photographer Sarah Moon. “That was enough,” she says simply. Since then, her style has developed into a striking blend of landscape, architecture, minimalism, and surrealism—along with a fascination for photographing women and industrial forms. During the analogue years, she worked closely with publishers and photography magazines. “The meetings were so inspiring,” she remembers. “We’d sit across a table, exchange ideas, plan a project—then continue the conversation over a glass of wine.” Those days of face-to-face creativity feel lost now. “Today, it’s all online, anonymous. I really regret that.”
Camera-wise, she currently works with a Canon EOS R6, chosen for its impressive low-light performance and as a natural next step after her 70–200mm lens needed replacing. Before that, it was a series of Canon DSLRs and various Minolta models, both film and digital. She edits her work in Lightroom, having switched from Photoshop Elements when her old computer could no longer keep up. While she finds photo editing satisfying—particularly when it veers into the surreal—her greatest joy remains the act of capturing the image itself.
She describes her photography as a form of discovery, and that impulse has taken her around the world. From Berlin to Japan, Bali, the Seychelles, Iceland, New Zealand, and throughout Europe and the Americas—travel is both a source of inspiration and a kind of companion. “Iceland,” she says, smiling. “The landscapes, the people, the coffee—and the world’s best cheesecake.” One of her favourite photos is of a waterfall there, not because it’s technically her best, but because it holds something more personal. “It just speaks to me.”
Angelika’s stories often blend the profound with the playful. She once received a brand-new digital camera—only to drop it fatally onto the asphalt before even pressing the shutter. Yet she also produced a book with her schoolchildren called Ich möchte eine Blume sein (“I Would Like to Be a Flower”), combining portraits she took of the children with short texts they had written. It was published by Herder Verlag in Freiburg and sold over 100,000 copies—a beautiful memory and one of her proudest moments.
She’s exhibited internationally, from Modern Architecture at Brennpunkt Galerie in Berlin in the early 1980s to Children and Women at the Kodak Gallery in Tokyo. There have been many shows since, across Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Hannover, and Riga. She has recently been invited to participate in the International Fine Arts Festival in Kranj, Slovenia, in 2025.
She has also led photography workshops, mainly focusing on model photography. “Pay special attention to hands and feet,” she advises. “And keep your horizon straight.” These details may seem small, but she believes they make the difference between a good image and a great one. Her advice to new photographers is rooted in precision and awareness: notice what’s wrong, not just what’s beautiful.
Though she shares her work on platforms such as Art Limited, Fine Art America, and Redbubble, she doesn’t actively seek commissions or use social media. “Not my scene,” she admits. “But if something suits my style, I’d consider it.” Much like her approach to photography itself, Angelika’s path has never been about chasing trends—it’s about staying true to her own quiet aesthetic.
Her personal life mirrors her creative one in many ways. She met her husband, also a photographer, through an online photo community in 2015. After years of long-distance flights across the Indian Ocean, they married and settled together in Berlin in 2020. “We try not to fight too much about the best vantage points,” she jokes. “Or exhibition spaces.”
There is a strong artistic thread in her family, and they’re supportive of her work—“usually polite at worst,” she says with a chuckle. It helps that most of them are good photographers in their own right.
Though her current work keeps her busy, Angelika still thinks back fondly to her days as a teacher, particularly the art projects with young children. “It was such a creative and fulfilling time.” She also enjoyed the contrast of working with adults during her workshops—equally rewarding, though very different in tone.
And, in a delightful footnote to a life of creativity, travel, and shared artistry—Angelika reveals she’s an identical twin. She and her sister shared classes growing up and couldn’t resist the occasional trick on their long-suffering teachers. “We had a lot of fun.”
As for dreams? She smiles. “Iceland. And Australia and New Zealand.” One gets the feeling that her dreams—like her photographs—are rich with place, memory, and the subtle magic of moments caught just before they disappear.
