Born on July 16, 1926, in Heinebach, F.C. Gundlach was given his first camera at the age of 10: an Agfa Box. After training in Kassel, he started his career as a photojournalist in Stuttgart. These early experiences were defined by image composition and a reportage character - qualities also reflected in all his later fashion photography series. In 1950, for the first time, he was able to visit Paris, a city he had long wanted to see. In the French metropolis he was invited into the glamorous world of haute couture, and it was there that the visual language of his fashion photography initially emerged. He moved to Hamburg in 1956. The clever, exclusive contract he had with Lufthansa, where his fees were paid in air miles, opened up the possibility of flying to locations around the world a few years later. The service centre he established - PPS or Professional Photo Service - gave Gundlach the freedom he needed to promote photography in his role as one of Germany's first gallery owners and collectors. In addition to many honours and awards, the establishment of the Haus der Photographie at the Hamburg Deichtorhallen, in 2003, was a decisive highlight among his many photographic initiatives.
