Freienwalde a. O.

1884

Stays in Germany for photography

In 1884 his parents returned to America, but the 20-year-old Alfred stayed in Germany: he collected books on photography, bought his first camera, an 8 × 10 plate camera, and travelled through the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, photographing landscapes and country workers. Photography, he later wrote, “fascinated me, first as a toy, then as a passion, then as an obsession.”

1887

First prize for “The Last Joke, Bellagio”

His photograph The Last Joke, Bellagio won first place in the annual photography competition of the British magazine Amateur Photographer.

1887

First article, on amateur photography in Germany

In 1887 Stieglitz wrote his very first article, “A Word or Two about Amateur Photography in Germany”, for the new magazine Amateur Photographer; other accounts date it to 1888.

1888

First and second prizes in the same competition

The following year his works took both first and second places in the same competition. His reputation grew sharply, and British and German magazines began publishing his photographs.