ADLER Magazine 2017

Pignater bought a camera and started
perfectionist who obsesses over com-
is there. Incredible pictures of the natural
guests as well. That’s why I consider
taking shots. Without any prior knowl-
position and unconventional viewpoints,
surroundings are also a common theme.
our photo book to be more of a per-
edge, or any particular goal, everywhere
who likes to use oblique angles and, in
Alpine meadows shrouded in mist.
sonal diary told in pictures’. You could
he went. One day, a friend said: ‘You
his own words, enjoys ‘taking photogra-
Bewitching light over mountain summits.
also call it a photographic declaration
should meet Arik, he lives in Laion too.
phy to the limit, preferably shooting into
Huts, snowdrifts, forest, ditches. The
of love to a special hotel, the Alpe di
He takes brilliant photos and could teach
the light, for instance’. And there we
magnificent panorama of the Sassolungo
Siusi and the Dolomites, even though it
you some techniques’. The pair met, they
have Pignater, who allows himself to be
and Sassopiatto at all times of the day
resolutely avoids all sentimentality and
got on. Hannes and Arik became friends.
swept along by emotions, who loves and
and in all seasons.
clichés. When he takes guests on guid-
So, as they sat looking at the snapshots
seeks action. Here is a quiet, reflective
ed photo walks, Arik likes to explain
from ‘Noma’, Pignater said: ‘It’d be cool
man, who can spend hours searching for
These images then ended up on Face-
this to them: ‘Blue sky and romantic
to do some photography as ambitious as
a crooked old alpine hut or a lone Swiss
book, where they attracted a lot of
photographic vistas are the most bor-
this together some time’.
pine standing in the snow. There is an
attention and universal praise. That was
ing things on earth for a photographer’.
Small coincidences are often needed for
impulsive guy who takes an instinctive
until the next coincidence happened,
big plans to succeed. In this case, several
and ardent approach to life.
when German ski legends Christian
Oberrauch’s favourite behind-the-
happened all at once. The first is that
According to Pignater,
Neureuther and Rosi
scenes pictures include the portrait of
‘Arik will sit for three
hours on a stone
waiting for the light
and mood to be just
right, and after that
A journey
to Africa sparked
the idea...
Mittermaier visited
the ADLER Mountain
Lodge. They were being
photographed there for
their book ‘Mit Rosi und
the artist Adolf Vallazza, whose face,
marked by experience, blends in with
the weather-beaten wood of his totem
figure. He also likes the portrait of his
good friend, Hannes, sitting in a wing-
he will hone those
Christian in Südtirol’
back chair, a kitchen knife between
pictures for hours on end at his com-
(In South Tyrol with Rosi and Christian).
his legs, with the blade reflecting on
puter. I am rather the opposite. For me,
a photo is a memory, and what I find
most important of all is that the memory
means something’.
This is how a complex stock of images
was gradually created. Pignater and
Oberrauch took photographs during
their everyday tasks, after work and in
Pignater contributed an old Ladin recipe
to the edition. Bean soup with knödel
(dumplings). When Neureuther saw the
collection of photos taken by Pignater
and Oberrauch, he thought it was marvellous
and said: ‘This is unique, you have
to do something big with this. I’m going to
talk to the Sanoners right away’.
the wooden floor. Another favourite
is the landscape scene on page 108.
It is late autumn, the grass is already
pallid and yellow. Mist in the distance,
snow-capped mountains above. The
silhouettes of alpine meadows and
mountains run parallel, as if arranged
by magic.
Pignater’s favourite images naturally in-
‘I like all the photos’, she says. ‘I even think
many more could have been included’.
Why? ‘The pictures show how we are and
how we feel. Anyone who looks at this
book really gets a sense of the lodge’.
their leisure time. At first, the images
No sooner said than done. And that
clude his portrait in the wingback chair.
centred on the kitchen. Until one day
was the origin of this behind-the-scenes
‘Because it shows the contemplations
the chamber maids said: ‘What about
portrait, which also tells the narrative of
of my sharp-witted mind’, he jokes. He
us?’ Next, the spa staff wanted to be
how the ADLER Mountain Lodge came
also particularly likes the shot of a chef
involved. Then the caretaker. Sooner
into being. Built on the site of the legend-
stirring the coffee in his espresso cup
or later, the lens was pointed at every-
ary Mezdì Hotel, where Roman Polanski
with a wooden spoon. According to
one. Sara Vinatzer, one of the two hotel
filmed some of the principal scenes of
Pignater, ‘[t]he photo symbolises the
Pignater was being made head chef
managers at the ADLER Mountain Lodge,
‘The Fearless Vampire Killers’, its story
fact that you have to be resourceful in
of the ADLER Mountain Lodge, which
recalls: ‘After a while we became used to
would be incomplete without a reference
the kitchen if you don’t have the right
opened in 2014. The second, that Ober-
it. We might have seen Arik or Hannes
to Africa. This is because the vision for
tool at hand’.
rauch had been given a job as a waiter
with a camera, but we didn’t give it a
the hotel project on Alpe di Siusi came to
There is a story behind every image.
there. They were now in the right place to
second thought and just got on with our
Andreas and Klaus Sanoner while visiting
Yet the most beautiful response to the
implement their idea, in which Ober-
work’.
a lodge in Namibia. And like in Africa, the
question of a favourite photo was given
rauch was to photograph Pignater in the
And that is precisely what makes these
idea is that guests of the ADLER Mountain
by Sara Vinatzer. ‘I like all the photos’,
kitchen in black and white, and capture
photos both authentic and charming.
Lodge should feel as though they are part
she says. ‘I even think many more
everything else in colour, including the
They include everyday scenes, snap-
of a big family, and are in close contact
could have been included’. Why? ‘The
imposing natural surroundings.
shots, character studies. These are
with the hotel staff.
pictures show how we are and how we
A great plan where nothing could go
supplemented by architectural details.
‘For us, the lodge itself is a second home’,
feel. Anyone who looks at this book
wrong. The pair are both congenial fig-
Of the kitchen, restaurant, pool, spa,
explains Vinatzer. ‘It’s like our own par-
really gets a sense of the lodge’.
ures. Each self-taught, and yet complete-
garden, garage, Adolf Vallazza’s imposing
lour, and we want to convey this feeling
ly different. Here we have Oberrauch, a
totem figure in the stairwell. Everything
of closeness, warmth and security to our
12 ADLER [Behind-the-scenes ] [Behind-the-scenes ] ADLER 13