Fine Art Photography

After finishing his 3 year apprenticeship as a photographer in 1973 Helmut began working as a fashion and advertising photographer. In 1979 Helmut gained his Masters of Fine Arts in Photography and began work as a tutor in the Photo Department of a vocational training school in his native Germany where he worked for 30 years. The main part of Helmuts private photography work has always been black and white photography and he often uses special black and white infrared materials in his photography which can convey a landscapes strong sense of drama like no other. For three decades Helmut has worked with his 6x17cm Technorama cameras and has taken landscape photographs worldwide. Helmut still works on his own film, developing his own negatives and silver gelatine prints. He publishes many books and calendars and is held in private collections worldwide. In 2012 Helmut Hirler along with his partner Sally Maguire established Artmosphere gallery as we know it today in Waipawa, Central Hawke’s Bay, after moving to new pastures in Masterton in late 2021 Helmut will soon be opening a new smaller gallery, Papermoon Gallery which will feature the works of Gary Waldrom, Sally Maguire and Himself.  

Sally’s passion for painting comes from capturing the intense beauty of life itself, from the tiny moss that grows on our fence posts to the glorious sky of our lands. Sally paints emotion through her oils. In 2012 Sally Maguire and Helmut Hirler relocated a homestead and moved their gallery Artmosphere to its current location Waipawa, Central Hawke’s Bay. After 12 years running a gallery with more than 100 artists Sally and Helmut decided to sell and move to new pastures in Masterton where they are now surrounded by native bush. Here they are creating a new gallery called Papermoon gallery for a quieter lifestyle it will feature only 3 artists, Sally Maguire, Helmut Hirler and Gary Waldrom.