Heidi: How long did the project take?
I was given access to their entire work day for 5 days (almost consecutively) in July. They were in the process of beginning construction on the 73rd and 74th floors.
How were you protected to take those shots?
In order to have access to the site I had to go through the OSHA 10 hour safety training which is a general work place safety course. I did that for two days. Then to be up with the steel workers, I had to do another 5 hour fall safety training course where I was qualified to use a harness to be able to tie off while working up there. I always wore protective gear, heavy boots, hard hat, glasses, hearing protection and of course the full body safety harness with a shock absorbing lanyard that I could clip onto the beams to protect me from a fall.
What was the most challenging or difficult aspect of working in that environment besides the height?
It is always tough when you work on stories like this with really restrictive access because you always have minders beside you watching you the whole time. It was hard the first few days because I had Port Authority public relations people watching me and safety enforcers watching me, but over the course of those 5 days they got used to me and figured out that I knew what I was doing and wasn’t a real risk or threat to them or their jobs and they really relaxed and let me go about my work more freely. The floor boss for the ironworkers was another story. His job is to supervise the whole operation up on the derrick floor and he is tough. I didn’t speak to him the whole time, just tried to stay out of his way and attract as little attention as possible. I’m used to building up good working relationships with people I photograph but anytime I talked to an ironworker or they talked to me while they were working I would get yelled at. The smallest misstep, if you were in someone’s way or standing under someone who was working would get you yelled at and at first I was under constant fear of getting thrown off the site.
Beside the view, what was the most impressive thing about being up so high?
Well the view was amazing but it was really watching these guys put together this amazing structure, seeing how every piece just fits together like a puzzle, down to the millimeter, was really the incredible part. They are so nimble and confident when they work. They shimmy up the columns and run across the beams without a second though….I suppose it really is second nature for them. When I was up there it was another story as I watched every footstep and walked slowly and deliberately. The way they move up there is a sight to behold….something that still photos can’t do justice.
Did the iron workers help you at all or were they concerned for you?
I wasn’t really allowed to interact while they were working so I really just tried to be the “fly on the wall”. Of course it wouldn’t work and the guys came and talked to me all the time. They were great with me, really nice and welcoming. Not too many people pay that kind of attention to those guys and they aren’t used to having someone up there with them for that amount of time. Most people come up there for a few hours, never to be seen again. I was there day after day and they appreciated it.
Note: Content for The Daily Edit is found on the newsstands. Submissions are not accepted.
Heidi: How did the idea of the hands come about?
Lacey: I worked closely with Jessica who made the sets with me. She had worked with body painting before and we loved the effect, so geared the shoot towards that.
How was the set actually built?
Just from paper and card. Quite simple but effective.
How much post was involved in this project?
The only shot where we used post was the red hands in the boots, everything else was in camera. We tried to get that for real, as I always try to do, but without cutting the boots it was impossible. So we gave in!
Your work seems to be very surreal, do you study paintings to get your inspiration?
I studied graphic design and typography, so always look to other areas than photography for my inspiration.
Note: Content for The Daily Edit is found on the newsstands. Submissions are not accepted.
Heidi: Where were you to get the opening shot?
Devon: The article was featured in Decline Magazine from a recent trip to Chatel France. The opening shot was taken from the take off of this dirt step up to step down feature. It was really hard because there wasn’t much room to stand. I had about one square foot and I was right on the edge about 15 feet off the ground. I used the live view feature and held the camera above and behind me slightly. I did have to be a bit of a jerk to some other photogs that wanted to squeeze in with me, in the end I am glad I did it.
Is it hard to get access for the shots you want?
It can be extremely difficult. Sometimes I wish I had a Go-Go Gadget pack to float in the air and get to where ever I want. At big events like this one you are always battling it out with other photographers to get the angle and a clean view. I am always amused by course marshals yelling at me to be careful. After eight years of doing this professionally, I have yet to be hit by a rider. Key word, yet.
How do you edit for the drop sequence?
I used PS to morph that shot, a pretty simple technique. You open all the individual images in PS as layers, this stacks all the images onto one file. From there you use the Align feature, this evaluates all the images and lines them up perfectly for you. Once the files are all lined up, you simply mask away parts of each layer to leave you with the sequence. This is a super fast way to line up sequences.
How much of a rider to do have to be to do this kind of work?
That is a matter of opinion I would say. Myself, the one thing I do just as much as photograph is ride bikes. I recently shot for a week at the Breck Epic, a six day mountain bike race in Breckenridge Colorado. I pride myself in putting forth extra effort to get far out on course. I found myself putting in anywhere between 5-20 miles with a fully loaded camera bag every day. One of the days I hiked to 12,460 feet to get photos of riders topping out Wheeler Pass. The racers were always surprised to see me, especially twice a day in different locations.
What is the heaviest your gear pack has been while on your bike?
Way to heavy! I have never actually weight it, which I should do. There as been times that my pack has been well over 40lbs. One year shooting the Red Bull Rampage I was assisting Ian Hylands and was carrying my own camera bag and a second for him. Still trying to find a photo of myself with a pack on my back and front. I will regularly go on trail rides with a 25-30lbs pack. I am always blown away by how well I ride with no pack.
Heidi: The content for the health service magazine relies heavily on the art. How do you keep coming up with fresh ideas for the same stories?
Sarah: That’s one of the biggest challenges. We really work as a team on our art and photography. We also look to photographers to come up with creative, fresh ideas when we feel like we’ve hit a wall. But honestly, coming up with fresh ideas is one of the highlights of the job.
Are you part of the early editorial process?
Yes, I’m usually at the early planning meetings, along with my design director, Theresa Griggs, and we’ll shout and scream when we think the visuals are going to be amazing.
How much outdoor shooting do you do in L.A. during the winter, since you are on the East Coast?
We shoot a lot of our fitness features in L.A. or Florida during the winter months.
I saw that James White shot the cover for Men’s Health and your cover. How much crossover is there between the titles? Do you collaborate much?
Brenda Milis, the Men’s Health photo director, and I always enjoy working together. It’s fun to collaborate on a project for both magazines. Last year, we did joint covers with stars from the Twilight movies. We had Ashley Greene on our cover, and Men’s Health had Kellan Lutz. And each magazine used both stars for their fashion stories—Greene starred in the Women’s Health story, while Lutz starred in Men’s Health’s.
Are you looking for beauty photographers as well as fitness ones?
Yes, I love beauty photography. For example, I’m a huge fan of Donna Trope, who has shot for the magazine a few times. I like for our beauty photography to have a little humor or be a bit cheeky and not just be straight beauty, if it works for the story.
What resources do you use to find new talent besides e-mail and mail promos?
I look at ad campaigns, look books, Le Book creative, and portfolio reviews at schools. I love the way New York magazine found Danny Kim at a portfolio review. And just think about how many more talented people are out there! Also, I try to go to the current photo shows at the museums and galleries to get inspiration.
How much stock are you running?
I would say we run about 30 percent stock.
How often do you open e-mail promos, or is that relegated to other staff?
I always look at promos. But my staff is great about telling me when they see or meet someone they like.
If I want to shoot for you, what’s the best way to get your attention?
The best way is to e-mail me a few favorite shots and a link to an easy-to-navigate website. I’d much prefer an e-mail over a cold call.
Note: Content for The Daily Edit is found on the newsstands. Submissions are not accepted.
We asked Kareem Black about the shoot on Twitter.
@photoeditor: Did u do the blue tape in post or was that on the set? @kareemblack: The blue tape in the images in the story existed, We sketched out all the shots before hand and knew where print was going to be placed on each page and photographed each layout accordingly @ComplexMag referred to this as an “interactive”
That was my next question: did you follow tight comps since the type and images worked so well together.
Yes, everything was laboriously sketched out before hand and we knew where everything was supposed to end up on each page. #fun
it looked great. How about the cover, same deal there?
everything else on the cover “with @azizansari ” etc all were painted on the wall of the studio.
For the inside shot of him in the air, can he jump that high or did you have a trampoline?
Surprisingly @azizansari is actually that athletic. No trampoline or ambulance was needed. well the jumping was actually @azizansari ‘s Idea so he was really into it. We got maybe 30 good leaps out of him! it was fun! The jumping was a total ad lib on Aziz’s part and it totally worked for concept and layout!!
Note: Content for The Daily Edit is found on the newsstands. Submissions are not accepted.
Heidi: How did the idea to interpret the dreams come about? did it come from the magazine?
Perou: David Curcurito (creative director at Esquire) suggested to me that I might discuss my ideas for the shoot with Ryan, as Ryan also had some ideas for the shoot.
Where you given the story first and then did you and Ryan talked?
Sometimes I’m asked to email over some rough sketches or discuss with someone’s PR what I have in mind, but it’s unusual for me to have a two way conversation with someone before I photograph them for a magazine. There was more pre-production discussion before this shoot than any other I’ve done but that was great because I think all the best portraits of people are collaborations. I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t be able to describe eloquently enough what I wanted to do, as I’m better with pictures than words. I called Ryan on his cell. he was in LA and I was in London.
I said ‘I hear you’ve got some ideas.’ ‘I’ve got one idea’ , he said, ‘…I keep having this recurring dream where everyone around me is a skeleton’
How would you describe Ryan’s dreams?
Ryan’s dream wasn’t too complicated, but Ryan’s own interpretation of his dream as a direction for the photos was quite complex and developed as we were discussing it. I was keen not to do something with real skeletons because as an icon (most) people can’t take them seriously. So we moved on from Ryan surrounded by real skeletons in various scenarios to Ryan with a woman representing the skeletons of his dreams: something like a Styx from greek mythology coming out of the shadows. I think part of what works in this is that me and Ryan had very different approaches to the shoot: he was very keen on doing a complete story with a beginning, middle and end: fully researched and scripted in advance. I knew we had to do a clean cover and then had 4 or 5 images inside the magazine, at most and Esquire aren’t really into full-on, photo-illustrations with tons of post-production. I wanted to do some iconic pictures of a movie star based loosely around an idea he had. I personally think the best ideas are often the simplest. I remember saying to Ryan, think of me like an improvise director: I’ll get the cast together and the location and we’ll freestyle around our idea: that’s how I work. If we try and script everything exactly, we’ll lose out on some magic and any spontaneous moments that happen.
Which is your favorite image?
My favorite picture from the shoot is the closer shot of Ryan nuzzling into Veronica’s neck. As well as shooting the stills for the cover feature of the magazine, I also shoot video for the moving covers on the ipad edition of Esquire. The idea for two Ryan’s on the ipad cover was all his and I think it works really well: a really simple, effective idea.
What was the most interesting thing that happened on the shoot?
It was a hard day at the office. Mainly because everything had to be discussed in so much detail before each shot, before the shoot and during the shoot: the motivation had to be right: it had to make sense. My day was made much easier by the lovely Veronica throwing cheeky winks my way. I thought it was amusing that Veronica wasn’t really into the last shot of the day when she had to repeatedly kiss Ryan.
What kind of direction where you giving to the subjects on set?
Veronica, the model was Brazilian and I had been under the impression that she didn’t speak much English. I was being my usual flirtatious with the ladies self, maybe more so than usual. It wasn’t till the end of the shoot that I realized she been understanding more than I’d assumed.
How long did that set take to build and where in NY did you shoot?
we shot on location in warehouse studio called ‘the 1896’ there was no real set building as such: just a bit of proppage.
Who did the body painting? and how long did that take?
Genius Will Lemondid the body painting. I have a vague recollection that it took him and his two assistants about 8hrs. Veronica stood the whole time: she was great.
front cover(right) : Todd Baxter back cover(left) : Chris Anthony
Blink magazine a labor of love by Korean native Kim Aram. The magazine features personal work by emerging, established and undiscovered photographers. Issue 5 has just been released.
Heidi: How do you select the images, do you choose a theme for each issue?
Kim: I trust myself. It’s simple, some work makes my heart beat really fast. I study it and ask myself: Are you going to spend $10,000 on this photograph? Even if I think I’d spend $1000, I would select it. That said, we don’t pay for any of the images. I try and make sure that the images don’t bore me, gathering work for Blink is like collecting art for a gallery of sorts. I do have one rule: I don’t accept commissioned work. I accept only personal work. When selecting work, a resume, a career, receiving awards doesn’t affect my choices. I sincerely love portraiture, I think the human being is the most interesting subject in this world. There are no themes for each issues. I actually considered it but thought that giving themes for each issues would put limitations on select artwork and there were already so many magazines doing that format with themes.
Maleonn
How many submissions would you say you turn down?
I turn down quite a few. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like their work. I just don’t want to be a lazy editor. I also have another rule, I promised by myself to include one out of every 50 submissions for BLINK. I try to pick just one or nothing among the 50 It’s just like non-objevtive promising. I can’t respond to all of the submissions. Please excuse me for that, I do respect all artists.
What in your eyes is the most exciting aspect of photography for you right now?
Everyone has camera now. It means everyone is able to take a photograph.
It seems like it’s a fair chance for everyone to be creative. That said, it’s that tiny little thing which not easy to achieve to make your photograph different. That is exciting. Artists need to have their own eye and point of view for creating their own world.
Suzanne Jongmans
Where can I find a copy of the magazine in the US? Or do I have to subscribe? Do you have a digital version as well?We are working on an ipad version of BLINK, so I will start to publish a digital version of BLINK but I am still examining it thoroughly because I believe in the high value of a paper magazine. You can get your own copy on the website at www.blinkreflex.com We have a safe and fast paypal and can send anywhere in the world.
I am making a distribution list for other countries now. The problem is it’s very expensive to ship. We don’t have a lot of money or a big staff. I do ALL the publishing for BLINK. I do the design layout, select the artwork, contact the artists, direct exhibitions, promotion, business, publisher’s talks at galleries and the marketing. I did send the magazine to art fairs and galleries because I really would love to give BLINK to people so they can feel the paper in their hands, see it with their own eyes. I know if they just grab BLINK, their next move is falling love with BLINK. Some people promised me they would bring BLINK to their venues. I was so naive, after receiving magazines, they didn’t contact me. I was disappointed in them and disappointed in myself. I really need some people I can trust.
Before doing this project, what did you do for a living?
I worked as the art editor for an art magazine called PHOTO+. The publisher of the magazine was crazy about MONEY. He always talked about MONEY, MONEY. He probably still does, and he didn’t respect art or the artists. I thought I was a part of his magazine but he said it’s all his own and I am just his robot. One day I finished all my work and I decided that it’s time to quit. I said to him “bye fucker.” Photographers, don’t send your work to them.
Galleries and media in Korea are so miserable. They built their own art world which puts some distance between the public and art. Someone with money or professors come into power and the result is “boring!” They have to wake up. I am on a mission to build up brand awareness about BLINK.
We support young talented artists who can’t have opportunity to show their work to the world because of boring professors and directors, galleries, magazines here.
Mat Szwajkos
Were you always involved photography somehow?
When I was kid, I always trusted that I was an artist. Being a photographer was high priority but I had to let it go for financial reasons. (here, being artist much worse than other countries.) I spent less time making my own artwork, I spent more time appreciating artwork by other people. I began writing about photography too, just some impressions about their work. I did this for free and I kept the focus positive. Art is so much about personal taste and preference. I do think photography is like poetry and one image can speak over a thousand words. Just like the old saying. hahaha”
Thomas Rusch
Do you shoot as well?
Yes, for fun. I take daily snaps which give me inspiration I use my Sony Ericson x1(mobilephone). Sometimes I do self-portraits year after year. If I have more time for myself, I will do my own photographic work but I would never be featured in BLINK. A lot of magazines make me sick. It looks like those magazines exist for their own photographer or art director’s work. MEDIA has to have huge responsibility to the public, there are so many swindlers out here. They have to give the media space to other talented artists and the public.
Jennifer Garza-Cuen
For your facebook and twitter feeds where is that content coming from? selected artists? fans?Do you feed those outlets in between issues with work you liked but did not select for the printed edition?
I don’t post anything about featuring artists for the next issue. It has to be a secret before being published. Sometimes I use Facebook to help me select an artist. I have so many friend requests from Facebook I am in a panic! I don’t use twitter to search for artists. I tweet information about BLINK and news of featured artists and other happenings in art world, or readers of BLINK. I tweet in Korean so would not be worth it to people who can’t read Korean. You can have a conversation with me about BLINK via direct message, I use that a lot or if you want to update news about BLINK, If you want, like BLINK on facebook at here or see it here
Diana Scherer
Where is your funding coming from since you have no advertising?
That is the biggest difficulty. I spent 15 years of my savings to create and publish BLINK. I am waiting for sponsors or advertisers. If I get over the break-even point with BLINK, I am going to bring down the price of the magazine or increase its circulation. Last month I recruited donations with Korean version of Kickstarter and I got one third of the cost for publishing ISSUE 5 covered. THANK YOU to all who donated! I was so grateful. You can still donate on the website.If you donate, I will put your name and your message on the bottom the website page. If you donate over $30 your name and message will be in the magazine as well as you will get the issue.
I do offer space on BLINK for ads for a reasonable price. The most I would include is 10 pages advertisement for BLINK and I will be very discriminating about what advertising I accept.
Artists and galleries can advertise and show their own work. I do send BLINK to galleries, collectors and artists of all over the world. I just gather what I love and show it to this world while kicking the boring daily routine out with great artists whom I love, support and take care of. I do this for one simple reason, the photographs make my eyes happy. BLINK is myself and I am BLINK.
Nathan Perkel
What is the best way to submit work to you?
Simple. It’s a two step process: First, see ‘Take a look inside of BLINK‘ videos and sample spreads of images on the website. (I make a video which shows the issue.) Second, ask yourself: “Is my work really harmonious with work of featured artists on those previous issues?” Not all work is right for BLINK. but that doesn’t mean that your work is not good or not perfect, it just not for BLINK. I can’t answer all the submissions, I don’t mean to be rude but it’s fairly impossible. Please contact me via email as well: editor.aram@gmail.com
Karen Hsiao
Olivier J. Laude
information about bookISBN 978-89-965709-5-0
100 PAGES(8mm. both sides covers)
21 X 29.7 CM
500 GRAMS
COLOR OFFSET
text of interviews with artists in english
