Lufthansa's 100th Anniversary in New York

A hundred years after its founding in 1926, Lufthansa Group celebrated its centennial in New York with an evening that moved as much as the airline does. Guests boarded a boat on the Hudson, sailed past the Statue of Liberty, walked through a branded Williamsburg streetscape and arrived at a glass-roofed rooftop overlooking the Williamsburg Bridge for exhibits, keynotes and a reception that ran well past dark. The celebration was designed and produced by the experiential agency Channel Partners, who brought us in to photograph it. Our job was to capture all of it, for the brand, the press and the people who were there.

Boarding at Pier 81

The celebration began on Manhattan's west side, where "A century in motion" signage led guests to the pier and a giant "100" sculpture made for the first group photos of the night. On board, the details carried the story: headrest covers and cups printed with the centennial logo, a Lufthansa Group bar and a host welcoming guests on deck as a video crew filmed alongside us.

Across the harbor to Brooklyn

The cruise passed lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, where guests lined the rail for their own photos, before landing on the Williamsburg waterfront. From there, the walk to the venue was part of the event: the centennial logo stenciled on the sidewalks, brand ambassadors with "100" fans and branded carts, and large murals celebrating a century since takeoff.

An airport-themed arrival

Guests stepped into the venue through a welcome wall with crew members in heritage uniforms, a check-in counter marked "Frankfurt," a vintage departure board and gate signs, then an immersive projection room before reaching the rooftop hall.

A century on display

Under the glass roof, a wall-sized route map, a decade-by-decade timeline, archival memorabilia in glass cases and a model aircraft framed against the Williamsburg Bridge gave guests plenty to explore. Crew members in uniforms from across the airline's history mingled with guests, and we made sure each exhibit was documented cleanly for the brand's own archive.

The program at sunset

As the sun set behind the Manhattan skyline, the program moved to the stage: welcome remarks, a keynote, a conversation among Lufthansa Group leaders and a closing photo with the uniformed crew. The evening then settled into a blue-lit reception that continued into the night.

How we photographed it

• Five settings, one story: a pier, a moving boat, city streets, an exhibit hall and a stage, each covered so the gallery reads as one continuous evening.
• Light from bright sun to night: harsh daylight on the water, golden backlight through a glass roof during the speeches and saturated stage and reception lighting after dark.
• Brand and people together: every custom detail Channel Partners designed, from stencils to seat covers, alongside candid moments of executives, crew and guests.
• Working beside video: coordinating positions with the video crew so neither team blocked the other during remarks.