Photojournalism nominee

Following State Hwy 4 to Boca Chica, I noticed something strange: what I first thought were silos turned out to be something totally different. It was Elon Musk´s SpaceX factory where the rockets for the SpaceX-program are built. The production of the spacecraft was set up in several large tents and vertical hangars. In July 2024, Elon Musk announced that he would move the SpaceX headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to the launch- and factory site in Boca Chica, Texas.
It’s an incredible view, because this vast terrain is located on a headland (similar to Wernher von Braun’s Peenemünde missile range during the 1940’s). On the way there you pass a US Border Patrol that randomly checks outgoing vehicles, because Boca Chica has an open maritime border with Mexico.
Technology used: The images were shot exclusively using analogue b&w-film without any technical refinements. The photographic style is documentary: I shoot in full-frame format, meaning there are virtually no cropping or subsequent alterations to the original image.
All of the images in this series were shot with a Nikon F2 SLR-camera – mounted with the Zoom-Nikkor 35 - 70mm f/3.3-4.5 lens. I photographed solely on Kodak T-MAX film at 400 ASA.

For Jörg Rubbert, city life and the city as a developing urban organism are among his preferred photographic subjects. He is represented in numerous exhibitions and publications on topics of contemporary photography - with a focus on Paris, New York and the American South.
He represents the humanistic direction in photography, which focuses on people's social environment. His photographs have been shown at exhibitions and photo festivals at home and abroad and published in numerous (print) media, including CNN, ZEIT, FAZ, WELT, Tagesspiegel, PHOTO International, Photo Klassik, PHOTOGRAPHIE. He lives as a freelance photographer in Berlin (Germany).