Social Geometry

• Prize
  Bronze in Press/Feature Story
• Photographer
  Sebastian Kahnert, Germany
• Date of Photograph
  28.01.2024
• Website
  https://www.sebastiankahnert.com
• Instagram
  sebastian_kahnert

SOCIAL GEOMETRY
How People Organize Themselves Around Food Across Cultures
Shot from approximately 5 meters above using a 3-meter monopod,
this ongoing documentary project explores how people organize
themselves around food across cultures. The overhead view reveals spatial patterns that ground level misses. Markets become geometric grids. Religious rituals display their formal architecture. Floor dining creates different geometries than
table-based cultures. Even a solitary coffee moment reveals its own
spatial logic.

I am a photojournalist based in Dresden, Germany, specializing in overhead documentary photography. Working from approximately 5 meters above—using a 3-meter monopod extended overhead—I document the spatial patterns of daily life. The height is deliberate: high enough for true overhead perspective, yet accessible in intimate indoor spaces where drones cannot operate. The overhead view reveals patterns that ground level misses. From above, markets become geometric grids, factory floors reveal their choreography and workshops display their spatial logic.

Awards LENSCULTURE AWARDS - Critics’ Pick, Critics’ Choice 2026

SHORTLISTED - World of Drinks - World Food Photography Awards 2026

SHORTLISTED - The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action - World Food Photography Awards 2026

SHORTLISTED - Fortnum & Mason Food at the Table - World Food Photography Awards 2025

COMMENDED - Fortnum & Mason Food at the Table - World Food Photography Awards 2025