To those who believe that we are all better off if everyone gets a shot at the basics … Safety, Dignity, and Possibility.
To those who believe the natural world is beautiful and sacred, and that we need to live with it and not in spite of it.
To those who know that we need shelter, food, and love to be happy … the rest is bling.
To those who bring ideas to the table … not rules.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Hanukkah filled with Light
One fascinating aspect of my job is to experience the cultures of different organizations. Sometimes the vibe I get is palpable. Sensitivity to this culture is critical in order to work well. My interaction is often broad and deep, and I need to play by their rules or my clients and their contacts can pay a steep price. An organization with a good vibe is a pleasure to work in. The law firm, Goulston & Storrs, is just that (at least for me). This is a place where people seem to like and respect each other, find a place to do well and do good in the world, and they get my jokes. I just finished shooting some ads for their litigation department. It was a good day.
My first digital shoot was in 1998. It was portraits for Fidelity to be used in a completely illustrated environment. We’ve come a long way since then. I still shoot film for personal projects; never commercially. The digital environment has brought us immediacy, spontaneity, flexibility, and the ability to take risks with a buffer of certainty. It has also afforded us the potential for a new level authenticity and, paradoxically, the possibility of infinite manipulation. Strange bedfellows indeed. Where I used to need lots of gear, I can go into an environment quietly and in the background to tell a story. This method takes me back to my roots as a photographer (think Tri-X .. the iconic high speed black & white film). It is nice to be back. To fill the gaping maw of websites, I often go into an environment with a couple of cameras to observe and record. This is pure visual storytelling and an effective way to build an authentic library of images for an organization. See my Stories Portfolio
I am always happier when the idea quotient is higher than the production quotient. Production, to me. is a way to get back to simple. Simple is being in the right place, in the right light, with the right crew. Photographing author Bill Landay for Random House was just such an occasion. There wasn’t any art direction, but I gleaned from conversations with the creative director in NY and the author, that we needed a spectrum of shots, from gritty crime writer (sexy, worldly) , ex lawyer (subject cred), and granular context (this book, these characters). I scouted some with the author, and scoped out a couple of places I knew might work on my own. We then set up a schedule around the light. All places would have worked under any conditions, but sunny was best. Two great assistants (driver and grip) kept the guerilla nature of the event going smoothly; and we cruised through the whole adventure in 4 hours. Three wardrobe changes, 4 locations; finishing just when the sun dropped behind the trees. Happy author … Happy client (there sure are a lot of shots!) … Happy photographer … Fun.
-Go Directly to Leader Portfolio-
Photographing the people in charge demands both technical and psychological precision. These are people who reached the top by being very, very good at things that matter to them, and they do not suffer fools gladly.
A portrait session puts them in the uncomfortable position of ceding control to someone they don’ t know. They need to be put at ease. The first step is simple. I tell them exactly what will happen to them and how long it will take; keeping in mind that this event, in reality, is the least important part of their day. The trick is to understand that there is, in each of these powerful personae, a place that really cares about the result; that is very invested in how they are portrayed. One must tread very lightly here. First and foremost, the process must be seamless; second, the photographer must, gently and respectfully, take charge; and third, I find humor and a measured precocity to be very effective devices to both relax and energize the sitter.
One can feel any tension dissipate as this combination of control, calm, and conversation takes effect. In the end, you know it all has come together, because everyone in the room is smiling; sitter, vassals, and clients alike. The irony is how high the stakes can feel over that which is, in effect, a relatively minor event … just a picture after all.
I have spent almost two months photographing the myriad of doctors and researchers at the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmolgy. It is rare to be engaged in a project for this long and it has been a challenge to create distinctive photographs in a world of labs, conference rooms, and clinical exam rooms. In a word; ya seen one … . The upside is observing this army of very big brains addressing the problem of congenital and therapeutic ophthalmic defects.
Watching and photographing while a surgeon makes an incision on an eyeball strikes very close to home.
Fritz Klaetke (Visual Dialogue) and I decided to maximize the authenticity of the photos, and my process has been quick,simple, and available light(with a lightweight, over the shoulder portable strobe backup system for emergencies). Emphasizing the idea of in focus/out of focus seemed appropriate for the venue. so I am doing mostly long lense and tight; yet another challenge in these low light environments.
Occasionally I will go my own way with the work; just to keep things interesting.
To be in such close proximity to science and medicine for so long, on the one hand, creates a great argument for the potential of the human mind (a perspective that often escapes me these days) and the wonder of the human body: on the other, serves as a stark and humble reminder of how little we really know.
Kids
Everytime I visit this place I come away amazed … amazed at the irrepressible spirit of children … amazed at how seemingly intractable social problems can be mitigated with such simple solutions. I am sure it’s not perfect, but this place is all about respect, compassion. and understanding in the service of hope and possibilities. I always come away renewed.
Russian Celebrities
The Russians were back shooting more TV in February. It is hard to beat a 376 foot three masted Barque (See Tall Ships) for a location, but Gehry’s Disney Center is a pretty good problem to have. I was asked, once again, to do the print for the VTb24 Bank ADs (the second largest bank in Russia). The subjects were a popular Russian journalist, Leonid Parfyonov, and a film director, Valery Todorovsky. It is always fun hanging with the folks at Mechaniks (LA production company) and I go to school on Michael Norman the director. It is a lot of hurry up and wait, and then hurry up. I make a lot of friends on a film set by working fast.
Tall Ships … a dream … at last
I got a call from a producer in Los Angeles to shoot print ads concurrent with the TV spots for a bank in Russia (VTb24). The subject, in this case, was the captain of the Kreuzenstern, a 3 masted barque, used for maritime training, and the second largest tall ship in the world. A week later I was on deck off Cape Cod, under a full moon and full sail. A long time ago I blew a chance to get up close and personal with tall ships. Different time, different John. I called my son and his comment was “Dad, you finally got your tall ship”. Yep.
Every few years I photograph the outgoing President of the Academy of Arts & Sciences. The picture ends up on a wall documenting presidents of the last 230 years, starting with an engraving of John Adams (1779). As most of what I do is published and chucked, it feels significant to me to have created something for the historical record. Some recent contributions to that wall have been Leo Beranek (Sorry Al, he knows who founded the internet) and Dr. Emilio Bizzi ( a distinguished neuroscientist).
I got a call a couple of years ago from a portrait painter and acquaintance of mine to collaborate on some work he had been commissioned to do. We eventually worked together on portraits for Alan Greenspan for the Fed (see bio), Gov. Tom Ridge, and Hon. Michael Chertoff, both for the Dept. of Homeland Security. I am always amazed and humbled by good painters. The plasticity of their process, the extraordinary melding of craft and opinion, and the granularity of decisions, makes taking a photograph seem like a walk in the park. My goal was to take some pictures that not only worked for the painting, but that worked for me as well. These photos, in a roundabout way, acquired a similiar historical significance for me as those above. Somewhere in the paintings, hung forever in the corridors of government, will be my photographic DNA.
