The new Hasselblad Masters for 2007
10/26/2006 As is customary around this time of year, the new Hasselblad Masters are announced and this year is no exception. Anybody visiting the Hasselblad stand this year at Photokina could have had a sneak preview as the new Hasselblad Masters Calendar for 2007 was on sale.
Each year Hasselblad appoints twelve new photographers as "Hasselblad Masters". The selected photographers represent both documented and well-established photographers as well as imaginative, ambitious photographers at the beginning of their careers. The selection is based on factors such as level of ambition, wealth of ideas, and photographic technical skill and respects both the traditions of photography and the need for renewal.
After much deliberation, the following photographers have been chosen as Hasselblad Masters for 2007:
• Marco Grob, Switzerland
• Peter Mathis, Austria
• Raya, France
• Dominique Amphonesinh, France
• Stuart Weston, UK
• Tang Hui, China
• Laurence Laborie, France
• Russell James, USA
• Barry Ryan, UK
• Paolo Esposito, Italy
• Carl Lyttle, UK
• Chase Jarvis, USA
These photographers produce an interesting mix of attractive, fresh and exciting images, some of which are shown here. Don't forget that the calendar is now available from: calendar@hasselblad.se, price: EUR 10 (USD 13.50) + postage.
MARCO GROB, SWITZERLAND
Marco Grob started in photography by assisting photographer Chria Ann Miller in Los Angeles, USA. On his return to Switzerland, he opened his first studio working with still-life. But after a while he decided to make a career change towards portraiture, fashion and advertising. He has photographed Seal, Boy George and Dave Gahan for Magazines like GQ, Marie Claire, Elle Cosmopolitan, Die Zeit, Style etc. His advertising clients include Levis, Adidas, Zenith, UBS, Nike, Seat and Louis Vutton, to name a few.
http://www.marcogrob.com/ 
PETER MATHIS, AUSTRIA
Peter Mathis is a sports- and landscape photographer taking up photography through his interest in mountaineering. His main clients are sports companies and magazines. Natural light was his main source of illumination but he has started to introduce flash on location too. He also likes to express himself through personal work and projects.
http://www.mathis-photographs.com/ 
RAYA, FRANCE
Raya has been a fashion photographer for eight years and is based in New York. In her images the accent is on light. She is very fond of inventing photographic situations inspired by fairy tales and films. "A photographer is nothing without good equipment. I have my personal assistant, a Hasselblad camera, and together we are a perfect team". Her major clients include Lolita Lempicka, Vuarnet Perfume, Daniel Hechter, Club Med, Harper's Bazaar, Elle etc.
http://www.rayaphotographe.com/ 
DOMINIQUE AMPHONESINH, FRANCE
Born in Vietnam, Dominique Amphonesinh emigrated to France in 1978. After ten years spent in an advertising agency he started up as a photographer and in 2004, opened his own studio in Paris shooting still-life and beauty. Parallel to his commercial work, he continues with his personal projects. His present interest involves "bodies, faces, glances, solidified by time" as he puts it.
http://www.amphonesinh.com/ 
STUART WESTON, UK
Stuart has been a fashion and beauty photographer for over 20 years, shooting for clients as varied as Vogue Brazil, Toni & Guy, Harrods and Robbie Williams. In recent years he has developed a niche in the market, providing clients with a complete image package, involving photography, post-production, design for print, interactive media and film-.making. "I describe myself as an image maker in the widest possible sense - developing a complete image for clients".
http://www.stuartweston.com/
TANG HUI, CHINA
Tang Hui started to take pictures when he was a soldier. Today, he is established as one of the most prestigious Chinese photographers. Tang Hui's major clients are Motorola, Nokia, Lining, Lenovo, IBM, Nestle, Audi, Canon, Samsung, Intel to mention a few. His present assignments include working on sports advertisements, especially sport stars.
LAURENCE LABORIE, FRANCE
Laurence was born in 1967 in Northern France and at the age of 14 she became passionately interested in photography. She took a degree in engineering but decided to concentrate on her favourite occupation, namely, photographing fashion and beauty. "Digital photography has become a necessity for a lot of clients, it's an incredible development saving a lot of time while allowing so much creative freedom". Laurence specialises in beauty, lingerie and swimwear.
http://www.laurencelaborie.com/ 
RUSSELL JAMES, USA
Russell James became interested in photography quite late in life, not deciding what to do as a career. "When I finally discovered photography it was like finding the right partner; you just know it's for life". Russell's major clients have included Hermes, Victoria's Secret, Rolex, Revlon, Ralph Lauren and the like. He has been published in magazines ranging from W and Vogue to American Photo, Elle and Marie Claire. Russell is inspired by many photographers and his idol is Irving Penn.
http://www.russelljames.com/ 
BARRY RYAN, UK
Barry Ryan became interested in photography while watching one of his friends photographing him for an album cover when he was a pop star in the 1960's. A few weeks later he started shooting pictures. "I once asked Terence Donovan how to become a good photographer, to which he replied; Buy a camera and take some good photographs! That´s all the training I´ve ever had". Barry is presently now working on is a series of very large portraits called "Movers and Shakers" for the Parkinson's Disease Charity.
PAOLO ESPOSITO, ITALY
Paolo started photographing for a local magazine during his school vacation. At 20 he moved to Milan to study professional advertising and fashion photography. After graduation from the European Institute of Design, he assisted for a number of photographers before going out on his own. He now runs the Insight Studio in Milan, specializing in fashion, working both for editorial and commercial markets.
http://www.insightproductions.it/ 
CARL LYTTLE, UK
Carl was interested in the music industry and used to follow the music press wishing he could take pictures of the bands in the manner Anton Corbijn. He is now a commercial advertising photographer shooting automotive campaigns. "I believe the key to my success is purely my passion and love of photography, otherwise I'd never have pushed so hard and so long to achieve what I have". Carl's major clients are Nissan, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Audi, Renault, Mercedes, Chrysler, HSBC, B.A.T., Microsoft, Getty Images, Corbis.
http://www.carllyttle.com/ 
CHASE JARVIS, USA
Chase has been a professional photographer since 1996 and is 100 % self-taught. "I'm mostly inspired, ironically, by painters. An acclaimed sports, lifestyle, and popular culture photographer, Chase's images breathe a compelling freshness - sometimes technical or conceptual, other times authentic or raw. Some of Chase's major clients are Apple Computer, American Express, Fuji Film, Gateway Computer Corporation, Helly Hansen, Kodak, Microsoft Corporation, MSN.com, Nike, Shell Oil Company, Subaru, Volvo etc.
http://www.chasejarvis.com/