"Hello, we are 7 Seas Productions. We carry Latin America in our heart and soul. We are a small team of location professionals that work tirelessly to bring you the best of Colombia, Cuba and Argentina. It can get confusing in these location wonderlands, that´s why we rely on our sound location database that helps taking decisions and on our location experts on the ground. 7 Seas is small and swift.

Our most underrated location jewel is Cartagena and the Colombian Caribbean coast. To describe it in a few words is not easy, but here's a try: there are beautiful sand-lined islands off the shores of blue and turquoise waters, amazing houses and mansions on these islands with tasteful interiors. That´s the beach part. Around colonial Cartagena's downtown and boho-chic Getsemaní, there’s no deficiency of boutique hotels, art galleries and exclusive restaurants. Stunning colonial backgrounds guaranteed. And above all: it's safe. Cartagena is Colombia's prized window to the world. Take a closer look at our website and soon we'll be saying '¿hola, qué tal?'”

Welcome to Showcase Germany, brought to you by Production Paradise. This edition features some of the top photo production companies, photo agents, photographers, directors, post production companies, location services, make-up artists, stylists, equipment rental companies, rental studios, and other creative talents and services based in Germany.

Companies such as Nivea, Deutsche Bahn, BMW, Diesel, Telekom, Santander, Procter & Gamble, Lufthansa, Schwarzkopf, and Tom Tailor among others, have trusted these professionals with their latest advertising campaigns and editorial shoots.

More creative professionals and facilities for photographic and film production can be found in our Berlin (Photo / Film), Cologne (Photo / Film),  Dusseldorf (Photo / Film), Frankfurt (Photo / Film), Hamburg (Photo / Film), Munich (Photo / Film) and Stuttgart (Photo / Film) directories.

Be sure to check out our featured events:

• Andreas Mühe: Pathos as Distance - photography exhibition, until 20th August at House of Photography, Hamburg.
• Mario Testino. Undressed / Helmut Newton. Unseen / Jean Pigozzi. Pool Party - photography exhibition, until 19th November at Museum für Fotografie, Berlin.

Our cover image was shot by Vanessa Maas.

"To be a great photographer, it takes the combination of a trained eye, creative talent, passion and many years of experience and commitment to capture the essence of anything in front of the lens. Wolfgang Wilde is that photographer."

711rent is a leading professional equipment rental company with seven branches in Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona and Mallorca.

"Get in touch with their expierienced staff for your next project. They deliver to any location or you can pick up your equipment ready loaded in their location vehicles, even with an onboard 20KW generator if needed.

Their stock covers photo equipment such as cameras, flash systems, grip and digital equipment as well as video and film gear. The huge variety makes it easy to outfit even the largest sets and have precisely the lighting or camera gear needed."

The 711rent network enables clients to order equipment and pick it up at any of the company's branches. Clients are always welcome to stop by and check out the newest equipment, or just have a cup of coffee and a chat!

Digirox offers high-end digital photographic support and post-production. Up-to-date equipment and experienced digital technicians provide an expert service and streamlined workflow. Backed by many years of experience, the post-production department sets the highest standards for retouching.

Recent productions include:

• Armin Morbach for Schwarzkopf and Catrice.
• Patrick Houi for Tom Tailor.
• Ralph Mecke for L’Oréal, Goldwell and KMS.
• Liz Collins for syoss.
• Blasius Erlinger for Peruvian Connection.
• Jean Graisse for REWE.
• Jette Stolte for Gerry Weber.

Bavarian company Friedrich Klotz booked Michael Zargarinejad to shoot the image campaign for its brand new label Fritz der Bayer - a Bavarian Attitude.

Fritz der Bayer is 100% designed and made in Germany with high grade quality textiles and processing. It is made for men with a sure taste for style, progressive and edgy.

Featured exclusively in this Showcase are some of the upcoming visuals.

ADRET - Advertising Retouching is a Hamburg-based high-end digital retouching studio focused on still life, luxury, jewellery, beauty and fashion.

Unique images demand perfection and control. With special photography techniques and retouching experience, the highly skilled retouchers at ADRET pursue creative solutions with patience and concentration. With a full menu of services and efficient time management, the ADRET team is prepared to accomplish all imaging needs by deploying a range of skills to achieve outstanding results.

The experienced team takes the raw materials and polishes them to form a perfect diamond, setting the mood and correcting lighting and colours along the way. ADRET creates outstanding visual effects and generates images of the highest quality.

ADRET's goal is to support clients with their projects. Visit the website for more information.

This Showcase features recent work for ARD, Baldessarini and Lufthansa.

Emphasising the company's close cooperation with all the hidden stars behind the camera and on set, with a wink of an eye FGV Schmidle claims "We are 'Making of!'"

FGV is deeply rooted in the international film industry, and with vast experience and an impressive inventory has been providing leading production services for decades. Consistent cooperation and communication is a vital part of the company’s knowledge base. As a result clients are able to do their jobs better, be it with the latest high-tech equipment, through the team's technically demanding solutions, or even its own developments.

Established in 1972 and with home bases in Munich and Berlin, FGV Rental provides services including camera systems (digital, film, and photo), lighting (daylight, tungsten, LED, tube, photo), grip (from cranes to dollies, tripods, stands and more), and vehicles, all with a 24/7 rental pick-up and return.

A 700 m² / 7,500 sq.ft. studio located on the Munich premises benefits from great transportation connections. Features include a ceiling height of 12m/40ft, motorised green- and bluescreens, three motorised rigs for loads of up to two tons each, a 7x14m (24x46ft) ceiling reflector, Cyclorama covering two walls (24x29x11m / 79x95x36ft), production offices, an industry standard kitchen and parking lot.

A spacious ground floor studio featuring an extra large infinity cove (width 12m, height 4.90m, depth 10m), Highnoon White provides enough space for large sets or productions relying on more than one set at a time.

The complete studio area amounts to 346m² (17.5m by 19.8m, with no coloumns) while access to the studio is via a roll up door large enough to allow a standard 7.5t truck to fit in. There are nine parking spaces for cars and trucks assigned to the studio.

Equipment includes in-house photo rental through Knackscharf München GmbH & Co KG. Clients receive a 10% discount on all the Knackscharf equipment while working in the studio.

Studio facilities include one 63A and two 32A heavy current connectors, WiFi, rolling partition walls for separating sets, polyboards and lots more. Two spacious hair and make-up workstations and a styling room with large mirrors, clothes and shoe racks complete the offer. External-facing windows can be covered.

”We treat our clients fairly, therefore we don’t hide any costs. Studio fees include cleaning, electricity (with the exception of hmi and other continuous light sources) and heating. Price on request. Just give us a call and tell us your need."

Nicole Smolin is a Hamburg-based fashion and still life stylist. She holds a diploma in Fashion Design from ESMOD International Berlin and works for film and photo productions, creating new styles for international clients.

She recently worked with radio station Antenne MV, WeightWatchers and Vegan Magazin.

Nicole develops campaigns across different fields such as industrial, commercial and catalogue. She also realises fashion, beauty and still life editorials for magazines.

Visit her website to see more of her work, get in touch directly via email, or call +49 176 103 686 44.