Biography
Photographer Ernő Vadas was born on December 17, 1899 in Nagykanizsa. After graduation, he worked as a bank clerk, taking up photography only as a hobby. In 1918, he took his first photographs with a small camera given to him by his parents. In 1925, he sent his pictures to Színházi Élet for review, and received encouraging feedback from the paper. From 1927, he mastered the mysteries of the profession with the help of Rudolf Balogh, already known as one of the innovators of Hungarian photography.
The talented photographer made a name for himself abroad in 1931, in a competition organized by the Swiss magazine Camera, he was awarded the first prize of one thousand gold francs for his picture Swans. His photos have appeared in famous foreign newspapers, including Geographic Magazine, Vanity Fair, Harpers Bazaar and Illustrated London News. In 1938, he was ranked fifth out of 13,424 photographers on the top list of the American Annual Photography.
In 1939, he published the album Hungarian Photography with Károly Rosner. During the Second World War, he was a laborer. He came home from Mauthausen in 1945. After the Second World War, his subject matter expanded and took on a more realistic hue. The association was banned by the authorities, so they continued to operate as members of the photography department of the Inóci Society of Tourists. In 1947, he was appointed one of the domestic directors of the International Association of Amateur Photographers. Between 1954 and 1962, he worked as the editor-in-chief of the magazine Foto. From 1956, he was a photojournalist and chief employee of the Hungarian Telegraph Office. From 1956, he was the president of the Association of Hungarian Photographers. In 1957, FIAP awarded him the highest award. In 1960, he presented his works at a collection exhibition. In 1959, he was awarded second place among Hungarian photographers in the World Press Photo competition for his picture "Stud Driving". Ernő Vadas died in 1962.