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Svenja Krüger

@storiesmatter

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📸 Visual storyteller & adventurer - exploring life, death and the beauty in-between.
💌 @lovestoriesmatter
🎥 Certified drone pilot
📍Berlin + the 🌍

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

On Ethical Storytelling.

WHY stories matter is what I love to talk about - yet over the last two years I realized that’s not enough. The HOW matters as much - because storytelling is a privilege. And with that comes a responsibility.

Stories inform how we think, perceive, imagine and ultimately create the future - affecting generations to come. @nanakofiacquah_ ’s article “The baggage that lives with you forever“ expresses it very well: Photography is powerful. Once you see a strong image, it stays with you forever. Same goes for words and films. Whoever writes the story owns the power.

So as photographers / writers / filmmakers - how can we decolonize the storytelling process? What story do our photos / words / films tell? Who is at the center? What narrative is being shaped by who?

I’ve put some questions together that have helped me so far on my journey desiring to become a more responsible storyteller. Feel free to add your thoughts or more questions in the comments, so we can all learn from each other! #storiesmatter #peoplematter
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#ethicalstorytelling #responsiblestorytelling #morethanphotographers #responsibletravel #responsibletourism #storytelling #traveldeeper #allaboutadventures #storytellingforchange #changingthenarrative #ethicaltravel #decolonizeyourmind taken in Planet Earth by @storiesmatter

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5 years ago

At 15, I lost my dad to leukemia. It was the first time I questioned everything—life, death, and the stories we leave behind. I picked up a camera, not just to capture moments, but to search for meaning.

This journey took me around the world. Every country and culture I had the privilege of visiting holds a different truth, but the lesson is always the same: HOW we tell stories matters.

💭 Are we honoring the people we document, or are we taking from them?
💭 Who are we centering in our stories?
💭 Are we perpetuating stereotypes or challenging them?

Storytelling is an ongoing learning process. The more I travel, the more I realize how much there is to unlearn, how much responsibility we carry, and how every story shapes how the world sees people.

Now, I would love to share what I’ve learned.

On Sunday, March 9th, @alivelikethewind and I are hosting a FREE Workshop on Responsible Storytelling.

Not just about photos. Not just about words. But about the weight of narratives and the responsibility of holding someone’s truth.

Join us. Let’s talk about it. Comment “STORY” for the link.

#storiesmatter
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Photos of me by @alivelikethewind
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#ethicalstorytelling #responsiblestorytelling #peoplematter #liveforthestory taken in Around The World by @storiesmatter

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2 years ago

My TEDx Talk is finally LIVE!

This one’s for you, Dad. 🕯️

YouTube link in my bio / Comment “talk” below and I’ll send it to you

When @tedxinnsbruck invited me to speak on the theme “Balancing Polarity,” I knew it was time to share a message that was planted in my heart ever since I lost my father.

That death is not the end of one’s story - it’s the lens through which we begin to see what really matters.

Over the past years, I’ve traveled the world documenting how people honor death - from joyful funerals in Ghana to candlelit rituals in Lalibela.

And what I’ve learned is this:
When we face death, we begin to truly live.

This talk is my love letter to that journey. It’s not just about death. It’s about living - with more meaning, more beauty, more truth.

I hope it reminds you that your story matters.

And maybe… invites you to reflect on the message you feel called to share with the world. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Thank you @ryantucreative for editing this little video so beautifully.

Cover 📷 @alivelikethewind
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#storiesmatter #tedxinnsbruck #hereafter #reimaginedeath #thebeautyindeath #deathmatters #tedx #tedtalk @ted @tedx_official taken in Innsbruck, Austria by @storiesmatter

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a year ago

Obon in Kyoto

Every August, Japan welcomes the spirits of ancestors home.

For a few days, families remember those who have passed - through offerings, cemetery visits and lanterns lit in their memory.

On August 16, as night falls, five fires illuminate Kyoto’s mountains (called Gozan Okuribi), guiding the spirits back, while the lanterns drift along the river in a final farewell (called Toro Nagashi ceremony).

The final bonfire “Torii-gata“ in shape of a torii, is lit around 8:20 p.m. on Mt. Mandara in Saga.

A beautiful reminder that even when someone is gone, their memory remains. #storiesmatter
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#obon #obonkyoto #deathmatters #whatdoesdeathmeantoyou taken in Arashiyama by @storiesmatter

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2 months ago

Welcome to Carnival in Bermuda

Rooted in the wider legacy of Caribbean Carnival, it is a celebration of freedom, identity, creativity, and community. For a few days, the island moves to the same rhythm as music, color, and joy take over the streets.

It begins with J’ouvert before sunrise - a remembrance that freedom was fought for, hard won, and worthy of joy. Covered in mud, paint, and powder, revelers gather to welcome the sun together.

Then the costumes come to life, before everyone meets back on di road for the Road March. Feathers move to the rhythm of soca, flags wave and generations gather to celebrate together dancing through the streets.

What stays with you most are not the costumes or the colors, but the feeling of witnessing a community celebrate who they are, where they come from, and the freedom to become whoever they want to be.

Welcome to Carnival in @bermuda. #storiesmatter

#ThatTimeInBermuda #bermuda #carnivalinbermuda #novamas taken in Bermuda by @storiesmatter

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4 months ago

…yet died before he could see it realized!

Every tower, façade and detail was designed to tell a story.
More than 140 years later, that story is still being written.

Yesterday, exactly 100 years after Gaudí’s death, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated the Tower of Jesus Christ which means Sagrada Família reached its full 172.5m height, claiming the title of the world’s tallest church.

Here’s to all the ideas, dreams & stories that are bigger than a lifetime! #storiesmatter
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#sagradafamilia #barcelona taken in Barcelona by @storiesmatter

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4 months ago

My favorite place in Montenegro

Rose is a tiny seaside village at the entrance of Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor. For centuries, sailors stopped here to replenish fresh water before continuing their journeys across the Mediterranean.

Today, the village is home to a small community, there is only a handful of hotels and it’s less about what there is to do and more about what there is to notice: the weathered stone facades, the fishermen tending to their boats, the conversations unfolding along the waterfront all day long and the feeling that life can be lived at a slower pace.

How to visit:

• Take a boat from Herceg Novi (around 20 minutes)
• Or drive via the Luštica Peninsula and arrive by road
• Best visited in late spring or early autumn when the bay is quieter
• Don’t miss a swim in the crystal-clear water and a walk up to the old fortress overlooking the entrance to the bay

#storiesmatter
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#visitmontenegro #bayofkotor #liveforthestory #europeansummer taken in Rose, Montenegro by @storiesmatter

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5 months ago

Mine is Saturn.

Some songs become more than music. They become companions through different seasons of life. They put words to things that are otherwise difficult to express - wonder, grief, love, loss, and the strange beauty of being alive.

Yesterday, I got to hear ‘Saturn’ live in Barcelona as @sleepingatlast performed his first-ever European tour. Before the song, he dedicated it to “all those who have lost.”

His intention behind Saturn was to find hope in loss. Maybe that’s why it has stayed with me for so many years. It reminds me how miraculous it is that we get to be here at all. It holds grief and wonder in the same breath. It acknowledges that everything we love is fragile, while somehow making that fragility feel beautiful rather than frightening.

That’s what I love most about Ryan’s music - he writes about the things that matter most: love, mortality, belonging, faith, time and what it means to be human. And he does it in chapters.

For a few minutes last night, an entire room sat together in that mystery. And I couldn’t help but think of all those we carry with us, long after they’re gone.

What’s the one song you’d want played at your funeral? #storiesmatter
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#sleepingatlast #whatdoesdeathmeantoyou taken in Teatro Coliseum Barcelona by @storiesmatter

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5 months ago

Tonnara di Scopello

Long before it became one of Sicily’s most iconic wedding venues, this was a working tuna fishery. The old stone building once housed fishermen during the matanza, the historic tuna harvest that sustained entire generations along this coast. A small museum inside the tonnara preserves pieces of this history. The watchtower still stands, built to protect the village from pirate raids. Everything here carries traces of devotions to survival, community & the rhythm of the water.

Today, people from around the world come here to get married between the cliffs, the sea stacks and the dreamiest light of western Sicily. The hotel books out months in advance.

If you’re planning to visit the beach: access to the cove below the tonnara is limited during the warmer month & usually requires booking a time slot in advance. Go early (but within opening hours) as it gets super packed later in the day. There is also a higher viewpoint that has free access.

It’s one of those rare places that still feel special despite being photographed a thousand times.

📸 of me by @chelseakauai from our epic Sicily roadtrip
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#storiesmatter #tonnaradiscopello #sicily #liveforthestory #europeansummer taken in Tonnara di Scopello by @storiesmatter

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5 months ago

#BRIDESExclusive: Content creator @halioduor and husband, Nathan, officially tied the knot in their dream wedding in Kenya: “We always knew we wanted to have our wedding in Kenya since it is home to both of us.” 💍

What came to life was an ultra-personalized, three-day celebration for 35 guests. The bride’s minimal and neutral aesthetic—with pops of colors from the @minted + BRIDES Wedding Color of the Year stationery—perfectly translated to her intimate nuptials. 🤍

See the full exclusive feature, starting with her rooftop welcome party and ending with a beachfront barbecue, at the link in our bio.

📷: @storiesmatter
📋+💐: @auraeventplanners
📍: @beach_palazzo
👗: @ondfashion_kenya
💌: @mintedweddings
💇‍♀️: @teamwowbeautysalon
🍽️: @nonsologelatobyanna
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#weddingphotography #editorialweddingphotographer #destinationweddings #liveforthestory taken in Malindi, Kenya by @storiesmatter

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5 months ago

Meet Mr. Abdisa, an Ethiopian patriot

Today is Patriots’ Day in Ethiopia - a day that remembers those who stood for their country. In 1896, at the Battle of Adwa,
Ethiopians resisted colonial invasion - and won. Italy invaded again in 1935 & after 5 years of occupation, Ethiopia reclaimed its sovereignty in 1941.

A history written in resistance. In sacrifice. Maybe this is part of why the country feels the way it does. The dignity. The pride. I’m not Ethiopian but I want to acknowledge the beauty in how this history is carried - especially in the way veterans are honored.

At Palm Sunday when I met Mr. Abdisa I saw a glimpse of it. Wherever he walked, people from young to old would lower their heads & salute him. It felt like these weren’t just gestures - but something deeply lived. Respect, gratitude & memory. Something that shapes a people over time. #storiesmatter
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#patriotsday #ethiopia #adwavictory taken in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by @storiesmatter

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5 months ago

Lalibela on film

I like to think that I carry my dad with me in the analogue camera I inherited from him. It‘s very old and flawed - sometimes struggling with focus, other times overlaying two frames into one and you never know when it happens. To me, that’s the magic of it. I was very surprised how little it happened this time.

This timeless medium - film - does Lalibela the most justice I feel - witnessing and honoring the moment instead of perfecting it. #storiesmatter
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#liveforthestory #lalibela #visitethiopia #kodakmoments taken in Lalibela, Ethiopia by @storiesmatter

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6 months ago