Claudia Bitzer : IWC watches, TELEKOM campaign, MERCEDES BENZ, NISSAN NAVARA and PATHFINDER, HYUNDAI & countless awards

Ulrich HOPPE demonstrated the true value of small things in a shoot for the world’s smallest calendar for IWC watches.

Not much larger than a fingernail, the calendar is sent out in a luxurious box, accompanied by a magnifying glass and a tweezers to turn the calendar pages. Each calendar page features a part of the watch in its original size. They are so very tiny, that the magnifying glass has to be used to see them – just as the watchmakers go about their work.

Ulrich photographed 12 watch components using macro photography. The idea and its perfect realisation by Jung von Matt Alster with ADs Andreas Wagner and Jonas Keller, was awarded by the ADC and presented with the Silver Medal at the One Show Award New York.

Ulrich HOPPE spent a good three weeks shooting products for the latest STIHL catalogue. The locations had to reflect the high standards of the appliances. Thus, Ulrich had the opportunity of visiting several of the most beautiful parks and gardens in Germany to shoot the Stihl products. Uwe Rattay (Production Plan) supported his location scouting and production. The results can be admired in the 2010 Stihl catalogue. The agency is Publicis Erlangen with AD Stefan Neumaier.

All of the pictures from these series and much more can be viewed on the recently revamped homepage, at www.ulrich-hoppe.de.

Harry WEBER portrayed concise testimonials for a publication on behalf of the Dewitz, Selzer, Partner agency with AD Marc Kemper from Düsseldorf. GERMAN ACRON estate agents opted for an unusual method of promoting the rentable space in Albertusbogen Düsseldorf and chose Harry’s portraits.

Harry got up close and personal with former German Home Secretary Otto Schilly and shot his portrait as an accompaniment to an interview he gave in the Schauspielhaus Bochum theatre magazine. The Scheer agency, Düsseldorf have treated to the magazine to a new image.

A new motif for the TELEKOM ‘Millionen fangen an’ (millions are starting) campaign has just been released. Christian SCHMIDT was once again booked to transform real life locations into miniature wonder worlds using the tilt-shift photography technique. The production centres on a chessboard; idyllically placed in the middle of a historic city.

Christian turned to his trusted team for the realisation; CD Zoran Drobina and AB Wiebke Burmeister of Philipp und Keuntje, Hamburg and producer Tobias Seifert of ADD PICTURES, Munich.

The TELEKOM campaign isn’t just an eye catcher in Germany. It has also met international acclaim and was recently awarded at the PDN Photography Annual and at the American Photography 26 Award.

The two MERCEDES vehicles couldn’t be more different: one is a workhorse, the other is every car lover’s dream. Oscar VAN DE BEEK photographed both and shows us their best sides.

The name of the game is TRUCK MOBILITY and Mercedes produced it for Global Service & Parts. A summery picture, which captures the essence of the truck, was produced at the Mannheimer Harbour in defiance of the actual wintry cold. The team comprised AD Florian Hubrich (Wire Süden) AB Sandra Bürkle (Selected Artbuying) and producer Klaus Herde.

The following shot sends the pulses of every car enthusiast racing. Oscar photographed the dream gull winged door 300 SL ride for MERCEDES BENZ CLASSIC. This time the shoot took place at a cosy warm studio near Stuttgart. Wire Süden also commissioned this production with CD Henrik Koppmann and AD Stefan Häussler.

Steffen SCHRÄGLE has won several international awards for his work: a picture from his Cuba series was awarded at the American Photography 26 Award in the USA. Five of Steffen’s photos from his Namibian aerial view series were honoured at the CommArts Award 2010. And Steffen’s www.steffenschraegle.com website won the PDN (Photo District News) Photo Annual Competition 2010 in New York.

Steffen also realised the photography of and worked on the CGI aspects of the countless new images of the NISSAN NAVARA and PATHFINDER. The rain shot of the Pathfinder is particularly impressive as Steffen had to read up on his CGI and shooting technique skills: rig shot on location, a specialised rain shot with a rain machine, followed by CGI and post work.

And last but not least, Steffen also hit the road for HYUNDAI. He photographed the ix35 at a studio in Madrid for the European campaign. The team was also very European. The client was Hyundai/Frankfurt, the agency Zapping/M&C Saatchi, Madrid with Swiss creatives Urs Frick (Executive Creative Director) and Uschi Henkes (Art Director). The production was managed by Essencial, Madrid.

Three photographers from the CLAUDIA BITZER agency have been short listed in this year’s edition of Lürzer´s 200 Best Ad Photographers Worldwide: Christian SCHMIDT, Oscar VAN DE BEEK and Steffen SCHRÄGLE.