GNTHER RAUPP CAPTURES THE BEAUTY OF FERRARI IN EVERY WAY

Florian Kresse meets G nther Raupp, who has shot the photos for Ferrari's legendary calendar for more than 30 years, but next years digital version will have a whole new dimension: Its audible as well as visual.

FK : G nther, you are a photographer, artist and creative mastermind. Please give us a short description of your career progression and your creative works.

GR : That's hard for me to describe. I studied Painting and Art History at the State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart and already had some exhibitions of my painting at that time. Then there was my quick start with photography at the Art Academy and then I moved to audiovisual media. The connection of unconventional photography to music and movement was very fascinating to me.

The Stuttgart State Gallery is the most famous art institute in the southwest of Germany. The institute invited me to create some audiovisual artwork on Venice while I was a student. I presented this over eight months in an individual exhibition.

Afterwards, I became self-employed, creating audiovisual media. The productions for my first client Knoll were so spectacular that other renowned companies immediately booked me: AEG, BASF and Kodak, to name just a few.

After two years, the first automobile clients: FIAT, Lancia, Porsche and Jaguar started contacting me.

I was more and more in demand as an automobile advertising photographer. In Europe and America, I have just about the entire automobile alphabet on my reference list. From A for Audi, B for Buick up to V for Volvo. During my life, I worked for months in Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles, for example. Of course, you taste blood when your own personal style and creativity are in demand even over there [in the United States].

FK : That sounds exciting. How did you get started with Ferrari and how long have you been working for them?

GR : Ferrari is haute cuisine that's where I want to go if automobiles are my subject.

Already very early on, in the summer of 1984, I had photographed my first Ferrari calendar on my own initiative and had it printed, bound and processed which would be suicide today in terms of trademark law.

However, at that time, I sent a sample of this first edition to Enzo Ferrari who immediately answered and thanked me with lots of good wishes from the Commendatore and a just keep at it, young man!

The rest is well known: the famous Italian sports car producer soon put a contract on the table with the proposal that I should create the official Ferrari calendar from then on. So, photography, graphic design, and overall production monitoring. The 2018 calendar is my 34th Ferrari calendar in a continuous unbroken stretch since 1984.

FK : Your focus has been on photography how come audio now too?

GR : Every Ferrari is a complete work of art with a wide, unbelievably sensual range! Of course, it looks captivatingly beautiful. But the sound when the engine accelerates gives goose bumps and the intense scent of racing and sports cars is a pure seductive perfume!

As an artist, I have wanted to convey this multichannel fascination for a long time, with my Ferrari calendars. Now, in the 2018 printed calendar, you can smell the perfume of Ferrari. The digital Ferrari calendar app is being launched in the new year, which offers an Italian opera of engine sounds for enjoyment.

There are only about a dozen experienced sound engineers that specialize in recording vehicles in action. They are based in Sweden, Denmark, Australia, and, of course, in Hollywood. Obviously, I transfer the quality I achieved as a Ferrari photographer on the sound recordings of the engines. I mean to bring out those goose bumps I mentioned previously in my recordings.

FK : You haven't exactly set yourself a small task. That's no small challenge. How did you hit upon DPA Microphones?

GR : As always, it's these two components: first, people with passion and, second, technology that makes what's in our minds possible.

Thomas Hemming, a friend, audio engineer, and owner of the Soundhouse 7 studio, was instantly ablaze. He contributed the technical competence. We experimented with various recording constellations with a number of Ferraris and achieved a different result each time.

Then Thomas Dich and the DPA products came into play. From then on, the project took off. I can say that it's ultimately thanks to your cooperation and the testing options for the various DPA mics that we reached such surprisingly good results so quickly.

I'm a fan of essential decisions. As a photographer, I rely on the best camera and therefore only use my Hasselblad during Ferrari shootings. This is the attitude I've now transferred to DPA in terms of sound recording.

FK : Which microphones by DPA have you used and why?

GR : Due to the raw recording conditions, I chose miniature condenser mics. Moreover, because the recordings took place under racetrack conditions, the ability to affix the microphones onto the vehicles was paramount to the project. The compactness of the technology was decisive and that's why we concentrated on the DPA d:screet series of microphones.

As I already said, the great results were possible thanks to your excellent support! We were able to test the d:dicate 4007A, d:dicate 4017 Shotgun, and d:screet 4062 mic types on different Ferraris. The decision fell on the d:screet 4062 with a level of attenuation, necessary because of the, to some extent, exorbitant loudness very near to the exhaust and even in the engine compartment of the Ferraris.

In situations where the mics could not be affixed to the running vehicle, I decided on the d:dicate 4017 Shotgun as the absolutely universal and reliable workhorses. The shotgun was used in situations like the launch of a Ferrari from a standing position, while passing, or following

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