online
11.2009
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Cover photo: Marco Grob
editorial
Content
I’m sure you’ll understand me when I say that I’m proud of what we did: along with NASA, we recently celebrated forty years since our “joint” landing on the moon, at the Kennedy Space Center. Shortly before the anniversary, we introduced the new CFV-39 digital back for the Hasselblad V series – the very series that sent earlier models to the moon. The same consistent quality and dependability that convinced NASA to take the cameras up there, ensured that the succeeding models became the dominating force in the field of professional photography during the following decades – at least until the digital age came around and the Hasselblad H system took over. For many professionals, however, the V’s history means it will always remain the icon of photography. Yet, even more than celebrating the anniversary of Hasselblad’s first landing on the moon, we wanted to show the impressive link between past and present, by doing something no other camera manufacturer is capable of doing: We actually attached our brand new CFV-39 to the original Hasselblad camera that NASA used for test purposes ahead of the moon landing. And guess what? … it worked! Photographer Marco Grob proved the point by using the “digitally revamped” veteran to shoot a portrait of Buzz Aldrin, one of the original crew members who wrote space exploration history back in the day. Afterwards, Grob handed the training camera, now equipped with one of the highest performance digital backs in the world, to the 79 year-old Buzz Aldrin. And what happened next? Buzz proved how at ease he was with the old tool by immediately shooting a portrait of Marco Grob without need of further instruction. What could be considered just a fun anecdote actually offers outstanding evidence. The CFV-39, endowed with important genes from the Hasselblad H system, is a tool that propels any owner of an iconic Hasselblad V to the forefront of digital photography; it is proof of the unequaled consistency of the Hasselblad story. It’s hardly surprising that the CFV-39 is in such high demand: it doesn’t cost more than a top-of-the-line 35mm DSLR and, with its 39 mega pixel resolution, its sensor format and its many features inherited from the H system, it boosts even the oldest Hasselblad veteran to new levels of quality – a quality that even top 35mm DSLRs are years from coming close to. Hasselblad is right up there, and I don’t mean just up on the moon. I think you’ll understand why I say this with a certain sense of pride. We hope you enjoy the new version of VICTOR online.
The Joshua tree in this image by Danish photographer Henrik Saxgren could well be sculpted by the hand of an artist
04 >> news Hasselblad Global Conference in Florida: Hasselblad introduced the new H4D and improved Phocus 2.0 software, also celebrating the 40 year anniversary of the first moon landing photography.
06 >> HENRIK Saxgren Renowned Danish documentary and landscape photographer, Henrik Saxgren, redefines landscape photography with his “Landscapes Altered by Man” and “Unintended Sculptures” series.
16 >> High five Which photographers have made it to the top? International advertising agencies present their five candidates for the pantheon of the best (commercial) photographers in the world.
18 >> THIERRY Perez French photographer, Thierry Perez, produced an unusual fashion photo shoot exclusively for VICTOR by Hasselblad – creating a mysterious and surreal fairytale world.
32 >> MICHAEL GRAF Whether romantic, serious or fantastic – the Canadian, Michael Graf, manages to create visual worlds that serve as perfect backdrops for his captivating portraits.
36 >> preview From another planet: photographer, Vincent Fournier, visited training centers and space laboratories in America, China, Europe and Russia, doing research for his large-scale “Space Project”.
Yours, Christian Poulsen, CEO Hasselblad A/S ONLINE 11/2009
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victornEWS Event Hasselblad Global Conference in Florida
At the Hasselblad Global Conference, journalists and guests were able to question Edwin Aldrin (above), observe the control center (middle), and experience Aldrin and Hasselblad CEO Christian Poulsen in a joint presentation (below)
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September 24 to 26, Hasselblad celebrated the past and looked to the future, along with 220 guests at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Florida. 40 years ago, the first men on the moon captured the historic moment with Hasselblad cameras. The event was honored with a gala dinner in the presence of the 79 year-old astronaut, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. Hasselblad’s main aim, however, was to celebrate the future of photography: Hasselblad CEO, Christian Poulsen, and Hasselblad Product Manager, Peter Stig-Nielsen, introduced the latest camera series – the H4D – and the improved Phocus 2.0 software. Speaking of the revolutionary H4D series, due out next year with the H4D-60 and the H4D-50 models, Poulsen explained, “True Focus is so new, so big, solving things unsolved till now, that we needed a new camera line. This is probably the most important innovation we’ve done at Hasselblad in the past 10 years. Sometimes you need to give it a new name to say it’s brand new.” In front of specialized journalists from 16 countries, Hasselblad photographers, partners and dealers, Stig-Nielsen added, “True Focus technology helps solve one of the remaining technical challenges that face serious photographers today: true, accurate focusing throughout the image. The new Absolute Position Lock (APL) processor, which is the foundation of True Focus, accu-
rately logs camera movement during re-composing, uses these exact measurements to calculate the necessary focus adjustment, and issues the proper commands to the lens’s focus motor so it can compensate.” Visitors to the Hasselblad Global Conference were invited to ask Peter Stig-Nielsen and top Hasselblad engineers about the new technology and already available cameras. They were also given good tips on how to best use the equipment. The Hasselblad staff was able to offer a unique glance into the minds behind the company’s success. In addition, participants had a chance to take photos of monuments of the past and the present of space travel, during a VIP tour of the Cape Canaveral complex. Hasselblad’s impressive ability to combine the past and the future was clear when Poulsen presented space veteran Aldrin with a 503CW from the legendary V series – a camera that, thanks to Hasselblad’s CFV-39 digital back, is equipped with the latest technology and makes use of the newest Phocus 2.0 software. The NASA Space Center was the backdrop for the event that ended with a gala dinner at the Apollo/ Saturn V center under the suspended Saturn V rocket (left). Buzz Aldrin proudly shows off the old V camera, equipped with a Hasselblad digital back and ready for the future (above)
photo: hans strand
Get tomorrow today. The H3DII-50. Can’t decide between the most advanced camera on the market today and the even more advanced one that’s just around the corner? Well, why choose? The Hasselblad H3DII-50 features a 50 Megapixel 36×48mm sensor, twice the physical size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors, and has been specially designed to provide the ultimate in both image quality and performance. And as if that were not enough, if you buy the H3DII-50 now, we’ll give you a free upgrade to the H4D-50 when it is released. So you can have your cake and eat it too. It comes bundled with the new Phocus 2.0 software and all the other Hasselblad finesses that make the H3D System the most advanced high-end system in the world today.
Buy the H3DII-50 and upgrade to the H4D-50 for free! Get 2000 Euros off the revolutionary new H4D-50. Purchase the H3DII-50 before Dec. 31, 2009 and we will upgrade your H3DII-50 to the new H4D standard free of charge. Featuring the new True Focus technology, the H4D-50 will change the way you view high-end BEST photography. MEDIUM FORMAT D-SYSTEM Contact your local dealer for details.
Henrik saxgren There’s nothing romanticising about Henrik Saxgren’s landscapes: the Dane shows that nature isn’t exclusively natural. His “Landscapes Altered by Man” offer an artistic appraisal of his homeland, and in “Unintended Sculptures” he captures chance formations that have either occurred naturally or through human intervention.
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Henrik Saxgren photographed the outcome of a conceptual and organizational masterpiece: the artificial island of Pebberholmen was created as the bridge head for the Ă–resund bridge between Copenhagen and Sweden
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Amager Beach lies just ten minutes away from the city center of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. With a total length of 4,6 kilometers. This artificial beach is an invi足ting haven for both sunbathers and swimmers
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Double human impact: first a ferry dock was built, then the ferry was made superfluous by the construction of a bridge from Funen to Sealand. The old mooring areas are now overgrown with grass
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Taken from a crane, this picture from Danish photographer Henrik Saxgren’s “Landscapes Altered by Man” series shows transformation in full swing. The photography was taken with a H3DII-39 close to the Danish town of Aarhus
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Portfolio Henrik Saxgren
For his recently published “Unintended Sculptures” book project, Saxgren traveled the world looking for the right optical illusions, shapes and structures. He photographed this sun set (right) on the Faroe Islands
What is humankind’s impact on nature and how does it transform the environment? These are the questions renowned Danish documentary and landscape photographer, Henrik Saxgren, researches for the “Denmark During Transformation” project initiated by the Danish Ministry of Culture and the New Carlsberg Foundation. As one of 14 photographers, Saxgren was invited to take pictures all over the country – his contribution to this large-scale project is centered around the idea of “Landscapes Altered by Man”. The transformations Saxgren captured with an H3DII-39 during a number of extended trips, cover a broad range – anything from highways or abandoned ferry docks to sandy, man-made beaches. “I’m fascinated by man’s ability to undertake large infrastructural or naturetransforming projects that demand high-powered action, such as the impressive Öresund bridge connecting Copenhagen to Sweden, or the artificial Amager beach just 10 minutes from Copenhagen’s city center. These are expressions of cultural undertakings that have a significant impact on nature,” Saxgren explains. He calls the Danish landscape “civilized nature” because man has already exerted and continues to exert such an enormous influence on the scenery. “I’m not a nature-fundamentalist: I appreciate decent roads and understand the need for a good infrastructure. But my photos do have a certain civilization-critical angle as well.” Saxgren finds his motifs with the help of Google Earth, by driving all over the place and by riding in a helicopter. However, to get the right per-
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spectives for his pictures, he makes use of a different means: a crane that hoists him 120 feet above the ground. From these airy heights, Saxgren composes his pictures and hits the H3DII-39’s exposure button: “I take photographs with 39 million pixels, seeking a resolution that makes every tile, every flower and every path appear sharp and perfectly legible.” Contemporary photo artists such as Andreas Gursky and Joel Sternfeld are among his sources of inspiration. The main intention behind Saxgren’s pictures is to teach people to see. This is evident, not only in his “Landscapes Altered by Man” series, but also in the “Unintended Sculptures” project. This autumn he had a photo book with the same title
produced by Hatje Cantz Publishers. It includes images that resulted from many years of work, searching out the motifs all over the world between 2001 and 2009. He was looking for optical illusions, shapes and structures found in nature, though at times they appeared deliberate – as though placed there by an artist. In fact, they were random compositions, that took form through Saxgren’s photography. Throughout his exploratory journeying, his decade of experience as a photo journalist was put to good use. Though Henrik Saxgren (born 1953) trained as a commercial photographer, he soon focussed on photo journalism and, specifically, international issues. Since 2002/2003, when he gave up commercial work completely, he lives off grants and the sales of his fine-art pictures. He has published 13 books and has been part of countless solo and group exhibitions, at home and abroad. Whether for “Denmark During Transformation” or “Unintended Sculptures”, Saxgren’s pictures are anything but romanticised images reminiscent of old landscape paintings. “I frame man-made landscapes as they overlap with nature. I communicate with sobriety and rationality,” Saxgren reasons. “My goal was to create modern landscape images and refrain from romantic nostalgia. It seems to me that I succeeded.“ H. Saxgren: „Unintended Sculptures“, Hatje Cantz, 112 pp., 45,00 € Exhibition “Unintended Sculptures”, National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen, till December 19, 2009 www.saxgren.dk From 2001 to 2009, Henrik Saxgren searched for “Unintended Sculptures” in nature. He found this wrapped-up tree (left) at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, and the helicopter pad outside Thorshavn on the Faroe Islands
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High Rapp collins: Jono Rotman
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the Top-photographers
They have made it to the very top – the world’s best contemporary photographers! Creative, international advertising agencies present their five favorites for VICTOR.
“Jono Rotman has a very special method for reducing the visuals, blending out any superfluous elements and details, one by one. What remains is an incredibly ‘painting-like’ impression. As a result, everyday life becomes iconic. Thanks to Jono Rotman’s strong visual style, any landscape he photographs ends up looking like the work of an old Dutch master.” Wayne Pick, Executive Creative Director, Rapp Collins Lim Walker, Auckland Jono Rotman: Born in Ohariu Valley, New Zealand in 1974; 1993–1994 studied photography; freelance photographer since 1995. Campaigns include: The Glenlivet for Ogilvy, New York, Sony Playstation for Tequila, Auckland. www.rappcollins.co.nz, www.jonorotman.com
180: Stephen Shore “The outstanding thing about Stephen Shore’s pictures is their perfect configuration. The composition and color schemes in every image have a unique balance. When I worked with Stephen Shore for our Glenfiddich campaign, his eye for detail and style lifted the whole campaign to a new level. His work is majestic, yet at the same time reflects daily life to perfection.” Maud Klarenbeek, Head of Art Buying, 180, Amsterdam Stephen Shore: Born in New York, USA in 1947; 1965–1967 lived and worked in Andy Warhol’s Factory; 1971 Solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Campaigns include: Orange 2005 for Mother, London. www.180amsterdam.com, www.billcharles.com
Bartle Bogle Hegarty: Giles Revell “In a world of commercial photography which is full of plagiarists and shallow thinking, Giles Revell’s work stands out because of its visual austerity and invention. He also has a real ability to find a clear and unique feeling for each new project. Giles Revell never repeats himself nor compromises his work in any way. His love of photography is self evident.” Sarah Pascoe, Head of Art Buying, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London Giles Revell: Born in Sawbridgeworth, Great Britain in 1965; 1994–1995 photo assistant; freelance photographer since 1995. Campaigns include: Honda 2007 for Wieden & Kennedy, London, Sony 2007 for Fallon, London. www.bbh.co.uk, www.gilesrevell.com
Cossette Atlantic: James Ingram “James Ingram and his team always manage to capture the desired imagery, even when they don’t have a budget. Funding in Nova Scotia tends to be rather modest. To achieve good results under such conditions is difficult but, in my opinion, James Ingram is the photographer who best manages to do so. He is able to reflect the style of the respective art directors, and so I was really extremely satisfied with our collaboration.” Don Veinish, Creative Director, Cossette Atlantic, Halifax
Jono Rotman: Accident Compensation Corporation, 2004, for Clemenger BBDO/New Zealand
James Ingram: Born in Deep River, Canada in 1965; 1997 master’s degree in photography and digital art; freelance photographer since 1997. Campaigns include: Campaign for United Way, national wide in Canada 2006. www.cossetteatlantic.com, www.jivephotographic.com
Jung von Matt: Fergus Padel “For our client, West, we needed a photographer with an exceptional talent for casting, who is able to draw a lot of authenticity out of the models. Fergus Padel fulfills both these requirements. She’s the kind of photographer who likes to take unusual approaches, outside the mainstream. Her work is extremely different from most of the boring, conformist and uninspired advertising photography out there. Her pictures allow the viewer to dive into the scene and connect with it.” Susanne Nagel, Head of Art Buying, Jung von Matt, Hamburg Fergus Padel: Born in Bremen, Germany in 1973; 1993–1996 photo assistant; freelance photographer since 1994 in Berlin and London. Campaigns include: E-Plus 2006 for Jung von Matt, F6 cigarettes 2006 for Leo Burnett, Frankfurt. www.jvm.de, www.ferguspadel.de Stephen Shore: Glenfiddich campaign, 2007, for 180/Amsterdam
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Giles Revell: Nike campaign, 2006, for Wieden & Kennedy/Amsterdam
James Ingram: Canada campaign for United Way, 2006, for Color Fergus Padel: 2005 photographed for Berlin fashion label Choucroute
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Crazy dolls In this VICTOR exclusive, French photographer Thierry Perez assembles an unusual team for an unusual shoot. The result: a strange and exaggerated flight of the imagination. photos: Thierry Perez
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Embroidered jacket: Junya Watanabe; stockings: Falke; shoes: Pierre Hardy; white blouse: Tsumori Chisato
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White dress: Vivienne Westwood; latex leggings: Phyleas; pink dress with dots: Junko Shimada; dotted scarf: Issey Miyake Pleats Please; shoes: Boody Wood
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White top with green dots: Issey Miyake Pleats Please; brown leather bustier: Issey Miyake Winter 06; stainless steel decorative table: supplied by Fleux
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Skirt: AF Vandevorst; dress with dots: Bernard Willhelm; stainless steel decorative table: supplied by Fleux
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Metallic blue silk dress: Y´S Yohji Yamamoto; blue cotton dress: Tsumori Chisato; red-blue-checkered blouse: Bernard Willhelm; shoes: Phyleas; stockings: Look From London
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Top: Issey Miyake Pleats Please
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Leather skirt: Azzedine Alaia; dress: Junko Shimada; leather jacket: Junko Shimada; visor: Tsumori Chisato; stockings: Tsumori Chisato; shoes: Phyleas
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Blouse: Ernest le Gamin Kokon Tozan Minako; pants: Issey Miyake Apoc; stockings: Look From London; black band: Giambattista Valli; shoes: Phyleas
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White cotton dress: Tao; lilac cloak: Issey Miyake Pleats Please; red shoulder pad as scarf: Toga; stockings: Emilio Pucci for Wolford; shoes: Boody Wood
Red metallic dress: Toga; black cap: Issey Miyake Pleats Please; visor: Tsumori Chisato
Dark blue pullover: Issey Miyake Apoc; black body with large collar: Zucca; pants: Giambattista Valli; white cotton belt: AF Vandevorst
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Left: Leather jacket: Catherine Malandrino; Right: Dark blue silk dress: Derek Lam; striped blouse: Vivienne Westwood; leggings: Tsumori Chisato; shoes: Phyleas; Left and right: stainless steel decorative table: supplied by Fleux
Crazy Dolls Thierry Perez French photographer Thierry Perez was born in 1964 and became interested in the arts and in fashion at a young age. As of 1985, following his studies at the Parisian art academy, he began working for French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier as designer and art director. Thierry Perez was responsible for Madonna’s stage costumes during the ‘Confession’ tour. In 2003, he decided to pursue his love for photography and has been working as a Parisbased freelance photographer ever since. In the past four years he has had spreads published in ‘Elle’, ‘Vogue’/ Italy, ‘Amica’ and ‘West-East Magazine’. He was also responsible for the advertising campaigns of Dolce&Gabbana, Versace, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Missoni and Bulgari.
Production: Bruno Semeraro; make-up: Alice Ghendrih/Jedroot, Julie B/ Catprod; hair: Ivan/Aurelien, Muriel Roger/Aurelien; styling: Lilly Marthe Ebener; models: Stephanie Corneliussen/ New Madison, Lia Bishop/New Madison, Shay/Agence Nathalie; photo assistance: Emilie Erbin, Catherine; styling assistance: Coralie Coeurdevey Special thanks to Cat Studio, Jedroot, Aurelien Agency, l’Oréal and Fleux, 48 rue sainte croix de la bretonnerie, 75004 Paris www.thierryperez.com
“Today I’d like you to be a small, broken doll,” declares photographer Thierry Perez, as he welcomes Danish model Stephanie to Studio Cat in Paris. “Similar to Alice in ‘Alice in Wonderland’, you’ll be transported to a place that is surreal and twisted,” continues Perez, a photographer since 2003 and a former designer and art director for Jean-Paul Gaultier. Stephanie soon finds herself sitting in a make-up room, with Ivan wrapping strands upon strands of blond hair around her scalp, applying different creams and foundations to create an impression of baldness. After these preparations, the almost 6 feet tall Stephanie looks small and lost in the studio as she stands abandoned, with only an oversized black flower for company. Yet, less than a minute ago, Ivan was applying an extra slab of foundation to her hair, and Julie had only just powdered her fingers and the back of her hand. But now Stephanie stands alone in the spot light, dressed in a long, capacious red blouse with a blue plaid pattern. Someone has turned on loud music in the lobby: “Do you know what it feels like in this world for a girl?” challenges Madonna, as though she had inner knowledge of Stephanie when she sang these words. The model is being sucked into a dark and dreamlike reality in which she is forced to feel estranged – as a girl with lips as sweet as candy. How does a girl feel when the only things left to her are a white backdrop and a big black blossom with bendy pedals? Especially, when the girl has a bare head, pouting expression and large saucer-shaped eyes? Perez wanted to capture this story using a single prop, something extra large and in your face. So he began to draw with his flowing pen on a large pad of paper. While he was drawing he imagined the idea of using a single large black flower. The next challenge was to build it. Using a two-meterlong plastic stem and six big pedals made of black satin, sewn to a wire frame. Perez and his assistant Emilie began to assemble the flower parts once Stephanie settled into the make-up room. When Emilie showed Perez the completed flower, he exclaimed to his great satisfaction: “It looks just like my sketch!” The flower was designed and created from his pure imagination alone – the concept for hair and make-up was only finalized once the model had arrived at the studio for the beginning of the shoot. During
an animated discussion with Perez and hair specialist Ivan, Julie – who together with Alice Ghendrih is responsible for the make-up – raised both hands to her right eye and said: “What if I were to paint only one of her eyes?” As their lively discussion continued on and around the red sofa in the anteroom, Lilly, one floor down, was already unpacking a giant blue suitcase in which she had neatly folded a variety of stylish garments by British and Japanese designers. As she is about to hang a loose-fitting black dress with wide sleeves onto the rack, she lifts the right sleeve, shakes the waistline and comments: “I select loose costumes with volume
so that there’s room for the model to play. Whenever you move them the silhouette changes.” Soon the rack is lined with exotic outfits, forming a gaudy mix of colors, fabrics, sizes and epochs. Lilly, who works as a stylist for French ‘Vogue’, is about to place a pair of pink platforms with 6-incheshigh heels and pink, leather-bowed buckles to the other shoes below the rail of clothes. She hesitates, glances at the peculiar shoes in her hand and remarks: “They’re so ugly they’re actually beautiful.” Stephanie gazes into the big, bright mirror and contemplates her doll face and head. She feels similarly torn: “I’ve never looked so
For the glamour shots taken with a 120mm lens, make-up artist Alice Ghendrih was inspired by the punk look (left). Model Stephanie sits on a high table (above) with her feet not touching the ground to enhance the doll effect
hideous. I should wear this to my next class reunion.” But despite her 7-inches-high shoes and metallic green lips – stiff from thick metallic paint – she is able to maintain her cool throughout the session. Thierry Perez demonstrates the pose he’s looking for and then returns to his position behind a tripod mounted with a H3D-39 digital SLR and an 80mm lens for full body shots. The tripod allows him to trigger the exposure using his left hand, which is his dominant one. Somehow, the tripod complements his still images of motionless models. After the exposure, Perez immediately assesses
the photograph on the monitor connected to the camera. He alters the angles of the black side panels, and slightly corrects Stephanie’s pose. As soon as he is satisfied with his pictures, she leaps from her black high heels into her fluffy bright slippers and rushes down the metal stairs to the make-up room, where she is liberated from the icky green paint. Meanwhile, Perez has another look at the photos he has taken until now. They already look like memories from some absurd dream and, Perez frecentley completes the series after the shoot by adding illustrations. He spreads the pictures out in his large, luminous atelier with high windows and a black wooden floor; “I tend to start out with a graphic idea and then exaggerate it with illustrations to remove it even further from reality, transforming a photo into a design,” Perez explains. However, for these pictures he decides against adding illustrations. “The extra-large flower invites us into a fantasy world, its dis proportion already has the effect of an illustration. Drawings and designs aren’t meant to embellish a picture; if anything I want them to take the photograph to a new dimension. In this case, illustrations would have resulted in information overload.” Even though, in this shoot, Thier ry Perez decided against his pen, he still relates much of his work as a photographer to his experience as a designer. “Fashion moves me. After ten years of illustration I wanted to try my hand at a different form of expression,” he says to explain his career change and his fresh start as a photographer. For a while now Perez has wanted to work as a member of a team, and so he is particularly thrilled by the collaborative effort with Alice Ghendrih, one of the most sought-after make-up artists in the industry since the mid 1980s. Ghend rih, whose make-up for this fashion shoot was inspired by the doll, punk and robot look, is an old friend of Perez. “We’ve been wanting to work together on a special project for a long time now, and this was the perfect opportunity,” says Ghendrih. Thierry Perez is happy to have switched to professional camera work. He watches his busy team around him, looks at the set with the oversized flower and says: “Today, the studio is my white sheet of paper.“ susanne schmitt
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Hasselblad Masters 2006
Michael Graf
Born in Toronto/Canada in 1970 | Freelance photographer since 1990; published in (among others): ‘Time’, ‘Black Book Magazine’, ‘Nuvo’ | Clients include: Nike, Burberry, Nintendo | Exhibitions include: the Museum for Adverti sing (permanent collection) at the Louvre, Paris; the Saatchi Gallery collection, London | Awards include: the 2005 and 2006 New York Art Directors Award, 2005 and the 2006 ADCC Awards
The beginning. I got my first camera when I was 14 years old and was immediately hooked by the medium. The technique and models are unimportant to me. It’s all about telling stories in a completely new way. I find the narrative aspect much more interesting than the cameras and equipment; though I must admit it is fun to play around with the latest gadgets. The big bang. There was never one particular big bang, but rather a hundred different sources and influences that gave shape to my career. As a result, I can’t say that my work follows one particular style. I’m always driven by a desire to recreate myself and to experiment with my work. The heroes. I’m inspired by artists such as the British photographer Albert Watson and the German photographer Erwin Blumenfeld. Both of them have wonderfully graphic styles. Their pictures have Jerry, Graf Studios Art Project, 2005 (above); Discover, Molson Breweries, 2003 (Top); Molson Cold Shots: Small but Strong, Molson Breweries, 2005 (right)
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moved towards something that I would call painting rather than photography. I’m very inspired by painters. The hobby horse. I’ve always been delighted by different types of curious objects. The inspiration doesn’t come from the objects them selves, but from discovering their stories. Stories that draw people, times and realities together in one unique moment. The excitement. My work has taken me to very isolated locations in Africa, exotic Mediterranean beaches, film sets with celebrities, and to animals living in the wild. On the whole it’s impossible to know what will come next. I think the most exciting job is still to come and I’m always working towards it. The dream. At the moment I’m working on a series that reinvents the great myths of our times. The nightmare. As I work, I always try to be original and reinvent my style afresh, to be versatile and flexible. That’s why I’m always ready to try anything once. How else can I know whether it will work? The treasure. A great picture or a satisfied client is always my only goal; though I must admit it was a thrill when my work was chosen for the permanent collection of the Museum for Advertising at the Louvre in Paris. It is an honor to have my work hanging in the same building as a unique painting like the Mona Lisa. The philosophy. Always eat a good meal – it keeps you sharp. The Hasselblad. My camera of choice is the Hasselblad H1. I like the 50mm and 80mm lenses and I’d love to see a 60mm lens. The demands I make of my camera equipment are pretty simple: as far as lenses, sharpness and speed are concerned, they must be able to keep pace with me. Michael Graf is a Hasselblad Master because, even in a perfectly staged portrait, he is able to capture a surprising moment. Whether romantic, serious or fantastic, we are drawn into the stories captured in his world of imagery.
Wrapture, ‘Blonde Magazine’, March 2004 (Top); Boy invents Girl, Graf Studios Art Project, July 2005 (above); Princess Sucha, Graf Studios Art Project, November 2005 (right)
www.grafstudios.com www.hasselblad.com
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Todd Bertuzzi, ‘Enroute Magazine’, April 2003
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Next victor online: 1 December 2009 Be surprised by inspiring portfolios, keep up-to-date with the most significant photographic trends, read in-depth articles on technical developments. On December 1st, 2009, check your monitor for the next issue of VICTOR online.
vincent fournier >> Gearing up for outer space: Pictures from training centers and aerospace laboratories
Tim flach >> Just like sculptures – monumental images of thoroughbred horses
Imprint
raya >> delightful portraits with a great sense for fashion Items and topics in the next issue of VICTOR online may be changed or postponed due to editorial or other reasons.
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VICTOR online | 11/2009 www.victorbyhasselblad.com info@victorbyhasselblad.com
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Publisher: Stephan Bittner, Center of Service GmbH
Go extreme
There’s no turning back
You go to extremes to get just the right shot, and SanDisk goes to extremes to make sure you get that shot, every time. Engineered to perform, from the North Pole to the Sahara Desert, these cards are rigorously stress-tested for extreme shock, vibration, temperature and humidity. Plus, blistering read/write speeds of up to 45MB*/second ensure the most demanding photographers are ready for anything. When pros demand extreme reliability and speed, they demand SanDisk Extreme® memory cards.
SanDisk Extreme® memory cards SanDisk and the Sandisk logo, SanDisk Extreme and Compact Flash are trademarks of SanDisk Corp, registered in the US and other countries. SDHC logo is a trademark of SD-3C LLC. © 2009 SanDisk Corporation. Taking images under water requires waterproof camera and case. Memory cards not waterproof. * 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes. x=150kb/sec. Based on SanDisk internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device. ** 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacities not available for data storage.