driving Mercedes trucks, along with the
drivers’ children, and the vehicles they rely
on. The idea, Schoeller says, was to show
that the kids “admire their parents for what
they do and love the trucks, and might want
to be truck drivers themselves.”
Mercedes “wanted to have a photogra-
pher who concentrates more on the per-
son than the cars,” which is why Schoeller
was such a great choice for the project,
Gehrmann explains.
“I liked that it was being printed in high
quality and that people would have them
on their wall for a long stretches of time,”
Schoeller says, “not just see [the portraits]
flipping through a magazine.”
A crew rigged an old warehouse with
great natural light in Berlin to serve as a
photo studio. Over the course of four days,
Schoeller shot three subjects a day with
their trucks. Being challenged to light the
trucks, Schoeller says, is part of what drew
the portrait photographer to the project.
Schoeller also liked the gritty old floor
in the factory building, the fact that the
photographs would be black-and-white,
and that they were “keeping the trucks in a
working state rather than polishing them.”
The goal was to convey a sense of authenticity, “like the drivers just drove in
with their trucks and had their pictures
taken.” The lighting was challenging,
but Schoeller and his crew were able to
light individual parts of the vehicles, and
those plates were then stitched together
in post.
Shooting the trucks was a new experience for Schoeller, which is what makes
his work interesting, he says. “I like the
many different opportunities I’m given
and the wide spectrum of photography.”
He also appreciated that the agency and
client felt his involvement made the project something special. “They were really
giddy about me doing the whole thing, so
it was really nice,” he says.
© Martin Schoeller/Vaughan hannigan
MartiN Schoeller: “i likeD that [the
caleNDar] waS beiNg PriNteD iN high
quality aND that PeoPle woulD have
theM oN their wall for loNg StretcheS
of tiMe, Not juSt See [the PortraitS]
fliPPiNg through a MagaziNe.”
© Martin Schoeller/Vaughan hannigan
