Valor - Bannenberg and Rowell London
A distinctive 79.5-metre Feadship yacht launched in 2025. Winner of the award for best motoryacht between 1,500GT and 2,499GT at the World Superyacht Awards 2026 held in Venice, Italy.
I travelled to Venice to photograph VALOR for the eminent yacht designers Bannenberg & Rowell. Moored at Riva San Biagio, within easy reach of St Mark’s Square, the yacht offered an extraordinary setting for a series exploring its exteriors and interiors, craftsmanship and relationship with the surrounding city.
Valor has a subtle palette of architectural finishes, exceptional furniture and a collection of 1960s and 1970s art. Bespoke pieces include examples by renowned furniture makers such as George Nakashima, Linley, Pollaro, and Silver Lining. These mingle with the owner’s contemporary art collection, which includes Warhol’s Man on the Moon.
The main salon introduces a retro note, with McIntosh audio towers, a turntable, and a curated vinyl collection.
The yacht’s six guest suites are positioned on the main deck to maximise views, while the owners occupy a private deck with a study, dressing room, terrace, jacuzzi, and high-tech self-cleaning Astroturf terrace for their three dogs. Below, the beach club integrates wellness spaces, with treatment rooms and a gym, into a lower level that opens directly to the sea.
Approach to photography
These relationships of form and material became the focus of my photography. Alongside wider views that describe the rooms, I looked closely at the smaller encounters between furniture, surfaces and light.
The details are essential to understanding the design: how materials meet, how an edge catches the light, and how a carefully chosen object sits within a space.
Timing was carefully considered for the best possible quality of light. The shoot started before sunrise with a quick coffee with the Captain. As soon as the Venetian sun rose I was busy shooting.
Some images involved complex retouching techniques with multiple layers helping me highlight certain surfaces and textures.
The photographic challenge was to retain that richness while balancing the interiors with the bright Venetian light outside.
Working with Leica equipment and carefully controlled supplementary lighting, I brought light into selected areas to reveal texture and form, preserving the shadows that give a room depth.
My aim was for the lighting to feel natural, allowing the material qualities and atmosphere to come through.
The commission drew on all my years of experience photographing architecture and interiors. I’ve photographed for many leading architectural practices and eminent interior designers. I’ve been very fortunate throughout my career to shoot architecture and design. Shooting yachts seemed like a natural progression.
Careful preparation informed the approach, while working through the yacht meant responding continually to changing light, reflections and views.
Technical Notes
For this commission I used my Leica S medium format camera with CS lenses. This is quite a rare camera now and is often overlooked. It creates astonishingly subtle images.
For images which required some shift I used the Leica SL3 which is very versatile.
For video I used the Leica SL2 S which can produce ProRes Raw files when used with the Atomos Ninja V.
My lighting was the Profoto D30 with various modifiers. I had to light some images by standing in front of the camera and blending the light in through post production.
Summary
My aim was to produce intimate interior details and overall interior & exterior photographs. It was really nice to photograph and film the pets on board. I rather regret not getting around to taking portraits of the captain and crew.
I hope the series brings together the character of Bannenberg & Rowell’s design and the distinctive atmosphere of Venice.
