There is hardly a street photographer who points so consistently in the direction of art as Alan Schaller. His photos are characterised by an inherent minimalism, which, however, only appears at first glance. If you look more closely, you discover the complex world of thought Schaller puts behind his photographs. What appears to be a fleeting snapshot shines with perfection in itself. It is the details that make Alan's pictures unique. He creates patterns of buildings and people, allowing them to merge into one another. The result is a holistic composition in reciprocal dependence, where one seemingly cannot exist without the other. His works are often abstract and captivate with elements of surrealism and geometry.

Alan Schaller's picture composition

Alan Schaller originally studied music and initially worked for film and television, also performing on stages himself. He discovered photography as a hobby to clear his head. And if you look closely at his pictures, you will notice: Alan is still composing! He doesn't capture the moment, he tells a whole story, taken in an instant.

His speciality is black and white photographs, his trademark strong contrasts. Alan's photos are focused, to the point. He is not a fan of "too much in the picture". He wants to tell something very specific and points out the scene accordingly.

"Metropolis" by Alan Schaller

In his new illustrated book "Metropolis", Alan Schaller depicts urban contrasts that big cities like New York, London, Havana, Kyoto or Istanbul hold in store in their architecture and everyday life. The artist not only focuses on the building, but also on the people in it. What makes a city a city? In his book "Metropolis", Alan Schaller has answered this question in his own individual way and set standards in modern street photography. 

In a total of 240 pages, Alan Schaller guides us through the most famous metropolises on earth. "Metropolis" shows impressive black-and-white photographs, with extraordinary city views in which people and buildings merge into an intimate moment. The book is an accumulation of Schaller's artistic talent and offers a profound insight into the extensive work of the exceptional photographer.

Around the globe

The passionate photographer lives in London, but his hunting grounds are spread around the globe. In addition to his hometown, Schaller has already roamed Havana, Istanbul, New York and Kyoto for his photos.

Fans can admire his work time and again in exhibitions. International galleries such as the Saatchi Gallery in London or the Leica Galleries in Salzburg, London, Boston, Washington D.C., Sydney and Melbourne or The Edit Space in Milan have already had the pleasure of showcasing Schaller's art.

He has published in the Guardian, the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Independant, the Washington Post and the Evening Standard. Schaller has also photographed for Apple, Philips, Huawei, Xiaomi, Nokia, Kew Garden, Huntsman of Savile and London Fashion Week, among others.

Alan Schaller is a Leica Ambassador and was the 2017 judge in The Independent Photographer's Street Photography competition. Together with Walther Rothwell, he initiated the largest stereophotography collective "StreetPhotographyInternational (SPi)", which to date has over 1.7 million followers on Instagram. Here he also gives previously unknown photographers an opportunity to present their work.