online 5.

2010
 PHoTo: MicHAEl GREcco
welcoming
a new generation.
the haSSelblad h4d-40.

With the new H4D-40, Hasselblad is bringing ultimate image quality to an

entirely new generation of photographers.
Featuring a 40 Megapixel Medium Format sensor, our Phocus 2.0 software,
and the new True Focus AF, the H4D-40 is as easy to use as any 35mm
camera and provides the perfect entry point into the Hasselblad world.
Designed to meet the needs of the world’s most demanding high-end
photographers, the H4D-40 (starting at 12,995 EUR) gives you full access
to the entire Hasselblad range of professional lenses and features
the hasselblad h4d-40
– at whatever stage your career is at.
with true Focus technology.
So go ahead – evolve.
editorial Content

With 1500% growth last year

to the current 100 million
registered users, and a communi-
cation flow of 4 billion tweets in
the last quarter, the popularity
of twitter is beyond any doubt.
At the same time 400 million users upload 14 million
photos a day onto Facebook. So it’s no surprise that
the growing social media infrastructure, including
twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, is being used as
Steve McCurry tests
a platform for improved communication and dialog
the H4D-40 in Thai-
between modern companies and their end-users.
land. The cover image
At Hasselblad USA we’re now taking this to a new
as well as this picture
level: We’re not only using these networks to enhance
taken in an elephant
communications on a global scale, but also at the
sanctuary (right) are
local level, by linking Hasselblad owners to Hasselblad part of the series
communities in their area. If you look at our website
www.hassyusa.com, you’ll notice that we’ve created
a nice and handy gateway for Hasselblad users to 4 >> News
become global, as well as linking them to their local
TIPA Award 2010: an international jury of experts chooses
Hasselblad communities. To accelerate the process,
Hasselblad has put a show on the road. Our Three
Hasselblad’s new H4D-40 as Best Medium Format D-System
Stage Tour Events, scheduled for several locations in Three Stage Tour: With successful events in New York, LA
the US, are being followed, talked about and and Chicago, the Three Stage Tour through America has begun
enriched by local communities. What’s more, very
successfully. Our first event in New York, communi-
cated via and adopted by our hassyNYC community,
attracted over 2000 photographers – from 35mm to
6 >> Steve McCurry
medium format. They not only took the opportunity Renowned American photo journalist, Steve McCurry,
to shoot with the latest Hasselblad gear, but were also was on the road with Hasselblad’s H4D-40 in the
able to discuss results and workflows with experts, north Thai province of Chiang Mai. He took sensitive and
fellow-shooters and the manufacturer – on location,
unfiltered portraits – of people and elephants.
as well as on relevant social media platforms.
The Three Stage Tour events in LA and Chicago were
just as successful as the New York start, and more
will be following in short succession: San Francisco, 20 >> Alessandro dobici
Washington, Atlanta, etc. So, don’t miss out – check Registered users of the Hasselblad Owners’ Club site have
hassyUSA or hassyNYC for details. chosen an image by the Italian photographer as first Photo of the
Having talked about the beauty of local commu­
Month. At VICTOR online, he introduces some of his most beau-
nities, let’s now get back to the big picture. Here
at Hasselblad, we’re very proud that our latest tiful shots and explains why he loves the portrait genre so much.
inno­vation – the Hasselblad H4D-40 – has received
this year’s TIPA award for best medium format DSLR
2010. Hasselblad USA takes pride in this, because 24 >> Benjamin A. Monn
TIPA is no longer an exclusively European award.
He has an unusual sense for shapes, colors and details: German
By opening up to international jurors it has become
truly global.
architecture photographer Benjamin A. Monn, a former
The Hasselblad Owners’ Club (HOC) is also Hasselblad Master, reveals the essence of a building, while also
truly global, allowing an on-line exchange to happen keeping its relationship to its surroundings in view.
between Hasselblad users all over the world. At the
end of March, registered users selected the Photo of
the Month for the first time – a picture taken by
Alessandro Dobici. The Italian is also the first HOC
34 >> preview
winner to be introduced on VICTOR online – starting Dubai-based photographer, Fares El Jammal, has photographed
page 20. In the June issue this new segment will Abu Dhabi’s gigantic leisure island, Yas Island, with a
bring you pictures by Nikola Borrisov – whose photo Hasselblad H3DII-50. The aerial photographs show precise
has just been chosen as Photo of the Month of May.
graphic compositions with colorful highlights.
Congratulations!
I hope you enjoy this latest edition
of VICTOR online.

Yours, Tom Oelsen,

Hasselblad US Managing Director

ONLINE 5/2010 3
 victornEWS
Tipa award 2010 Hassy USA
H4D-40 Best Medium Three Stage Tour
format d-system on the road
impressed by the improvements to Hasselblad’s Three Stage US Tour and Three Stage Tour
True Focus and APL, which the ex­ HassyUSA community platforms are a Schedule 2010
perts agree, “makes auto-focus easier major success story. With Hasselblad’s San Francisco: May 6th
and more accurate for photo pro­ newly formed HassyNYC commu­ Washington DC: June 10th
fessionals. The H4D series has been nity spreading the word, the Three Toronto: July 15th
designed to meet the demands of Stage Tour attracted 2,000 photogra­ Atlanta: September 9th
high-end commercial photographers phers to New York. In LA, HassyLA Miami: October 7th
who require the ultimate in both im­ assembled hundreds of photogra­ New York City: October 2010
age quality and performance.” phers, as did HassyCHI in Chicago.
Hasselblad CEO, Larry Hansen, The tour continues to San Francisco,
is very proud of the award. “We are Washington DC, Toronto/Canada, At­
honored to receive this prestigious lanta, Miami and back to New York.
award and proud of the company’s The events feature three active
achievements. The H4D-40 not only sets, where photographers can get
meets the needs of the established hands-on experience with the latest
community of Hasselblad profes­ Hasselblad H4D and its True Focus
sionals, but also introduces 35mm technology, and check out the cam­

Photos: Matthew Welch; www.matthewwelchphotography.com; www.milkstudios.com

DSLR photographers to the benefits eras in a studio setting. Live shoots
of Medium Format photography, in­ let 35mm photographers see what
cluding advances in image quality. medium format DSLR is all about.
Based on the H4D-40’s overall suc­ After the sessions, images are pro­
cess, Hasselblad has stayed true to cessed with Phocus, Hasselblad’s
one of its founders’ core values – the imaging software. In between there’s
courage to set extreme standards for room to speak with Hasselblad
product development and the ability photographers and experts. Hassy­
to make it happen.”
The TIPA Awards’ jury of TIPA has named the H4D-40 “Best Improvements in the H4D-40 have
international experts has named Medium Format D-System” camera been integrated into Hasselblad’s
Hasselblad’s new H4D-40 of 2010 – the second year in a row for existing H technology, with all
“Best Medium Format D-System” a Hasselblad camera. The 29 interna­ the advantages of previous models
camera of the year 2010 tional photo magazines making up finding a place in the new camera:
TIPA were convinced by its innova­ Digital Auto Correction, the Natural
tion, use of leading-edge technology, Color System, and Phocus software.
handling, design and ergonomics, The H4D-40 is a tool that combines
and price/performance ratio. The maximum image quality, increased
H4D-40 has completely overhauled compositional options, and easy-
electronics, a 3 inch screen, and a to-use but sophisticated camera
noticeably faster auto-focus system, technology, thus making it appeal­
enabling the latest True Focus Tech­ ing to 35 mm photographers.
nology with APL (Absolute Position TIPA is a consortium of European ed- USA communities allow members to Hasselblad Master August
Lock). The TIPA jury was particularly itors and magazines founded in 1991. share images, and provide an open Bradley (right) interviewed
In recent years, the association ac­ forum for discussion, regardless by Resource Magazine at
cepted members from non-European of the type of camera used. A team the Three Stage Tour event in
countries. The technical expertise and of professio­nals, along with the Los Angeles (top). Image by
evaluation criteria of its members make community, choose a feature pho­ Matthew Welch, taken at a live
TIPA much appreciated in the field. ■ tographer each month. Each winner shoot with an H4D-40
www.tipa.com will receive an H4D to shoot with for
30 days and share his or her images
and experien­ces on the local Hassy
site. At the end of the nine-month
competition, members will decide
which member of their community
is to compete in “The Battle of the
Hassys” to win an H4D camera. ■
www.hassyusa.com
www.threestagetour.com
The new True Focus Technology
www.resourcemagonline.com
with APL convinced TIPA experts
(above). Hassleblad CEO, Larry
Hansen (ri.), is proud of the award
and the recipient – the H4D-40

4 ONLINE 5/2010
 From the global leader of flash memory cards

© Claudia Goetzelmann

“The best camera systems in the world require the best compact flash
solution. With the launch of the new H4D-40, Hasselblad has looked
to the SanDisk Extreme® Pro™ CompactFlash® cards as the best choice
for reliability and speed, creating a perfect blend of the world’s best
digital technology.”

–Mark Duhaime, 90 MB/second 60 MB/second

capacities up to 64 GB capacities up to 32 GB
VP Marketing, Hasselblad USA

www.sandisk.com

*up to 90 MB/sec read/write speed for Extreme Pro; up to 60 MB/sec for Extreme. Speeds based on SanDisk internal testing performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes x=150 KB/sec. 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion
bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage. 10 year warranty in Germany and regions not recognizing Lifetime limited warranty. © 2010 SanDisk Corporation . All rights reserved. SanDisk, the SanDisk logo, CompactFlash and SanDisk Extreme are trade-
marks of SanDisk Corporation. Registered in the U.S. and other countries. SanDisk Extreme Pro and Power Core are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation
Steve
mccurry
His sensitive portraits re-
flect the very essence of
being human, presenting
those portrayed in a nat-
ural and unfiltered light.
The American photo jour-
nalist, Steve McCurry,
recently spent a week in
northern Thailand, where
he put the new H4D-40
to the test. The result
is a series of brilliantly
colorful and captivating
images – fleeting moments
captured in time.

His sensitive, well composed

but authentic portraits have made
him famous around the world.
Steve McCurry photographed this
Thai girl in Chiang Mai province
in northern Thailand

6 ONLINE 5/2010
8 ONLINE 5/2010
Steve McCurry, visited an el-
ephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai
province where he captured some
very special moments. “I love the
interaction between animals and
humans,” he explains. “Despite
their size, elephants seem to have
an innate elegance and dignity.”

ONLINE 5/2010 9
 It’s no surprise that McCurry
captures such unselfconscious por-
traits. “The first thing I do when I
approach people is to see them and
relate to them as real people, not as
quaint or foreign. If you can relate to
people and establish some rapport,
people respond and open up.”

10 ONLINE 5/2010
ONLINE 5/2010 11
12 ONLINE 5/2010
This self-absorbed couple seems
oblivious to the photographer’s
presence. “I always try to be as
unobtrusive as possible and carry
a minimum of equipment. Often,
you have to be patient and wait until
people decide to look somewhere
else or get bored with you.”

ONLINE 5/2010 13
 One of Steve McCurry’s talents
is his intuitive recognition of the
perfect moment, where 30 years
of experience also come to his aid.
“You get more experienced, so
you recognize these really great
moments,” McCurry explains

14 ONLINE 5/2010
ONLINE 5/2010 15
16 ONLINE 5/2010
“I have always been fascinated
by elephants and photograph them
any chance I get,” the American
photo journalist, Steve McCurry,
explains. “They have the power to
crush you at any moment but they
are extremely gentle animals.”

ONLINE 5/2010 17
Portfolio Steve Mccurry

could have in my camera bag,” Mc-

Curry, who has been working with
Hasselblad cameras for years, remem­
bers. And he really does have to con-
sider carefully what to put in his cam-
era bag, as he lugs it around wherever
he goes searching for motifs. “For me
photography is more about wander-
ing and exploring, human stories
and unusual serendipitous moments,
that make some interesting com-
ment about life on this planet,” he
explains. “It’s all intuitive and reflex-
ive. You’re never sure of the move-
ment because you’re always looking
and anticipating. You’re never sure
when the moment is right. You shoot
a lot of moments because you never
know when the situation will either
peak or evaporate.”
After a week travelling through
Chiang Mai, where he photographed
both passers-by in the capital city’s
parks and visitors to temple com-
plexes, as well as elephants and their
keepers in an elephant sanctuary,
McCurry was delighted with the
H4D-40. “I think that a Hasselblad
really performs the best when you’re
looking for optimum quality. I think
that the feature that distinguishes
a Hasselblad from any other hand-
held camera is the capability to en-
large the picture and to get the most
The picture of the elephant and The image of Sharbat Gula, an Af- incredible sharpness possible.” After
a man in a tree (above) is Steve ghani girl that Steve McCurry pho- a week with the H4D-40, McCurry,
McCurry’s favorite shot from his tographed in a refugee camp in 1985, who mostly prefers to use an 80mm
one-week journey through north- is now part of humanity’s collective lens, is sure that he wants to work
ern Thailand. It was taken with consciousness. The American photo with the camera in the future. “The
Hasselblad’s H4D-40, as was journalist has been showered with H4D-40 is an excellent field camera.
the sensitively lit portrait of the awards for his work in conflict areas It also affords me the opportunity to
young girl on the right around the world – including nu- increase my images to very large sizes.
merous 1st Prizes for the World Press I’m currently working on a project
Photo Contest, and the Robert Capa that involves 3 meter prints. The qua­
Gold Medal for Best Photographic Re- lity and clarity of Hasselblad cameras
porting from Abroad. With touching is unmatched for prints of that size.”
color photographs, McCurry man- Steve McCurry was also confront-
ages to capture the very essence of ed with large dimensions in the el-
being human, whether in moments ephant sanctuary. “Despite their size,
of joy or suffering. “I look for the un- elephants seem to have an innate el-
guarded moment, the essential soul egance and dignity. They have the
peeking out, experience etched on a power to crush you at any moment
person’s face,” McCurry explains. but they are extremely gentle ani-
Over the past 30 years, Steve Mc- mals,” he muses. While photograph-
Curry has spent a lot of time taking ing the massive animals, McCurry
pictures in Asia – and northern Thai- did have a moment of concern. Put-
land is one of his favorite places. The ting his camera bag on the ground,
warm light, the saturated colors of he wandered off down the trail only
nature, and the bright clothing the to discover, when he turned round,
people wear, create the perfect back- that a number of elephants were us-
drop for his sensitive and natural ing the same trail – heading directly
portraits. This is why McCurry chose for the bag. “I watched in panic as
the north Thai province of Chiang the elephants gingerly walked over
Mai to put the new Hasselblad H4D- the bag but were very careful not to
40 through its paces. actually step on it.”
“The first time I looked through a
Hasselblad camera, there was a spe-
cial quality to just looking through
the lens. I knew that I was holding
something that was the best tool I

18 ONLINE 5/2010
ONLINE 5/2010 19
20 ONLINE 5/2010
 HOC
Hasselblad
Owners’ Club
4/2010

Alessandro Dobici
Members of the Hasselblad Owners’ Club have chosen a picture
by Alessandro Dobici as Photo of the Month. Introducing the Italian
portrait photographer and his aesthetic world!

Alessandro Dobici was strongly in-

fluenced by his family: when he was
just seven years old, he took a picture
of his mother and, in the process,
discovered a fascination for pho-
tography; his brothers gave him his
first camera when he was 19. At 23,
Dobici decided to turn professional.
“I realized that taking pictures was
the most important, rewarding and
beautiful way of expressing myself,”
the 39 year-old, who has become a
renowned portrait photographer,
explains. Football player, Francesco
Totti, actor, Giancarlo Giannini
(photo, this page, bottom left) and
director, Bigas Luna, are among the
celebrities whose faces he has im-
mortalised. Dobici took the nostal-
gic, dreamy fashion photo that ap-
pears on the left hand page. It was
part of an ad campaign for the Ital-
ian fashion label, Grimaldi Giardina,
and users of the Hasselblad Owners’
Club site have chosen it as Photo of
the Month. The photo was taken
with a Hasselblad H1 equipped with
an 80mm lens. Remaining faithful
to portraiture, Dobici is currently
taking pictures of actors for a large
book project. Explaining his love for
the genre he says, “Making portraits
creates a special contact with people
during a session. You come to under-
stand them a lot.” This understand-
ing and sensitivity is clearly reflected
in Dobici’s pictures.

Vita: Born in Rome/Italy in 1970; free-

lance photographer since 1995. His
clients include Sony, BMG and Virgin.
He has worked with important agen-
cies such as Leagas Delaney, Arman-
do Testa and Saatchi & Saatchi.

www.alessandrodobici.com
www.hasselblad.com/hoc

ONLINE 5/2010 21
 HOC
Hasselblad
Owners’ Club
4/2010

22 ONLINE 5/2010
Hasselblad Master portfolio

Architecture

Benjamin A. Monn

German photographer, Benjamin

Anthony Monn, captures the shapes,
details and colors of buildings, as
well as the clever interplay of light
and shadow, in artistic and sugges-
tively abstract pictures. The 31 year-
old photographed the uniqueness of
contemporary architecture as his in-
terpretation of “Passion” for the first
Hasselblad Masters Book. The im-
ages, some of which you will find on
the following pages, show that Monn
strives to extract the bare elements of
architectural style and so reveals the
personal signature of the architect.
For this purpose, Monn studied the
history of contemporary European
buildings, familiarized himself with
existing photographs, and spent
time in and around the buildings.
Establishing his own personal con-
nection to them, he manages to in-
corporate the relationship between
buildings and their surroundings
into his photography. “I try to high-
light the essential component of the
architecture, focusing on elements
unnoticed at a quick glance,” Monn
explains. For the past year Monn has
been working on the ENDOR project.
He photographs abstract construc-
tions such as observatories, satellite/
radar facilities, and solar fields – in
other words, buildings where form
follows function. The image he took
of a radar installation standing next
to a little chapel by the idyllic Lake
Chiemsee in Bavaria/Germany, em-
phasises the fact that these buildings
often appear like strange objects in
the landscape. It could have come
from another planet, like a space ship
on the forest moon of Endor in the
Star Wars movie – thus the name for
the still ongoing project!

www.benjaminmonn.com
www.hasselblad.com

24 ONLINE 5/2010
Right page, left page top and
bottom right: City of Arts and
Sciences building, Valencia/Spain;
left page, bottom left: car park
in Hanover/Germany

ONLINE 5/2010 25
 Left page: Philosophy Library
in Berlin/Germany. Architect, Lord
Norman Foster; right page: BMW
World in Munich/Germany. Archi-
tects, Coop Himmelb(l)au

ONLINE 5/2010 27
28 ONLINE 5/2010
Left page: Hungerburgbahn in
Innsbruck/Austria. Architect,
Zaha Hadid; right page: TU Library
in Cottbus/Germany. Architect,
Herzog & De Meuron

ONLINE 5/2010 29
30 ONLINE 5/2010
 The floodlit Guggenheim mu-
seum in Bilbao, northern Spain.
Architect, Frank O. Gehry;
following page: Campo de
Volantin bridge, Bilbao/Spain.
Architect, Santiago Calatrava
32 ONLINE 5/2010
 Next victor online: 1 June 2010
Be surprised by inspiring portfolios,
keep up-to-date with the most significant
photographic trends and read leading
news for the photography community.
On June 1st, 2010, check your monitor for
the next issue of VICTOR online.

fares el jammal
>> Colorful and graphic – perfectly com-
posed aerial shots of Yas Island

Andrej Kopac
>> Captivating and inspiring images
by the Canadian fashion specialist

Imprint

HOC
>> Discover the aesthetic world of VICTOR online | 5/2010 Realization: IDC Corporate Publishing GmbH,

the photographer who took

www.victorbyhasselblad.com Hamburg, Germany
[email protected] All articles and illustrations contained in

the Hasselblad Owners’ Club photo Publisher:

Stephan Bittner, Center of Service GmbH
the online magazine are subject to the laws
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of the month: Nikola Borrisov Hasselblad Publishing House /Advertising:

Center of Service GmbH
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5/2010 Tel.: + 49.40.25 40 48-69 (Fax: - 40)

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Items and topics in the next issue of VICTOR online may be Manager Hasselblad: Christian Nørgaard Hasselblad A/S, Denmark. Place of jurisdiction
changed or post-poned due to editorial or other reasons. [email protected] and execution: Hamburg, Germany

34 ONLINE 5/2010