Madita Schmidt
Master of Arts
HAWK Hildesheim
Specialisms: Photography / Graphic Design / Printmaking
Location: Hanover, Germany
Madita Schmidt
First Name: Madita
Last Name: Schmidt
Specialisms: Photography / Graphic Design / Printmaking
Sectors:
My Location: Hanover, Germany
University / College: HAWK Hildesheim
Course / Program Title: Master of Arts
About
I’m a master’s graduate in Design and Photography based in Hamelin, Germany, working at the intersection of documentary photography, visual storytelling, and publication design. My current research explores aging workers in Japan and Germany through a comparative photo essay, examining how labor, identity, and dignity intersect in later life.
Trained in color design and print production, I approach projects with a meticulous, research-driven process—from street photography and portraiture to post-processing in Lightroom and final layouts in InDesign. Alongside my studies, I tutor photography courses and share process-driven content on social media.
Still Working is a documentary photography project exploring the lives of elderly workers in Japan, where over 25% of people aged 65 and older remain employed—nearly four times the rate in Germany. Through intimate portraits and everyday scenes, the series examines why continuing to work late in life is so much more common in Japan, revealing contrasting cultural attitudes toward retirement, aging, and the meaning of labor. The project focuses on dignity, routine, and identity, asking what work signifies when it extends far beyond conventional retirement age. By comparing these Japanese realities with German norms, Still Working invites viewers to reconsider assumptions about aging, productivity, and the social value of older workers in rapidly aging societies.