THE F1 PHOTOGRAPHER - A STEREOSCREEN PRODUCTION Rainer Schlegelmilch freezes the speed of Grand Prix racing since 1962... „Just drop by and bring your camera“. The voice booms out of the telephone. On the other end of the line it’s Rainer Schlegelmilch. We didn’t expect it to be that easy to get an appointment with one of Formula 1’s legendary photographers. For 48 years Schlegelmilch has followed the Grand Prix Circus around the globe, longer than anyone else. He started out with black and white film. Today it’s a digital camera and a Macbook. Much has changed since Jimmy Clark was racing. Natural racetracks have been replaced by architect-designed, sterile courses. Pits have morphed into surgical operation rooms. Charismatic owners have been replaced by corporate representatives of the auto industry. Drivers have retired or are now TV-commentators. Many have come and gone. But he’s still here. His life, that’s over 500 Grand Prix, thousands of memories and countless photos. Today Schlegelmilch uses them to compose impressive visual travels through time. Collages that show the radical transformation of the Formula 1 experience. The Chequered-Flag design of the floor tiles and the high ceilings seem chaotic. Shelves full of files. From A for Andretti to Z for Zanardi. A few computers - filled to the brink with five decades of motor sport. A huge scanner. A cross-trainer. A fridge – covered with various race stickers – that serves as a safe for the time- freezing camera equipment. Many pictures of Senna, Stewart and Regazzoni on the walls and in the drawers. For those interested in ice skating or horse riding the office might look a little strange but not too different. But for F1 enthusiasts this Jugend-Style villa is a kind of temple. And the Schlegemilch archive is the shrine. You could spend days reliving the golden era of Grand Prix racing. Just like Rainer Schlegelmilch sometimes does. Just like today. Just for us. He starts right at the beginning. He reminds us of the year 1962 and how a coincidence helped make him a racing photographer. DIRECTOR // TIM HAHNE PRODUCER // NICK HAHNE DoP // MARKUS BIEß MUSIC // TOUSSAINT POST PRODUCTION // STEREOSCREEN