Playground
Our humanity is found in our ability to create a playground “In photography, it’s that tension between you and the moment that’s the difference between a winning shot and losing it.”
wherever we are.
Thomas Hoefgen’s signature vision is his ability to find the racing line, not just on a landscape, but across his work, through a project brief, and onto any shoot.
Thomas chases joy, and tells the story of our drive to create a playground wherever we are. His skill is putting people in the perfect frame to cut loose, and give direction that makes it possible to truly express themselves, then capturing those fleeting seconds with a taut, cinematic style.
“Thomas envisions composition and perspective in such unique ways that the images he delivers are truly singular and proprietary.� TED DEITERT, Tommy Hilfiger
“Sunday Pick Up Game” – Soweto Township, City of Johannesburg, South Africa. From the Award Winning book, African Arenas. The Limited Editions are available at the Jean Denis Walter Gallery in Paris and one hangs in the London home of the Vice President of FC Barcelona.
Having created the vision for major brand campaigns for Timberland, Diesel, Adidas, BMW, Audi, Red Bull, Tommy Hilfiger, Hilton, Reebok, Wrangler, Macys, Merrell, Under Armour, Les Mills Harman/JBL, Landsend and Westin, Thomas is known for his ability to create the vision he sees in his mind in the lens of his camera, and take it in the moment that it happens. "
“When you walk on to a set for Timberland, or Tommy Hilfiger, or Red Bull, and there is a huge team of 30 or 40 people under you, it is 0–100 mph in 60 seconds.”
“With every shot, it is about how brave can you be, how little you can take coming into each moment, how late you can click, and how hard you can hang on so that you
maintain your shot longer and longer – so you can drive right at the limits of the light and the movement, and get across the finish line.”
Shadow Football You know that moment when you get an idea and ask one of the most famous football players and managers on the planet, who has scored more international goals than any other player in France’s history and is one of the most prolific goal scorers of his time, to play a little shadow football after your shoot with him for Red Bull wraps, and Thierry Henry says yes? That Moment! It was shoot in spring, in a studio in London, the first time I met Thierry Henry. We only had half an hour, 40 minutes at a push, and we nailed what we had to do for Red Bull. Then I just threw it out there, “Thierry, I have this idea about light and shadows,” and he got the vision right away. As a photographer, I believe every shoot is the opportunity to test yourself against time, against the moment, for the thrill of winning when you get it right. Every shoot takes a balance of resilience and optimism, getting it right means seeing the vision before going in, whether it is film or stills, knowing how to make it happen and tuning in. Again and again.
Thomas has the patience to wait the five minutes for the light to shift just the perfect way, or when a wet down is needed to provide the perfect sheen to a surface in order to bring that extra something to an image that transforms it from good to outstanding. He will don a harness to hang off the top of a building, climb a mast in ten foot swells, jump in an open helicopter in freezing temperatures to get the best shot. And his professionalism and attention to detail do not end after the shoot. He follows up with selects and beautifully retouched images that meet the project’s final specs (no matter how many crazy sizes are needed for digital banners or massive out of home campaigns). He does this all humbly with respect for the entire team, making the long days on set and away from home as pleasant as possible. The only hard part of working with Thomas is choosing selects — there are always, always so many more great shots than there is space for”
Molded by everything he has experienced around the world, from the makeshift football pitches of Africa to the big budget sets of global, Western brands, Thomas Hoeffgen creates a playground where people can cut loose and joy is free to express itself, and he takes the shot.
VICTORIA DIMOU, Timberland, US
thomashoeffgen.com Agent: raybrownrepresents +1 212 243 5057