2022 Year in Review
With all the anticipation for upcoming projects, I sometimes forget to celebrate past highlights. There were quite a few of those last year. So, let's embark on a journey through the past 12 months without further ado:
Sächsische Aufbaubank (Saxony Development Bank)
The SAB (Sächsische Aufbaubank) headquarters in Leipzig is a project close to my heart. I had been looking forward to photographing this new architectural gem since the foundation stone was laid. Over the past two years, I was able to photograph the building from every perspective, from the underground parking garage to the roof, and also portray the incredibly friendly SAB team. Here are the images of the Säulenhof (Hall of Columns), the foyer, and Volker Stößel (SAB press officer).
LUKAS Barista Academy
I have photographed many conference rooms and seminar centers. However, the concept of our regional bakery chain LUKAS is something new. In addition to a conference room in the center of Leipzig, the company offers a first-class barista who pampers seminar participants with wonderful coffee and even trains coffee lovers to become real baristas. The shoot was a great combination of architectural photography and commercial photography, where the managing director even ironed himself. That's teamwork!
Magazine Publications
My images have been widely published again this year. Among other things, one of my pictures graced the March cover of "Foto Magazin". It shows one of my first architectural shots under a starry sky: the Nebra Ark. The article is available on the Foto Magazin website. Chip Foto Video also published two long articles with me this year on the subject of architectural photography in the Alps and career tips for hotel photography.
Parkour meets Architecture
As an avid climber, I have a love for overcoming obstacles. There is hardly a more spectacular way to do this than parkour. As part of an independent photo study, I staged some parkour professionals from the Central Germany region against an urban backdrop in 2022.
EXPO Dubai
The EXPO Dubai was definitely a highlight in 2022. The World Expo is magnificent for architecture enthusiasts. More than a hundred nations presented their future concepts in Dubai on the topics of sustainability, mobility, communication, and research. Shown here is the pavilion of Kazakhstan by ARDECO and Insglueck and the Finnish Pavilion by Teemu Kurkela (JKMM Architects).
Adina Hotels - Munich
In Munich this year, we kicked off a year full of shoots with Adina Hotels across the DACH region. After I had already created the exterior shots and drone videos for the new hotel in Munich's Werksviertel in 2021, we now focused on the interior: room images, spa, fitness, lobby, and of course the restaurant area with a magnificent view over Munich.
Adina Hotels - Geneva
We continued to Geneva for a model room shoot of the new Adina Hotel, which will open in 2023. In a warehouse, the rooms were built from plasterboard panels, next to some sailboats, ready to be photographed. This was a great playground for targeted lighting to create a natural daylight feeling in the pictures, because there was hardly any in the hall. We perspectively aligned the views from the windows with the later orientations of the rooms in the finished hotel. This means that the images can still be used for a long time after the hotel opens and give a correct representation of reality.
Adina Hotels - Stuttgart
In Stuttgart, we shot the OTA images for the new hotel in record time and therefore even had time to produce a series of F&B images for the in-house restaurant. With a great team of chefs, bartenders, Adina marketing, and our photo team, we were able to conjure up a solid photo series even without preparation and then relax and enjoy the props after the shoot.
Adina Hotels - Düsseldorf
The fourth hotel shoot with Adina was right next to Düsseldorf Central Station. The hotel beautifully incorporated the facade of the train station and brought it into the 21st century with smooth metal elements. The interior of the building was also a pleasure to photograph due to its beautiful interior design.
Stuttgart City Library
I have been fascinated by libraries since my student days at the latest. The tranquility, the collected knowledge, and the visitors, all in search of new horizons, give me a great boost of energy every time I enter a library. One of the most photographed libraries in Germany is located in Stuttgart. Here, the visitors are divided 50:50 into enthusiastic readers and amazed visitors or Instagrammers. I started my photo series about the building with the aim of photographing at least one completely unknown motif. With the support of the building technicians, I was able to lie down on a 6m long ladder for a photo shoot, which we placed across the light shaft in the center of the library. From here, I took a central perspective of the glass roof. In order to get all the stairs of the room into the picture, I created a panoramic photo from 20 individual images, which then had to be painstakingly assembled on the computer. Of course, the sun's rays moved in the picture during the shooting and several visitors ran through the pictures, which I retouched away afterwards. This picture is definitely the most challenging architectural photograph I took in 2022.
Trinitatiskirche Dresden
For Code Unique Architekten, I documented the renovation of the Trinitatiskirche in Dresden in several shoots. The result is a great series showing the new youth center in the heart of a destroyed nave. The project is a wonderful combination of renovation and new construction.
Nebelhorn Railway - Oberstdorf
The Nebelhorn lives up to its name. On the day of shooting, visibility was usually only a few meters. However, the constantly changing weather is what makes photo productions in the Alps so appealing to me. The passing fog walls give the images depth and detach the architecture from its background.
Oberstdorf Photo Summit
It felt good to be back at an industry meeting after two years of the pandemic: talking shop with colleagues, marveling at new technology, and getting inspiration from the exhibited photo series. This cannot be compensated digitally. I was especially pleased that my exhibited photo series “Modern Alpine Architecture” was opened by Claudia Roth, the patron of the event. With my picture of the Pass Museum at the Timmelsjoch, I also made it to third place in the nationwide CEWE competition on the theme of “Mountains”.
Shooting of the Year: Modern Alpine Architecture Part II
September 2022 was a busy month. I had the opportunity to shoot several photo series with some of the world's largest photo technology manufacturers. For the medium format camera manufacturer Hasselblad, the high-end tripod manufacturer Gitzo, the backpack manufacturer Lowepro, and the American accessory specialist Inovativ, I shot five advertising campaigns and product videos with a team of photographers and video producers. In addition to all this, the second part of my ongoing photo series “Modern Alpine Architecture Part II” and a (still secret) art photography series were created. The production across Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany involved nine months of preparation. I will definitely publish more details about this on my website and my Instagram channel in the coming year.
Dresden City Archives
The biggest challenge of 2022 by far was my work as a city photographer for the Dresden City Archives. This year I documented the city of Dresden in 6,000!!! images. With 750 images per district, I am capturing the image of the city for eternity. I walked over 700km through Dresden this year and documented residential buildings, administrative buildings, cultural sites, local recreation areas and industry. We have also cataloged all the images with GPS data and street names and anonymized any people and vehicles in them. Truly a mammoth project that will be completed in 2023 with a total of 7,500 images.
Calendar Series - iPro Consult
For the 2023 annual calendar, iPro Consult chose the theme “Perspectives”. Under this motto, I documented the architectural office's latest projects in Saxony and Brandenburg. It was industrial, ranging from energy production to transport routes and shipping locks. Two new locations were waiting to be photographed every day.
Fujifilm X100V
This year, two new systems have been added to my Canon camera. In addition to the Hasselblad X2D medium format camera, I am now also shooting with a Fujifilm X100V. The inconspicuous rangefinder camera produces great natural moments directly from the hand without a tripod or interchangeable lens. I put it through its paces in Spain during a photo series about the “Arts and Science Park” in Valencia.
Writer for APALMANAC
Despite my busy schedule, I couldn't resist when the world's largest blog for architectural photographers asked me if I would like to write for them. I just love sharing my experiences. So now there are regular equipment tests, photography tips and project reports from me on apalmanac.com.
Drone Talent Award
Shortly before Christmas, there was a big surprise when I won first place in the architecture category at the Drone Talent Award 2022, beating off strong competition. My winning image shows the Sächsische Aufbaubank in the early morning. I describe how the picture was taken in a separate blog post.
Yes, it's worth looking back, especially when everything seems hectic or things aren't going well. The most important motivation for me are the pictures I create. And in 2022, there were definitely a few new favorite subjects. Now I'm excited to see what surprises the coming year has in store. As always, it remains exciting!
