Spot Professional Lightservice has "closed the gap" and established a bridge to Lisbon, having recently opened a Spot Service Center in the city.

Their experience in Spain of renting Profoto, Briese Flashlights and professional photo equipment is now offered in Lisbon, and includes the rental of digital cameras.

Orders, usage and return are all available in one central Lisbon location.

Located in Alto Santo Amaro, one of the most tranquil areas in the city of Lisbon, The Pestana Palace Hotel is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

Formerly, the building was the Valle-Palace, now restored to its former glory, overlooking the Tagus River. The hotel is surrounded by beautiful gardens, a unique space in Lisbon, and a classified 'national monument'.

It offers "luxury, comfort and sophistication, and the excellent service that is expected throughout the Pestana Palace Hotels & Resorts Chain". There are also spacious conference facilities and various leisure options.

Lisbon's International Airport is located 10 km away, with easy access to the hotel.

Alexander Koch has been working as a professional photographer since 1983. His work ranges from advertising, architecture, fashion and industrial photography to photo-reports and artwork.

Throughout his career he has collaborated with some of the best known advertising agencies , shooting campaigns for brands such as Absolut Vodka, Mercedes, Levi's and Hugo Boss.

In parallel with his commercial work, he has been showing several individual and collective art exhibitions in galleries and museums in Britain, Germany, Israel and Portugal.

In 1998, he opened his Lisbon studio, featuring a production, art-direction and post-production team as well as a digital department.

ELEVEN Restaurant is located in the centre of Lisbon's business district, overlooking the entire city and surrounded by beautiful gardens. It is both a restaurant and a place of culture and art.

The architecture of the purpose-built building is modern, minimalist and organic, using natural materials like wood and decorative stones, with enormous glass windows that open towards Lisbon and the river Tagus. The restaurant changes during the day as it adapts to the changing effect of the outside light and the views over Lisbon.

The chef and one of the partners, Joachim Koerper's restaurant "Girasol" in Spain holds two Michelin stars. In 2002 the Gourmetour guide rated it the best restaurant in the country. Joachim Koerper is also a member of both Relais Gourmands and Traditions&Qualité, two associations of the world's foremost chefs.

The process of internationalisation of blue Media started in late 2004. Their first licence in a major European market is for Germany, and they have others almost agreed.

The idea of “exporting” their products was hatched almost at the same time of the blue concept, as all of their magazines are designed from an international perspective. Within the development process, they ensure that there is a strong idea of the worldwide magazine market in that specific segment, so that they can produce the best magazine for it.

“blue Spirit” publishers get not only the rights to a nicely designed magazine, but also the opportunity to manage the blue brand, construct the "blue community". Licence holders are asked to have a “blue attitude”...

António Gamito has 14 years' experience as a professional photographer.

 

In 1990, he studied at C.R.E.A., Amsterdam, where he assisted several Dutch photographers, including Paul Blanka. He then worked in Amsterdam for some years in fashion, people, portrait and lifestyle.

 

 

The great light, nice weather and beautiful locations influenced António's return to his own country. He is now based in Lisbon, shooting advertising, fashion, landscape, stills and travel-lifestyle.

Sónia Pessoa started her career by taking the A.R. Atelier "Make-Up Artist" course with Antónia Rosa, to whom Sónia became assistant.

Nowadays, Sónia's freelance career includes fashion editorials, fashion shows and advertising jobs.

She works with Portuguese magazines such as Máxima, Essential Lisboa, ELLE,
Dif- magazine, Umbigo, Op. as well as being part of the A.R. Team at ModaLisboa and Portugal Fashion.

French stylist, Corinne Lucquiaud says that she has always loved fashion and art.

She started out in the fashion world in New York and continued her work as a stylist when she returned to Paris. She was a milliner for Chanel, Lagerfeld, Alaïa, Mugler, Valentino, Ungaro, Jean-Paul Goude... and then moved to South Africa for a while before returning to be a stylist for personalities, designers and fashion companies.

Now working globally, Corinne is based between Paris and Lisbon, and has recently been in a close collaboration with Giambattista Valli as well as styling for magazines such as Which, Spoon, DS and Soon.

Her recent styling work on Style Monte Carlo was a shoot with actress Emanuelle Seigner, Roman Polanski's wife.

Welcome to the very first edition of SHOWCASE LISBON to coincide with Production Paradise's new Lisbon directory at www.productionparadise.com.

As you've come to expect, we bring you the latest news and views from the visual media industry in Portugal's beautiful capital city.

The Lisbon Village Festival, "the first European digital cinema festival" is currently on, promoting new technologies, talent and creativity. And on 9 July, electronic music festival Hype@Tejo will have a line up that features Massive Attack, Atmosphere and Kudu, among others.

Our cover shot was by Portuguese photographer Sergio Matos, who also works in France and Germany. Make-up by Sónia Pessoa and styling by Filipe Carriço.