It was a Nikon that Steve McCurry used in 1984 to photograph the green-eyed young Afghan girl. The steadfast “Tank Man“ by Charlie Cole and Nasa’s numerous space images were also created with cameras and lenses from the Nikon Company. Photographers and photojournalists are always there capturing history in the making. The exhibition “leben 24/7 – 100 Jahre Nikon“ [living 24/7 - 100 years of Nikon] will be presenting a selection from a century of Nikon photography and will show how, in the course of this, the camera itself became a legend.

Since already the 1960s, Nasa has been using Nikon cameras and lenses for documentation purposes on earth and in space. During this period, more than 700,000 photos have already been taken. On the ISS alone there are currently nine digital single-lens reflex cameras, 36 lenses and seven flash units from Nikon.

Charlie Cole is known for his shot of the “Tank Man“, an unidentified man who, on 5 June 1989, during the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, stood with shopping bags in his hand in front of a convoy of tanks in order to impede their advance. In 1990, Charlie Cole’s photo received the World Press Photo Award.

Steve McCurry has documented various trouble spots all over the world. His best-known shot, the photo of the Afghan girl with her intense green eyes, was taken in 1984 at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp. The image became world famous and appeared on the cover of National Geographic and in the most renowned magazines worldwide.