Roger Melis (20 October 1940 – 11 September 2009) was a German photographer specialising in portraiture, photo-journalism and fashion photography.
[2][4] "Melis [in his photography] combines the documenting power of August Sander with the awareness of class distinctions of earlier German photo-portraitists and the graceful artistry of Henri Cartier-Bresson, to penetrate every-day experiences."
1968 was also the year in which he became a member of the state sanctioned League of Visual Artists (VBK / Verband Bildender Künstler), after which he was able to work as a freelance photographer.
[4][7][8] Other commentators, noting the stark realism with which some of his photo-journalism documented the less glamorous aspects of daily life, think that the ban on his press work came about from nothing more obscure than the failure of Melis to sugar-coat his photographic reportage in order more closely to align with the state's official image of itself.
[3] His publisher, Mark Lehmstedt described the photographs as "a testament to the scepticism and resignation of the people of East Germany... [but they also celebrate] ... their pride, their endurance and their desires".
Positive critical reaction was widespread: in a review headed "Behind the time-wall", Die Zeit acknowledged Melis as "the Master of East German photorealism".
[10] The second volume appeared in 2008 and was devoted to some of his large accumulation of "Künstlerporträts", portraits he had taken over 40 years of artists including, notably, literary figures from the GDR period.
Back in the 1970s a major benefit for East German city dwellers who could afford a country home was the chance to grow fresh vegetables, but by 2013 abundant fresh food was available in the shops and by the time the property was sold the much prized vegetable supply had given way to a small flower garden.