Europe seemingly has it all. A rich and storied history. Stunning and diverse landscapes. Unique and colorful cities. Passionate culture. And most of all, friendly and proud people. So it was no wonder that AdoramaTV chose the continent as the backdrop for the new season of their hit web series, Through The Lens.
The nine episode season will follow well known photographers as they share their love for visual arts while using different European locations as their constant backdrop. The subjects share their past experiences, how they find inspiration, and even tell us some of their most sacred photography tips.
And as in their past seasons, the AdoramaTV producers collected an impressive lineup of Instagram famous creatives that trek through Helsinki, Paris, Valencia, Milan, Cologne and Frankfurt capturing scenes that make the photographers proud to show off their homelands.
We take an in depth look at the photographers in this season, the air date of their episode, some of the photos taken during production and what they told us about their experience filming this web series to help them showcase their love for Europe.
Konsta Punkka
August 1, 2017: 2:00PM EST
The series starts with a photographer who, even though still in his early 20’s has racked up over one million followers. When you see Punkka’s beautiful Instagram feed, it’s no wonder why so many are attracted to his images. With a love for wildlife, Punkka shows off that his nature filled backyard in Finland is home to some ridiculously cute creatures. But it’s not all wildlife in Punkka’s resume. Landscapes and aerial work are prevalent in his Instagram feed as well, making this young photographer a one stop shop for daily wanderlust.
Alessio Albi
August 8, 2017: 2:00PM EST
Although he only picked up a camera 5 years ago, the 29-year old Albi’s creativity was born in childhood, as he was an avid sketch and paint artist. Hailing from Perugia, Italy, Albi’s work is known for its unique style. Perhaps harking back to his painting upbringing, Albi loves to use his subject’s face as his canvas. He will often use natural surroundings such as grass or flowers to obscure the subject, adding a sense of mystery to the captured scene. Lately, Albi has been playing with the way natural light hits the face he is photographing, using slits in window shades or cracks to create compelling and beautiful images.
It’s true that one of my favorite approaches to portrait is close up with light play, but it wasn’t shown during the filming; I love to experiment new things and not stay stuck forever on a specific concept, so I preferred to take advantage of the amazing location we were provided and contextualize Morgana (the model) instead of focusing just on her face.
Mary Quincy
August 15, 2017: 2:00PM EST
It’s obvious what Mary Quincy’s photography style is to anyone who stumbles upon her beautiful Instagram feed. The Paris-based photographer loves bright and vibrant scenes, and luckily for her, Europe has many of them. Her goal of traveling somewhere new each month keeps her passionate about her art while traveling the world. And her hard work has paid off, as Quincy has been featured on Conde Nast Traveler and Forbes while working for major tourism boards and hotel brands worldwide. And just by looking through feed, it’s easy to see why travel brands find her work so appealing. Just don’t blame us if you find yourself scrolling through her incredible photos for the next hour.
Ilhan Eroglu
August 22, 2017: 2:00PM EST
Hailing from Izmir, Turkey, Eroglu’s unique take on his home country garnished worldwide praise, even landing him the coveted role of a Sony Ambassador. The phrase “A picture is worth a thousand words” became especially true when I got lost in his exceptional Instagram feed. While most of his captions are in Turkish, Eroglu’s photos speak volumes to us that cannot read his words.
Laura Zalenga
August 29, 2017: 2:00PM EST
The 27-year old Munich, Germany based Laura Zalenga creates so much content that she needs three Instagram accounts to get it all out to the world. But looking at her main one is a fascinating look into the self-portrait artist. Not only does she use beautiful locations in her images, but her self portraits are thought provoking, making the viewer imagine the story she is telling.
On her website bio, Zalenga describes how she believes photography is a form of therapy that gives the ability to heal yourself as well as others.
For my day with TTL Europe we met in Frankfurt which was quite a challenge for me. I have never been there for more than a few hours, and normally I don’t shoot in big loud cities, but rather in quite nature. But I always love to confront my photography with little obstacles because most often when you have to climb a wall you discover new things behind it, right?
So in the morning before we started filming I explored the city. I’ve always been attracted to seemingly unremarkable spots within bigger contexts – you can totally find me shooting with an old rope in the sand while being surrounded with the most beautiful landscape at a Faroer beach :)
In Frankfurt I found a beautiful bush with big, blueish leaves by the river, and an interesting statue in a park nearby.
Filming was so much fun. I mean the team is fantastic. They managed to be almost invisible while I shot but were vibrant and fun when it came to the moments in between.
Simone Bramante
September 5, 2017: 2:00PM EST
Known as ‘Brahmino,’ the Italian photographer Simone Bramante is also a husband and father. His work is clean, well thought out and simply beautiful. His love of light, especially warm, is easy on the eyes for us viewers and his Instagram photos are diverse, making it easy to scroll through and feel like you are getting a window view of Bramante’s life.
Alistair Wheeler
September 12, 2017: 2:00PM EST
Paris based photographer Alistair Wheeler shares completely different scenes on his Instagram from day to day. From Paris rooftops to the alleyways of Asia, Wheeler shares his view of life and the people he encounters in a moody storytelling style that should translate fantastically in his ‘Through the Lens‘ episode.
For the upcoming TTL episode I wanted to take the crew to one of my favorite places to shoot : the rooftops. I believed that by taking the team with me on one of my excursions I was going to be able to set a mood that would convey the best my photography style and my take on urban photography.
Anna Devis and Daniel Rueda
September 19, 2017: 2:00PM EST
The Valencia, Spain based photography team of Anna Devis and Daniel Ruedo’s produce the type of work that has to be seen to believe. Ruedo comes from an architecture background and it’s easy to see the inspiration it has had on his work. They use alot of negative space, geometry, and elaborate sets to create their unique brand of advertising photos. The planning that goes into their shoots must be painstaking, but the team doesn’t seem to mind when their hard work lands them big name clients such as Coca-Cola, HP, Instagram and Netflix.
We were lucky enough to catch up with the team and ask them about their work that will be featured in the upcoming episode.
Where do your ideas come from?
We find inspiration in pretty much everything! It sounds cliche, but it is true! A movie, a book, a song, a funny pun; even our daily routine. Everything can turn out to be a photo but, later these days, we feel a strong connection between illustration and what we do. We love to get inspired by some of our favourite artist’s works.
How long does the process from idea to final piece usually take?
There is a lot of work that needs to be done before the shooting day. We usually have an idea and we need a scenario for it but, sometimes, typically when we travel, we find the perfect background and we have to come up with a fun concept to play with.
When creating ideas we always think the concept together. What are we going to tell and how will we do it in just one frame? What will we need? We always try to tell as much as possible with the minimum elements required. That’s why we sketch every image before we grab our camera, in order to decide its composition, colors and possible props. We do have a big collection of balloons, umbrellas, colour papers, etc., but sometimes we even need to build them! Just in case, we do always have tape and a pair of scissors in our bag!
Then, when the concept is clear, we decide where is that “scene” going to take place. We do have a selection of our favorite walls around the city, but we are constantly scouting for new locations. As architects, we do have an obsession with finding compatible backgrounds that help us to share the stories we want to tell. When we’ve found the perfect location the only thing left is reenacting the scene we drew on paper in the first place. Then comes the shooting and editing, but this is what everyone already knows how to do! The longest part of this work, and also the one we enjoy the most, is what happens just before pressing the shutter button.
How did the TTL episode capture this process and show the viewer the amount of work that goes into one of your photos?
The Adorama team shot every stage of our creating process. They came with us when buying some props, they followed us till some of our favourite walls around the city, and they played with us while creating some of our images. They also had the chance to shoot some of our previous sketches so they could experience a day in our creating process. We hope they had as much fun as we did!
German Roamers
September 26, 2017: 2:00PM EST
The fourth season of ‘Through the Lens’ comes to a close at the end of September as AdoramaTV follows the work of Johannes Hohn, Hannes Becker, Remo Jacobs and Max Muench who collectively formed German Roamers. The Instagram account that has amassed over 200,000 followers thanks to the inspiring look at the landscapes, adventure and all around perfection that they feel Germany is. It’s no doubt that the foursome has brought countless new visitors to their country, proving that Germany is much more than Berlin, bratwurst and beer.
The German Roamers Instagram account is nothing short of epic. How has Germany helped create your passion for photography and style?
Since Germany is where I am located, it was the first thing to shoot when heading outdoors. I did my first landscape and nature shootings here and that is why I’d say Germany pretty much helped me create a passion for outdoor photography. The country offers quite a huge variety of interesting areas and buildings to shoot, so it was a good challenge to create new photos and images here and get to know the genre of nature photography. I think if I wouldn’t be living here it would have been a harder start into the field of capturing the outdoors.
What are you favorite three things about photographing Germany?
The variety: From a sea shore in the north, with flat lands and rough winds, to the Alps in the south, there is tons of different surroundings to shoot.
The infrastructure: The country is fairly small compared to what it has to offer shooting-wise. Each location is very easy to reach by car or even public transport. That makes it a perfect place to get a lot of shots in a fairly short amount of time.
The history: There are countless interesting and very beautiful historic places, especially castles, to explore and shoot.
If you had to recommend on region for someone on a quick three day photography trip to Germany, what area would you recommend and why?
I’d recommend the area around the Moselle River. It was where we shot our episode for the TTL feature! All of it was shot on one day, there is the most beautiful castle of Germany, Castle Eltz, just a 35-minute drive to the famous Geierlay suspension bridge and the beautiful Moselle river bend. Not far from there are even more other amazing spots to see. And the wine and food in the Moselle valley is just very good! :)
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