Born 16 August 1952 in Graz, is an Austrian photographer. He studied decorative design from 1966 to 1970 and graphic design from 1970 to 1971 at the Ortweinschule in Graz, after which he worked as a freelance photographer. From 1974 to 1975, he directed the Fotogalerie im Schillerhof in Graz.

Between 1975 and 1996, he jointly led the photography department and organized the exhibition and symposium program at Forum Stadtpark in Graz with Christine Frisinghelli. From 1980 to 2009, he served as editor of the journal Camera Austria. He received several awards and grants, including a working grant for artistic photography in 1988, a Rome scholarship in 1993, the Cultural Prize of the German Society for Photography in 1994, and the Austrian State Prize for Artistic Photography in 2009.

His work focuses on scenes from his personal environment in Graz and southern Styria. At a time when artistic photography was largely dominated by black-and-white imagery, he consistently employed color photography as an expressive medium. Characteristic series such as Die Welt ist schön (1983) and Das Land (2000) are marked by direct flash, a subjective viewpoint, and a critical engagement with clichés of rural life.

Reference:
Biography text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), German edition. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_Willmann