The Red Bulletin

Creative Director: Erik Turek
Art Directors: Kasimir Reimann, Miles English
Photo Director: Fritz Schuster
Writer: Andreas Rottenschlager
Photo Editor: Rudi Ubelhor
Photographer: Justin Bastien

Heidi: How did this project stretch you as a photographer?
Justin: This project literally stretched me in half at times with the final shoot day being very intense. We had big waves coming from two directions, freezing cold water, 130 mph rotor wash from the helis ripping into the exposed skin on my face. I spent in total about 10 hours in my wetsuit freezing my ass off, about 3 hours were spent swimming big waves and bad current in a remote location. This whole article could easily be focused on that one day in the surf ops shoot and what it actually took to get the shot. Did I mention, I love this stuff!

Did you lose any of your motor skills due to the cold?
Of course, being in in cold water for that long everything stops working. You quickly see why people can’t last very long in the cold, open ocean. Even with our super warm Patagonia wetsuits, booties, gloves, mask and snorkel on, everything just become more difficult and exhausting. It’s especially hard to operate a water housing wearing thick gloves and numb hands. It’s funny,  your lips are the most exposed and by the time you come from the water and hit cold wind, you can’t talk at all (which my girlfriend would think is good thing at times). 

You live in balmy So Cal, did you do any cold weather training?
No, I didn’t do any cold-weather training for this job. I have surfed a lot Alaska and Southern Chile over the years for fun and really enjoy these kinds of conditions and the solitude it brings. I enjoy the remote and wild places other people generally don’t go; the cold is part of that. Also, climbing in the mountains teaches you how to suffer in the cold and to be honest I enjoy the challenge and kind of like suffering. It teaches you a lot.

Did you pitch this to The Red Bulletin? and how often do you work with them?
Yes, I pitched this concept to The Red Bulletin. My cousin is in the Coast Guard stationed in Kodiak, Alaska and I visit his family every year. We surf, camp, explore the island. My cousin gave me a tour of the Coast Guard base; after seeing the place, meeting his great crew and knowing how beautiful Kodiak island was, I knew this story had to be told. It was a passion project from the very beginning. The most difficult part was getting access, which took almost a year, and then getting the Coast Guard comfortable enough to let me get  into some wild outdoor conditions with them. They trusted me, were so cool to collaborate with and so much fun. I felt right at home with the crew. Of course they made sure to torture me a bit in the “sweat cage” during our helicopter evacuation training in the pool. The “sweat cage” simulates a helicopter that goes down in the water and flips upside down. You’re trapped in the helicopter (sweat cage) as it is sinking, and you have to maintain your reference point, release your seat belt, open the door and escape to the surface while you are upside down and can’t see. It’s a great thing to practice because in a real world situation it’s going to be a lot more scary and violent.

How many days were you out there and which was your favorite and why?
I pushed for the magazine to give me an extended period of time knowing weather and access we’re going to be key to the success. I wanted to get into  big surf with bad weather and terrible conditions showcasing what kind of environment these heroic lifesavers work in. The most difficult part was the long wait because we had beautiful, sunny weather the entire time; which is very rare for Kodiak. Then things changed. We had two storms collectiong to the south of us opposite directions, forming great cross chop, rogue waves and with tons of bad weather. There’s a fine line between bad weather that you can fly in and bad weather that grounds the aircraft. Luckily, we were able to fly last minute and get two MH-60s in the air along with a few rescue swimmers for High Surf Ops training. Let the fun begin!

Was anyone from the magazine with you, what type of direction did they give you?
Yes. The Red Bulletin sent Andreas Rottenschlager, a talented writer from Austria. He had worked on intense projects in the past. We both pushed really hard to get the access we needed, the interviews, coverage, he was so great to collaborate with. We also had a blast driving around in a rusty white construction van with a yellow siren I had rented for the job while listening to heavy-metal music. Andreas and the photo editor Rudi Ubelhor wanted me to keep things authentic and shoot everything from the perspective of the rescue swimmers or in some cases the survivor being rescued. They gave me so much support and creative freedom, telling me to just do my thing, keep it real and give the project some emotion. It’s so amazing to be supported like that and have creative freedom. It really pushes the work to a new level with that kind of support from the team at The Red Bulletin. 

Tell us about the spaces in between taking photographs.
Most of the space in between taking the photographs was spent trying to get the next photographs underway. I often think people have no idea how much hard work goes into just getting immersed in these phenomenal situations. It’s not easy convincing the Coast Guard to send two helicopters and a crew of 10 people into a storm to shoot photographs in high surf (good thing the Coast Guard trains so hard and loves their jobs so much).  The crew on the surf ops day had a total blast, most likely laughing at me “the photographer from LA,” doing donuts in the surf all afternoon. So, the space between was spent on working with the Coast Guard to get the next shot in place and then a little bit of sleep, eating bad food and drying out wet clothes and camera gear. That shoot just destroyed almost everything we had in terms of camera gear.

What are your thoughts on risk?
For the most part, I feel like the risks I take are pretty well calculated and reasonable. I spend a lot of time preparing for the more risky situations and often times they are in environments where I feel comfortable and have already spent a lot of time, most likely for personal activities or interests. I would say the things that worry me more than anything are the elements that are out of my control: the unpredictable behavior of wild animals and people, a catastrophic engine failure or environmental hazards like rock fall and avalanches. Those things, you can’t control and it could get bad quickly. Sometimes, there’s that space between hesitation and action, where you really need to keep your self in check and make a quick decision. In general, if I have any doubts about something being safe or not, I don’t do it. I also think that most bad things happen as a result of more than one bad decision, it’s generally a series of bad decisions that get you in trouble. I think safety is also very relative to your experience and comfort level in various situations. What seems risky to one person isn’t risky at all to another. The scariest thing I have done is gone shark diving without cages, but it was mainly because I was out of my comfort zone and not well educated in shark behavior. The shark scientist I was with thought it was a really mellow and fun day in the ocean playing with a few sharks. I was terrified! I am constantly humbled in my work every single day by the people I work with and the people I photograph. Everything is at such a high level so I am always trying to catch up with everyone; physically, mentally and creatively. It’s not exactly the easiest path, but it sure is fun!

What type of watermen skills do you have and why do you think the Red Bulletin picked you?
It’s funny, I don’t really consider myself to have “waterman skills”, I just like playing in the ocean and making cool photos. Real waterman are those big wave surfers that ride huge waves and free dive to unfathomable depths. To me the whole thing was fun,  none of us could believe we were working. There’s nothing like being out in the wild ocean, feeling all of that raw, natural power and getting tossed around with some like-minded individuals that enjoy the ride as much as you do.

Any time survival is in a title surly that adds a thrill. I saw you were photographed with “Aviation Survival Technician’s”what was the hardest part of shooting rescue swimmers in high surf ops?
“Survival.” I don’t know how people survive normal life without doing cool stuff like this. All of the people I worked on thrips project really love their jobs and and work so well together as a team. Imagine going to work every day, training hard, flying over the beautiful Alaskan ocean and realizing you are doing all of it to save lives. That’s pretty meaningful for a day’s work. Most difficult part about this whole thing was almost not getting to do it. I would’ve been so disappointed if we didn’t get the big surf day and the bad weather that we really needed to tell the story well.

What advice do you have for anyone photographing high risk situations?
I would just say in a high-risk situation you want to be very competent in the environment you are operating in. It’s difficult enough to just be in certain environments like this or in the mountains,  you really want to feel comfortable, so being there is almost second nature. Adding the element of photography and all the equipment it requires, problem-solving on the fly creativity, makes for a big challenge but that’s what makes it so fun. I couldn’t image doing anything else but this path I am on and I feel so grateful for it everyday. To travel the world, meet interesting people, always learning, being humbled and challenged.

Here’s a behind the scenes video and some content showing what it was like out there for Justin.

Gregg Segal and his family amongst their garbage.

7 Days of Garbage

Photographer: Gregg Segal

Kickstarter Campaign:  Daily Bread

Heidi: What is your message with this series?
Gregg: The seed for 7 Days of Garbage is that I wanted to call attention to a problem (consumption, waste, excess, packaging) that most of us, including me, are/were oblivious to.
Even though there’s awareness about the problem, there’s a laziness to do anything about it.  You could say we’re all victims of comfort and convenience.

Where did your inspiration come from?
I figured if you’re laying in the garbage and packaging you generate in a week, you can’t ignore it. The pictures are meant to be a wake up call and to provoke action – or at least consciousness. In a way, the subject is both victim and perpetrator, which makes some audiences uncomfortable. We tend to expect issues to be black and white/good guys and bad guys, but in reality problems are more complex. Several years ago, People magazine assigned me to photograph Bea Johnson, who, with her family, produces virtually zero waste. One year’s worth of their garbage fit into a mason jar. Bea inspired me and was one of the seeds that led to my project.

Did you foresee Daily Bread as part of the 7 Days or Garbage? or was this more of an organic evolution?
Daily Bread sprang from 7 Days of Garbage; in the process of photographing people’s garbage, I began to look more deeply at food – what we’re eating and throwing away. Again, I’m calling attention to a cultural blindspot.

We know that eating processed foods loaded with salt, fat and sugar has serious consequences to our health – and that there’s truth in the old maxim, “you are what you eat” yet many of us have poor diets. We tend to put our faith in medicines that will make us better when we’re sick rather than going to the source of the problem. I chose to focus on kids because eating habits that form when we’re young last a lifetime. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Still, there are kids eating well both here and abroad and often indigenous cultures have healthier diets than we do here at home (simple whole foods & balanced meals prepared at home). My aim is to photograph children in other parts of the world surrounded by the foods they eat in a week – and I think the results will be inspiring and actionable; I plan to share recipes and menus with viewers, which will accompany the portraits in a book that is part social commentary, part public health initiative and part international cookbook.

Is your travel funded by kickstarter alone?
The budget I created will allow me to shoot in two regions and cover the costs of travel, crew, and equipment – and all the food I’ll be photographing. The goal is to produce the first leg of the project thru kickstarter and have enough material to present to potential publishers.

How will you pick the children you are going to photograph; how will you find them?
I’m collaborating with Dr. Maya Adam, a Stanford professor whose on-line course, Child Nutrition and Cooking has drawn a quarter million students from around the world. We’ve reached out to her students (in 80 countries) inviting them to participate and have gotten a lot of interest! So, the next step is to cull and figure out which two regions to begin with.

What did this project teach you about yourself as a photographer? how about as a father/family man?
Shooting these projects has shown me that it’s possible to achieve social change through art without being pedantic! I think it’s key for the work to have a service component, which is why, with Daily Bread for instance, I plan to highlight diets that are balanced and healthy. I’m planning to photograph in parts of the world where you find longevity and unusually low rates of diabetes, heart disease, and many kinds of cancer.  With 7 Days of Garbage, I wanted it to be clear that we’re all in this together – and all of us are culpable on some level. I felt it was important for my son (7 at the time) to see that we’re part of the problem, so we lay down in our garbage, too. A few weeks later, Hank said, “soon the world will be covered with plastic bottles. They’ll have to make giant towers to keep all the plastic bottles in. Probably a tower to the moon. 1,000 years ago, there were no plastic bottles. There wasn’t even one plastic thing on Earth. Too bad, there sure are now!” My son’s comments showed me how he (and children in general) process their experiences; though at first they may not seem to get it, the seed is planted and germinating and when you don’t expect it, a light bulb is illuminated – which is why it is key to model well!

What are 3 simple things we can do to change our habits?

As a consumer (waste)

1) Compost – rather than toss food waste in the garbage, you can compost and add nutrient to your soil.
2) Buy products with as little packaging as possible. Even small changes make a difference. Instead of buying the package of pomegranate seeds, for instance, just buy the whole fruit. More work, but less to recycle. Recycling comes with an energy cost that you can help reduce.
3) Re-use whenever possible (try not to do use something once and then toss it – like a plastic cup for a drink of water). Better to bring your own water bottle with you.

As a consumer (food)

1) Eat something green every day (ideally you want a variety of colors on your plate).
2) Don’t eat anything that has a commercial – this may sound extreme, but if you think about it, foods that are nutritious aren’t made by a corporation. It’s the processed and packaged foods, loaded with additives – and salt, fat and sugar – that you want to avoid.
3) Prepare one meal a week with your kids. Find a recipe for a dish they like and prepare it together. Hopefully, they’ll take an interest, begin to develop their palate and next thing you know, you may have a burgeoning chef!

Have you made any of these changes to your shoots that call for catering? Those are notoriously wasteful.
Yes, they are – especially those cases of bottled water. The last couple shoots I’ve done with larger crews I’ve brought gallon jugs of water and asked crew to bring their re-usable containers – still have plastic bottles – but less of them.
I often end up being the producer on my shoots and if I cater, I ask for paper plates (biodegradable) rather than the dreaded plastic – or worse, styrofoam, which takes like a million years to decompose!

When you were shooting the garbage, did they clean out the containers? 
Yes, some people washed their garbage before showing up to be photographed.
One guy even washed his eggshells! Some cut corners and didn’t show up with the really stinky stuff.
Others included everything. I had an assistant who very nearly passed out when catching a whiff of liquid leftovers that appeared at first glance t0 be milkshake but which smelled like rotting chicken! One family called to cancel mid week; they had been saving their Chinese leftovers and the husband couldn’t stand the smell any longer. I suggested they just put their trash in the garbage and bring on shoot day, but they had already lost their initial enthusiasm for the shoot.

WIRED

Creative Director: Andrew Diprose
Director of Photography: Steve Peck
Deputy Director of Photography: Dalia Nassimi
Photographer: Benedict Redgrove

These never-before-seen photographs are part of an eight-year project that took photographer Benedict Redgrove deep inside three NASA facilities across the US. He uses Alpa MAX and 12 STC cameras, stitching together multiple images to create photographs with an epic quality. “I shoot about 40 images,” he explains, “then layer them to achieve the highest definition.” Redgrove’s project won’t be complete until 2018, but WIRED offered its readers an exclusive glimpse into his epic space journey in its 11.16 issue.

Was this photo essay presented to you by Benedict Redgrove with a six-year timeline in mind?
Benedict came to us when he was three years into the project – it was just a labor of love at that point. He got in touch with us in order to gain deeper access at NASA. He thought a bit of WIRED name-dropping might help, and it did – eventually. It took three years of negotiations, and about 400 emails, to get to this point.

What type of clearance was needed for such unprecedented access?
NASA is a bit like an onion – you peel off layer after layer. We encountered a lot of “We cannot help, you need to talk to so-and-so department” along the way. But the more Benedict shot, the more the various departments in NASA understood what we were trying to do, and the more doors opened to him. It was very much a case of finding the right person to talk to at each stage.

Where were the images taken?
Benedict gained access to the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Johnson in Houston and the Smithsonian in Virginia. Next up are the Lunar Lab and training facilities.

Six years is a quite a long time horizon. Was this difficult for the magazine to commit to?
Is it difficult to commit to an elaborate documentation of NASA technology by Benedict Redgrove? Absolutely not – we did not bat an eyelid. It didn’t matter how long it was going to take. We knew the results would be a groundbreaking body of work.

How long will this be a running theme within the magazine?
It’s running across 16 pages (on special paper) in our current issue, November 2016, and of course on wired.co.uk. We also have a photography exhibition planned at our annual WIRED conference in London on November 3-4, which will also have a Q&A with Benedict himself.

Future plans?
Benedict will conclude his work with the launch of SLS and Orion in 2018. After that, there are talks of a book and an expansive exhibition with virtually life-size prints!

NASA is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government, how did this end up in WIRED UK, and how much was published in the US version?
Interest in NASA is not restricted to the US – it has universal appeal. Benedict put it very nicely himself: “To me, there is no other organisation in the world that is more progressive, more exciting or stands more for the betterment of mankind and peace than Nasa. In my opinion, it’s the greatest institution in the world. It involves, science, art, design, engineering, manufacturing, passion, belief, education, information, creation and technology. It’s always moving forward, always seeking answers and finding them, then asking more questions. They educate us, inform us not only about the Universe but also about our planet, and pass down technologies into our everyday lives.”

This collaboration was solely with WIRED UK, but other international editions of WIRED are keen on running the story too. Watch this space.

Creative Director: Paul Martinez
Director of Photography: Mia Diehl
Photo Editors: Armin Harris, Michele Taylor
Art Directors: Mike Solita, Peter Herbert, Josue Evilla, Christine Bower-Wright
Retouching and Post-Production: Zach Vitale
Photographer: Michael Clinard

Heidi: How did this come about?
Michael: I met the assigning photo editor, Armin Harris, six years ago at a portfolio event in Manhattan. It took that long to get an email back in May from him asking as to my interest in shooting a feature for their annual 500 issue on Microsoft’s Scott Guthrie and the cloud services division he oversees.

Did you pitch the 500 cover idea or did you have the assignment and the magazine wanted to see what you could come up with?
Neither. Having already shot the portrait component a week earlier at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, I wasn’t really thinking a server room could be jazzed up all that much because it’s kind of ”blah” subject matter. I’m typically sketching before shoots, but I didn’t know the server facility was being considered for the cover until Armin gave me an “extra credit” assignment the evening before leaving for Quincy, Washington.

Because the magazine publishes what they call under covers — takeoffs on a Fortune 500 cover highlighting other companies featured in the list — he asked I look for details that I could later recontextualize in post. To this end, I thought the best I’d do is some retro-futuristic version of the numeral in glowing, server lights or big, puffy clouds to play on the cloud storage idea.

Did you have to get any special clearance to get inside this room to shoot?
Absolutely, NDAs and special concessions were being shared in the week leading up to the Quincy shoot. Additionally, I was asked to drastically reduce the amount of gear and flash units I’d typically bring in, so I got my kit down to a few heads, some niche grip items and Hasselblad’s tilt shift adapter because there were specific elements (clouds, cords, blinking lights) that I wanted to utilize to help tell this story.

Did they disable the servers?
Ha ha! No, I wish we’d been given the time to create the image fully in-camera, but I only had a couple hours to shoot multiple locations. I should note that I was given a folder of scouting pics to study before the shoot, so the only big allowance was that I was given a ten minute window to shoot in complete darkness to create the long-exposure image that opened the article.
This blue and green image was created in-camera?
Yes, it’s a 16 second exposure balanced with off-camera strobe. It is the style and direction I’d intended to take the cover since laying the number 500 in the shadows of the composition seemed doable. It was imperative I left the facility with enough image assets to create the final cover magic conjured in my sketches.

Was there a discussion about which typeface the number 500 would take?
Yes, font and typeface was very important. At one point, we entertained a big loopy five, but Armin shared a number of Fortune 500 covers throughout the years to help the entire team hone in on the best direction. In the end, we enjoyed the idea that the viewer might need do a double take to notice anything out of the ordinary, so our representation method mimicked the orderly presentation of wires and cables already evident on the server arrays.

How long did it take to create the final cover composite once the direction was chosen?
With retouching by Zach Vitale and under the esteemed direction of Mr. Harris, we delivered the final composite in a few days. A tremendous honor and privilege to execute, the image ran as both the international cover and national TOC page back in mid-June.

Please read the entire story here.

National Geographic Magazine

Director of Photography: Sarah Leen
Creative Director: Emmett Smith
Print Designer: Hannah Tak
Photo Editor: Sadie Quarrier 
Photographer: Ami Vitale

Heidi: How did you find yourself shooting people in panda suits raising captive babies at the Wolong center of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda?
Ami: I was part of a film team that came in 2013 for PBS/NatGeo production. Realized what an extraordinary story this was and pitched it to National Geographic Magazine once I got access to it.

Were there any unique challenges and how did you overcome them?
Many challenges. First, I had to pitch a story and convince editors that I could make it unique and different from what was already done. They had published a story on pandas about 7 or 8 years earlier so my job was figuring out what would be special about this story. Also, these are tiny, fragile creatures and the keepers were quite stressed about their health and safety. I had to work around these concerns and was not allowed to use flash so there were technical issues that needed to be solved including flickering fluorescent lights. It means you have to shoot at 30th of a second to avoid having lines going through every image. Pandas make quick rapid movements so coming away with a sharp and compelling image was harder than it might seem. Plus they are solitary creatures who like to hide in the thick bamboo or high up in the treetops when they are young.

I understood from reading the story that bears being trained to live in the semi wild must not get used seeing humans. Did you wear a panda suit too?
Yes! of course. the best part!

What did it smell like, the suit? 
They scent the panda suits with urine but wasn’t too bad because pandas are mostly vegetarian. They smelled more like wet puppies or bamboo.

You’ve had a wide range of experiences, how did this one strike or move you as a photographer?
I was constantly thinking how incredibly privileged it was to be there!! Still can’t believe it and miss them every day!

In your motion work on this piece, Papa Panda describes falling in love with the baby panda’s as if they were your own children, did you share that same sentiment of falling in love?
How can you not fall in love with them. I died of cuteness overload many times over.

How long were you there?
5 visits over the course of 3 years.

Did you have to get any special shots to spend time with the pandas?
No special shots but we were careful, especially around baby pandas. We wore masks, disinfected hands and shoes every time entering new space.

Grayson Schaffer:  Partner Talweg Creative/ Outside Magazine Editor at Large / Photographer

Heidi: Tell us about your transition from photography to cinematography and what are your thoughts overall about that for photographers?
Grayson: We’re at a point in time where a lot of still photographers are becoming directors. Sometimes that just means buying a Red camera and hanging up a shingle. Sometimes still photographers have clients who are asking for motion as part of a project. From an image-making perspective, motion isn’t that difficult. There are some frame rate and shutter angle considerations that you don’t have to deal with in still photography, but at the end of the day, a frame is still a frame. The hard part is having something to say. And for that, more photographers need to be leaning heavily on their writer friends to figure out what the film is going to be about before you get out there. We see it again and again where competent still photographers—many of whom have sizable Instagram followings and interpret that as a sign from the universe that whatever they do is great—just end up with a series of pretty but disjointed images. We all make crappy movies or write crappy stories from time to time, but you can minimize that if you lean on your talented friends and assume they’re smarter than you.

What made you take to the leap from producing editorial content to producing advertorial or native advertising? 
My personal goal is just to find and report on interesting people. At Outside magazine, that mostly involves finding great characters who are at an inflection point in their lives or careers. It wasn’t until raw cinema camera technology reached the point where we felt like we could get our ideas out onto the screen that we decided we had something to say. At the same time, brands have realized how important stories are. So in a lot of ways the ad world came to us rather than the reverse.

One would think you’d have less control, is that true?
One of the mistakes I see filmmakers make again and again is in sending their work out for criticism and then completely ignoring that criticism either because they’re tired from getting all the way to a rough cut or because they can’t put themselves in their viewer’s shoes to see that the work is missing basic clarity or is overly self-indulgent or precious. Working at a magazine doesn’t give you more control, it just means you get your ass kicked by editors instead of a client. Either way you can’t ignore the feedback. After a few years of it, you realize that they’re trying to fix actual problems and not just make your life miserable. Once you get to the point where your default position is to believe the criticism rather than immediately defend against it, then you’re actually in a place to push back. But, yeah, sometimes commercial clients will sacrifice the story in order to obey the data, stay on message, or avoid getting too real. It’s one reason that the word documentary should be reserved for actual documentaries. That’s gotta stay sacred. Films by brand ambassadors about other brand ambassadors can be amazing to watch. Some of them can even be true and accurate. But I still haven’t come across a brand that has editorial guidelines, fact checkers, or a public editor.

How long has your Talweg been in business and how much have you grown since inception? 
About a year and a half ago, Ryan Heffernan and I had the opportunity to move from production work into being a full-service ad agency. We’ve got a Jedi media planner who’s a real millennial whisperer and a couple of account managers who are super sharp. That core team has allowed us to service clients like New Mexico Tourism and other state agencies. We’ve also been doing work for Yeti coolers and a number of other clients in and out of the outdoor space.

Yeti  has been very successful in getting so much coverage for their brand, what do you attribute this to?
The word storytelling has been getting thrown around a lot lately. There was that great rant by an Austrian designer recently about how that term gets misused.

If you’ve been watching social media, you’d think storytelling was anything where somebody reads poetry in an affected voice while slow motion pictures roll by. But Yeti actually gets it. They find filmmakers they believe in. We all work together to pick characters we believe in, regardless of whether they have any affiliation to Yeti or not. And then we all roll the dice. The very first film in the series was one we did in the Grand Canyon last May called In Current

Our plan was to bring models down the Canyon and have them be “trainees” who were learning the ropes. But about five hours into day one of the trip, we realized that there were actual baggage boatmen who’d been cutting their teeth for years trying to get a shot at rowing a dory. We immediately pivoted to focus on this amazing woman Amber Shannon and were lucky enough to have a client—Yeti’s marketing director was with us on the trip—who didn’t hesitate to go with what was real over what was storyboarded. That project laid the groundwork for the Yeti Presents series, which has been a huge success.

What sort of notes can other companies take from Yeti’s playbook in your eyes?
Some agency types have since told us that the branding is way too subtle in these films for their clients’ tastes. Others have told us they’re perfect. We believe that the most important thing is making a film that people want to watch, not one that requires a huge media spend to get eyeballs on it. If I had to chalk up Yeti’s success with these films to one thing it’s that they’re willing to fail. They assign dozens of these 5-7 minute shorts. They don’t all work out. But the ones that do more than make up for the ones that fall short.

The most important thing for a client who wants to get into storytelling (actual storytelling) is to relax their guardrails and trust the process. This is what doc directors, reporters, and editorial photographers have always done. It doesn’t always work out like you planned it but it always works out somehow. In our REI short film Fast Forward, ultra-distance cyclist Lael Wilcox, who was trying to break the record for the Arizona Trail, came down with a respiratory problem only 36 hours into her ride. The record attempt was a disaster, but you ended up believing in her as a character. And that was more important than success.

How do you manage working at a magazine and then working for advertisers at the same time?
I’ve been an editor at large for Outside since April. So I’m not on staff at Outside anymore. Finding time to write and shoot and make movies comes down to working with a great team at Talweg, great editors at Outside, and only swinging at fastballs over the plate.

AFAR

Director of Photography: Tara Guertin
Art Director: Jason Seldon
Associate Photo Editor: Alex Palomino
Photographer: Celine Clanet

Heidi: I read that Creuset translates to cauldron or crucible. In this image the iron is heated  5,184°F (2,862°C) how close could you get to the iron before the heat became too much to bear?
Celine: Well, pretty close actually, but not for too long, that was the thing.

Did you wear special clothing and did it affect your gear?
I just wore regular safety equipment (shoes, glasses). It didn’t affect my gear, but there was just some black dust covering it, covering all of us actually.

How many days did you spend at the factory?
Two full days.

How long did you spend at each assembly line station?
It depended on the visual interest of each one. I remember spending much time on the sanding line: the guys – it’s a guys-only line – were wearing special breathing helmets, moving like robots, grabbing pots, sanding and throwing them out in a beautiful collective ballet. The industrial world is such a ballet.

When you were developing the narrative arc of the story, how did you keep track of big sweeping environmentals, portraits and tight shots to make for a dynamic story?
You have to think of every details that will make the viewer feel the experience of a place, which is basically the point of a magazine assignment. Photography is limited: no sounds, smells, nor movements, therefore every detail possible matters, and I just have this in mind when I shoot. I always try to step back, and ask myself what did I miss to shoot in what I see right now?

Did you review the shoot and then go back to visit anything you feel you may have missed?
No, two days were enough to stick to Afar’s expectations for this assignment.

Which part of the factory drew you in as a photographer?
The foundry. It was such a show.

How did this story come about? Did you pitch this idea to the magazine?
No, they thought of me first, as I do a lot of industrial photographic assignments, outside of my personal work and other kind of assignments.

ESPN

Creative Director ESPN Print & Digital: Chin Wang
Director of Photography: Karen Frank
Senior Photo Editor: Kristine LaManna
Associate Art Director: Linda Pouder
Photographer: Zachary Bako

Heidi: Was this originally a studio shoot which transformed into a roof top option?
Zachary: This was a two-day shoot in Los Angeles. On the first day, we captured the Bennett Brothers working out in Hollywood at Jay Glazer’s Unbreakable Performance Center. Followed by lunch at Stir Market then at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios where Martellus is creating a stop-motion television show. The second day we were at DSR Studios in DTLA, where the rooftop image was created.

What type of direction did you get from the magazine for this section and how many different set ups were you asked to provide?
Kristine placed emphasis on the roof option. Finding a real moment between Michael and Martellus. This would be the most important option for the magazine. I was asked to do a grey seamless and a roof option.

How much time did you have with them?
ESPN’s E:60 film crew was with us for the two days conducting interviews so once they wrapped their set, I was given five minutes as they made camera changes to capture what I needed.
Michael had a meeting across town when the outdoor option had to be shot, so time was extremely limited for this setup.
Initially, the plan was to have them for an hour and a half to shoot singles and doubles on a black and grey set then head to the roof for an outdoor option. In the end, we were given five minutes here and there throughout the day with Michael and Martellus to cover what we needed.

Was it hard to shoot on such a severe slant?
No, it was not. I have been known to hang out of passenger side windows of moving cars to get the shot. This slant was pretty easy.

Did you have them crouching because they were different heights or it just naturally unfolded that way?
It was through direction. When I ran up the slant, I started to slip and my assistant pushed my shoulder into the roof to hold me in place. Martellus commented that my crew really did have my back. We all had a laugh and that is when this image was captured.

Congratulations, I see you have consistency in your “Awards,” can you share your submissions with us for 2016?
Thank you. American Photography is always beautifully curated, here is what I submitted for AP 33.

Tiny Atlas Quarterly

Founder/Creative Director: Emily Nathan
Photo Editor: Deb Hearey
Executive Editor: Jennifer Rodrigue.
Recent rebrand (new logo and Solas logo/branding): Mark Sloan who is also Director of Design at Chiat Day

Good Magazine

Art Director:  Tyler Hoehne
Managing Editor: Caroline Pham
Photographer: Joshua Schaedel

Heidi: What type of direction did you get from the magazine?
Josh: Art Director Tyler Hoehne, the writer Stacey Leasca and myself talked a little about the direction of the piece and the type of emotion that was needed conceptually. Luckily, I have worked with Tyler on a few assignments before; he mentioned certain pictures that I had made in the past for Good, and how to pull some of those moments into this project. The communication was great so I had a pretty good idea what I was after prior to arriving on site.

Did you pitch them this story or was it assigned?
No the assignment was based on the writer Stacey Leasca’s story that she pitched to the magazine after doing a related story on the female prison that is located directly across the street from the men’s facility. Stacey wrote, “The existence of a cosmetology school inside of Valley State Prison is a coincidence of history. The program launched in the mid-‘90s when Valley State opened as a women’s facility. … In 2011, the Public Safety Realignment Act enabled the early release of thousands of low-level offenders across the state. Many of these offenders were women and the decision was made to convert the under populated facility to house men. When these inmates arrived, the California Department of corrections and Rehabilitation chose to maintain the cosmetology program. It currently boasts a near-100 percent graduation rate—one of the highest of any prison education program in the country.”

Did you send promos to the art/photo director?  How did you meet Tyler and how did your creative relationship develop?
No, Tyler came to my studio in Pasadena to hang out with my studio mate and business partner Ben Sanders. We ended up talked a little bit about our photo-illustration business “Those People” and I think he eventually hired us to shoot a food related concept for Good Magazine. Tyler was on set that entire shoot and played with props and lights with us. We really had fun and hit it off. A couple of months later he reached out and said he had a cool assignment that he thought my documentary style would fit for. I had such a great experience on that next assignment and myself and everyone involved just hit it off. After that, Tyler just continued to send me on really interesting assignments.

How many days were you at the prison?
I just went in for a single day. Stacey and myself were allowed in after the inmates were settled in for the day at the Cosmetology school. We went through a normal day of their routine and then just before their day was over we had to go back. In all, I think we spent about five hours with the guys.

Were you able to interact with the inmates without supervision?
There was a Lieutenant that escorted us around but for the most part but once we were in the class we were allowed to walk around the salon pretty freely. If I am correct, to be in this particular program most of the men are exceptionally well behaved. From my perspective, everyone that I met in the cosmetology school really wanted to be there and I never once felt like I wasn’t in a salon.

Were you able to connect enough with the inmates to ask why they pursued this?
I definitely was able to connect with some of them. I have even received a few letters from a couple of the guys that I met. I never really asked them that specific question but for the most part the guys that I talked to said that their ambitions were to take the skills that they learned while they were in this program and find a job. One guys told me, “ It doesn’t matter what you did as long as you make a proper cut.” Some of the guys told me that they had dreams of opening their own Barbershops and Salons when they got out. One gentleman told me that his biggest goal was to get out and cut his daughter’s hair, that one really stuck with me the most.

I know you are a recent Art Center Grad and have had success with your personal work as well, tell us about your publishing company.
Well, the publishing company, The Fulcrum Press, grew out of my relationship with my business partner Rebecca King. I met Rebecca King after she moved back to LA after graduating from SVA in New York. We hit it off pretty quickly and we started working on a series of publications for a few art shows that I had. It has really become a labor of love, not a day goes by that I don’t think about our publishing company and all the decisions that we are making.

I really love it and love the people that we are working with. We are luck enough to have some really good friends over at The Ice Plant who has really helped us out a lot. Right now, we are pretty excited about the two publications that we are working on and are trying to finish up before the end of 2016.We are not really rushing anything and are just taking our time and enjoying the process of collaborating with our friends, making cool publications that we emotionally and conceptually are attached to. I’m  really fortunate to have such an amazing, like-minded business partner in Rebecca King.

What has been the biggest surprise for you after graduating in terms of commercializing your images?
Ha-ha, that I know nothing. You can only learn so much in school and no matter how much you work on your craft the only way to see what works for you is just trying different things outside your comfort zone. For me the biggest surprise that I learned is how much I really love collaborating with so many different kinds of people. It may sound cheesy but it’s true; it is all about the people that you work with that determines how your day is going to go and how good the images are going to turn out. Good collaborations makes photography so enjoyable. In addition to that, how much you need a good set of friends who will help you along your way. Everyone needs help and having other good friends in the photo industry is such a valuable asset.When a client asks you a question and you can turn to a friend who has been there and they can give you sound advice that makes all the difference in the world. I was really surprised by how many unexpected people really helped me out and supported me and it has motivated me to do the same and pay it forward.

Was there anything that you wish your education prepared you for?
This is hard question for me because I really have no complaints now that I have some distance and perspective. I think every school is different and they have their strengths and weaknesses. I felt like I got a great education at Art Center. I was lucky because I had to paint houses for extra money all the way through school and because of that most of my teachers went out of their way to help me. I still maintain very close relationships with some really great teachers who I still turn to for advice. It’s funny, now that I am teacher, I am asking all of them for teaching advice.

I personally don’t think you are really ever prepared enough till you have to make real life decisions. Balancing life and work and art is difficult after school and getting over that hump and transitioning into a professional practice from an educational practice is tough and you have to learn to forgive yourself for making mistakes. It takes time, which seems like is different for everyone. It’s just one of those things where you have to find your own way of doing things that makes you happy and just don’t stop making pictures. How you act and how you treat people while you are in school will dictate most of your young professional life. It is kind of silly but I wish someone had said that to me.

I think I got really fortunate; I was lucky to have some really great teachers/ mentors while I was going there. I made a lot of really good life-long friends and I don’t know where I would be without the relationships that I made while I was in school. To be honest, nearly every opportunity that has come my way has been a direct connection through some friendship that I made while I was in school. Anything I didn’t learn from my teachers I learned from my friends. Hindsight is always 20/20 but I really can’t complain, I am really happy these days.

To see some more of Josh’s work, 
NowSpace is presenting YIELD, a joint exhibition by Josh Schaedel + Aaron Farley  both are artist in residence there.