The Daily Edit – 000 Magazine: Justin Page

 

 

000 Magazine

Editors: Pete Stout, Alex Palevsky
Creative Director: Justin Page

 

Heidi: How did this project come about for you?
Justin: I got a message one day from my childhood best friend whom I hadn’t seen or spoken to in decades. He and his long time associates in the auto magazine game were going to start their own magazine and were looking for an art director. They actually already had someone, but felt like they wanted to look around for just one more option before committing. While they were picking their brains on who that last option might be, Pete (the editor, owner and my long-lost childhood BFF) recalled that a mutual friend of ours, whom I had recently caught up with at a our high school reunion, had told him that she had seen me, and that I was also in the magazine game. In fact, I was an art director at Playboy (at the time). Pete looked me up and hesitantly clicked on my portfolio. That’s when I heard from my long-lost buddy. We spoke about the project, did a lot of catching up, (this went on for months). They had me do a few spec designs based on what they were looking for so they could measure my work up against the person they were already almost working with. We did a couple back and fourths on the fundamentals of the book, mocked up some story designs and they decided to bring me on. Shortly thereafter, Pete and I were working together in his office in Marin developing page templates, type styles and a production plan to launch 000.

How much is assigned and how much is sourced?
It’s a combo. Our goal is to show people images they’ve never seen, so we want to assign as much original art as possible. but we’re also very deep into historical documentation and vintage images that we’re able to source from various collectors and archives. The feel of the book is very much a blend of original and historical. We have a section that is comprised of photographed factory documents, translated from German to English in captions. I love the archival materials, the discoloring of the documents and tones in the old b&w prints look beautiful when you get the combinations right on the page

Since you are a quarterly, are you shooting all your covers? and have they all been shot in one location?
The covers have all been shot on separate locations from Germany to Palm Springs.

Where are you sourcing the vintage images from?
The vintage images come from various collectors and archives. The Porsche factory archive has been incredibly helpful, as they have a number of private collectors, in allowing us to source their personal pieces.

Tell us about the logo design?
The logo design is based on the letterforms of an early iteration of the Porsche insignia: rounded, modern, geometrical. Since the name itself (000) is based on Porsche’s developmental numerology, my guys felt that the Porsche early font style was the right basis for the design. They had done a few font studies, but weren’t quite sure where to take it from there. It seemed to me that they already had the pieces but just needed them dialed in. So I picked it up, went through a few exploratory options trying different flourishes, geometry, color devices and those sorts of things (because that’s what you do) but we ended up going with the single color, underlined trio of rectangular zeros.

How many Porsches have you driven and in one word describe the experience?
I’ve driven 5 or 6 since we started this journey – some on track, some on the back roads of Austin,Texas. My most exciting ride though was as a passenger at the thermal raceway in Palm desert. We work with one of Porsches factory race drivers and he took me out for some hot laps. I think we did about 6 laps at break neck speeds. Every time I looked over, my man was a cool as a cucumber. So what’s the single word that means “it turns out my personal car isn’t that fun after all”?

Are you doing any illustration for the magazine?
I’m not personally doing any illustration for 000. We do work with an illustrator on our build section. In each issue, my editors work up a sort of dream car configuration and have it visualized by an automotive designer. We’ve talked about how to utilize original illustration more, but given the nature of our book, I don’t see too many opportunities. What our readers are really here to see are beautiful photos of cars and genuine artifacts that they haven’t seen anywhere else.

The Daily Edit – Billboard: Joe Pugliese

Billboard

Creative Director: Shanti Marlar
Photography & Video Director: Jennifer Laski
Co Director of Photography: Jennifer Sargent
Photo Editor: Samantha Xu
Photographer: Joe Pugliese

Heidi: I know the band has a particular aesthetic, did they have any requirements?
Joe: Since this was my third shoot with them, I have sort of gotten to know some of their preferences, but having said that I think they probably prefer to be surprised and maybe like to hear that the photographer has good ideas. It’s hard to know what to expect, which makes it fun and challenging in equal measure.

The band has been heavily photographed, did that fact play into your approach for the shoot? Did you want to do something different that hadn’t been done before, is that even possible?
For sure, they have not only been photographed by all of the top music and portrait photographers over the last decades, but the sheer volume of shoots they have done have made it hard to think that you’re going to wow them with anything that you do. It helped me to not try to mine the archives for inspiration and/or for things to avoid, and just approach it honestly as I would any other shoot. In the end I just wanted to make interesting photos and I wasn’t too hung up on whether it had been done before. I’m not a high concept photographer, and since I started my career in photojournalism, it’s important to me to just build a world they can be in and shoot organically once they are in it rather than have exact compositions and arrangements in mind beforehand.

What made this shoot unique as you’ve got a stellar gallery of subjects.
The most unique thing about shooting U2 is how much I respect their creative output and the fact that Bono especially is incredibly involved in the process (in a very good way). He’s a tough critic and it can be hard to hear when he doesn’t like something, but it always leads to better images because he cares enough to communicate what he thinks is and isn’t working. The challenge of this of course is that if the magazine is not involved in this conversation, a cover edit can be made that does not align exactly with the band favorites. It puts me in a difficult situation because while I definitely take their preferences into account, the magazine has other needs and we can’t kill an entire setup if it’s not the band’s favorite. The previous shoot I did with U2 was for their own publicity and they had final say in the images, so I think it was a bit of an adjustment to shoot again for editorial where the magazine really had final say in cover choice from what we shot (and what I turned in).

Did you play music on set?
Haha. Good question. It’s definitely not easy choosing music on any set, but music legends make it even tougher. When I showed up on set in the morning the props department had already put on a U2 Pandora station that was fun for a few minutes but obviously the last thing we would ever play during the shoot! Luckily one of my NYC assistants makes amazing Spotify playlists and we played a mix of classic R&B and funk that seemed to work well.

How long did you have with the band; what was your interaction like?
We had about 90 minutes to do 2 cover tries, two spreads, and singles of each of the four members twice (two looks for singles). See above for interaction

How did you prepare for this?
I started conversation with Jenny Sargent, the photo director at Billboard, and discussed some approaches to the shoot. Jenny suggested that we work with the set designer Shawn Patrick at Acme Studios in NYC and he and I came up with some great ideas together. I would start on an idea for a look and he would riff on different ways to achieve it and we went back and forth from there. He was really key in putting together some of my loose ideas and making them into the final set we ended up with. Even on the day of the shoot we tweaked the set and he made suggestions to make it have more depth, etc. He suggested a single neon light in the background and together we decided that two vertical lights of different colors could provide us with a lot of options especially for the singles. It’s fun to be open to collaboration on something like this, I feel that if I was too rigid about my initial ideas, I could have missed out on some of my favorite images of the day.

 

The Daily Edit – Portland Monthly: Holly Andres

Portland Monthly

Art Director: Mike Novak
Fashion Editor: Eden Dawn 
Writer: Margaret Seiler
Photographer:
Holly Andres

Heidi: How difficult was it to reach Tonya?
Margaret: There are a lot of fake sites and fan sites for Tonya Harding that claim to be official, but I found one that seemed like it might actually be connected to her, and had been emailing a contact I found there every few months for more than a year. I wanted to talk to her about growing up in Portland and her life today, not rehash “the incident.” I had read and seen plenty of interviews with her and knew her responses on that tended to sound kind of canned and repetitive. With the movie coming out at the end of 2017, we were finally cleared to set up an interview in October. Since we were all in such close proximity we made arrangements to watch her skate at her regular rink just over the river, with an interview and photo shoot to follow at a nearby country club.

Why did you choose  Holly?
We hired local talent Holly Andres, who has made a career out of telling complex emotional stories through her photography. We photographed Tonya Harding in the club members’ private wine room.

How did the styling direction unfold?
Her manager suggested our style editor, Eden Dawn, just take Tonya shopping at the mall for something to wear. But Eden and I wanted her to look like a movie star. I could remember seeing images of her on TV when I was a skating-obsessed kid (well before “the incident”), and it had often seemed like people had gone out of their way to get unflattering shots or to cast her as a certain type of character. There are people who view her as a villain, a hero, an antihero, a rebel, a criminal, washed-up—in Portland, where she’s from, a lot of people had had encounters with her and had their own varying views. We wanted to transcend all that and just show her looking really beautiful, befitting the red carpets she now finds herself on with the award attention for I, Tonya. Earlier that day our art director, Mike Novak, had gone to Eden’s house to jump-start her car, and just after I left the rink I got a message that it was dead again. “Can Tonya jump you?” I texted Eden. “She’s kind of a gear head.” I made a U-turn to rejoin Eden, and was just digging the jumper cables out of my car when Harding and her friend emerged from the rink. I was embarrassed to not know where my Volvo’s battery was or where the cables connected, so we definitely needed their help. Tonya had her friend pull up next to Eden, and then she leaned under her hood to put the clamps in place.

Tell us about Tonya on set as this is a coming out of sorts for her.
Hair and make-up shared some of Tonya’s experiences as a kid living in not-quite-Portland. Sheri could even talk hunting with her. (There also may have been a few cocktails involved.) Tonya said she felt like a movie star, just like Marilyn Monroe. We told her to look up pictures of Veronica Lake when she got home. Tonya really wanted to keep it, but it was most definitely not in our budget. She had to settle for keeping the heels she wore with it, which Eden had picked up at Target. In the end, even though it was an all-day event, the actual shooting had to happen very quickly due to time taken up by the interview, hair and makeup, and dead car batteries. We probably had about an hour of actual shooting time before we had to break down the set and be out of the country club.

Tonya told us we were the first media people she’d consented to talk to in a long time, and the end of the day was all tears and hugs and thanks for treating her with such kindness and respect. Since the movie came out, she’s done loads of other interviews inspiring plenty of similar stories, so maybe we were her gentle entrée back into the spotlight.

The Daily Edit – Golfer’s Journal: Tom Shaw

 

 


The Golfer’s Journal

Art Director: Jim Newitt
Photo Editor: Grant Ellis
Photographer: Tom Shaw

Heidi: What was different about this course that was a challenge for you to photograph?
Tom: The biggest challenge with this course was the Wind and the light. The course, and this particular hole, is quite exposed so you get your share of wind and rain. I love this kind of wild weather though – it feels good to spend a day walking in it.

Did you purposely choose to shoot more end of day?
Yes I did. I tend to plan these shoot around and evening and a morning – this gives me two chances at getting the best light. I was lucky as an old school friend lived within yards of the course so I stayed with him and had a very short walk to the course.

What type of direction did you get from the magazine?
They explained about the detail of the course and pretty much gave me free reign to shoot it in all its elements – from wide DPS views to the fine detail such as the cut grass. Because Summer in Scotland the late evening light lasts so long (almost until 10pm), I had plenty of time to really walk the hole and see all the details.

When you are approaching such a legendary course which is heavily photographed, is your process any different?
I don’t really do much research – I’m not the biggest golf fan, but I am a fan of the landscape in which it sits, so I won’t look at other pictures, as I need to see how and where the light is, and I want to see it with fresh eyes.

I enjoyed your sporting landscape gallery, would you say these image fall into that category or does there need to be some type of architectural element to anchor the image.
These Images do fall into the sporting landscape category, but I feel that they do need people in the image to give it scale and context. Some of the images do have that and I think that it is important. But this image is shot with a specific brief to be about the hole, not the people. In some of my other work with surfing and cycling – the people play a very small but important part in the image as it is all about scale and context.

This kind of work – the sporting landscapes – is pretty new to me as I have spent a lot of my career shooting athletes and sporting events, but this is going back to shooting what I love, landscapes. I grew up in Scotland and my love of photography started by being out in the hills and mountains, and seeing the light dance across the hills. I’m looking to combine these two passions of sport and landscape so it seemed a natural progression to shoot this way.

The Daily Edit – AFAR: Dina Litovsky

AFAR

Director of Photography: Tara Guertin
Art Director: Jason Seldon
Assistant Photo Editor: Rachel McCord
Photographer: Dina Litovsky

Heidi: How do you approach travel stories?
Dina: I always like to do a fair amount of research beforehand. That involves reading up about its culture, people and landmarks. A useful place to start is past travel articles, which are also great for initial photo research. Looking at previous images of a city both gives me an idea of what to expect as well as what to avoid. It’s fun to be seduced by certain things when at a new location – everything seems exciting – but then it’s very easy to unwittingly repeat existing images of an over-photographed place/landmark. 

Once on location, I like to have a first day where I walk around the city only with an iPhone, getting a feel for the city and making quick images of locations where I’d like to come back to.

In certain cultures locals are leery of being photographer, how do you deal with this?
Learning the rules of that culture and respecting them. Even if there is no big language barrier, I like having a local guide who can help me navigate the intricacies of unspoken street rules.

How many days was your shoot.
6 days.

Do you give yourself an extra day to fill in any gaps or round out the full narrative?
I try to do that as much as possible with each assignment. I always start editing my work after the first couple of days, during which I allow myself to shoot on instinct. After that, I approach the shoot with more intent, filling in the gaps daily and fleshing out the story. 

 
 

 

The Daily Edit – Powder Magazine: Tal Roberts

Powder Magazine

Photography Director: David Reddick
Art Director: Tyler Hartlage
Photographer:
Tal Roberts

Heidi: Who were you photographing for this story?
Tal: I joined three siblings, McKenna, Axel, and Dylan Peterson who happen to all be amazing skiers for a road trip through Southern Idaho with a plan to ski some of the smaller ski hills where you can still get a lift ticket for under $50. I got the chance to do the assignment because I had lived in Sun Valley, Idaho for a long time and had been a regular contributor to Powder.

What type of direction did you get from the magazine?
Drive around to these smaller ski hills, get a feel for the area, ski with the locals, and show that you can still find great places to ski for under $50 in the age of the $100 plus lift tickets.

Tell us about the opening spread image, how did that come about?
That shot is from an early morning at Pebble Creek Ski Area. On the shot before this I had the skier make a turn really close to me, and because it was really cold the snow was spraying up really high and got all over the front of my lens. Since the sun was still really low I decided to leave the snow on the lens and try a backlit shot next which creates that aperture shape print on the image.

What is going on in the shot with the snow explosion, was that luck?
The snow exploding like that isn’t really luck. It’s a result of communication with the skier to know where and how they are going to make their turn and having a good idea of what the snow condition is like and how it will react. Where we did get lucky was with the light. On our first chairlift ride up the mountain lightning struck an electrical tower really close to the chairlift while we were on it and shut down power to the whole mountain for a few minutes. When the chair began to move again we had ski down and stay in the lodge for the next hour until the thunder and lightning passed. The wind blew the storm clouds away and when we got back on slope this was the first image we shot.

How many takes for the shot with the nice line and the basin down below?
Just one, but I shot it in high-speed continuous mode so I had a few to pick fro

How many days a year do you ski and do you deliberately ski/train to garner these types of shoots?
Counting days that I was shooting and days just riding for fun I think I was on snow around 40-45 days last season. That’s a bit lower than it used to be since I used to live in Sun Valley, Idaho 2 minutes from the chairlift and now I live in Portland, Oregon. I wouldn’t say I train directly for shoots like this, but I do work to stay fit as it helps out a ton when hiking and riding with a heavy camera pack on. I wouldn’t really look at this as training either, but I have done years and years of snowboarding and without that experience I wouldn’t really be able to keep up and navigate more difficult terrain that we often shoot on. For example, this week I have been in British Columbia on a heli-skiing shoot in pretty wild, remote terrain with some of the deepest snow I have ever ridden, which would be a major struggle without a bit of experience in the backcountry.

The Daily Edit – DestinAsian: Jeremy Samuelson

 

DestinAsian

Editor in Chief and Photo Director: Christopher Hill
Photographer:
Jeremy Sameulson


Heidi: Did you travel with the writer?
Jeremy: The writer did not join us but instead I traveled with my family, though not on the shoot of course.

 

Is the magazine both print and digital?
Yes

Are you familiar with Chiang Mai?
I lived in Chiang Mai for 4 years when my kids were younger, we took them there so they would have a bigger world view. We knew no one,  we just arrived with 2 suitcases apiece (2 kids and wife) and made it work. I would commute back and forth to the USA for shoots. I did do some magazine shoots while there and hence had a relationship with the magazine but really it was a place for personal work. The timing just happened to be right when they asked about my availability for the shoot, as I was planning a visit anyway.  We still have a small place there and are starting to spend time there again as my kids are off to college.

What inspired you about this shoot?
A
s you know magazine budgets are low (especially in SE Asia ) but stories like this are one of the reasons I became a photographer. It gives you an opportunity to meet people and places that you would otherwise never meet or see, especially in a foreign country.

Tell us about the color treatment in these images.
The color effect was done in camera with gels not in post and is a technique I’ve been playing with for awhile, it’s influenced by James Welling and his work at the Glass House.

Did you have any language barriers?
I used a Thai assistant for some of the shoots as my thai skills are not very good, it is a tonal language and quite hard to master. 
But these artists are working on the international level and were often quite english proficient. 

How did you integrate with the community while you were there?
While I lived there I had a column in a local expat magazine, Chiang Mai Citylife, called Ti Naa ( face, in english) 
where I did double page spread of portraits( large face shots done in my little studio) of  interesting Thai people. For example, Miss Chiang Mai ( beauty queen), local singers and artists, the head monk for all of Chiang Mai province. Below is a jewelry designer I photographed. Again it served as a way for me to meet people whose paths I would never cross,  especially there.

 

 

 

The Daily Edit – The Big Life: Nick Kelley

Big Life


Editor: Ryan Waterfield
Creative Director: Britt Johnson
Photographer:
Nick Kelley


Heidi: How did the story come about since it was a collection of stock images?
Nick: Big Life, a magazine based in Sun Valley, Idaho, reached out as they were hoping to do a feature on my longtime girlfriend, Maddie Brenneman, who is a fly fishing guide in Colorado. As a photographer, and after 12 years together, I have quite a large archive of Maddie images. I’ve shot her for some commercial projects over the years but I’m also always taking pictures during our travels, which are more often than not focused on fishing.

As opposed to doing a concentrated, one-time shoot, I think Ryan Waterfield (Editor) and Britt Johnson (Creative Director) of Big Life liked the idea of having images of Maddie from all over the world—especially since the photos already existed.

Did you submit a wide edit to the magazine or did you pitch this as a package?
The creative director, Britt, had actually flagged a few images from Maddie’s instagram and my website that she was interested in running and we went back and forth a bit from there. In the end, I think we were working from a selection of about 20 images that they made their final selection from.

Are you always shooting stock with these projects in mind?
When I’m shooting outdoor activities, I certainly make an effort to shoot with brands and future usage in mind. Outdoor brands seem to always be looking for imagery of their latest gear in the field and they often want several options, angles, and setups based on where and when the images are being used. Maddie also has a handful of sponsors through her large following on Instagram and work as a guide, so I know some of those companies are always looking for images of her using their gear.

Was this all done during one trip with your girlfriend?
No, the images that made the final cut were a mixture of images from Argentina, Colorado, and New Zealand.

 

The Daily Edit – Bon Appétit: Dominique Lafond

Bon Appetit

Photo Director: Alex Pollack 
Photo Editor: Elizabeth Jaime
Photographer: Dominique Lafond

 

 

Heidi: How many days did you have to shoot this project?
Dominique: The magazine gave me the assignment a few weeks in advance so I could schedule the restaurant visits to my liking. I really wanted to take my time on this one: Montréal is my city, I already knew most of the restaurateurs and LOVE their restaurants. It was important to me that the photos showed them in the best light possible, I didn’t want to rush anything.
It took me 8 days to complete my visits. Shoots in restaurants need to be carefully scheduled when you have to shoot dishes: you don’t want to bother any clients so you have to arrange to shoot the food when the place is empty. I then stayed longer to capture the restaurants in action.

What specific direction did you get from the magazine?
Bon Appétit gave me a list of 12 restaurants + dishes to shoot in every place. I also had to shoot busy interiors, details, etc. They already knew I would give them a lot of choices since we had worked together before (I sent them about 600 photos for this shoot). I also had to be careful about the season: the shoots took place in September and the story was coming out in winter.
The exterior shoots (ice skating) were taken last winter.

How much directing are you doing during the shoots?
The directing only happens on the food shots when I have time to decide where every element will go.
There’s no directing on the people shots: I only ask them to continue about their business as if I wasn’t there. I’m also very careful not to disturb any client and work very discreetly.

Are you turning in all your edits with captions?
The magazine only asks the captions for the photos they take to be published.

How did the magazine find you, did you send them promos?
I have been a Bon Appétit collaborator for about 8 years now. They found me when they were looking for a photographer in Montréal. We have worked together a few times over the years, always on shots where I had to capture food and the spirit on the places/restaurants.

Did you submit black&white and color?
I always like to mix color and b&w photos in projects so I included a few b&w options when I sent the selection. I’m very happy they kept the idea and used both in the article!

 

The Daily Edit: The New York Times Sunday Magazine: Christopher Griffith

The New York Times Sunday Magazine


Design Director: Gail Bichler
Director of Photography: Katherine Ryan
Art Director: Matt Willey
Deputy Photo Editor: Jessica Dimson
Associate Photo Editors: Stacey Baker, Amy Kellner, Christine Walsh
Photographer: Christopher Griffith

Heidi: You shot Sean Hannity for the cover of the NY Times magazine? Where did the shoot happen and what was the mood on set?
Christopher: We set up an entire studio on the set of the Hannity show at Fox News in midtown Manhattan. Since we were shooting for the NY TIMES there was initially the sense of entering the belly of the beast, but frankly that was our own bias as everyone was incredibly accommodating and pleasant.

I really had no idea what to expect. I have on occasion watched Hannity show with all its accouterments and became increasingly on edge with every minute that passed as we awaited Mr Hannity’s arrival. I found myself pacing all over his TV set that could easily be mistaken for The NFL Today. Sean finally burst into his set an hour late with a ready to go attitude that I must admit was a relief. His duality of frat boy charm and bravado gave me the sense it could change at the drop of a hat, but at that moment I felt I might get something decent out of him.

From the moment he sat down, he is off and running. We had built a table for Sean to ‘lean in’ on and lean in he did. I am sitting no more than 3 ft from him when he leans in and says ‘Right… so you want to get up in my grill’? Indeed I do and off we go. It is a rapid fire frenzy. At 3-4 frames per second bursts, I could barely keep up. I had told all involved on set that we were shooting untethered as the computer can’t keep up, when in truth I just did not want any preying eyes, nor opinions. 29 minutes and 700+ images later Sean walks out and turns to Kathy Ryan and Stacy Baker and says, ‘I have done this a lot over the past 30 years and this is the best guy I have ever worked with’

It rang as a sort of complement, not dissimilar to certain candidates on the campaign trail fishing for local endorsements.

Were you surprised by his reaction to the cover once the published story was released?
So, yeah. He clearly would appear to not have loved the cover; so much for compliments? He complained about it for days and there were multiple knocks on articles I turned up on-line. I found myself listening to his show 2 days after the cover had gone live and he mentioned the cover and the ‘liberal media bias’ 3 times in half an hour. Maybe it is me who is naive. I thought he might love it, because a lot of his followers did. I can understand that he might personally not love the image as it might not be an image that you care to live with forever, but this was business. He either does not understand his brand identity, or he understands it well and has used this cover as a means to attack the assumed liberal media bias and thus only strengthen his appeal to those ears that are listening.

What is interesting about this cover is the extended coverage it got in the press due to his complaints. Do you think he has a justified complaint, or was he scaling the exposure by complaining?
When I initially saw the image in question in my initial edit, I imagined it could be a front-runner for the cover as it personifies a significant part of Hannity’s media persona. The cover illustrates the power of a photograph when compared to motion. Hannity gesticulates this kind intensity to camera at some point of his program each and every week. These moments are fleeting and live solely in our memories.  The beauty of a photograph and maybe this cover image is that it captures an accurate depiction of his on-screen character and what is a major component of his viewer appeal.

My take on his reaction against the published images is that he is either super naive or he is kind of clever. I am leaning to the latter because he has got a bunch of liberal media bashing out of it. His reaction has been all about how he has been depicted as angry and that this is all part of the liberal media bias against conservatives. That said, I might be over thinking, it might just be vanity.

I’ve read that he feels he was misled. Once you sit for an editorial image, the subject takes part in the creation of the image, it’s a collaborative process.
All things said and done, and whatever your opinion is of Sean Hannity, he was in no way manipulated or misled by anyone. He gave a performance and a very good one at that. As Director of Photography Kathy Ryan has said ‘We have never seen anyone so animated during a photo shoot’. Maybe it was my brilliance as a photographer in making him so comfortable, but sadly I think not. I actually think it had little to do with me. He knew exactly what he was up against and what he was giving to us as a portrayal of his character. If he wanted to play it safe, he would have done so. He gave me (us) everything… and I for one think he did on purpose. He might not like it, but it is totally accurate. And he knows it.

The Daily Edit – Sassoon Dock Art Project: Akshat Nauriyal

 

 

 

St+Art / Sassoon Dock Art Project


Content Director and Photographer:
   Akshat Nauriyal
Assistant Photographer: Pranav Gohil

St+art Urban Art Festival has transformed Mumbai’s Sassoon docks Mumbai’s oldest fishing community into an exhibition space with graffiti and art installations. Their mantra is ‘Art for All’ aims to showcase art projects in public spaces making art accessible, removing the experience from conventional gallery space and embedding it within our cities making art truly democratic and for everyone. Arjun Bahl, co found and festival director said, “the whole idea was to bring art to a certain sect of the community who usually don’t interact with art.” A photo installation in association with the Inside Out Project covers the warehouse walls as you enter the show.

Started by French artist JR, the “Inside Out Project” celebrates local identities and stories using large-format street paste-ups. In this case, roughly 300 blown-up portraits of locals were pasted on the warehouse walls and shot by photographer and artist Akshat Nauriyal who is also a cofounder of the St+art India Foundation, along with assistance from Pranav Gohil.

“When we approached the dock workers for the Inside Out project, there was some mistrust. Many photographers and journalists had come before us and misrepresented the people, only focussing on the lack of hygiene and the indoctrination of children in the economy, while missing all the amazing things the place stood for. We got in touch with community leaders to help gain their trust and make the people understand the project through them. We created a pop-up studio in one of the empty rooms in the dock itself so we could maximize on the number of portraits we could make since the people all spent their day there working.  Initially no one came, but slowly some people started tricking in. As word spread about the studio though, people started pouring in and eventually we made over 350 portraits of the various fishermen and women communities of the Sassoon dock,” says Akshat about the project.

Heidi: Tell us how this idea developed, I know you were poised to take a boat ride with one of the fishermen.
Akshat: Initially as part of my research I was excited about the prospect of going on a boat with the fishermen. I’ve always followed a gonzo approach to my stories and wanted to truly immerse myself in the lives of other people.  I made friends with some fishermen who offered to take me with them.  I got up at 4 am and prepared for my journey. It would be a hard and grueling experience and I wanted to be prepared for the worst so I carried supplies of extra batteries, water, power bank and even food, incase we got marooned in the middle of the sea.

Armed with all these and ready to go on the boat Pranva and I arrived at the dock only to be told that the fisherman was busy selling fish and hence would not be able to take us anymore. So with that my dreams of being a fisherman came crashing down. But instead of going back, I decided to spend the morning at the dock, my first of many such mornings and spent time talking to people and understanding the different layers in the micro economy. This would become an important part of my visual and content research.

I also immediately noticed was that the docks were dominated by women, dominant women. They were the peelers, porters, buyers and sellers. They were as fierce and assertive as the men around, most times even more. Which kind of also put into perspective how women are more than equals in shared public space and yet we cast this impression of the weaker sex upon them. This was a major takeaway from that days for me.

After many such mornings, I met with community leaders regularly to understand of the space. And what emerged was that the space had 3 main communities who were dominant in the I and had been so for decades. These were the Koli Fishermen (they went out to catch the fish) , the Banjaras (men help in hauling the fish off boats while he women help in peeling and transporting) and the Hindu Marathas (they cart the fish). These three communities would become the main focus of our project.

What surprised you the most about this project?
There were many surprises;  from the complexities of the space which I experienced first hand and how different they were from everything I had researched online. Most of what I read before alluded to the Koli’s being the most significant community, almost the only significant community at the docks. But upon reaching and doing on ground research, the reality was a lot more different from what I had initially imagined.  The reactions were also surprising. Most people were very happy with the project, many identifying their friends and relatives from the community. But the most surprising reaction was one day I was told that some Banjara ladies were unhappy with the project. I immediately went to the dock.

They had reservations on their photos being next to a man who was not their husband. I told them that when they work in the dock, they all work together – men and women as equals. In those moments it doesn’t matter if the man next to them is their husband or not, which is exactly what we wanted to represent through the paste-up. Eventually I even offered to remove the paste-up because if the people whom I intended to represent through the project were not happy with it, then the project was futile. All the ladies immediately asked me to continue and gave me their blessings.

How did you evolve creatively?
Documentary, as a format for me is a chance to have a unique experience. It is a way of getting  access into people lives and scenarios. It is an insight into a completely different knowledge pool, of insight about life, which I try to access through the people and document- more as a means to understand how people perceive life and exist in the world around them, which I hope to learn from for my own life.

This project was a culmination of all the work I have done in my life in many different capacities. I started as a drummer playing drums for bands in the independent music scene in India. That led me to documenting many of the emerging subcultures I saw around me in Delhi more than a decade back, and that was done from within those communities as a part of the scenes . I’ve done portraiture and fashion work and also several ngo/ community based projects and eventually I founded this public art foundation.  I feel in a way everything up till now was a learning process to be able to do this project.

I like my work to be a true representation of the people I document and hopefully I have been able to do so with this project. I have met many wonderful people as a result who have welcomed me into their lives giving me an insight into worlds I would never have access to, and the honest and genuine connections I have made will go with me through my life. The portraits may not stay forever, and may not really impact their lives directly. But for me, in a city of stars, where only celebrities are glorified on large hoardings, the memory of seeing their own face blown up on the facades of buildings they themselves work in, and inhabit, will hopefully be something they keep with them forever. In the city of Bollywood, where one usually has to be a celebrity or a famous person to be on a large size poster, the representation of the everyday workers of Sassoon was a way of acknowledging them and letting them know that they all matter and are of value and are the real stars, irrespective of their standing in society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily Edit – Darling Magazine: Sami Drasin

 

 

Darling Magazine

Editor-in-Chief: Sarah Dubbelda
Photo Editor: Rebekah Shannon
Photographer: Sami Drasin

Heidi: Tell us why you resonate with the magazine’s mission?
Sami: Darling’s mission inspires me to be myself and makes me feel good about who I am. Every story and issue is so uplifting and encouraging. They talk about real life issues and offer deep advice. Darling sees the beauty in every type of woman. They don’t photoshop or alter women’s bodies or faces. There’s so many images out there with this “ideal” body type that is unrealistic. Even though I know it’s not real, it still affects me and the women I’m surrounded by. Darling instead celebrates women for who they are and focuses on beauty from the inside-out.

In your eyes what does the magazine stand for and how do you feel like your work reflects that?
The magazine is real, honest, encouraging, inspiring, and stylish. I strive for my photography to be the same. I love to photograph people in real moments and to show who they really. I focus on capturing unexpected, candid scenes and in-between moments allowing for a more relatable and honest portrayal of my subjects. I connect quickly and easily with my subjects which allows me to capture the truth of them. I love to make people feel beautiful for who they are.

Did you send the magazine promos of your work?
I usually send an email promo to a big list of clients and companies I want to shoot for every couple of months updating everyone with new work. Darling was on that email list, but they actually found me through my agent.

How did the space theme cover come about?
The first shoot I did for them was a fashion story in the fall 2017 issue. The story was focused on Masculine style. I was brought on just a couple of days before the shoot. The photo editor and editor-in-chief had the models, location, & ideas before hand, but they were open to my suggestions for a stylist, hair & makeup. It was collaborative from the beginning. I liked that they encouraged my creativity and trusted me. The Darling team was really happy with the fashion story that they asked me to photograph the cover for the next issue. It was such an honor since I’ve been a fan of the magazine for quite some time now. I met with the photo editor for coffee to go over ideas for the story before hand. Every issue is a different theme and this one was the “Expanse Issue” focusing on our internal space and the space we share and occupy on this planet as women. We had 6 different setups for this story and it was all supposed to look like the model was in space. Everyone on set was very collaborative and encouraging of each other. We all worked very closely and asked for honest opinions and thoughts on what we were bringing to each shot.

I also got to shoot 2 female scientists at NASA JPL for the Achievers section of issue. It was super fascinating to hear about their stories and to capture these incredible, smart women. This shoot was more low-key than the cover story. There wasn’t as big of a team which made it more of an intimate setting

The Daily Edit – Trevor Traynor

 Trevor Traynor

Heidi: What made you snap that first newsstand shot?
Trevor: I shot my first newsstand near Broadway and Morris Street in New York City and immediately found myself stopping to take portraits at every stand I passed. I’m drawn to the vibrant organized colors and compact product placement that provides an instant time stamp via magazine covers and headlines. The New York City newsstand is a staple in the Big Apple and its photogenic structure is an immediate attraction to the composition fanatic in me.

When did you know this was turning into something more than just a few images of newsstands?
The project started growing quickly within NYC but it was still just something fun and in between commercial shoots. Once I started photographing other cities I realized the photos were forming a series and would be a long-term project

What are the kiosks locations?
They are from New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Geneva, Tel Aviv, Dar Es Salaam, Chicago, Boston, Barcelona, Tokyo, Lima, Cusco, and Punta Arenas

How are you making these photos?
The project is shot and edited on the iPhone.  I started #TheNewsStandSeries in New York City, 2012. Since then I have photographed approx 125 stands. The series started with the iPhone 4s, the 5s, 6, 6s, to my current 7 plus. I’m using editing apps such as Snapseed & Instagram, the end-product emulates the qualities of my favored Hasselblad. I revisited a handful of newsstands with different cameras, and although each camera has its own advantage, the iPhone is my current first choice. The iPhone has a great dynamic range and its unobtrusive ability lets me shoot with a lot more ease.

How long does each portrait take?
 Each photo takes literally 30 seconds. Unless its rush hour. I make it a point to never interrupt the business. If a kiosk is busy and I have time, I’ll wait for the opportune moment.

What are your plans for this body of work?
My goal is to release a newsstand book in 2018 accompanied with coastal openings. I’m currently searching for a publisher/sponsor.  After the book is published I will use the iPhones geotagging of the photos to deliver a thank you copy to each of the newsstands I have photographed.I would also like to donate a percentage of proceeds as well.

What is your elevator pitch to get them to pose?
My approach is 100% respect and a smile. I immediately share some past photos to connect a visual with my idea. A put an emphasis on “a quick iPhone snap for a personal collection.”

I have been fortunate to have a 90% positive response and a few kiosk owners even went as far to offer me drinks and snacks. I aways depart with a hand shake and a grand appreciation for that person’s time.

Aside from this image being featured in American Photography 31, have you received any other press, any projects on the horizon?
The project has definitely received some good press over the years from RYOT, Complex, to Daily Mail, and PDN. and now APE! Thank you guys.  A lot of my colleagues really enjoy the series as well and that definitely makes me happy because it’s nice to get a nod from photographers who inspire you. My next project is to bring this series to life in print. I also have some fun ideas for the opening including a full size newsstand installation.

What has this project taught you about yourself and your work?
As the clock ticks I reflect more and more on the privilege I have to travel the world and make a living creating photographs, making motion visuals, and living while doing something I’m passionate about it. I try to practice gratitude every day and this project has taught me to be present more. It has also taught me that the interaction is just as important as the moment the camera clicks.  The creation process is what I truly love. Lastly, this project has reaffirmed my affinity for framing a subject as one with the environment.

@TrevorTraynor on Instagram or #Thenewsstandseries.

 

The Daily Edit – ELLE Brasil: Zoltan Tombor

 

ELLE Magazine Brasil

Art director for Alicia Keys: Earl Sebastian
Art director Elle:  Luciano Schmitz
Stylist: Lucas Boccalao
Hair: Marcia Hamilton
Make-up: Chichi Saito
Photographer: Zoltan Tombor


Heidi: Is this the first time you’ve worked with ELLE Brasil? 

Zoltan: Yes, this is the first time I ‘ve worked for the Brazilian edition. I’ve been contributing to with European ones for a long time.

How did the project come about?
My name was on Alicia’s photographers’ list, so the creatives of Elle Brazil contacted my agency in New York in the hope of a possible cooperation. After a few weeks, we got the good news that I’d again work together with Alicia. Then we started to discuss the creative and production part of the work together with AK and the creatives of Elle.

Did you shoot this in Sao Paulo?
We shot the series in Milk in New York; unfortunately, I’ve never been to Brazil. Alicia’s been touring in Sao Paulo recently.

Each of the covers express a single statement. How did you direct Alicia for each image?
Alicia is incredibly relaxed in front of the camera, it’s very easy to work with her. She uses her energies positively, and carefully follows our inputs/ideas. I’ve met only a few givers like her throughout my career. I took crops and attitudes of her in each outfit, so we decided about the pictures matching the right slogan later in the stage of editing.

For the “Be Real” cover did you know ahead of time you wanted that to be a strong portrait or was it simply edited this way?
I love the simple but suggestive type of portraits where personality and her eyes play the main role. Alicia is not only a great performer but is an excellent team player as well. She continuously brings different moods and characters; to be honest, I shared only a few thoughts with her at the beginning, and later I just followed her. The spirit of portrait photography for me is the conscious use of human emotions and our energies on set. There are only a few things offering such joy to an artist as a series resulting from a successful cooperation.

 

How did Supernation cause you to grow creatively? 
Supernation is an annual periodical in which I collect and show my personal work on fashion, still life and urban landscape photographs in a bookazine format. To have my own “magazine” was an old dream of mine because I had been looking for the opportunity to work in an environment free of compromises resulting in a high quality print. The third issue is out in October including 2 new series.

Does each issue have a general theme?
There’s no specific thematic message of the issues, they rather tell stories in the light of the current trends. I dedicated the first issue to top model Vanessa Axente; my initial plan was to choose a girl every year of who I make a longer series. During the preparation of the second issue I got a new idea and I felt that it would be more exciting to work on several other series as well because this way I can convey a more complex message besides the diverse content. In the issue mentioned above we made four series, a casting-style one with Cato van Ee to which I matched the urban landscape photos; a pirate world-inspired set in a port on the Themes with Giedre Dukauskaite; the third sequence is about graphic forms to which the magical and brutal style of the Barbican Center served as the perfect location, and the fourth is a still life series of a woman’s hands that finally manifested in a 128-page issue. The third bookazine is out in the up-coming days containing two longer narratives of models Lara Mullen and Ling Liu and tells a story about the opposites of light and darkness.

Is it difficult to edit your own work for the magazine?
Editing your own book is a much more complex task than working independently for a magazine. The content, both in meaning and visuality should work coherently as a whole and it requires constant attention from the phase of brainstorming till the end of editing because I work with an organically developing and constantly changing material. The decisions made on the length, the layout and the sequence of a series are essential. It’s exciting to observe my work from a different angle, discussing and interpreting them with artist friends; all these help me to better understand my art and in light of this, myself.

I love sequencing, for this particular series, which came first? the fashion or the still? 
The idea of the Cato series was to complete the casting photos of this rather clumsy, beginner model with street shots near her suburban home that tells a more complete story while drawing a more accurate portrait of the character. I made the urban landscape photos during my long walks in New York and London and during my trips, so this way I could choose the perfect pair from an existing archive.

You have an incredible range in your photography, fashion, still life and urban landscape. How does one genre influence the other?
In case of fashion commissions we work according to a precisely planned script, we make decisions together with my colleagues before the shoot and the realization itself happens almost by itself, while in case of street shots I work alone in a less controlled environment where spontaneity and my hunches play the main role. The magic lies right in the difference between the two tasks; in the first one I play from notes, while in the latter one I improvise. I need both and I enjoy them equally, but I can’t describe it precisely how one influences the other. Maybe it’s like speaking a second language.

When you are creating your urban landscapes are they all composed in camera?
My street photos are taken on film with a 35mm or medium format camera, and I always aim at processing the given subject from one or two stills. There are lot of unexpected moments in a street environment when there’s only a very short time left for composing, so sometimes I crop these pictures during editing but I always use my landscape photos in full-frame.

Do you sketch your ideas, have a journal?
Yes, I have a big notebook in which I collect my ideas and I also take notes in my phone while travelling, but I don’t draw.

If you were going to start all over, what would you tell your younger self?
The time is now.

How have the 6 years in New York have influenced your photos?
We have been living in New York with my wife for six years and I have changed a lot due to the new environment, and in light of this, so have my photographs. This city is quite a rough and cold place, it is rather about career and money than anything else, and as a European it was very hard to get used to it; maybe I still haven’t managed to. At the same time, however, it is for this loneliness and initial unsuccessful period that made me start taking more and more photos for myself instead of working only on commissions. Besides, I have gained a lot of new experiences in working with a big crew, and slowly I’ve managed to make myself better understood in a corporate world. New York has so much extremes that you can hate and love at the same time; it’s noisy, crowded, yet it’s the most motivating and inspiring place I’ve ever been to; if I leave it, I start missing it in a week. It’s hard to imagine to get old in this city, but the chances are high that it will remain the base for a while because at the moment I can’t think of anything better….

 

 

The Daily Edit – Iwan Baan: Architectural Digest

 

Caracas, Venezuela

Torre David, Caracas, Venezuela

Torre David, Caracas, Venezuela

Floating School, Makoko, Lagos, Nigeria by Kunlé Adeyemi

Heydar Aliyev, Baku, Azerbaijan by Zaha Hadid

Nanping Village, Anhui Provence, China

Pavilion, Shodoshima, Japan by Ruye Nishizawa

Sanmenxia, Henan Province, China

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Traditional Lobi Village, Northern Ghana

Four Freedoms Park, NY, USA

Iwan Baan

Heidi: Architectural Digest recently published a series of images honoring the 16th anniversary of September 11 attacks. Tell us why you approached that shot from an aerial perspective.
Iwan: Every time I’ve been in the air over New York I’ve made a point to go to that area and photograph the progress. When the monument and new World Trade Center were completely finished it was a very important moment . For me the best way to see how all the various parts of downtown fit together with the memorial, the new World Trade center and the transportation hub was from the air. This image was from my personal archive of this buildings progress.

By what means are you making the aerial photographs? Helicopter, drone, airplane?
Usually I do it by helicopter and I feel there is much more flexibility that way. With an aerial perspective,  you see how a building sits in the context of a city or large environment , you can’t really get it with a drone because of the distance required, and you are much more limited in terms of cameras and lenses. The great thing with the aerial perspective and working together with a helicopter pilot is that you can really compose the images, putting foreground and background together to tell the story of a building’s larger significance within the context of the city. I also have a drone but it’s used as a last resort when there’s no way to get a helicopter, or on small projects where I don’t need to be so far away.  I really prefer working from helicopters

With building requirements and criteria becoming more and more stringent how do you stay true to the fundamentals of your photographic look and style and do you find this a creative challenge?
In the Western world with building regulations and material limitations it does become more difficult to make something truly unique in terms of architecture; to define a new language in terms of creating buildings.

As a photographer I come in at the end of the building trajectory with the structure already completed and functioning, so in a way the surprise of buildings and projects in the West is often diminished because more and more the buildings seem like just a set of components put together from a standard catalog of materials. I think that’s a big challenge for architects in the West, and one of the great things of working in other places where building regulations are much less strict, and architects can really experiment with a wider range of materials. In terms of experiencing and documenting these places it can be a lot more interesting visually, which definitely affects my work.

What was it about the Taichung Metropolitan Opera House in Taiwan that you found so intriguing and exciting?
It was built by the Japanese architect, Toyo Ito, and the outside is basically a very simple rectangular box, but none of the interior walls are straight and every dimension is transformed by the way the walls move throughout the space, they create space and any leftover space is used by it’s neighboring space. The interior world is completely fluid where floors become walls become ceilings, it almost like your stepping into the womb of a living entity. All these curving walls are there for a reason, they’re structural, meaning they are there to hold up the building, not just because of the design and it almost  gives it a spiritual meaning.

It took years and years to build with the process being extremely radical, and the city government had a big challenge to outfit it properly, to help it become the incredible space it is.

 

National Taichung Theater, Taiwan by Toyo Ito

 

I enjoyed the interactive map on your site that chronicles all your projects. Is this a tool to signify to the viewer the breadth of your travel?
It’s also a way to show some of the small projects I initiate myself alongside the large public building projects centered in the capitals of the world. People may know my work from the more high profile projects, but there are many smaller projects that may be a bit more under the radar, some in developing countries and those can make big contributions locally where there are very few resources, and the need for these types of projects may be even greater. I also treat all the projects in the same way with my photographic process, and all the projects I take on are a kind of “sign of the times” where we mostly live in urban built-up environments these days. The world is one big place and I think this map helps bring the projects all together in a visual way, along with the way I work and how I show the work.

I read you lost your studio space to a fire a while back. Has it influenced your intense travel losing that personal space.
I was away working in the U.S. at the time it burned down and had been working in the intense travel style for six or seven years already. Basically everything I really needed in my whole life was already in the suitcase with me. When I learned of the fire I just went back to Amsterdam briefly to take care of some insurance things and look at the mess, but there was nothing more I could do, everything was gone and the things I really needed I already had with me so I just made the quick stopover and didn’t think much more about it.

Luckily the way we work these days, and for the last 15 years, my digital archive has been stored off site so in a way I was lucky. Colleagues from older generations  where similar things happened with flood or fire have lost their entire archives since it was all physical with transparencies and negatives.

Eventually the space was rebuilt. A the time it didn’t really affect me much personally, maybe even pushed the travel to the next level for those two or three years, forgetting about having my own place and just living in hotels full time.

What kind of internal responsibility comes with your accolades of being one of the most influential architectural photographers of the 21st century?
I try to stay true to my own beliefs and take on projects I believe are making a larger impact in a city or built environment or push the boundary of architecture and new spaces. It doesn’t have to be the most beautiful thing, it can just be like a big intervention in the dynamic of a place. I think what I was trying to say earlier too is the projects need to be a sign of the times we live in and what kind of significance it has on the built environment. That’s also why I take on very few private projects like houses. I’m more interested in larger public or cultural projects that have a significance for a city, that help define a city or environment.

Photograph by Jonas Ericsson

 

Do you feel that buildings and space have spirit?
I think so. (chuckles) I think a good architect can definitely make a very spirited place, one that evokes imagination in people. That’s what I try to get across in my photography too, and why I include the context and people. I feel when it’s a truly new environment that an architect has dreamt up people respond to that in a different way, an emotional way, so I try to capture that essence in my photographs.

There really are new places to be discovered in the built up and dreamed up environment that architects put into a city, helping evoke a lot of imagination and spirit.

The Daily Edit – Ray Lego: Project 16

 

 

Vice Sports / Project 16

Design Director: Adam Mignanelli
Writer: Jeff Harder
Sports Editor: Eric Nusbaum
Guest Editor: Drew Millard
Photographer: Ray Lego

 

How did this series idea come about?
Jeff Harder a writer that I worked with in the past (Triathlete and Vice Fightland) recommended me for the 16 Project. We make a great team! Our first project was a story on John “Bloodclot” Joseph of the “CRO-MAGS” for Triathlete Magazine.

 

Our second project was for Vice Fightland on madman “Benny Bodda” and third is the 16 Project! Jeff went down week before and wrote the story I followed shortly after so we both shared the same experience: people, places and things.

 

What was the goal for Project 16?
The project goal was to talk about being Sixteen. Sixteen is a transformative age for anybody. You learn to drive. You see freedom and the real world out there just beyond your grasp. But for an athlete, sixteen can be something bigger. It can be the time you separate yourself—the time you take the leap from high school hero to international superstar in the making. How does a sixteen-year-old juggle the pressure of competition, failure, success, on top of the everyday struggles of being a teenager?

What type of direction did they give you?
After a few phone calls with Vice creative team I was set to start production.I wanted it to be “Loose” and “candid” and limit equipment to bare bones so I could be mobile considering the area I’d be in. My direction was to capture him in his element in the GYM and in his HOOD, but most of all do my thing. I’ve been to Baltimore a lot working and know the zones can be sketchy with gangs, car jacking etc.  Once I got off of i-95 and started to get closer to the location (Upton Gym center) the scenery changed, bombed out blocks, dealers and young white junkies begging on every block.

Tell us about the environment and the shoot day.
I’ve traveled the world and that feeling I get when I see/go something NEW (country or town or neighborhood) is very fluid with excitement. West Baltimore reminded me more like a war-torn country in the middle east more so than the Bronx in the 70s. I arrived at the gym 1/2 hour early and it was closed, the area wasn’t that bad but I was still on high alert, with my foot injury I was a sitting duck.

LS showed up with an arm full of sneaker boxes and it took a good 20 minutes to pick the right one for the shoot! We all jumped into 3 cars and headed to where he grew up 15 min away, I grabbed 1 camera and left everything in the gym. We pulled up to his house and the whole block seemed to be boarded up with plywood and overgrown weeds. Drug dealers on every corner and kids racing around in golf carts, darting down alley ways and then reappearing with a new set of kids. At one point I wanted to get him walking down the block to the corner and his Mom screams No! It just wasn’t safe. Gang infested /drug infested makes it very dangerous even if you’ve lived on the block.

Arriving back at the gym I had him change into his work out clothing and had his coach go through his daily routine. The lighting was never wrong and worked in any direction. If I want to change the light direction or quality of it was as simple as moving it towards the subject. I love using one light and using angles to get what I want. I also love moving the subject into the light rather than the opposite. I did 5-7 set ups and then we went into the ring where I acted as his sparing partner and had him “box” me and the camera. I looked for quirky vignettes that screamed “Lego” mono chromatic colors, strange angles and catching the moment in between the real moment.

What was the biggest challenge with this shoot?
Besides having a medical walking boot on with multiple torn ligaments in my foot from skating a local pool, there were drug deals going on, stick-up kids, gangs around me, this was always an issue and walking down a block could become trouble. Luckily we had security and a guide but we still needed to be careful and stay close. Preproduction was easy because LS was already a name in the boxing world and there was a bunch of images of him as well as text. The Locations where very loose and I went with the flow, the gym was empty for us but there where still over 20 friends, family, fans hanging out. I decided to be very loose and use as little equipment as possible to keep me mobile, shooting from the hip and giving no direction.

How is this shaping you creatively?
I’m much more in the moment, not worrying about getting the “Best” shot. Its much more about other things like personality and making people feel comfortable + going with flow and staying in the “pocket” rather than lens, f-stop etc. I look at the back of screen once and then that’s it, after 25 years you don’t need a light meter and can tell the f-stop of a strobe by the sound it makes. I never say “this is the last one” or “one more” I stop when they get bored or lose focus. I’d rather have a good 10 minutes with someone than half a day. Most of my favorite work is within the first few captures, or the very last. I love when there’s no time and the pressure is on, I love when u need to rely on your skills and not a technique.

What are you plans for the work once it’s complete.
The first shoot of Lorenzo Simpson will run on Vice Sports as part of a 16-part series. I also shot Cole Anthony a top ranked high school basket ball player. The images will make their way to my website where I will show the “Heroes” as well as random outtakes. And the final push will be a printed piece for promotion.

You’ve always been involved in youth culture, sports, giving back, highlighting the underdog, why?
I broke into the photo world by shooting portraits of Hardcore/punk bands and then that turned into Major label then turned into Advertising and so on. I grew up skateboarding and youth culture was just a part of life. I always carried a camera/Leica or point and shoot and photographed anything and everything. From Pro Karting and Pee Wee football to kids slam dancing and stage diving to skating pools at the end of the season before they cleaned and painted them. I have always been on the fray of the next big thing or trying to bring something back to life, 25 years later and I’m still right there in the mix and most of the time with a camera. I met my best and favorite assistant when I was in a “Low Rider Bicyle club” in Lower East Side one random day. The kids I hung out with where all into graffiti, skating, drinking, drugging and every day was like a scene in a movie. I turned them into assistants and them a few of them went on to shoot their own stuff.

Youth culture was always about Art/Graffiti and the streets. I was always into street culture and my work at time reflects that raw energy that come from the independence and the celebration of multi class dynamics. Photographing artists was always a recurring theme, too. That’s why I feel so at home photographing Hip Hop/street culture and Fashion I was right in the middle of it when the first XGAMES started and shot promos for the first one! As well as MMA, I was right there!

Ray also founded Slot Care Kidz a charity he founded which is dedicated to making the lives of children in specialized care hospitals happier and healthier through the activity of slot car racing. Slot Care Kidz is a wonderful charity that brings a normal activity to kids in a “not-so-normal” environment.

The Daily Edit – Peter Bohler: The New York Times Sunday Magazine

The New York Times Sunday Magazine

 

Design Director: Gail Bichler
Director of Photography:
Katherine Ryan
Art Director: Matt Willey
Deputy Photo Editor: Jessica Dimson
Associate Photo Editors: Stacey Baker, Amy Kellner, Christine Walsh
Photographer: Peter Bohler

 

Heidi: What were some of the challenges shooting these female firefighters?
Peter: Fires are obviously unpredictable and dangerous, so this story was difficult to shoot. I started shooting in September of 2016, and I spent much of that October watching for a fire that would involve the Malibu Camp 13 crews. It was an unexpectedly quiet fall, so I wasn’t able to shoot on a fire. Jamie Lowe, the writer, kept working on the story, and this summer I got lucky (if you can say that in regard to wildfires) while shooting Rainbow Camp–they got called out to two small fires while I was there. About half the story was shot on that day. Later on, I was also able to accompany the Malibu crews on the Detwiler fire near Mariposa, CA, and spent an entire 24 hour shift with them, which was an amazing experience. Each day required access to be coordinated through California Department of Corrections and the LA Fire Department or CAL FIRE, and then there is the double-edged sword of fire, which needed to be present but not too dangerous. It was rare for circumstances to align just right.

How much interaction/conversation did you have with them women?
There were some quiet moments in camp or while we were hiking when I was able to have some pretty deep conversations with the women. I was intensely curious about their experiences, and I think the women sensed that and opened up–after all, this was a radically new and different life for most of them too. Most of the women justifiably take a lot of pride in their work and were happy to have me there. I was moved by many of their stories. I could have kept shooting this story forever.

How much support did you get in order to track the fires?
None of it would have been possible without a lot of legwork by Christine Walsh and Karen Hanley at the New York Times Magazine, along with a ton of support from Bill Sessa at CDCR and Chief Stukey at LAFD, who helped us with access. Many people at CDCR, LAFD, and CAL FIRE went out of their way to get me access, and I was blown away by the care and respect they showed for the inmates. Jamie Lowe wrote a powerful story and laid the foundation for the photos. And finally, the women themselves welcomed me into their lives and gave me tremendous access. I’m so thankful to everyone.

Did you pitch this story to the NYT?
No, the New York Times Magazine came to me with this story, for which I am tremendously grateful. A couple of years ago, I spent a year or two working with the National Interagency Fire Center, trying to get access to shoot hotshot crews, and I had pitched the story to the NY Times Magazine. While that story never went anywhere, I think it planted the seed that I was interested in wildfire fighters. My discussions with the NIFC were also useful when it came to understanding what would be required to get onto the fire ground for this story.

How has your love of the outdoors influenced your work and your ability to get adventure assignments.
The outdoors are a huge part of my life–I grew up hiking and camping, and after college it was a toss up whether I would go into photography or outdoor education (or engineering but that’s another story). On a practical level, the foundation of skills I have has really helped me in my work–you need to be comfortable in these environments to keep up with your subjects. In this story, for example, we were hiking off-trail in 100 degree heat wearing 50 pounds of safety gear, and I was glad it wasn’t my first experience with that sort of thing.

But more important, I think, is the connection I feel with nature. I love being in these places and hope that brings a richness to the pictures. Being outdoors is at the center of my life. It’s hard to overestimate the impact it has on my work.

How if at all did your upbringing influence your creativity?
My mother grew up in Switzerland, and I spent many summers there as a kid. I love Switzerland very much, but I neither felt completely at home there or in New Jersey, where I grew up. It is hard to say exactly how these experiences influence us, but I think I’ve always been searching for my place in the world, and I’m very interested in how place influences culture. I feel like this story is very much a part of that thread–the lives of these women are completely shaped by the work they do in the rugged and fire-prone California landscape.

How has cooking shaped you?
I’ve gotten really into baking sourdough bread over the last year or so, and I’ve always liked to cook. I think there’s a real need for me to focus on something tangible and process oriented to balance out a photography career, which can be so unpredictable and ephemeral. I’ve noticed a lot of photographers are drawn to these sorts of crafts and activities–I’m sure road bikes and woodworking are in my future somewhere. After I’ve been traveling a lot, cooking and baking grounds me. I don’t feel like I’m really home until I’ve cooked a meal.

Do you make it a point to practice outdoor skills?
Yes, when there is time. For example, I’m a rock climber but I don’t specialize in climbing photography, so before I shot rock climber Alex Honnold for the NY Times Magazine, I spent a day on the rock practicing my rigging and systems. That kind of formal practice is unusual, but when I have free time, I’m up in the mountains.

Did you feel any pressure after being noted as an emerging photographer?
I don’t think pressure is the right word–I always feel a lot of pressure to make good work. But it was strange to achieve so many goals relatively quickly after a decade of trying to get any work at all. For better or worse, the first part of this year was really slow, which gave me time to focus on where I want my work to go, and to concentrate on a few projects I really believe in, like this one.

 

Sandra Rojas
Crew 13-4 on a lunch break at Nicholas County Beach in Malibu
Sara Roche leads inmates in yoga
Inmates preparing to cross over from California Department of Corrections to the fire side of Rainbow Camp
Rainbow crew 4 cutting line on a small fire near Hemet
Dionne Davis, Rainbow crew 1 or 4
Sarah Meenahan, Rainbow Crew 1
Marquet Jones, a sawyer with Rainbow crew 4, cutting line on a small fire near Hemet.

The Daily Edit – Variety: Andrew Hetherington

Variety

Design Director: Chris Mihal
Director of Photography: Bailey Bernard
Art Director: Cheyne Gateley
Photographer: Andrew Hetherington

Heidi: Can you talk us through your process preparing for a celebrity shoot like this?
Andrew: After the initial email from Variety PD Bailey Franklin confirming subject, date and location I checked in with him to see if they had any specific creative direction in mind so I could start wrapping my head around what I needed to do to get the ball rolling my end. If I recall we only had 5 days to pull it together, two of them being the weekend so things needed to happen swiftly. Variety were looking at a cover, a TOC image, an opener for the feature and 1 or 2 more images for secondary art. It was for their Emmy issue and Colbert was hosting the show so I started to brainstorm ideas and put together a creative deck. The location was The Ed Sullivan Theatre in NYC where The Late Show is taped. I wanted to give the impression that we were at the Emmys itself so didn’t want to shoot on the set per se so began thinking of ideas for front and back stage and researched images of previous Emmys awards shows to see if there was anything that caught my eye and would help shape some fun concepts. Also had a creative call with Bailey and CD Chris Mihal to flush out ideas before we sent the deck to Colbert’s PR for concept approvals. I knew Stephen should be wearing a tux too for it all to make sense and we made that request from the git go.

It’s a challenge to come up with original ideas for Colbert as he has been photographed pretty much every which way at this stage. But having a theme like the Emmys helped focus the concepting for me. I also asked and got to scout the location two days before the shoot which was great as we were able to walk through creative, technical and logistic scenarios with Colbert’s people and the crew at the studio; which can be a bit of a minefield in itself making sure you adhere to the house rules. On this shoot I used battery-powered strobes so we didn’t have to have a union electrician on hand to plug everything in. Usually helps gain some good will with the studio manager.

What tools to do you have to deal with the time pressure?
It’s all in the preparation. I like to have as much time to set up as possible and in this case we had two hours (which always goes so much quicker then you think). Each member of my crew was clearly aware of what our work flow was and what their responsibilities were. We discuss all possible scenarios that might play out creatively and technically. It’s important for everyone on my team to be in a cool calm zone during the shoot itself and we discuss who will do what should there be any hiccups so the experience is as seamless as can be.

What gets eliminated due to time constraints?
We were scheduled to have an hour to shoot with Stephen but in the end we had 20 minutes. I had 3 different set ups dialed in and in this case we stuck to that plan so nothing was eliminated.

Was this before the taping of a show?
Yes the scheduling was pretty tight. Shoot time was 12 noon – 1pm, when the studio crew were at lunch. We had a hard stop at 1pm as the band Beirut began a sound check and camera rehearsal on the set for their performance that evening. Let me say that the band did start playing at 1pm on the dot.

Did you shoot more than two locations?
We did the first set up in front of house which one assistant wrapped as we went back stage for the other two set ups. We needed to have all our gear out-of-the-way for the Beirut sound check.

Was it a collaborative effort with Colbert or did he simply want to be directed.
I had actually photographed Stephen at the Sundance Film Festival way back in 2005 when he was there promoting the Strangers with Candy movie. It was part of a portfolio I was shooting of festival attendees for Premiere magazine. I still remember the session with Colbert fondly because he and co-stars Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello brought so much energy, dynamism and authenticity to the set. This was right before the Colbert Report started on Comedy Central and he was relatively unknown still. I had no idea who he was at the time. I mentioned this to Stephen right before the shoot.

A subject like Colbert is a photographers dream. He’s a total pro and brings so much energy and enthusiasm. He’s also incredibly gifted physically and has an amazing sense of himself and the camera. I would say it was very collaborative with a bit of direction and a tweak here and there from me. Everyone was on board with concepts and how to execute at this stage so it allowed for spontaneity and ad libbing for each scenario.

The cover shot with his glam squad (hair/make-up/stylist) was my idea. The lip stick was all Stephen and we were given the heads up that it was something he wanted to try before the shoot. We did this shot last as we knew his make up would be toast once the lip stick was applied and we didn’t have time to be re applying for another set up.

What’s the best part about shoots like this? (where time is restricted)
The great thing in this instance was that 20 minutes was more than enough to get what we did. No time to over think each scenario, no time for the subject to become bored and uninterested. Helps of course that Colbert is a total pro!!!

What’s the most useful advice you would give your creative younger self about situations like this?
Friend, inspirator and mentor Platon once gave my younger creative self some advice that still holds true on shoots like these “Be yourself. But be prepared. Be prepared. Be prepared. Be technically prepared. Make sure nothing will go wrong technically and if it does, make sure you have a backup to the backup to the backup.  So be prepared, be yourself and most importantly you must make an Andrew Hetherington photograph. Oh and enjoy the moment.”