Stig Håvard Dirdal

This is the 2017 Christmas card for Stavanger Foto - The passionate camera store at the west coast of Norway. Being granted full creative freedom in making the card, I went back to the realy old masters for inspiration. My base idea was to make something interesting and relevant for their business. And add an element of surprise in a retrospective perspective.

'The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' by Rembrandt in 1632 was a fantastic starting point for my plan. Transforming a anatomy lesson into a Christmas present wrapping study just ringed my bells. And the fact that the old masters back in 1632 allready knew what was coming ringed them even more.

HOW?
All the costumes are based on standard items purchased at IKEA, have a look at the shopping list for details. All the costumes are 'designed' and sewed by me in my studio. The collars are made by the person wearing it - prepared and instructed off corse. A little 20 minutes hand craft workshop in studio before the shoot. Tools: Knife, scissors and staplers.

Here is a link to the Christmas card I did for Stavanger Foto back in 2015. This was the first Christmas Card I made for Stavanger foto, and it went major viral - so the expectations are always a challenge/blessing.

Merry Christmas! 

Client: Stavanger Foto
Casting: Arnt Ove Jøsang
Inspiration: Rembrandt
Idea, sketches, costume design, props, wrapping, photography, & retouching:
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Featured here:
Petapixel 
My Modern Met by Jessica Stewart

Thank you!

The Dresser is a theatre play by Ronald Harwood, which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. The dresser is played by Espen Hana, and the 'falling star' is by Even Stormoen. 

Promoting this play for various media was a 3 step process.

Step 1.
Planning and photographing the key art for the play, and also making some photos for a magazine article and sosial media.

Step 2.
Photographing the play and making portraits of all the actors.

Step 3.
After seeing the play - My conclution was: This play is about two broken men. The dresser who is never seen/recogniced and 'Sir' who only sees him self. So I gathered some mirrors, smashed them with a hammer, and used them for portraying the broken men. For use on the cover of the theatre program.

 
Director: Torfinn Nag
Scenographer and costume designer:
Gjermund Andresen
Dramaturg: Michael Evans
Mask design: Jill Tonje Holter
Lighting designer on stage: Trygve Andersen
Translator: Torstein Bugge Høverstad
Starring: Even Stormo, Espen Hana, Anette Hoff, Roar Kjølv Jenssen / Øyvind Angeltveit, Marianne Holter, Katharina Rudjord, Tom Reidar Bratteli, Tom Stangeland, John Austvoll, Trond Dahl & Øyvind Brunvær

Client
Rogaland Theatre

Supervisor
Pernille Kaldestad

Photography & Graphic Design
Stig Håvard Dirdal

'You are granted full creative freedom and we´ll do anything you ask' – was the brief when Andreas at Stavanger foto, a Norwegian photo store, asked med to do their Christmas Card for 2015.

So I planned a shoot for all the employees. Showed the plan, and we were on.

The shooting day came and 6 og 9 employees, the brave ones, showed up. I asked for the rest, - there is a plan, And Arnt Ove - the main man in top of the tree replied 'after showing the plan for the shoot, the green tights and everything, three branches stayed home'.

Che card went bananas in Norwegian media, and all over the Globe.

Making an reversed image search July 5th. 2017, gave 25,270,000,000 results.

Idea, Photography and Retouch
Stig Håvard Dirdal

When time is limited,
planning is King.

Photographing on stage for the Theatre play Chaplin: The Great Dictator, I was given 15 minutes to photograph all the actors and the team. The portraits are used for the longest theatre program I ever made and for promotion in sosial media.

Client Rogaland Teater

MUA Jill Tonje Holter

Photography
Stig Håvard Dirdal

The Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin goes Theatre for the first time. I had the pleasure of doing the key art for the play for Rogaland Teater.

Press conference and photo shoot were combined and performed in my studio. We did different styles for the key art, and ended up with the mustang glued on the finger. For Rogaland Teater.

Actor for key art
Lars Funderud Johannessen

AD, photography, retouch and design by Stig Håvard Dirdal

The theatre play 'Jeg vil vaske verden ren' is about passion taking the wrong turn. Halldis's history ended in the last century, but extremism is spreading again through Europe with a cold guf from Quisling's own time.

Key Art, photos for magazine cover and article was photographed in Stavanger. Portraits and stage photography, for promotion and the press, was performed on location I Kristiansand.

Client
Kilden teater og konserthus

Photography & retouch
Stig Håvard Dirdal
 

In the play ' Little Eyolf' by Henrik Ibsen, Little Eyolf is enchanted by the Rat-Wife and drowns in the river. The photographs are taken in studio with Little Eyolf lying on the floor - as if he were in a chest. With his eyes open, nose and mouth under water, he says why? A version with eyes shut makes us say 'why?'.

The Key art was awarded Gold in Gullsnitt. Photos from this shoot were used for posters, boards, ads, magazine, web an sosial media.

Client
Rogaland Teater

Photography, editing & graphic design
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Gullsnitt is the most important competition arena for commercial photography in Norway,. As a third year contender I were proud to be rewarded by two golds for this work. Check out the other winners here.

Case: The story of Orlando spans over 400 years. During this time, Orlando ages only thirty-six years, and changes gender from a man to a woman. Illustrated with 8 overlapping cover pages the transformation starts with Orlando (1588) and the people she meet/experienced in her life, and ends with Orlando as woman (1928). 

Gullsnitt 2016 jurie: Knut Koivistos, Ewa-Marie Rundquist, Patrick Miller, Klara G., Lena Granefelt, Michael Perlmutter & Anna Malmberg. The competition was judged i Stockholm, Sweden.

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ORLANDO Awards
2 x Gold - Bureau Prize
Gullsnitt 2016
Gold - Graphic design print
SterkReklame 2017
Hedda Award
Best actress - Nina Ellen Ødegård.
Hedda Award
Best theatre play - Rogaland Theatre, Sigrid Strøm Reibo & Njål Helge Mjøs.
Hedda Award
BestDirection - Sigrid Strøm Reibo.

Client Rogaland Teater for the theatre program for the play ORLANDO.

AD, design & photography by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Theatreconsert How
Rogaland Theatre - Norway

On April 16 the curtain finally goes up for a new Theatre-Concert at the Rogaland Theatre – created by the same team that produced Mozart, Beethoven and Beatles – Come Together. Cederholm & the Hellemann Brothers & Furio have devised yet another exciting musical project.

Actors – Mareike Wang, Svein Solenes, Espen Hana, Marianne Holter, Gretelill Tangen, Lars Funderud Johannessen, Helga Guren, Mette Arnstad, Ingrid Rusten, Even Stormoen & Roar Kjølv Jenssen
Musicians – Bodhild Vossgård, Mikaell Olsson, Trygve Tambs-Lyche

MUA Jill Tonje Holter

Photography and retouch by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Campaign For Rogaland Theatre.
The 'Drama Card' costs 1100 NOK, and grants you access to all the plays as often as you want for one year. 

The purpose of the campaign is to bring more people into the theater on weekdays. A theater stuffed with people, of all ages and kinds, provides the best experience for all. The authentic touch and look, was achieved by thorough casting, and the use of 'real people' in a relaxed enviroment. 

For print, social media,
web, ads & boards.

Idé, casting & styling
Pernille Kaldestad &
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Photography, retouch,
design & motion
Stig Håvard Dirdal

The Statsteatret is the purest form for theatre. The on-going plan is to rewrite Norway´s history as it really was. All the plays are writtten, crafted & performed by them selves. They play all over Norway.

This is the theatre program for 1950 The spy. Years before the digital age and cyber espionage, this point in history with its direct approach for information gathering and spreding called for a smart and simple solution.

Actors
Per Kjerstad, Kim Sørensen, Gard Bjørnstjerne Eidsvold & Karoline Krüger

Director / play writer
Yngve Sundvor

Graphic design & Photography
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Content manager
Pernille Kaldestad

Model
René Schur

The Thousand Heart is a wild, touching, musical and moody piece that sends thoughts to Roald Dahl's burlesque and folk voyages, signed by one of our foremost writers, Tore Renberg, with Janove Ottesen's music. 

The Polar Witch, played by Mareike Wang, was photographed on location at Rogaland Theatre. The balloons are modeled and rendered in Cinema 4D. All the kids in the play are photographed for balloon montage and for use in the Theatre Magazine.

AD, photography, 3D, retouching design by Stig Håvard Dirdal

Photo and editing by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

in collaboration with Made in Heaven. Some of the images from the H1 shoot.

MUA, styling and hair by  
Mette Ingebrigtsen
Hilde Van Leuffen

Model
Ingebjørg Strand Lende

Photography & retouch
Stig Håvard Dirdal

One summer day in 1941 in the small Polish town of Jedwabne, one half of the population murdered the rest. Hundreds of Jews are locked in a barn and then lit.

This real event is the starting point for Our Class. What happens when nationalism, religion and ideology become more important than friendship? When does a classmate become an enemy?

By Tadeuscz Slobodzianek

Director:
Oskaras Korsunovas

Stage design:
Gintaras Makarevicius

Photography by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

"Now the party continues. The team behind Mozart have come to Stavanger to create a new theater-concert, this time based on Beethoven's monster hits. This is the first Norwegian produced theater-concert and Rogaland Theater's biggest show ever. And it's sung in English!" – for Rogaland Theater.

Costumes Anja Vang Kragh
Maskør Jill Tonje Holter

Actors Mareike Wang, Bjørn Fjæstad, Sigurd Sele, Erik Røe, Svein
Solenes, Marianne Holter, Emma Hegre, Madeleine Haaland & Lea K. Schur

Musicians Svein Ragnar Myklebus, Stene Osmundsen, Christian Hougaard, Bodhild Vossgård, Alexander Flotve & Theodor Onarheim

Photography and teaser by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

An Enemy of the People (original Norwegian title: En folkefiende) is a play written in 1882 by Norwegian ply writer Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen wrote it in response to the public outcry against his play Ghosts, – at the time considered scandalous. This is an important play - even to day.

Photographing the key art for the play for Rogaland Theatre in a local pool and the opportunity for a little swim and some in water footage.
(iPhone in a plastic bag). 

Knowing a coming Magazine article soon will be in need of som pictures, I make some 'in between pictures' for that purpose.

Photography and graphic design by Stig Håvard Dirdal

Photos made for the play 'Solaris Korrigert' for Det Norske Teater.
The two first images are key art for the play and were rewarded silver in 'Gullsnintt 2015' . The third is for a magazine and the fourth is made for Ane Dahl Torp.

Photography and editing by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

This is the Theatre Programme for the play Hamlet for Rogaland Theatre. The play is an 'un-cut' version of the play and lasts for almost four hours.

The skull illustration is also an 'un-cut' version. Built by all the photographs from the photo shoot of the play. The shape of the Programme - a balloon - is a celebration of Shakespears 450 year aneversery.

This programme was rewarded Gold in Gullsnitt 2014 in the category agency price. 

Gullsnitt is the most important competition arena for commercial photography in Norway, and as a first year contender I was proud to be rewarded by 2 gold, 1 bronze and one diploma.

The juri: Chris Harrison, Erik Almås, Joon Brandt, Marcel Leliënhof, Karin Beate Nøsterud, Mette Randem, Isabel Watson & Lisa Westgaard

AD, photography, illustration and graphic design by Stig Hvåard Dirdal

Photographing Theatre plays often starts with a quick portrait session.  This is useful for theatre programs and sosial media exposure. Existing scene light and a plywood wall for background.

Client
Rogaland Teater

Photography
Stig Håvard Dirdal

A is a five-character memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on Williams himself, his histrionic mother, and his mentally fragile sister Rose.

Key art and photos for articles were made for Rogaland Teater when they played it spring 2017.

Actors shown
Ingrid Rusten & Svein Solenes

Photography and editing by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

A teaser was made during the photoshoot (iphone7)

Norwegian AKVA Group is one of the leading companies in the aquaculture industry. These images were made to show the connection. The images are used for front pages for catalogs, wall art, ads and more.

AD
Helge Steinnes
Photography, 3D and editing by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Photographing dedicated people is always a blessing. This is Lene Puntervold in two pictures from the photo shoot in dTurbine studio.

Dancer
Lene Puntervold

Photography & retouch
Stig Håvard Dirdal

The play is based on a children's novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. The key art was made for Rogaland Theatre´s play in 2016. The style and the way this image was created is worth a story it self.

Key art used for posters, web, ads, magazine, fasade, boards and a buss.

AD, 3D, Photo, editing & design
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Making a teaser for the theatre play Vanja & Sasja & Masha & Spike - during the photoshoot.

Actors 
Nina Ellen Ødegård, Marko Kanic, Silje Salomonsen, Mette Arnstad, Roar Kjølv Jenssen & Ingrid Rusten

Voice/Conductor
Vegar Hoel

At the camera and video editing by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Two film advertisments for Jadarhus for cinema and DNB Arena. The idea is to show skilled crafts men in a controlled and relaxed  enviroment. Shot an early morning at a real construction sight.

Idéa, Storyboards & AD
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Prosjektkoordinator & Casting
Arild Slettevold

Directors, producer, effects & sound
Dani/Rudi Rosbakk Nordbøe.

What are they doing in there? And how can they easily be locked in a small room with toilets and mirrors for several hours? This is what the play #SWEET is all about. You are invited to the restroom. The design of the Theatre program helps You get there.

Photography and design by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Perpleks is an absurd comedy that throws the audience into an existentially free fall. Can you count on your own understanding of reality? Am I me, or someone else?

The photoshoot at Clarion Hotel Stavanger turned out rather strange, - as intended.

Author - Marius von Mayenburg
Director - Glenn André Kaada
Dramaturg - Michael Evans
Scenographer & composer
Arne Nøst

Actors:
Ingrid Rusten, Kamilla Grønli Hartvig, Øystein Martinsen & Svein Solenes

Client
Rogaland Teater

Photography, editing and design
Stig Håvard DIrdal

Animation modelled, rigged & rendered in 3D. Photos shot in studio using medium format camera for max detail. Used for ads, print and screen.

3D & photography
Stig Håvard Dirdal

The Statsteatret is the purest form for theatre. The on-going plan is to rewrite Norway´s history as it really was. All the plays are writtten, crafted & performed by them selves. They play all over Norway.

This is 1537 Dansketid. My first meeting with The Statsteatret. At a meeting at Rogaland Theater the photoshoot for the key art was planned and later performed at Hellestø, at the west coast of Norway. It was freezing cold, and of course windy. Three journalists joined us for the shoot.

Actors
Per Kjerstad, Kim Sørensen, Cato Skimten Storengen & John Lilja 

Director
Yngve Sundvor

Coordinator
Pernille Kaldestad

Light assistent
Per Olav Halvorsen

Photography & design
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Regular Actor portraits.

To be able to reproduce the same look and feel at a later stage, all technical data are written down regarding light, distances and camera settings. Photographed on location for Rogaland Teater. 

Photography & retouch by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Strong Advertising is a regional competition that will show the rest of Norway what is the best of advertising and design in the Stavanger region.

Description of the work
The program shows the extensive production through the various phases of production, from work sketches for text, costume, scenography, direction and music. This to include the audience in the process of this rich piece of art.

The Gold Award in Sterk reklame (Strong Advertising) is in the category of graphic design print.

Copy
Niell Furio & Pernille Kaldestad
Consultant
Kirsti Bjerva
AD, Design and Photograph by
Stig Håvard Dirdal

Photoshoot for Made In Heaven´s contribution to the Norwegian Hairdresser Award.

MUA, styling and hair by  
Mette Ingebrigtsen
Hilde Van Leuffen

Photography & retouch
Stig Håvard Dirdal

This ad was made for Petro Magazine to promote OTT´s stand at ONS. 

Client OTT

idea & handler Erik Kaiser

3D modelling, render & graphic design
Stig Håvard DIrdal

The state theater re-writes the history of Norway - to the way it really was. The film was made on the fly, one takes for all scenes, from a mini-bus in the eastern district of Stavanger. The film promotes a maraton run where five plays are played in a row with no brakes.

Music
Cloroform – ‘Come With Me Please’

Actors
Per Kjerstad, Cato Skimten Storengen, Gard Bjørnstjerne Eidsvoll, Kim Sørensen, Marit A. Andreassen, John Lilja, Egil Keskitalo, Yngve Sundvor (director)

Clients
Rogaland Teater
Oslo Nye Teater
Statsteatret

Director, camera & editing
Stig Håvard Dirdal