Jörg M. Colberg (born 15 February 1968)Biography page, University of Pittsburgh; archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 August 2004. Accessed 6 January 2015. is a German writer, educator and photographer, living in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. He is the founder and editor of Conscientious, a blog dedicated to contemporary fine-art photography. He worked as a research scientist in astronomy"Postdocs and visitors", Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University. As archived by the Wayback Machine on February 12, 2006. and has been a professor of photography at the Hartford Art School. As archived by the Wayback Machine on April 22, 2019.

Life and work Colberg studied physics and astronomy at the University of Bonn; he earned a Ph.D. in physics (theoretical cosmology) at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. He moved to the United States in 2000. After a short and unsatisfying experience in the computer programming industry. Colberg returned as a postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh.See for example the note specifying academic affiliation attached to his name as coauthor of "Simulations of the formation, evolution and clustering of galaxies and quasars", Nature 435 (2005), pp. 629–636.

He discusses and dissects contemporary fine art photography on his blog, Conscientious, started in 2002. In 2009, Source included Conscientious in its list of ten recommended photography blogs; in 2010 Wired said that "Joerg Colberg is a pioneer in photography blogging, and his blog Conscientious maintains a tight editorial voice"; and in 2012 Sean O'Hagan included it among his few most recommended online photography websites and publications. In 2006, American Photo named Colberg one of their Photography Innovators."Photography Innovators of 2006", American Photo, popphoto.com, 16 December 2008 [sic]. Accessed 6 January 2015.

Colberg is the author of Understanding Photobooks: The Form and Content of the Photographic Book (2016), a guide to making photobooks. He has contributed essays to photography publications, including Foam Magazine, British Journal of Photography, and Creative Review."Crit: What we ask from a photograph", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015."Crit: Brodovitch at the ballet", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015."Crit: (Top) secret America: Hidden in plain sight", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015. Along with Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann, he was a founder of the short-lived photobook publishing company Meier & Müller."Meier & Müller About Page", Accessed 1 January 2015. From 2010, he was a faculty member of the Hartford Art School."Biographies: Jörg Colberg"; p. 78 within "Exhibition talks/panels", European Month of Photography, 2016. Available "here at silo.tips. Accessed 12 September 2020.

In the photobook Vaterland (2020), Colberg reflects on the rise of anti-immigrant racism and xenophobia in Germany, "which he believes is not being taken seriously enough", with right-wing ideology having become normalised. It was described in the British Journal of Photography that Colberg achieves this through "an atmosphere of uneasiness. [. . .] There is little contrast between black and white. [. . .] Each picture frames a lingering uncertainty; something out of place. [. . .] The images work together to create a mood of angst." He made the images in Berlin, Hamburg and Warsaw.

Personal life he was living in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Publications

Publications by Colberg Linking cluster formation to large scale structure. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, 1997. . Peculiar velocities of galaxy clusters. Munich: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, 1998. . At the Edge of the Known World (According to Google Street View). Self-published. Understanding Photobooks: the Form and Content of the Photographic Book. London: Focal, 2016. Hardback, ; paperback, . Photography's Neoliberal Realism. Discourse 4. London: Mack, 2020. . Vaterland. Bielefeld, Germany: Kerber, 2020. . Text in English, German and Polish. Fault Lines. Bielefeld, Germany: Kerber, 2024. With text by Judith Gellér, Milos Kallai, Domonkos Németh, Ákos Polgárdi, Andi Schmied, and Liza Szabó. In English and German.

Publications with contributions by Colberg Image Makers, Image Takers: the essential guide to photography by those in the know. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2010. By Anne-Celine Jaeger. . Second expanded edition. Conditions by Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann, Meier & Müller, 2010. Edition of 300 copies. Edited by Adam Barto. Co-published and with an introductory essay by Colberg. Observed. London: Ivorypress, 2013. . Sixth volume of C Photo. Guest edited by Colberg. 2013 project. Caf́é Royal, 2013. . Includes texts by Colberg, Craig Atkinson, Sarah Bodman and Lawrence Zeegen. Ostkreuz 25 Jahre. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2015. Edited by "Ostkreuz" (photo agency). . With a foreword by Wolfgang Kil and essays by Colberg and Laura Benz. Text in German, English and French. Tim Richmond: Last Best Hiding Place. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2015. Edited by Tim Richmond and Lee C. Wallick. . With an essay by Colberg.

Awards 2011: Life.com picked Conscientious for its Photo Blog Awards. The citation reads: Perhaps it's the earnest—and rather cryptic—name. Maybe it's the formal, intense headshot of the blog's creator, Joerg Colberg, that suggests a seriously intellectual undertaking. And indeed, Conscientious is seriously intellectual; luckily, though, Colberg's is a refreshing, bracing intellect, one fueled by a genuine curiosity about—and love of—photography. This is one of the longest-running photo blogs out there, and since its founding in 2002 has offered countless profiles of photographers and their work: Aaron Ruell's marvelous environmental portraits and Alex te Napel's moving and unsettling "Faces of Alzheimer's" portraits, to name just two. And the blog is packed: Readers will also find in-depth interviews, news and commentary on exhibitions, and book reviews, as well as Colberg's rigorous and wide-ranging musings on matters large (one post: "What makes great photography?") and small. There's not an ounce of fluff here, which is why Conscientious is rightly seen and lauded as one of the very few essential photography destinations on the Web.

References

External links

Conscientious Photography Magazine "Masters Series: Jörg M. Colberg, Krakow Photomonth 2016" (video) – Colberg giving a presentation, "Photography Online in 2016: What does any of it mean?", on the importance of understanding photographs because photographs play an important role for communication on the Internet