cars, transportation and landscape photography & motion May 2023

"What a beautiful year so far! I have been directing and photographing for a wide range of brands and traveling to all sorts of locations.

With snow shoots in the mountains of Colorado to beach sunsets in Miami, it has been a very fun time doing what I love.

Thank you!"

Australian born, Los Angeles based Director/Photographer and content creator Anton Watts was recently commissioned by Ferrari to shoot the new Purosange on the epic Atlantic road in Norway.

After wrapping Ferrari, Anton travelled to Barcelona to spend a week shooting the Toyota Corolla GR Sport Hybrid campaign which incorporated lifestyle as well.

Currently ranked #2 in the world for photography by Lürzer’s Archive, the award-winning Carioca Studio is a renowned image concept house highly acclaimed for their work, specialising in advertising imagery.

Carioca was founded in 2005 by three artists (Dragos Coman, Andrei Stoleru and Dragos Traistaru), all photographers with fine art and advertising backgrounds, along with production expertise. Having always a strong vision about each new project they are involved in, Carioca starts with a big idea, and bring their complete vision and perfect execution from production and shooting to post-production.

Carioca offers integrated visual services, from production to photography, Illustration, CGI and motion. Clients include Dalwhinnie, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Europcar, Mercedes-Benz, Sony Ericsson, VW and WWF. Carioca Studio have won awards at Cannes Lions, Epica, Cresta to name a few.

Carioca is represented by JSR Agency. See more of their work here and follow the agency on Instagram for the latest projects.

This Spotlight features images from Ciprian Mihai's latest projects, from editorial shots to commercial and OOH advertising campaigns.

He has been enjoying the creative aspect of creating CGI sets, which allows him to go beyond the limits of reality.

Check out more of his work on his website or Instagram.

Degler Studio's history cannot be told without knowing the person behind the lens.  

Piotr Degler (1985) grew up in Spain, in the midst of a family of musicians and architects. Equally influenced by art and technology, and motivated by his love for the four wheels, he moved to Turin after graduation to study car design, ending up at Bertone. It is here, in one of the world’s meccas of car design, that he started merging his daily job as a designer with another of his passions, photography.  

It is precisely in the combination of photography and his expertise in car design where resides the added value of his images. Degler hands the observer the key features of every design, the masterstrokes imagined by the creator, by reinterpreting through each photo the perspective, lines and volumes, of some of the most important production models and prototypes in the automotive history.  

Today, Piotr Degler is considered one of the most respected photographers in the industry, having worked for legendary names such as Maserati, Pininfarina and the everlasting Ferrari. 

In 2016 he published his first book, 'Carros de Cuba'. Last year he published his new and awaited coffee table book 'Made in Italy', after more than 10 years in the making. 

Dejan + Per: a Swedish powerhouse and a one-stop-shop for photography, retouching and CGI.

Per is based in Los Angeles and Dejan in Sweden, and for all things post processing they are also a 24/7 operation maximizing the use of the different time zones.

The work on display in this Spotlight is the Polestar 5 to be launched in 2024; the dynamic EV roadster for the future. Next up is the Hyundai Kona shot for Innocean USA with a typical Dejan&Per lifestyle approach.

The Mercedes-Benz EQE is a personal project where inspiration draws from fashion editorials and a cinematic way of capturing the moment.

Last but not least, the BST 230 edition was captured for Polestar Cars on Ascari, in Spain. No strangers to race track action, Dejan+ Per have a lot of experience with both real high and virtual rig motion shots.

Frederic Schlosser is an automotive photographer focused on strong moods and emotional light. Born and raised in Germany, Frederic's passion is mostly about cars and design.

His latest work for the all-new KIA Seltos shows his artistic way of shooting cars. The conscious interplay of light and shadow creates interesting shapes and layers to frame the car. The campaign was shot in Sydney, Australia, alongside with the famous model Georgia Fowler. It’s about transporting a lifestyle and a feeling rather than just showing a product.

For BMW ALPINA Frederic photographed the new XB7 on the beautiful German island of Sylt. Dramatic skies and soft lighting are underlining the powerful, luxury car. The constantly changing weather situation on the island was a challenge which allowed only short time frames of natural light.

Both projects are photographed and retouched by Frederic.

Follow Frederic on Instagram for more.

"What a way to mark 10 years of shooting with Rolls-Royce - an epic ride working with some great client and agency teams.

Very cool to be up close and personal shooting the last ever V12 coupé to be made as Rolls-Royce head toward electrification. Black Arrow, the final V12 engine Wraith.

Behind the scenes: ‘Dark X Light’ - an exploration of the interplay of light between the physical and digital world filmed at the mind-bending premier UK Volume LED stage – a collaboration with Arri London, CT Technology and Lux Machina.

Get an insight behind the scenes on the regular blog, and our latest interview with Production Paradise."

Ian is a British freelance photographer and artist living in the Bernese mountains of Switzerland.

He is an experienced visual communicator, competent at finding creative solutions in any situation.

Clients have a trusting rapport and enjoy working with Ian, frequently returning for his impactful and emotive work.

Irwin Wong is an editorial and commercial photographer and director based in Tokyo. Although primarily a portrait photographer, he is skilled at automotive, industrial and travel photography as well.

Commercial clients include SK-II, Omega, Christian Dior, Mazda Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Ferrari, and Boss Coffee.

In addition to his photographic work he has also written and photographed two monographs about Japanese culture through 'Gestalten: Handmade in Japan' (2019) and 'The Obsessed - Otaku, Tribes and Subcultures of Japan' (2022).

Subaru has just launched their all-new Crosstrek, so finally Jeff can share the project, shot last fall. The team timed the shoot perfectly to capture the turning colors of the leaves around Telluride, Colorado. As a top-secret new vehicle, special methods were used to keep it out of public view while shooting. Shooting in the mountains is no issue, but to capture images of the vehicle in town, Jeff employed the new Gybow LED lighting array, at a secure LA studio. Check Jeff’s Instagram for more details on this amazing tool.

More recently, Jeff spent some time in Japan, where he set up a personal project.  A red 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT seemed like a perfect match for the streets of Tokyo, so he spent a day chasing cool locations and dramatic lighting.

Jeffrey Carlson is a commercial photographer and director based out of Toronto, Canada, where he lives with his wife Tara, his son Rhys and their Texas Heeler, Lemon.

Whether in the studio or on location, Jeffrey's down to earth approach and strong technical expertise gives any production a sense of confidence. From the planning stages of a project to the final delivery, Jeffrey enjoys collaborating with creative teams to surpass client expectations.

Jeffrey loves incorporating multidisciplinary crews to deliver stunning content for still, video and new media platforms.

This Spotlight features a few recently published projects, including the press launch materials for the Toyota Prius Prime, Corolla Cross Hybrid, and Lexus RX 450e.

Nathan is a photographer specialising in automotive and aerospace photography, capturing the motion and emotion they possess. His home base of Denver, Colorado, provides close proximity to mountains and outdoor adventure, which translates to the natural feel of his work.

Check out more of his work on Instagram or his portfolio website.

Car and lifestyle photographer Oliver Paffrath began his career shooting fashion; he has used this skill honed from fashion campaigns to bring his unique style and lighting techniques to his car and automotive photography. Oliver also combines these techniques to create eye-catching and appealing motion and CGI content.

He shoots for the world’s biggest car manufacturers on global advertising campaigns and car lifestyle brochures. Germany based, Oliver’s focus is on the ability to meet client’s main restraints – timing, budget and quality in every production.

His extensive client list includes: Allianz, Adidas, ABN Amro, Audi, ATU, BMW, Chevrolet, Credit Suisse, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren, Mazda, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Škoda, Seat, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Oliver is represented by JSR; see more of Oliver's work here and follow the agency on Instagram.

Great start of 2023 for Stephan, shooting the launch campaign for the new L7 from Li Auto China. Agency on set was Jedi Visual Beijing with creative director Xie Tao. Service production Lighthouse Productions took care of this breath-taking road trip across Aotearoa.

20 hero shots and multiple lifestyle and social media motives were realised in remote locations like the Waimangu Valley and the Redwood Forest on the North Island. Finishing the shoot in Fiordland National Park and the Catlins in the far south of New Zealand.

Stephan was recently awarded New Zealand’s Landscape Photographer of the Year for the third time at the prestigious OneEyland Awards.

In this Spotlight are some of his latest landscape pictures exhibiting in his Queenstown Gallery.

Sergei Zjuganov continues gaining his reputation of a reliable partner in Middle East market, yet still delivering most of projects at home, in Europe.

His dedication and style allowed him to build strong relationships with his clients (agencies like Ogilvy and TBWA and car companies directly), which has been crucial to getting new commissions for Nissan (with three separate launch and library shoots with new X-Trail, Altima and Urvan), as well as a large project with Toyota models range, including the new Land Cruiser.

Sergei is excited to see enquiries from new clients from Europe, US and Asia, whether it is a catalogue-studio, artsy-approach-lifestyle or just some very technical shoot on location. His team is also comfortable with 3D and compositing.

Follow Sergei’s Instagram to keep up with his most recent projects.

Simon is an award-winning advertising photographer and director based in London, whose work takes him all over the world, photographing some of the most iconic brands. He is also an established commercials director and has directed commercials for Bentley, Discovery Channel, Mercedes, Toyota, Volvo, Wild Aid, Norfolk Southern Railway, ITV, the ‘Bleed for England’ spot for the Rugby World Cup.

He has combined NASA-inspired technology with traditional photography to create Gigapixel images. He shot two of the world’s largest automotive images, a 57 billion pixel image of the Dubai marina featuring a W12 Flying Spur and previously an incredible 53 billion pixel shot of a Mulsanne in San Francisco on the Golden Gate Bridge for Bentley.

Commercial clients include Rolls-Royce, Alfa Romeo, Audi, American Airlines, Bentley, BMW, BP, British Airways, Castrol, Deutsche Telekom, Discovery Channel, Disney, Dodge, Emirates Airlines, Fairy, Ford, HSBC, Hummer, Hyundai, ITV, Jaguar, Jeep, London Transport, Lucozade, Lufthansa, Mercedes, Microsoft, Milka, Nestlé, O2, Plusnet, P&O Cruises, Porsche, RBS, Range Rover, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Vodafone.

Simon is represented by JSR, see Simon’s work here and follow them on Instagram.