Take a trip to the tranquil heart of Germany’s Black Forest through the lens of photographer Marion Holtz. An ode to sibling love, connection with nature, and the joys and challenges of rural life, Holtz’s photographic series paints an intimate portrait of a summer day on a small farm.
Holtz recalls: “In early June, I spent a summer day with my sister on her husband’s small farm in southwestern Germany, near the French border. We were running around the fields with their dog Shadow and visited all the animals.”
The series presents a nuanced tableau: old trees swaying gently in the summer breeze, their creaky whispers a sweet counterpoint to the hustle and bustle of the modern world; farm animals happily living out their existence; and above all, the character of Holtz’s sister Sonja, who moves between two opposing worlds.
“My sister, Sonja, works as a doctor at a big hospital in the nearby city. In her free time, she helps take care of the little farm. One minute she has to operate on people or tell them about a difficult diagnosis, the next she’s driving a tractor or helping out when a new goat is being born.
The life on a farm isn’t easy. There’s a lot of hard work to be done. But there are so many forms of reward. Being outside in nature, watching it and interacting with it in a sensible way, will make your heart ache with love. Seeing this immense magic gives you new hope and strength.”
