/Client : Porsche Panamera

/PHOTOGRAPHER: WILLIE VON RECKLINGHAUSEN
/CREATIVE DIRECTOR: NADINE KUBIS, KEMPER KOMMUNIKATION
/LOCATION: SHOT OVER 16 DAYS IN MIAMI FL, ST. PETERSBURG FL, AND CHICAGO, IL, USA

Hurricane Matthew barreled through Florida on the 4th day of production.

Miami & Miami Beach were complete ghost towns. Anyone who could evacuate, had left. Those who stayed, boarded up windows, stocked up on food supplies, and stayed next to the television watching the storm cycle approach. We all prepared for the worst, and in the meantime we danced in the rain, jumped in puddles, and sat out 2 days of permit revocation while eating the last few remaining crumbs in the hotel kitchen. We emptied all equipment from the vans and stored the gear on the third floor of the hotel, because flooding. Because water damage destroys gear. And destroyed gear, destroys productions. This was only day 4, and we had 18 more days to go.

When the storm passed, we spent 27 production hours cleaning salt off the windows of our location.

TWENTY SEVEN HOURS with 3 people working every minute. In the end, we were fortunate. The eye struck down about 100 miles north of Miami, and our region sustained very little damage. However, millions of people were without power, had lost homes, lost businesses, and were severely and permanently affected by the storm.

Believe it or not, this was the third hurricane we have worked through. We don’t stop just because Mother Earth is upset. But we work intently with our clients to help them understand the impact of these disasters on our friends, family, crew, friends of friends. Yes, we have a job to do, and yes, sometimes we lose money due to out of control weather, but lest we remember those who were not so fortunate. Who lost more than 2 days of work.