A new start for a woman from Harpstedt in Austria: from professional suffering and private happiness
Harpstedt/St. Martin – Instead of “Moin” she has long since said “Servus”. The former Harpstedter Anja Prade does not have the impression that the Austrians see her as “Piefke”. But the 41-year-old suspects that she will probably always remain “the German” in her new home in St. Martin am Tennengebirge. “I like the small places. You know each other there,” she says with satisfaction. “I also liked that in Harpstedt. The anonymity of the big city is just not my thing.”
than die professional photographer 2018 the Wildeshauser Geest and that Photogenic Studio left behind to emigrate, many customers, friends and acquaintances regretted her degree – and wondered why she had chosen “Austria of all places” as her new center of life. Of course, such a step, which changed her whole life, is never easy, but she has not regretted her decision; On the contrary: “I was lucky and met lovely people I wouldn’t want to be without. I’ve really arrived here,” she says.
When asked if they still Single out of conviction the 41-year-old has to laugh: “Caught!” she replies. Yes, you have found a partner with whom you can share everyday life. For him it was worth saying goodbye to single life. “And yes, as you might have guessed: he is Austrian. From Salzburg. His name is Oliver. We’ve been together for almost two years now.”
That was a jackpot for me. I don’t know if I would still be here if I hadn’t gotten this job.”
Professionally things didn’t go so well. But in Harpstedt, Anja Prade consoles herself, she would hardly have fared any better: “Because of the lockdowns, Antje Gätcke and I very probably would not have been able to hold the ‘Photogen’ anyway.” The experiences made in the new home in connection with Corona, The suffering associated with this in the circle of friends is also a chapter that has already affected the 41-year-old. Two years ago, all her photography orders, mainly in the event area, broke within three days. “I was zero,” the 41-year-old recalls. to die new existence stand in Austria on a knife edge; According to her own conviction, Anja Prade would not have been able to bridge the dry spell for long. A part-time job in a Salzburg company, where she now earns her living, saved her. “That was a jackpot for me,” admits the emigrant. “I don’t know if I would still be here if I hadn’t got this job.”
I’ve really arrived here.”
Nevertheless, photography remains a part of her. “I want to continue doing that,” confirms Anja Prade. She’s slowly recovering order situation something. “But I can’t live on it yet. In the last six months I have had commissions in the areas of hotel photography, animal portraits and family photographs. I am Event area, on which I’ve actually specialized a bit, it still looks bad. Nothing is moving because of the constant Corona requirements,” regrets the former Harpstedter, who originally comes from Senftenberg in southern Brandenburg.
The pandemic slowed her down at a bad time as she was establishing herself and making a name for herself as a photographer. “I’m proud that one of my works was selected for the traveling exhibition ‘Images of People’,” says the 41-year-old. 30 large-format displays wandered through the district capitals in the Salzburg region; the “images of people” invited people to look at them in public places.
I had to bring Hermann Cordes back to the studio for a character portrait back then because I found his face so interesting.”
“For me, this project remains a very special one because the portrait I submitted was a free work that dates back to the Harpstedt days. The photo shows Hermann Cordes, one of our last passport photo customers at ‘Photogen’. I had to take him back to the studio for a character portrait back then because I found his face so interesting. This is how this expressive ‘image of man’ came into being,” explains the Austrian-by-choice. Hermann Cordes even came to Salzburg to look at the portrait in the exhibition. “The war class.”
Live where others spend their holidays
Anja Prade feels that life in Austria is more expensive than in Germany. This is noticeable in the food and everyday necessities, as well as in the cost of the car. “Rent is also an issue. But that’s why I live where other people go on vacation,” says the 41-year-old.
Seasons including being able to enjoy “real” winter, Anja Prade had hoped for from her new adopted country. As far as that goes, her wishes were completely fulfilled. St. Martin is around 1,000 meters above sea level. “We’re always there when it snows in the area,” says the Austrian-by-choice. Winter sports are not her great passion, unless “winter grilling” is one of them. Apparently, skis and Anja Prade are no longer great friends. The emigrant, on the other hand, likes tobogganing more. Or trudging through the snow on sunny days, then sitting on an alpine pasture and enjoying the view with a delicious Kaiserschmarrn. “That’s something.”
In Austria, too, happiness on this earth lies on horseback.”
You are comfortable in your new home ten new friends found. The circle of acquaintances is significantly larger. “I think it’s great that good friendships endure even over great distances,” the 41-year-old alludes to the fact that she is always allowed to welcome guests from far away, also from Harpstedt, in the Salzburg region. She only really became aware of how many companions from her usual life regularly vacation there over time. “That’s a funny side effect.”
I think it’s great that good friendships last even over long distances.”
The 41-year-old has fond memories of one or the other exciting project as a photographer since she left Harpstedt: “I accompanied a youth team on Mallorca during a football training camp. I was also allowed to travel around for a big and also really cool job: an image film for a steel mill in Serbia.”
Hannoveraner Verband knocks
When Anja Prade received a telephone inquiry from the Hanoverian Association, which is actually known for auctions in Verden, whether she could photograph a mare and foal show, she initially thought that the client had “lost his way to our old website” and that she had not yet heard anything about her change of residence abroad noticed. In fact, the event takes place in Salzburg. Prade: “Even in Austria, the happiness of this earth is on the back of a horse.”