In March this year, Aglaja Brix and Florian Maas were inspired by the beauty of the sparse landscape of the volcanic island of Lanzarote, which resulted in the multi-faceted road trip story ‘Off Season’. The styles they used from the slow fashion collections, fit the subject like a glove. Off season double pack.

‘Off Season’ was photographed on Lanzarote, one of the rawest of the Canary Islands. Why did you choose that island? What is it about the place that impresses you?
We love the Canary Islands, though Lanzarote and Fuerteventura were always our favourites. As the question suggests, Lanzarote has that unique volcanic landscape, the black stone that stretches all over the island; and it was on this Canary island that the last volcanic eruption took place. In contrast, juicy green vegetation grows there in springtime; and there are the little white houses, which create a very particular picture among all the islands – very classy.
We were also drawn to Lanzarote this time because we had landed a job there, and we were also planning the editorial for the Leica S magazine. Quite simply, Lanzarote offered a great mix of primary, craggy landscape, and wonderfully bright villages, that fit so perfectly for our photo shoot for this collection.

The series is very long and offers a great diversity of locations. Was the shoot intuitive and left to chance, or did you time it all very meticulously?
We photographed the ‘Off Season’ series within two days. We already knew the island from previous trips, so we did have a couple of places in mind; but, on the whole, the series arose rather intuitively. We simply followed the road, the weather, and our feelings – a sort of road trip to various locations, whereby sometimes the journey was the reward. ;)

This time, you, Aglaja, were the model, while Florian was the only one taking pictures. The outcome is great; but how did this distribution of work come about?
Thank you, that’s very nice to hear. We went on the road trip on our own, taking advantage of the days before our model was to arrive! After all, Aglaja is not exactly lacking in experience in front of the camera, and even though Flo created the final image, one can say that the whole concept remains a case of team work.

You took care of the styling yourselves. Where did the clothes come from? Did you get them over there, or did you drag them all the way from Berlin?
We brought it all from Berlin; or rather, it was all sent to Berlin before the trip so that we could add it to our luggage.
Because we knew that Lanzarote has so many beautiful locations, and that we had time and a wish to create another series beyond the official campaign, we immediately knew we had to make use of the opportunity.

Do you also use ‘Off Season’ to tell a story? What’s it about?
The series is supposed to be a road trip story, that revolves around the island landscapes and loneliness. The name can be interpreted at various levels. For a start we were on the island during the off season (which is also evident), and on the other hand it makes reference to the styling. Many of the items of clothing came from fair-trade fashion labels that don’t bring out a number of collections every season. Slow fashion rather than fast fashion, and low season rather than high season.

Once again, you worked with the S. Your already used it extensively for fashion and portraits early on. Is the S also appropriate for landscape photography?
Of course. With its high resolution and great lenses, the S is perfectly appropriate for landscape pictures. The colours coming right out of the camera are so beautiful that there is not much tweaking to do. It’s not only great for fashion but also, precisely, for landscape images as well.

Which lens do you favour and why?
We really like to use the 35mm lens for fashion photography, because it has got such a wide angle, and it also has a great look. For beauty spots, however, there is no better lens than a 120mm – it makes it really fun. From one extreme to the other! ;)

This is not the first time we have published your work. In the meantime, has your photography changed? Has there been an evolution?
Whew, that’s a tough question. An outsider would probably do a better job than us at judging that. For sure, our work has probably become more fluid and quicker, and the eye has become more experienced – as they say, you never stop learning.  
We can only confirm something we definitely put into our storytelling right from the beginning and that we’ll retain, and that’s that individual beauty and portrait shots, as well as stills, are a very important mix for us within a fashion series.

You’re leaving for Dubai pretty much imminently. What’s going on there?
We’ve being given a unique opportunity to do a photo shoot in an amazing location, for the largest English-language, (fashion) magazine in Dubai. We can’t say anything else for the moment, but we’ll be revealing the secret on instagram when the time comes. We’re really excited about it!