Bellevue - Dresden from Above
One hundred and eleven large-format aerial photographs of Dresden for a photo art series. What an exciting challenge! “Bellevue – Dresden from Above” was created as a photo art series commissioned by the Bilderberg Bellevue Hotel Dresden. The hotel's name already reflects its beautiful view (la belle vue) over the city on the Elbe. This is where the image concept “Bellevue - Dresden from Above” comes in. Over 100 image motifs accompany the hotel guest on their journey through the city without them having to set foot outside. Captions help to classify what is seen. The bird's-eye view of the photographs invites you to perceive familiar places and architecture in a new way and to pay attention to details that you have never noticed during a city tour.
Conception of a Hotel Photo Art Series
When Katja Marocke, an interior designer, approached me in October 2019, many things were still uncertain. As part of the interior redesign of the Bellevue Hotel, Katja had a challenge that she wanted to solve together with me. In the corridors of the Dresden hotel, there are over 100 maintenance shafts that do not have a very favorable effect on the otherwise high-quality interior. The idea was to cover the shafts with a series of photographs and at the same time use the space in the corridors to tell a visual story about the city of Dresden.
In a brainstorming session with the interior design team and the General Manager of the hotel, we explored various concepts for the art series. The abstraction and simultaneous realism of the drone shots quickly became a favorite. From a distance, the aerial views look like a modern mix of textures and colors. As you walk past them, however, they reveal an intimate insight into everyday life in Dresden.
A major advantage of a specially commissioned art series is its adaptability to the existing interior design concept. The hotel corridors of the Bilderberger Bellevue are characterized by warm tones such as the cherry wood paneling, the copper-colored door signs and a creamy wallpaper. The color scheme is only interrupted by the neutral gray carpet.
The aim is for the pictures to blend in with the interior, but at the same time act as an eye-catcher. The images in the Bellevue series therefore primarily reflect muted yellow and red tones with neutral gray areas, mirroring the colors of the room. The color composition is interrupted by small accents of intense blue and subtle bluish shadows. In order not to interrupt this style with the green tones of leafy trees, we decided to take the shots in late winter.
„The final series of images shows Dresden from a completely new perspective, where even many a “local” like myself has to think long and hard about where the picture was taken. This view piques curiosity and shows the urban architecture from a completely different angle. The series not only completes our overall room renovation project, but also enhances it in a unique way. The series turns the way to the room into its own, very special experience. We as the Bellevue Hotel have long been part of the city's history and cityscape. I am proud that the city is now also part of us. And in a completely new way.“
The 111 art prints in the hotel corridors have a second purpose in addition to visually enhancing the hallways. They cover over 100 maintenance shafts in the walls. The pictures also help with orientation in the building in the elevator landing areas. Each hanging location requires special formats. In the corridors, 1:2 and 1:1 formats alternate in sizes between 100cm and 150cm. The elevator landings already have stucco frames into which the pictures are custom-fitted in a particularly long 1:3 format.
Planning the Aerial Photographs
Finding the right motifs for such a large photo series and preparing the shoot in a legally compliant manner was the biggest challenge in this photo production. The planning phase began with an intensive examination of the Bellevue Hotel and its location in Dresden. In order to present Dresden as a city as comprehensively as possible, a few beautiful pictures of the old town are not enough. My goal was to create a representative pool of images from the categories of living, transport, leisure, nature, culture and industry. For me, Dresden represents a mix of modernity and history, and of natural and urban space. This concept is also reflected in the Bellevue Hotel. It consists of an old and a new building and looks south over beautiful green spaces to the Elbe. To the north, you can observe the lively life of the Neustadt district. These worlds should also reappear in the pictures.
This was followed by two weeks of digital overflights over Dresden on Google Maps. Quadrant by quadrant in search of possible motifs, composition, leading lines, colors, structures, incidence of light and many other points influenced every motif choice. With the support of my intern Julia, a few bird's-eye view emojis also made it onto the list. Had the architects already considered that back then?
In the next step, in consultation with the Dresden Public Order Office, the various property owners and the State Aviation Authority, I obtained the corresponding ascent and photography permits. After all, there were also some sensitive areas, such as the Military History Museum or the Dresden municipal drainage system, where we had to work with special requirements. In the end, all the preparations resulted in a detailed shot list with approx. 100 shooting locations, which formed the basis for the photo production.
Drone Production
As with all my shoots, it is a good plan that ensures the success of the photo shoot despite spontaneous challenges. We had set a time window of two weeks for the drone shoot. Actually more than enough time for the five shooting days required. However, changeable spring weather, strong winds and the start of restrictions due to Corona put us under a lot of pressure. Thanks to the precise scheduling of the shot list, I was able to use every good weather window and complete the shoot in four days without any incidents.
The result of the 44 take-offs and approx. 100km of flight distance were over 4,000 shots of 311 different objects. The selection of the best motifs was difficult. On the one hand, the hotel manager and the interior designer were enthusiastic about most of the motifs and found it difficult to deselect motifs. On the other hand, the drone photos had to be sorted according to format, content and color in order to create a coherent overall result for the series.
Printing Photo Art Correctly
As always, I was able to rely on my long-standing partner Whitewall for the printing, who has already printed many of my exhibitions and always provides me with expert advice. During the image editing process, I received sample prints of both entire motifs and 1:1 detail sections from Whitewall, which I was able to use to adjust the final result of the editing. In order to reconcile longevity and a good price-performance ratio, we decided on direct printing on aluminum Dibond. The pictures, which are up to two square meters in size, are fitted with a narrow, modern ArtBox frame so that guests and pictures are well protected in the busy corridors of the hotel. Whitewall delivered nine pallets of well-secured pictures in less than two weeks. When the delivery arrived, the hotel staff gathered in front of the pictures and fascinatedly inspected every detail of the beautiful prints.
With the Art-Hanger recommended by Whitewall, the many pictures were hung perfectly aligned on the wall throughout the hotel in 1.5 days.
„The biggest surprise during the production for me was the truly impressive moment when all the pictures were hanging and I walked through the corridors. Even though the great cooperation in advance suggested the positive result, it was still a wow experience!“
The use of the photo series does not end with the printing of the pictures as photo art. In the next step, the use of the photographs for customer gifts, the hotel store and advertising materials is planned. This will make the pictures an important part of the hotel's corporate identity.
Below you can see the complete photo series “Bellevue – Dresden from above” with 111 aerial photographs, which provide a special insight into the city of Dresden.
