The 2012 Lavazza Calendar Reunites 12 Masters of Photography.

above: cover for 2012 Lavazza Calendar by Ellen von Unwerth

The 2012 Lavazza Calendar


The Lavazzers is the name of the twentieth edition of the Lavazza Calendar, which in celebration of such an important event reunites 12 of the masters of photography that helped to make the Lavazza Calendar such a success over the years: Erwin Olaf, Thierry Le Gouès, Miles Aldridge, Marino Parisotto, Eugenio Recuenco, Elliott Erwitt, Finlay MacKay, Mark Seliger, Annie Leibovitz, Albert Watson, David LaChapelle, Ellen von Unwerth.



They put themselves enthusiastically into play, celebrating their most intimate relationships with the Lavazza coffee through self-portraits. The 12 photographers, just like any closely knit team, were led by the Armando Testa agency, which was in charge of producing also this edition of the Lavazza Calendar and was art-directed by Fabio Novembre. The photographers interpreted themselves in innovative, unusual and imaginative shots.

January:

ERWIN OLAF
LOCATION: Studio Erwin Olaf, Amsterdam
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Wouter van Gens, Alessandro Pisano
STYLISTS: Monica Petit & Maartje Wevers
MAKE-UP ARRIST: Annemiek Bohnenn
SET DESIGN: Floris Vos
MODELS: Tabarra Diop, Irene Hoek, Jason King, Sefton Clarke, Chantal Hanse, Lotte Valk
POST PRODUCTION: Wieger Poutsma, Fisk-Imaging

February:

THIERRY LE GOUÈS
LOCATION: Upper East Studio, Paris
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Benoit Palluel
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Audrey Gautier
MODEL: Sahara Koné
POST PRODUCTION: Bepong

March:

MILES ALDRIDGE (see Miles Aldridge's 2010 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Big Sky Studios, London
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Benjamin Madgwick, Tom Moran, Daniel Smith
STYLIST: Cathy Kasterine
MODEL: Ruby Aldridge
HAIR STYLIST: Kerry Warn
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Alice Ghendrih
SET DESIGN: Andy Hillman
POST PRODUCTION: Tapestry

April:

MARINO PARISOTTO
LOCATION: Alassio
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Silvio Repetto
STYLIST: Maky Hanykova
HAIR STYLIST & MAKE-UP ARTIST: Gianni Di Muro
MODELS: Katerina, Kristina H, Olena, Tereza
COSTUMES: La Perla, Verde Veronica, Verdissima, Via Uno, Mario Valentino, Sartoria De Valle

May:

EUGENIO RECUENCO
LOCATION: Eric Dover Studio, Madrid
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Pedro Galan, Dani Torres, Camilo Germain
STYLIST: Eugenio Recuenco
HAIR STYLIST & MAKE-UP ARTIST: Lewis Amarante
SET DESIGN: Eric Dover
POST PRODUCTION: Paz Otero, Focal Imagen

June:

ELLIOTT ERWITT
LOCATION: Central Park, New York City
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Mio Nakamura

July:

FINLAY MACKAY (see Finlay Mackay's 2008 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Film Plus Studios, London
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Jake Green
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Bill Turpin
SET DESIGN: Matt Duddleston
POST PRODUCTION: Box New York

August:

MARK SELIGER (see Mark Seliger's 2011 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Mark Seliger Studio, New York City
HAIR STYLIST: Zaiya Latt
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Regine Thorre
MODEL: Misty Copeland
POST PRODUCTION: Printed at Norkin Digital Art, Ltd

September:

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ (see Annie Leibovitz' 2009 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Plano, Illinois

October:

ALBERT WATSON
LOCATION: 69 Gansevoort Street, New York City
HAIR STYLIST & MAKE-UP ARTIST: Trevor Bowden
MODEL: Breaunna

November:

DAVID LACHAPELLE
LOCATION: Hana, Hawaii
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Drew Dawson, Tyson Lee Smyer, Jacob Schmidt
HAIR STYLIST: Larry McDaniel
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Sharon Gault
SET DESIGN: Henric Nieminen

December:

Inside back cover:

ELLEN VON UNWERTH
LOCATION: Chez Regine, Paris
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Joris Rossi, Yvan Gherman, Jerome Vivet
STYLIST: Joanna Schlenzka
HAIR STYLIST: Ed Moeland
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Cathyanne McAllister
MODEL (COVER): Valerie van der Graaf

CALENDAR CREDITS
SUPERVISION & COORDINATION
Lavazza Corporate Image - Advertising Department
CREATIVE PROJECT: Armando Testa
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Michele Mariani
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Andrea Lantelme
COPYWRITER: Federico Bonenti

CON TE PARTIRO’ CREDITS
ART DIRECTION: Fabio Novembre
CATALOGUE: Onlab
PROJECT MAPPING: Apparati Effimeri
DIGITAL PROJECT: Neotokio!
POST PRODUCTION: Garret Suhrie
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Nick Rogers, Matthias Gaggl

The Exhibit
The 2012 Lavazza Calendar is accompanied by an exhibition at the Triennale di Milano – Teatro dell’Arte which takes a look at all the Lavazza calendars for the past 20 years:

The exhibit and installation, LAVAZZA CON TE PARTIRO’, was also art directed by Fabio Novembre and includes the following:

all information and images courtesy of Lavazza and Fabio Novembre

View an interactive look at 20 years of Lavazza calendars here

Erwin Olaf: Elevating Retail Photography To Art Worth Collecting.

Above: The Egg vase by Moooi, shot by Erwin olaf

As an advertising art director, one mentally creates lists of 'blue sky' directors and photographers with whom they wish to work. Erwin Olaf is one of the photographers whose work I've admired for a long time and, along with Eugenio Recuenco, tops my list as the most lust-worthy photographers.

Just shy of 50 years old, Olaf was born in the Netherlands, lives and works in Amsterdam and has received several awards and has had many exhibitions of his works all over the world.

He's an incredibly versatile talent and can shoot everything from fashion, product, people, and more, all imbued with an artful eerieness and uniquely composed. Some of his work is overtly sexual, some incredibly macabre, and some almost heart-breaking. But all of it is beautiful.

He's shot for everything from Diesel to Nicorette, fashion editorials for Elle and the NY Times, lifestyle shots for Campbell's and Kohler, retail for Microsoft and Moooi and so much more.

I first discovered him when I came across his incredible product photography for Moooi, which he has done for the past 3 years. Often shooting such products as lights, vases and chairs results in a predictable shot. Not with Olaf. Here are just a few examples of that work:








In addition to his commissioned work for ad agencies and clients, he has many personal series and collections (often shown in galleries worldwide) from which I've pulled a few pieces to share with you.

Blacks:


Grief:


Royal Blood:


Some shots from his latest work; Laboral Escena, Gijon, Spain:


I also wanted to show you, in detail, his digitally manipulated photography for a fashion photo editorial of couture clothing for the NY Times in 2006. In the shots shown below, you can see how the models 'meld' with their surroundings. Despite this unconventional way of shooting fashion, the unusual poses do not detract from the clothing and yet the photography now stands out from other fashion shots as original and memorable.

Chanel:

detail:

Valentino:

detail:

Dior:

detail:

Gaultier:

detail:

Versace:

detail:

Lacroix:

detail:

Armani:


There's lots more to see, so check it out.
Erwin Olaf's website.

IJSELSTRAAT 26-28
1078 CJ
AMSTERDAM
TEL.: +31 20 692 34 38
FAX: +31 20 694 12 91
INFO@ERWINOLAF.COM

My other fave? Check out Eugenio Recuenco's work here.