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Everyday
Everyday
Ruediger Glatz
August 15, 2025
His work is as multi-layered as it is characteristically recognisable. Ruediger Glatz uses his Leica cameras to photograph a wide variety of subjects, with the expressive dark tonality being a consistent aesthetic approach. His book about this year’s European Capital of Culture, Chemnitz, was recently published by Kehrer Verlag. 37 motifs of his EVERYDAY series, which he has been working on for several years, can now be found on his homepage. For LFI Online, he has compiled a new selection from his constantly growing archive.
LFI: How did the series come about, and could you explain the background to the series?
Ruediger Glatz: With my EVERYDAY series, I explore my daily perspective on the world. At the heart of it are observations, experiences and emotions that manifest through objects, moments and atmospheres. I’ve actually been working on it every single day for many years. You could divide the series into different thematic areas, but I prefer to reserve that for specific forms of presentation. An example of such a presentation would be my ADDICTED2CLICK project, an online installation that was originally launched in 2010, taken offline in 2014 for technical reasons, and then relaunched with a new format in 2021. It shows images from EVERYDAY as an endless slideshow, where randomly selected images appear for just two seconds at a time. For the relaunch, I also created a physical installation at the Barlach Halle K in Hamburg.
When do you decide which images fit into the series?
I present the series almost daily in my Instagram Stories. Beyond that, certain images flow into formats like ADDICTED2CLICK. I also plan to publish the series regularly as Zines and later as a book. Deciding which images become part of the series is an ongoing process. I decide intuitively which photographs best convey the mood and perspective I want to express with EVERYDAY.
Was there an initial spark for the start of the series and what distinguishes it from your other works?
I began capturing snapshots of my everyday life tin 2008. At the time, I used compact digital cameras, which, compared to the large and heavy DSLRs I used for other projects, offered a sense of liberating lightness. Over time, I started working on EVERYDAY with all my cameras and began to approach the compositional aspects of the images in more depth.
Compared to my other series, the biggest difference is the playful, easygoing approach that gives me the freedom to react and press the shutter without hesitation. For me, EVERYDAY is the series that most broadly captures my perception of my life. Therefore, it holds a central position in my work, because it reflects my personal view of the world – day after day, unfiltered and developed over many years.
The images are all characterised by a certain calm mood, sometimes melancholic...
Yes, that description is actually very accurate. The images are contemplative and calm, and many of them also carry a melancholy that I myself feel. I see myself as an optimistic person who consciously shapes his life in order to enjoy it. I believe there is meaning in everything and in the unity of all beings. At the same time, I perceive the suffering in the world. I feel a sense of melancholy when beautiful things pass or when difficult things happen – something that occurs every day. In many respects, I also find the societal and geopolitical situation challenging. EVERYDAY reflects all of this. For me, melancholy is inescapable and part of how I see the world; and at the same time I draw strength from it.
Are you continuing the series?
The series is open-ended. The images keep flowing. There is no defined limit or fixed conclusion.
Photography seems to be ever-present for you. Are there moments or places where you travel without a camera?
That is actually very rare. I almost always have at least one camera with me – except perhaps when I go to the sauna.
Ulrich RüterLFI: How did the series come about, and could you explain the background to the series?
Ruediger Glatz: With my EVERYDAY series, I explore my daily perspective on the world. At the heart of it are observations, experiences and emotions that manifest through objects, moments and atmospheres. I’ve actually been working on it every single day for many years. You could divide the series into different thematic areas, but I prefer to reserve that for specific forms of presentation. An example of such a presentation would be my ADDICTED2CLICK project, an online installation that was originally launched in 2010, taken offline in 2014 for technical reasons, and then relaunched with a new format in 2021. It shows images from EVERYDAY as an endless slideshow, where randomly selected images appear for just two seconds at a time. For the relaunch, I also created a physical installation at the Barlach Halle K in Hamburg.
When do you decide which images fit into the series?
I present the series almost daily in my Instagram Stories. Beyond that, certain images flow into formats like ADDICTED2CLICK. I also plan to publish the series regularly as Zines and later as a book. Deciding which images become part of the series is an ongoing process. I decide intuitively which photographs best convey the mood and perspective I want to express with EVERYDAY.
Was there an initial spark for the start of the series and what distinguishes it from your other works?
I began capturing snapshots of my everyday life tin 2008. At the time, I used compact digital cameras, which, compared to the large and heavy DSLRs I used for other projects, offered a sense of liberating lightness. Over time, I started working on EVERYDAY with all my cameras and began to approach the compositional aspects of the images in more depth.
Compared to my other series, the biggest difference is the playful, easygoing approach that gives me the freedom to react and press the shutter without hesitation. For me, EVERYDAY is the series that most broadly captures my perception of my life. Therefore, it holds a central position in my work, because it reflects my personal view of the world – day after day, unfiltered and developed over many years.
The images are all characterised by a certain calm mood, sometimes melancholic...
Yes, that description is actually very accurate. The images are contemplative and calm, and many of them also carry a melancholy that I myself feel. I see myself as an optimistic person who consciously shapes his life in order to enjoy it. I believe there is meaning in everything and in the unity of all beings. At the same time, I perceive the suffering in the world. I feel a sense of melancholy when beautiful things pass or when difficult things happen – something that occurs every day. In many respects, I also find the societal and geopolitical situation challenging. EVERYDAY reflects all of this. For me, melancholy is inescapable and part of how I see the world; and at the same time I draw strength from it.
Are you continuing the series?
The series is open-ended. The images keep flowing. There is no defined limit or fixed conclusion.
Photography seems to be ever-present for you. Are there moments or places where you travel without a camera?
That is actually very rare. I almost always have at least one camera with me – except perhaps when I go to the sauna.
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Ruediger Glatz
LFI 6.2025+-
Ruediger Glatz+-
Born on November 17, 1975, in Heidelberg, Glatz’s artistic creativity was first directed towards graffiti. In 1996 he was a co-founder of Montana Cans (aerosol cans for artistic applications). After selling the company, he concentrated fully on photography and art. His most important series include Backflashes, The New Black, Tomorrow Ain’t Promised and Embodying Pasolini (some also been published as books). Glatz lives in Hamburg. More
