Swiss Photography Award: Interviews with the three nominees for advertising photography
The EWZ Selection Award, Switzerland's most coveted photography prize, will be presented in Zurich on Friday evening. Three of the 18 contenders for a trophy have been nominated for the advertising photography category. Werbewoche spoke to Tine Edel, Jonathan Heyer and Maurice K. Grünig about their work, life as a photographer and what they hope to gain from the award ceremony.
Tine Edel
"I see spaces and places as stages on which people can be staged"
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Ms. Edel, you were nominated for the photography prize in the advertising photography category - did that surprise you? Yes, it is after all a very prestigious prize and you don't get your hopes up at first. Before the nomination, I also went to the event where all 460 works were exhibited; most of the photographs were very strong, especially the editorial ones. You have submitted photographs for a company calendar. Do you mostly work in the field of advertising photography? I mainly work as a theater photographer in St. Gallen. Apart from that, I have also photographed for a magazine, or I receive |
occasional commissions, such as those for the company calendar. Incidentally, in this work I was very free to take the photos as I imagined them. The client gave me carte blanche. The creative freedom contributed a lot to the result.
Do you pursue a specific theme in your photography?
The portrait is at the center of my interest. I also see spaces and places as stages on which people can be staged, which has a lot to do with my work in the theater. Photographing performers on stage trains the eye in a very specific way. If I didn't work in the theater, the work I deliver wouldn't be what it is.
So far I've only seen the photo with the caveman in front of the gas station. It looks strangely posed, the elements in the picture just don't seem to fit together.
The caveman is not perfectly disguised, the disguise is visible. Despite the furs and hair, you still get the impression that this is a completely normal person from the 21st century. The picture plays with this. That is why the light has been left natural, it is not fairytale-like, which could have brought the different elements together into a harmonious whole. The picture admits that it is an illusion.
What does this work mean to you?
I made a point with these photographs, somehow everything is right, which is why I submitted them. But without the freedom that my client gave me, this would not have been possible.
What do you hope to gain from the nomination - apart from the prize in the advertising photography category?
It's a social event, you'll be able to see and talk to other photographers. It will certainly be a nice meeting place.
Interview: elk
Category: Advertising photography
Client: Calendar for the company Solenthaler Recycling AG
Agency: Mainland St. Gallen
" All submitted photographs
Jonathan Heyer
"I prefer to work on large sets and with large structures"
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Jonathan, were you surprised to be nominated for the Swiss Photography Prize? Difficult question... I was surprised that I was nominated with this work. I submitted a total of three works, and to be honest, Cleandent's work was my favorite. It had already won bronze at the ADC in the photography category. So I was a little, well, as I said, surprised. What work do you enjoy the most? What I mainly do: commercial photography. I've had a studio for five years and that's what I enjoy the most. I put a lot of heart and soul into my business. In addition to classic advertising photography, I also take photos for NZZ am Sonntag and Z magazine, mostly in the fashion or style sector. |
Are you pursuing other projects alongside your work, are you thinking about certain topics?
I recently shot two video clips, one for Marc Sway and one for Richie, formerly Plüsch. But those are exceptions. I actually do exactly what I want with my studio. I prefer to work on large sets and with large structures, because the possibilities for staging are widest there.
In the nominated work, you took three pictures for the Migros label Terra Suisse. When I saw them for the first time, I wondered what was photographed and what was computer-generated.
The pictures with the hare, the frog and the weasel consist of two shots, a background photo and a studio shot. The background photo shows an unaltered landscape as it presents itself to the eye. In the studio, on the other hand, the animals and other elements of the foreground were photographed. The two layers were then brought together, naturally on the computer.
All three, rabbit, frog and weasel, are depicted in rather unnatural poses - the rabbit and the weasel are visibly relaxed, crossing their front legs behind their heads...
Yes, it was quite a job to get that into the box. The rabbit and the weasel are stuffed specimens, the frog was modeled. Getting them into the desired position, which also looks believable, was a huge job. Not least because we had the rather unusual problem that it was not easy to find taxidermists who wanted to show the animals in an unnatural pose...
All in all, a considerable effort was made.
Yes, Migros had very high standards for the images: they had to show surreal worlds and at the same time very beautiful nature. Furthermore, no monocultures were to be depicted, i.e. pure wheat or vegetable fields, but rather diversified agriculture in order to do justice to the Terra Suisse label, which stands for products from diversified, nature-friendly agriculture. Avoiding monocultures was very important. In order to emphasize diversified agriculture more strongly, animals and plants that are protected species were also selected.
What do you hope to gain from the nomination - apart from the prize in the advertising photography category?
It's nice to see my name mentioned again, which is of course also a kind of advertising for me. And it's also nice to see the photos so big again.
Interview: elk
Category: Advertising photography
Client: Poster and advertising campaign for Terra Suisse / Migros
Agency: Exxtra Communication
" All submitted photographs
Maurice K. Green
"I live from commercial photography, I need my own projects"
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Ms. Grünig, were you surprised to be nominated for the Swiss Photography Prize? Yes, very much. I've already entered work three or four times, that's part of it for me as a photographer, but so far none of them have been nominated. Of course, it depends a lot on the people on the jury, who either like the pictures or not. And a lot of work is entered every year. I was at the preview day and the selection was huge. That's why I was so pleased. This time you have entered a self-promotion for your studio community - in which area do you usually work? I've been self-employed for 16 years now and do a lot of reportage work, including |
For example, I write about regions and their culinary specialties. I often work together with the magazines Salz und Pfeffer or Buon Gusto. From time to time I also photograph architecture and interior design. I work wherever there is something to do with people and life.
Do you also pursue your own projects in addition to your commissioned work?
Yes, and that is very important to me. I live from commercial photography, I need my own projects. In other words: I earn my living from my commissioned work - I have two children - and my private work always provides important impetus for commissioned work. It is very important to me to have a place where I can live out my own ideas without external demands. However, my private projects, which I then also exhibit, usually take a long time.
What themes do you explore in your own work?
For example, for a year I accompanied the nuns in the Müstair convent, who otherwise do not allow outsiders access. In return, I repeatedly visited the convent for a week or a few days and photographed how these old women go about their daily lives together. There was something very archaic about it. Pro Helvetia also gave me the opportunity to work in Cairo for six months. For the first three months I photographed for myself, then I accompanied students from a photography class with whom I did a project about their families. Teaching and working in the Arab world had a huge impact on me. That was ten years ago now, and I'm thinking about repeating the same work. But that will take time.
You have entered a self-promotion for your studio community. How did this come about?
The four of us have shared a studio for 15 years, but have never presented it to the outside world. From this we developed the idea of the creatures, which were all to be made up of materials lying around - nails, film tapes, CDs, power cables and so on. We then printed postcards with the photographs of the creatures.
The description of your work says that the photographs were taken in the moment, without preparation. They look almost a little too good for that.
Yes, that is perhaps a little misleading. Of course, the location and lighting design were deliberately chosen, although I only used daylight and a lamp. Nevertheless, the aim was to show the creatures as if they had suddenly appeared in the office. The photos should appear everyday, almost random.
What do you hope to gain from this nomination - apart from the prize in the advertising photography category?
The nomination alone is a huge honor for me. It is also a confirmation of my many years of work, which has always been accompanied by uncertainty. What do I hope for? I'll be surprised. The nomination is the most important thing.
Interview: elk
Category: Advertising photography
Client: Postcard series, self-promotion / Ateliergemeinschaft Ottostr. 17, Z
" All submitted photographs
