Creative Director: Alexandra Kotur Design Director: Edward Leida
Photo Director: Lesley Williams Deputy Photo Editor: Devin J. Traineau Photographer:Gentl&Hyers
Up at dawn for a sunrise cliff session, Carston Oliver seizes the moment for some Wasatch air time. Alta backcountry, Utah. Jay Beyer
Heidi: What a bold move to put a spread photo by Oskar Enander in the catalog, was that a hard sell since the rider isn’t one of your ambassadors?
Jenning: No because the photo is so stellar it did not leave much room for discussion, it’s a fantasy photo, ambassador or not everyone wants to be him. I admire and respect the Chouinard’s for having the courage to let a commercial entity operate with a photojournalistic heart. It’s more about the spirit of the photo rather than the logo being seen. This is why I love my job.
Riding light. Yves Hüsler, Engelberg, Switzerland. Oskar Enander
How many people work on producing this catalog?
Lots, we are an ‘in house agency’ more or less, so we touch almost every aspect of the project minus cranking the wheel on the press and licking the stamps.
The main group consists of:
Catalog project coordinator
Merchandiser
Graphic designer
Photo Editor
Copy Editor
Product photo shoot- studio, stylist, photographer, clothes steamer
Creative Director final sign off
Production
Color Separator
Printer
How do you submit work for consideration? I can’t imagine you can get back to everyone who submits work.
We work primarily on ‘spec’ meaning a photographer submits images on the speculation that we might purchase them. We sometimes offer up-front assignments if the story involves: a Patagonia athlete/ambassador, an original idea, or has an environmental focus. We try our best to get back to everyone but it’s impossible. That being said one of my favorite things about this job is communicating with photographers. I pick up the phone and call to chat as often as I can, its an important part of being successful at this job, communication is key so we can meet our photo needs. The use of social media has helped, customers can post photos to our Facebook page. The rest of our pro photographer’s submit via FTP. We strive to be a paperless dept abd are always trying to improve workflow to be more time efficient, so we have more time to edit.
How much of this catalog was spec?
90% of the Patagonia Winter catalog was built on ‘spec’ photo, the parting shot was on a company partnership trip to Alaska and we had some staff photographers around the same day the photo of Forest on page 17 was shot.
Patagonia ambassadors Ryland Bell and Josh Dirksen earn their turns with the Deeper crew. Mare’s Tail, Fairweather Mountains, Alaska. Greg von Doersten
When helicopters and high production costs come into play, that shows a level of drive on the photographers part since you don’t cover that cost and in essence these are personal projects. Are those photographers hard to find?
I think since we don’t operate under a typical commercial photo structure most of our photographers have some personal interest vested in their images, it goes hand in hand with working on spec. You would not work on spec unless you loved what you do, because there is some risk. For Patagonia, finding photographer’s is never hard, because we treat our talent really well, but I guess it would be a lot easier to find a commercial photographer where all elements are mostly controlled. I always encourage photographer to embrace personal projects even if they take years to accomplish. To fund the big expeditions a photographer might have a variety sponsors all chipping in to pull the trip off financially, this can complicate things, but is necessary in some instances to join forces for the greater good.
How much direction do you give the photographers, if any?
We rarely set up shoots, of course this varies per project and purpose of shoot and image needs. If we do offer an up-front photo contract we get a general who, what, where, where, why from the photographer, and then supply a basic shot list, art direction and product. From there we let the photographer run with it and embrace their creative eye.
Holly Walker leaves her signature on Shuksan Arm – one year after a major stroke. Mount Baker, Washington. Re Wikstrom
We had a good snow season this year, does that makes your image pool richer?
Yes, especially for ‘backyard photos’ which are always a pleasure to see. It was a fantastic season to be a photo editor in North America on 63 page color winter action sport catalog. I had a blast with all the eye-candy and loved to see the high snowfall combined with a late season which yielded insane photos. Also the chica’s stepped it up this last snow season, one of my favorite photos in the catalog is on page 44 of Holly.
How much post do you have to do on these images? Of course Photoshop is a no-no as your visual approach is more photojournalistic.
We do very little photo manipulation, every once in a while we take a logo out to keep us legal if we were unable to clear permission (this is how we differ commercial vs. editorial, logo permission, model releases etc are mandatory. We had to try to get Tropicana logo permission last week, the big corp companies are different than the outdoor industry, its hard and time consuming). In the 5 years I have worked here I have removed 1 snowflake coming out of a rider’s nose and 1 rock at edge of the frame for type legibility so very little to no photo manipulation. What you see is what the photographers saw and shot. Each frame is a piece of original art and I am not the artist so I have no right to alter. We are kind of old-school like that, we like well composed images that are captured in camera vs. in computer (post).
We do about 2-3 rounds of color with our separator fine-tuning how image will print on our recycled paper, next to or in-line with what color product etc.
Seth Lightcap waits out a storm in the Fairweather Range. Alaska. Tero Repo
Who are your new riders this year for the ski/snowboard team?
In addition to our fantastic team already in place we welcomed, Forrest Shearer, Josh Dirksen, Carston Oliver, Aidan Sheahan and Ryland Bell. Check out our entire ambassador roster here:
Jay Beyer’s work is heavily featured in this issue, is that a new find for you?
Jay Beyer has been contributing to Patagonia for the last four years, but in the last two years we have been publishing him a bit more regularly. It’s been fun to watch him grow as a photographer, he is a pleasure to work with and gets the Patagonia quest for authenticity.
Do your new athletes also bring in new photographer’s since many of these images are authentic? Meaning it’s a good powder day with your friends, and you capture it.
Yes and no, it goes both ways. For sure ambassadors bring new to Patagonia photographer’s to the photo dept as well we sometimes try to connect the dots between some of our core snow photographer’s to the ambassador’s depending on location, riding style, etc. I also do my homework and am always looking at photographer names of shots I adore in the top editorial mags. Group dynamics and safety are very important in any trip so I can make photographer suggestions to an athlete but it has to happen naturally and there has to be a trust relationship. Some athletes come with their own set of photographers and we honor that relationship and look forward to collaborating with new talent.
Dressed for the occasion. Patagonia skiing ambassador Lorenzo Worster genuflects into the Incredible Hulk Couloir. Bridgeport, California. Christian Pondella
I’ve worked with Christian Pondella over the years, he is such a solid photographer and athlete. What do you enjoy about working with him?
The things that stands out the most for me is he is a true ski mountaineer photographer. It’s one of the few sports where the cameraman has to have the same skill set as athletes/rider to get the shot.
The photographer has the burden of humping in the camera on his back or skiing with a brick on his chest. In order to correctly shoot they have to essentially ski the same line safely and quickly, they must always be two steps ahead. He isn’t afraid of a little bad weather and submits comprehensive XMP data which makes a big difference. Our photo dept receives over 60,000 unsolicited images a year, (less than 1% of those are published approx).
Four feet of blower equals hero snow for Carston Oliver. Mount Baker, Washington. Jay Beyer
The shot of Carston on Mt.Baker is pretty sick, how did Jay get that image?
I enjoyed seeing Jay’s Mt.Baker photos as we see a lot less Cascades ski imagery than we do of AK or Utah so it’s refreshing. Grant Gunderson has been up there for years producing exceptional work. Grant is somewhat responsible for putting Baker on the world ski map through his photos. Mt. Baker holds the record for the largest single-season snowfall in the world (1999, proximity to the ocean and prevailing west winds). I also like Baker partly because it’s the anti-resort, I am much more comfortable publishing an in-bounds photo of Mt. Baker than a shot off KT-22 one of the best chairlifts for terrain access in North America. Something about the Baker crew seems so tough, raw and real. We like gritty photos here at Patagonia.
I remember one discussion I had with Jay regarding winter photos. Almost every photo shoot he went on he was by himself, meaning not joined up with a film crew to shoot for the day. It’s good for the athlete when there is a film crew and still photographer but not necessarily good for the photographer. Last year Jay primarily shot by himself, meaning no film crew, just an athlete or two. It’s a bit of a risk on the photographers side but I admire him for having the confidence to skip out on the larger production. For Jay in my eyes, it was more about the skiing than the shots and it worked, he got the sweet shots cause his head and heart had the spirit of skiing. I appreciate photographer’s who are not afraid to shoot in bad weather, life isn’t always bluebird, a sense of atmosphere is good.
Here is what Carston had to say about that shot:
That photo is actually kind of an interesting one, because it is in a slack-country zone at Mt Baker that gets skied all the time, but I don’t think that particular little flute has been shot or skied before. It’s on the wall of a popular chute, but is located right at the end of a mandatory straight-line, so nobody skiing the chute ever notices it because they’re going too fast to focus on anything other than what is immediately in front of them. Also when approached from above, it’s pretty much a cliff that either gets aired, or passed by to get to a pretty rowdy pillow line. This shot was taken on the first day of our trip to Baker last winter, and I was showing Jay around because he had never skied there before. The only reason we found it was because I sent Jay down the chute on our first run while I went to ski the pillows. He ended up side-slipping down it instead of just pointing it like everyone else, and looked up to see this perfect mini-spine/flute. He then shouted to me to ski it, guided me into it from below, and shot it from a spot tucked up against the wall of the chute. It’s pretty cool how a new set of eyes can find a new feature in a zone that get’s skied so often, particularly when almost everybody through there ski’s past within a few feet of the thing.
Check out their new iPad Snow app for more images, avail for download in iTunes.
Creative Director: Brandon Kavulla Design Director: Leo Jung Director of Photography: Zana Woods Deputy Photo Editor: Anna Goldwater Alexander Photographer: Art Streiber
Note: Content for The Daily Edit is found on the newsstands. Submissions are not accepted.
Heidi: How do you direct a Muppet?
Art: The Muppets come with “Handlers” who set the Muppets to our specifications. The Wired Creative Director, Brandon Kavulla and Photography Editor, Anna Alexander, and I, asked for a specific pose and one of the three handlers would set the Muppet…but only after some debate as to whether or not what we were asking was appropriate for the Muppet to do.
Did you approach this just like a portrait or more like a still life, or both?
These were portraits and still lifes. It’s amazing how the feeling of the Muppet changes as you move its eye line slightly and how they come to life once that eyeline is where you want it. I found myself thinking about, lighting and talking to the Muppets as if they were alive but was problem solving each shot as a still life.
Why do you think they selected you for this project?
Last year I did a group shot of 22 Muppets, so I’ve had some Muppet experience. And the shoot involved Jason Segal, who wrote and starred in the movie, and I’ve photographed Jason before, so I think the magazine figured that those combined experiences made me the right guy.
What was the most interesting aspect about this shoot for you? Did you discover anything new?
My crew and I had a blast! Other crews from other stages at the studio were coming into our stage to see the Muppets. They’re iconic and are rarely seen in public. As far as discovering something new…yes, we did. The portrait of Fozzie in the space helmet is a combination of strobe, the flashlight on a blackberry and a reflection of a picture of the earth from an iPad…all captured IN CAMERA in one frame. THAT was impressive. I also learned that photographing Muppets in silhouette makes them even move iconic!
Design Director: David Harris Art Director: Julie Weiss Photography Director: Susan White Senior Photography Producer: Kathryn MacLeod Senior Associate Photo Editors: Sasha Erwitt, Susan Phear Photographer:Jason Bell
Note: Content for The Daily Edit is found on the newsstands. Submissions are not accepted.
Heidi: How many days did this take to shoot?
Jason: Just one – we met at 11am and finished about 10pm which included hair make up and doing the stills and film. I prefer to work first to stop the subject getting bored and tired.
Was Courtney involved in the creative process?
No. She was involved in styling choices but in terms of concept etc. she totally left it to me. She just said “I’m putting myself in your hands.” I was very pleased that she liked the results. She called me up afterwards to say how much she liked it all.
The video lighting is different than in the printed version, were they done simultaneously?
Yes they were done pretty simultaneously, we constantly switched from one to the other which makes things move faster.
During filming what is your role? I saw there was a cinematographer, how is that role shared?
I am the director so I say what I want and how I see it and then taking suggestions from all of the crew. I came up with the story beforehand and then discussed with the cinematographer the best way to achieve it. He operates the camera and then I view playback and change things. And I direct the subject always. It’s less confusing for them if it’s just me all day shooting the stills and blocking their moves etc.
Do you think you were selected because of your motion experience?
On this job yes, I work for Vanity Fair a lot anyway, but I heard that they really wanted a film for this one and had liked my previous films for them so were keen for me to do it.
Was that opening/closing shot difficult?
My poor cinematographer (who is great) was very game and got in the water in just his boxer shorts to get that shot. It was not a hot day…. when I discussed the concept of the shoot with him beforehand he had suggested an underwater shot so he only had himself to blame, but he did a great job. I was very keen from the start that it opened and closed the film to give a sense of entering this other world.
What advantage to you feel you have by being the only artist an agent represents (Robbie Feldman)?
It feels like more of a collaboration. We are obviously a bit more involved with each other than if I had an agent representing 10 others. So, we can work more closely together and discuss all aspects of the process. And there’s a shorthand because he always knows very precisely what is going on. I have to stay busy, but that works because I like to be busy.
OTMFC is a collective of great photographers and assistants that come to your job with a truck load of experience and equipment to get it done right. I caught up with David Hudgins, one of the founders, to see what this is all about.
Heidi: Have to ask, how did you come up with the logo?
David: The logo was drawn up on a bar napkin.
When you don’t want to drop the f bomb, what’s the replacement?
Over The Moon For Christ is one of our favorites, but we always prefer to drop the F Bomb!
How did this business idea come about?
We got tired of showing up to a shoot and realizing that we forgot to order that one little piece of equipment that we could not do without. We decided to build a truck and have it come standard with all of those little pieces. All you had to do was book the truck and you would have everything you needed to do a photo shoot. It made our life and everyone else’s life easier. When you focus on creating a product that works great for your client, the successful business follows.
You have 3 kitted out trucks right now, do you have plans to expand your fleet?
We are always looking at ways to improve what we are doing. When we decide to take action will depend on the needs of our clients.
How did you decide what each of the 3 trucks would be kitted with?
Through years of experience working on set and placing orders, we knew what equipment we would need for different size shoots and budgets. We tailored equipment packages around these parameters.
Can you do a la carte and or is it a flat fee?
We provide both! We have trucks that come as a package at a set price. We also have trucks and cargo vans that are a la carte and can be built out to accommodate any size shoot. You can also have equipment delivered and picked up from your set.
Have you ever been on a job where the photographer has SO MUCH to choose from they go into option paralysis or they keep changing their set up?
Once we had a whole truck load of equipment, 50,000 watts of light, motion picture lights, etc. The assistants spent hours lighting the set to perfection then the photographer turned in the opposite direction and shot talent with an on camera flash. They never even used the set! That has happened to us so many times we have lost count.
One of the biggest problems photographers seem to have is editing. Whether it is narrowing down the images from your shoot, deciding what couture gown talent will wear, or deciding which lighting setup you will use, a photographer always likes to have options so they can pick the best solution.
Does it ever happen where someone orders the biggest set up you have and then shoots available light? Would you call that your dream client? Again, that happens all the time. We had a shoot last week where we hauled the contents of a whole truck, including generators onto the roof of a building. The assistants setup all of the lights, and the photographer used a flex fill for the first 2 shots and a flashlight for the last 2. They are not necessarily dream clients, because you still have to setup and breakdown the equipment. The dream client would be the one that gets a truck of gear then tells you to leave it all IN THE TRUCK and then lights available light.
We have a joke about “available light,” because when a photographer says they are going to shoot available light, you think it will be an easy day…then they end up setting up every light you have available and it becomes a long brutal day.
What’s the advantage of hiring you over let’s say renting individual items, cost I assume and variety? Why else?
Passion and experience.
How much new equipment do you invest in on a yearly basis?
This depends on what equipment comes out. Some years have more new toys that others.
How do handle the lighting demands of a still and video shoot on a job where they require both and need to be shot at the same time? Are you noticing a trend towards continuous lighting?
There is a lot of convergence between continuous and strobe lighting. The challenge is finding, understanding, and providing the tools to give the photographer their look with both options.
Your site has an extensive roster of available crew, how do you get on the list? Who vets them? The people that are on our list, are people we have known and worked with. There are a lot of great assistants in LA that we have not had the pleasure of working with. We try to add people after they have worked with several other assistants on our list and have been recommended by them and our clients.
Are any of your guys aspiring photographers or are you all committed to running this business?
There are a handful of us that are dedicated to running the company. The rest are great assistants and great photographers.
