Theodor Preising
1883-1962
Theodor Preising was photographer and officer of the German army in World War I prior to his arrival in South America in 1920.
Unquestionably, his esthetic formation and technical knowledge come from the rigorous German school of photography. He was originally from Hildesheim, a small town in northern Germany, moved to Berlin and lived in some other cities until he joined the German army in World War I. He was engaged as a photographer for the German army.
After the war, Germany was absolutely destroyed and in despair. The nation was in ruins. Consequently, the paper money was being used to keep the wood stove burning because of its worthlessness. Poverty, hunger and unemployment became part of their lives. Pornography, prostitution and all kinds of degeneracy going sky high and rising each day. Parents were using their daughters for prostitution to make a little bit of money to pay for food. Radical Marxism along with extremist Bolsheviks, were corrupting and destroying the German identity, mentally, physically and spiritually. Everything that once was holy and beautiful have turned into darkness and hopelessness.
Preising knew that he needed to find a way to continue his works and provide a decent life for his family. Thus, he decided to take a marvelous journey to the New World, more precisely, South America, where he would explore his photograph skills in a place entirely alien from the Vaterland. Firstly, he explored Argentina from north to south. However, Theodor did not secure enough in Argentinean lands, making him travel to the south and southeast of Brazil. In 1923, Theodor moves definitively to São Paulo city, Brazil, where he is hired by Revista São Paulo.
In 1924, Theodor mails a letter to his wife, telling her to bring the whole family to Brazil. Soon after, using the Hamburg-Amerika Linie, they boarded a large ship from Port of Hamburg, Germany, to Port of Santos, Brazil. During long eight weeks sailing across the ocean, more than seven thousand Nautical miles, or thirteen thousand kilometers, they have finally arrived in Brazilian territory.
It is notorious that each group of people want to be with the ones who share the same traditions, culture, that is to say, individuals which feel an everlasting flame for living their beautiful and unique identify. Thus, the same happened to the Preising family. Theodor agreed that the right choice would be to continue practicing their mother tongue, punctuality, hard work, striving for perfectionism and precision, Christianity, hearty cuisine and the natural German lifestyle. Naturally, all of them had to learn Portuguese, the official language of the country. However, adapting to a “new world” did not mean cutting off their precious roots.
When France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in 1939, seven days before the breakout of the Second World War, immigrants located in Brazil were banned from working on public areas, for now being considered spies or enemies of the State. Germans, Italians and Japanese were the mainly ones included in that list. Therefore, Theodor decided to travel to the countryside of Brazil, including the south of the country, taking photos of cotton, coffee and sugar cane plantations.
During 1939-1945, and even some years after the end of the Second World War, the German immigrants were not allowed to speak any German in Brazil. This rule marked the lives of the Preising family when an older member of the folk was arrested and kept in jail for almost a year simply because this individual forgot the new rules and spontaneously greeted a German friend inside the bus.
As the years went by, Theodor tirelessly taught his son, Karl, everything he knew about photography, thus, the name Preising, the legacy, would be carried on and thousands more people would be touched by the works of gifted men.
Preising’s images show preciseness, technical perfection and the impersonal vision often hailed in German photography. Nevertheless, he is famous known by his aerial photos of the 245-metre Luftschiff Zeppelin Hindenburg, German dirigible, in the city of São Paulo, in 1936.
Theodor’s photography equipment and history: large and medium format cameras with eighteen-by-twenty-four-centimeter and four-by-five-inch-negatives. Preising was among the professionals who introduced small-format German cameras, Leica and Contax, into Brazilian photojournalism.
Karl Preising
1912-2011
Karl Preising, son of Theodor Preising, born in Berlin, where at the moment was an instable and chaotic city, which was getting ready for a regretful brother against brother War designed and fully controlled by international elements.
For the reason of the First World War, Theodor left his wife and little ones in a safe apartment of their older relatives and joined the German army to be a photographer at the front. Thus, Karl did not have the opportunity to grow up with his father around until he was twelve years old.
In São Paulo, Karl often joined his father during his travels all around the state, taking breathtaking photos of the southeast coast of Brazil for the Revista São Paulo and his Postcards business. As a result, the young Preising did not take long to learn how to take photos and, at the same time, photo printing.
Naturally, at a young age, he knew that his passion was the art of photography. Karl, to such a degree, was truly fortuitous to have a great teacher by his side daily to teach and answer all his doubts about cameras, precise angles, printing and many others.
Karl’s photographer career started with particular projects for farmers located in the countryside of São Paulo. He would take innumerous photos of the activities being executed at cotton, coffee and sugar cane plantations. Therefore, the young Preising was competent to create an admirable portfolio which opened the right doors for safe jobs for Newspapers Business.
Will Preising
As a fourth-generation photographer & videographer, Will is committed to helping his clients achieve the highest quality real estate photo and video combined with high-tech digital marketing tools, offering the ultimate real estate advertising for sellers. Will has survival, navigation and bushcraft training experience through The Pathfinder School and is an avid outdoorsman – both of which are an added value to his real estate business. Buyers and sellers alike will benefit from his capability to guide them on the best use and value of recreational, hunting, residential, commercial and investment properties. His expertise and devotion to all he does makes him an excellent agent to represent someone considering their next move in today’s real estate market.
Will grew up on a large cattle ranch located in the Amazon rainforest working in and around the ranch industry, which is how he learned the importance of hard work. His lifelong appreciation for the great outdoors has only grown over time, even during his career prior to real estate. Growing up in the Amazon rainforest, Will often visited the native indian tribes, learning primitive fire, shelter, including hunting and fishing skills to capture great “monsters” on land or in water.
In order to learn the English language, Will moved to Lancaster, a city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. There, Will lived for more than one year with an outstanding host-family, who still spend the holidays together. During his exchange student program, he was able to take movie production classes in high school, sharpening his filmmaking skills. A few years later, Will moved to San Martin de Los Andes, a town in northwest Patagonia, Argentina. For almost two years, along with creating short video promos and taking photos for local hotels and bed and breakfast businesses, and, of course, exploring the great Patagonia region, Will was able to become fluent in the Spanish language.
Will spent more than a decade working in the photography, videography and advertising industry focusing heavily on organizational growth. In 2010, Will decided to continue the family photography and videography business that has been thriving since 1912. He’s a FAA-Certified Drone Pilot, obtaining his Pilot Certification, Administrator Certification, and industry-specific Analyst Certifications through the DroneDeploy Academy. During those years, he developed an expertise in sales, professional leadership, filmmaking, mapping and high-tech digital marketing skills, which he will also leverage to help his real estate clients. Will is friendly, highly driven, and has a track record of going the extra mile for his clients.
He lives in Westby with his wife and two children. When he’s not pushing himself professionally, you can find Will enjoying time with his family, exploring the Driftless Region, practicing FPV drones in the outdoors, or fishing somewhere in Wisconsin.