Category: Photographers

I received the following question from one of my readers:

I have a question for you. I got hired to photograph an annual report for a nonprofit company called [Redacted]. I got the gig through an organization called Taproot Foundation which is an organization whose goal is to link up creative professional with non-profits and such to work on pro-bono projects. This is going to be my first annual report shoot and I am very excited about it. I think that this may be a career path that I would like to pursue. Do you have any idea how to go about looking for work shooting annual reports? I haven’t the slightest idea where to start. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

I noticed a few weeks back that Michael Edwards published images from an Annual Review shoot on his blog tellmewherethisis.com, so I put the question to him.

Here’s what he had to say about it:

I can tell you that my experience shooting the Annual Review for Highbridge Capitol Management was very rewarding. I was able to participate from the very beginning, working closely with the designers, writers, and the marketing department. Together we came up with a visual concept that would illustrate what the firm is all about. This is unusual for me, as I’m often hired for editorial work based on my photographic style. With this project, I actually adjusted my style to suit their needs, so it was fresh for me and I think the results were pleasantly different from other annuals.

The client is absolutely thrilled with the final product and has been showing it off to others in their industry. So hopefully I will be shooting the next one, and perhaps pick up some new clients along the way.

This is the interesting part. I actually first came in touch with Highbridge through an editorial assignment for Institutional Investor Magazine. The budgets are tight there, but they have given me interesting assignments, so I always try to make it work. Once I was up at Highbridge, I got to know the folks there and they got to know me. Since hedge funds don’t typically produce annuals, they did not have a lot of experience with photographers. This gave me an opportunity to let them know what I could do for them, and the timing worked out perfectly.

As for advice to your readers questions, I would say a few things. First off, you have to look for opportunities wherever you can. Six magazines that I shot for regularly closed last year. The industry is going through some painful changes right now and one has to be resourceful. Also, once I had the job, it was great to push things in a new direction…”off brand” if you will. I put away the lights and took a new approach that I had been shooting a lot of personal work with, but had not fully realized with my commercial work. This kept the shoot very new and exciting for both me and the client. Word of mouth will be your best friend in this realm, so if you nail one annual, chances are you will have an opportunity to do another.

via, lens culture. Brilliant!

Last week Gerard Butler was on Leno and Jay picked up the copy of Men’s Journal that Jim Wright shot the cover and feature of him for and asked about the opening image. Gerard launched into a funny description of the shoot:

I’ve worked with Jim in the past so I shot him an email to get a little more background on the shoot. Also, I know Jim recently moved to NYC after many, many years living and working in LA, I also asked him about a strange phenomenon that seems perfectly normal when you live in NYC “flying photographers out to LA all the time.”

To be honest, I wasn’t the first choice for the shoot. Unfortunately, for him, the other photographer blew out his back and couldn’t make the journey to LA. The week before, I had shot the Bruce Willis cover so MJ came back to me and asked if I’d step in.

Gerard Butler’s publicist is an old friend of mine so the trust level was running high for the shoot. Myself and the crew met up with Gerry at a secluded house in Malibu and we went to town. Gerry was up for anything. We’re were aiming for the normal guy approach; trying to show various sides of his personality. Luckily,whatever challenge I threw out there, he literally dove right in. The ocean shots were a blast and a battle at the same time. I asked him, “If I go in; will you go in?” Gerry comes back with, “Follow me!”. We’re were onto something as this was the first shot of the day. Thank god that my one assistant, Sean Costello, stands about 6’6″ because he saved the camera every time. The guy whose camera that didn’t survive was the guy who was hired to shoot the B-roll. I had assistants watching the waves. He didn’t. Hence, no B-roll of the shoot. My two other assistants literally saved me from getting swept away.

We got the shots and headed up the beach and Gerry leans down and sticks his face in the sand and we just kept going until he was completely covered. Then back in the ocean, then to the hot tub. Which was needed because we were both freezing by that point. The hot tub was not a planned shot. But again, I threw it out there and we got some amazing underwater shots. Eyes open in hot water. I couldn’t believe it. At this point, I felt like I had the shoot in the bag and I hadn’t even done the cover image yet or brought out the three bikini models. Plus we hadn’t even broken for lunch yet.

I’d been in LA for about 18 years, working my way from PA to assisting some of the worlds greatest image makers of the last twenty years. Everyone from Herb Ritts to Michel Comte to Peggy Sirota whom I worked with exclusively for almost five years. She was a real mentor to me and gave me the confidence to do my own thing. My career has gone well, knock on wood, for the last 12 years. This past winter I moved to NYC to be with my girlfriend and near family. I switched agents as well to NYC based Bernstein & Andriulli, so most of my work was coming out of or based in NY. But as fate has it, once you move to one coast they want you on the other, so much of my time lately has been spent flying back and forth. Last month a three day trip turned into three weeks as people got word that I was in LA. I don’t mind it, I just wish someone can explain it to me

This is super cool. Two of my favorites, Joel Sartore and animals on seamless.

and BTS:

and more on Joel:

Watch CBS News Videos Online
thx Shannan.

I’m working on a new series of posts talking to people who’ve recently made or are in the middle of making the transition to full time photographer. Spencer Heyfron was someone I got to know as Jake Chessum‘s first assistant. And, to be honest his name stuck with me primarily because I had to book flights, hotels and rental cars for him and Jake (was never on location with them). He’s very fitting for the first post on this subject, because while working in NY mere days into anonymously starting this blog, I made a post that “Spencer had flown the coop” after I noticed a big feature with his pictures in Esquire that made we want to immediately hire him. That was several years ago, but I thought I’d catch up with him anyway and see how it all went down.

APE: Tell me how it all started for you.

Spencer Heyfron: I was in college in England studying cinematography, and changed in the last year to photography because I just preferred it. I graduated and I had no ties, so I just came over to New York, really straight away. That was 1997.

APE: What made you decide you should come to New York, was it just to quick start your career?

Spencer: I really liked David LaChapelle’s work and when I was at college, his work was everywhere. In my local library in England, I found David’s home address and just came over, on the plane. I had nothing to lose, I just said, “I really like your work can you give me a job, or I am going to go home on the next plane.” And he gave me a job, as an assistant.

APE: You called him up and said I want a job and I like your work?

Spencer: I actually didn’t call him up, I went to his studio. It sounds kind of stalker-ish, but I was quite prepared to turn around and spend a few days here, then go home. But he said, “My second assistant just left, my first assistant has a room if you want to use that”, and yeah, I was away.

APE: So, do you think it was good timing, or was part of it that you showed up at his front door?

Spencer: I think it was good timing and I was just totally honest, like “I really, really, really like your work”. I think I interned for a week at the studio and they realized I wasn’t weird, or crazy and then I was there for, maybe, two years.

APE: So, for two years you were his second assistant. How was that, did you learn a lot from him?

Spencer: Oh my God, I learned more the first day than I had in my whole college years. It was so crazy, the difference between learning it academically and theoretically at college and then being the real world. The first week, just, so crazy. I can remember the first job was Dolly Parton. I learned so much that day, the whole process of a commercial photo shoot really.

APE: And, how was David?

Spencer: He was great; he was actually like his images, kind of exciting and crazy and so into it, completely into it when he is shooting. Playing loud music with so many people working. It was really a good time. I thought that was what all photographers were like [laughter].

APE: You thought they were all crazy and played loud music?

Spencer: Some shoots would go on for 20 hours and that was considered normal. Anything after that was like a holiday. It was really hard work.

APE: And, was he good about sharing information about what was going on or you just kind of soaked it all up?

Spencer: I think I just soaked it all up. I learned more from his first assistant, David was more like the director who would come in and say what he wanted and everybody would make that happen. And then, you know, David would shoot it and be orchestrating it. It always worked out, it always looked great.

APE: After two years, you decided to move on?

Spencer: I was working with a bunch of other people. When anyone from England would come over I would be working for them. And I started working for Jake during that time.

APE: So how do they get to know that you were someone to call as an assistant?

Spencer: I think having David on your resume is pretty good. I went around to a lot of the agents. I had a list, as well, of photographers that I wanted to work for. And Jake was on that list, so I went around to their agents and said I was an assistant that was available.

APE: So, pretty aggressive trying to land with the right people. Do you see other assistants do that kind of thing?

Spencer: I think so. I get a fair amount of assistants emailing me, just saying “I’m available and I want to assist you.” I think that is the only way to do it, right, to really go for it. Actually, there are so many assistants at this point, since I first came over so I’m not sure it still works.

APE: And so, tell me about working for Jake? You worked for him for how long?

Spencer: Nearly five years. He’s great. Compared to David, it was night and day. It was a lot more laid back and there was a lot more communication. I learned so much from Jake, just so much.

APE: And you were his 1st Assistant?

Spencer: Yeah, in the end I was his studio manager as well, which helped me transition to being a photographer.

APE: And how did that come about?

Spencer: He just got busier and busier and he needed somebody permanent. And I became first assistant and in the off days I would be working the studio and it was just like a mix of the two. Even when I left about three years ago, and he was still getting busier and busier. Now he’s with Art and Commerce.

APE: And you saw his career rise and got to see how he handled it but also how he worked with his subjects as a photographer.

Spencer: One of the best things about being an assistant is that you find out what sort of photographer you want to be. You then get to see how different photographers act and how they react on a shoot. So with Jake anything he shot, no matter if it was a celebrity or somebody on the street he was very respectful of them, he treated them like human beings. That’s the key to his work. He’s talking to people and they’re very comfortable with him.

APE: Can you give me some other things that you took away from working with him that influenced you?

Spencer: It’s a business. I think that’s a key component in this industry. When you are in college and you’re thinking about what sort of photographer you want to be, what you want to shoot, how you’re going to shoot it and how you’re going to put your personality into the work, that’s all fine but in the end it’s totally a business. Jake taught me that. And, he always came back with the goods. Do you know what I mean? He always came back with what he would have decided to do and he would shoot extra and have lots of options for himself and for the client.

APE: How are you able to do that when you’re pressed for time? Or the subject doesn’t give you a lot of time?

Spencer: Well, obviously, it’s time-dependent but he also taught me how to shoot very quickly, like, a few different shots in five minutes.

APE: That is quite a contrast from David then.

Spencer: Entirely.

APE: So, tell me about the transition. When did you know you were ready to make the transition? And how did you do it?

Spencer: I think I was more than ready. I was getting a bit too comfortable and I think that it wasn’t a challenge any more. I realized I’ve got to go off or I never will.

I had been doing personal projects while when I was with Jake. I’d fly out a few days earlier and do some personal work. And then he would come and we’d shoot. And we were on our own as well. We’d go out somewhere traveling because he’d always been shooting personal stuff. And I’d go with him. And he’d let me take my camera and do what I wanted to do.

And he was very good about contacts as well. He’d say, you need to call this person and show your book. He helped me put my book together as well.

APE: Some of the people I’ve talked to say the transition is nearly impossible, because you’re comfortable and making a living, then you have to go to not making a living.

Spencer: Well, I think it was a little bit of denial on my part. I didn’t think it was going to be as hard as it was, it really is hard.

APE: So, that helps. Not knowing how difficult it might be.

Spencer: Exactly. Yeah and it’s very rare that it’s immediate. I was really fortunate. Because a lot of the contacts I had like “Newsweek,” “ESPN” and “Esquire” gave me work.

APE: And what about landing Look Book, tell me how that happened?

Spencer: Well, I worked with Jake on it. And I didn’t think it was challenging him anymore so he gave it up. And I think there was somebody else before me, as well. I don’t know what happened there. So, they called me up one day and asked if I wanted to shoot it and they weren’t sure if I would even want it. To me, it was the most fun job.

APE: I think it’s really high profile, in the media world too.

Spencer: Exactly, and when you walk up to somebody and say we’re shooting for NY Magazine look book they know exactly who it is. It’s just amazing, it’s a very high profile job. I was floored when I got it. I was really excited.

APE: And, so, that’s probably a great promotional tool for you.

Spencer: It’s so great. Most of last year, I was asked to do white background stuff, which was great because when I first went out with my portfolio it was all environmental.

It’s a fun job, really. It a hard job to do, because of the logistics of having a white background on the street, especially when it’s freezing, and the wind is blowing like we’re in Kansas. But it’s just so rewarding.

APE: Is there somebody there from the magazine to help you find the people?

Spencer: There’s always someone there from the magazine, like the writer, and together we choose everybody. We see something like from 15 to 25 people every time we go out every month. And they choose up to seven or eight people from that.

APE: Tell me more about your transition about how you marketed yourself. Did you go out and just meet with photo editors who I’m sure probably knew your name, right, ’cause you were Jake’s assistant.

Spencer: Some did, yeah, and I just went out and saw people. People were really kind, I’d go and see a contact and she’d say you have to see Lauren Winfield at “Fortune.” And then Lauren would put me on to somebody else, it was just like this ongoing thing.

APE: So how much of that is based on the fact that you’re Jake’s former assistant? Is that the key to getting your foot in the door.

Spencer: I don’t think it’s the key, I think it helps, I think there’s like three or four different things that can help you. I don’t know the ratio of those things but personality is very important. You have to be polite. Luck in is very important, you know, being in the right place at the right time. Also, your contacts obviously are very important. Finally your work. If you believe that your work has either your personality or the personality of the client, and you stick to it and people start responding to it and just keep on. It is really hard, the transition is really difficult.

When I have assistants now and we talk about it. I say, “it really is difficult, it really is and it takes time.”

APE: Tell me how your work has evolved from school until now.

Spencer: Well, at school I was still kind of over-thinking everything. I have an old friend from school and we talk about how in school before you could pick up a camera, you’d have to explain why you were doing it. Now it’s all digital you just get the camera and take as many pictures as you can then you decide how you’re going to get in there and edit them, rather than how you shoot things.

Also, I’m much more into like real people now and that’s kind of interesting to me because when you think you’re going to shoot the next “Vanity Fair” cover and when you actually shoot real people, I think it’s much more challenging because obviously they’re not professional models.

APE: Did you start out thinking you were going to shoot models?

Spencer: I think so, ’cause I think you assume you’re just going to be shooting fashion all the time, but I didn’t really think I’d be shooting portraits of real people, but it’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve done. Like with the Look Book.

My photography has changed from when I was at school, because of how much of a business it is.

APE: How has the business aspect influenced your photography?

Spencer: When someone rings up and it don’t sound like the most exciting project, you need to make the whole exercise a challenge. It’s a challenge to get something good of a politician in two minutes,

So it becomes a challenge and you can always look at that challenge and say, “ugh, I’ve got only two minutes with this guy” or you can actually say, “I might get something great from this guy in two minutes.” And it can become an exhilarating challenge or it can become a nightmare, and I’d rather it become a challenge, you know, it’s exciting for me, you have to adapt your work and still try and have your personality in the work come through.

APE: So, when you’re making the transition how do you fund the shoots? That must be difficult.

Spencer: Yeah, when you’re an assistant, it didn’t matter, you’re up in a nice hotel for five days with a rental car and meals out each day.

Then starting out some shoots you’d spend $6,000 or $7,000 and then not see that money again for three months. I had a few of those shoots that came in all at once and it was very difficult.

APE: That’s got to be tough.

Spencer: I was completely stretched with credit. But you know, they paid me, eventually.

APE: How long have you been with Kristina Snyder and how did you two meet up?

Spencer: About five or six months. It hasn’t been long, at all. I just did a very simple mailer to all the agents I thought were good and got a few responses and Kristina seemed to really be into my work.

APE: And that was it?

Spencer: Yes. Yeah, I mean that was really it.

APE: You make it sound so easy.

Spencer: I mean, it kind of was, I went to meet her and she was so into photography and I met with a couple of others and it was kind of a little bit more wishy-washy. They weren’t nasty in any way, it was just Kristina was so excited about it and I think that’s quite infectious. When you’re excited about work, I think it comes through.

APE: So it must have been a bit of timing there, because many agents are full, right? She was willing to take somebody on at that time?

Spencer: Yeah. Well she said “I’m full now. I’m not really looking for anybody, but I like you and what do you think?” And it kind of went backwards and forwards a little bit with the contract.

APE: So, the minute that you stopped assisting, did you not immediately go and try to find an agent? You waited until you had some clients and your work was beginning to mature a bit more?

Spencer: Yes, I remember I was talking to Andrew Hetherington about it, about how it was good when you first go out, not to be with an agent, then you pick up little jobs here and there. So, that’s what I did, and that’s how I got it started. So the first few years, I didn’t really actually look for an agent.

APE: And so now, is it your obligation now to get some assistants and give them the kind of training that you got and send them on their merry way eventually?

Spencer: I don’t know, I think I’m still learning. There’s not one shoot I’ve been on that hasn’t taught me something else. It’s a really great thing and that’s good for an assistant.

APE: So, now it’s been three years on your own, tell me how’s it going?

Spencer: It’s good. Every year it’s got better. The first year was kind of all right. The second year was really good. The third year was best yet.

I can understand why people are a little bit apprehensive about the industry, because actually it’s going through these crazy changes. But it’s been good to me so far.

APE: And is part of that because you started at the ground floor, there’s nowhere to go but up, right?

Spencer: I think so, yes. I’ve noticed really big names doing things that maybe they wouldn’t do five years ago, but what are you going to do? There’s simply so many people, so many people with the equipment now to do it.

I just think if you believe in your work, and your work has personality and you stick to it you’ve got a good chance.

And, I think that it’s very easy, when you see a lot people working around you in a certain kind of aesthetic to think, well, maybe mine’s not like that. Maybe I should do that, because that’s the cool thing to do. But if your work’s constantly good quality, which is what we all strive for, and it has that personality that you try and imbue in it, I think you’ve got a good foundation to go on.

Fifteen year-old Fabienne Cherisma was shot dead by police at approximately 4pm on January 19th, 2010 in Port-au-Prince Haiti.

Pete Brook of the blog, Prison Photography has a 12 part (post) piece on the event and interviews with most of the photographers who covered it. The first post is (here) and the last (here) where all 12 are listed at the bottom so you can look at them in succession.

It’s an amazing piece of journalism and shows what an important role blogs can play in the news cycle to help us understand what it’s like to cover a moment like this and to further analyze what photographers think and do as something like this unfolds around them.

Part One: Fabienne Cherisma (Initial inquiries, Jan Grarup, Olivier Laban Mattei)
Part Two: More on Fabienne Cherisma (Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Part Three: Furthermore on Fabienne Cherisma (Michael Mullady)
Part Four: Yet more on Fabienne Cherisma (Linsmier, Nathan Weber)
Part Five: Interview with Edward Linsmier
Part Six: Interview with Jan Grarup
Part Seven: Interview with Paul Hansen
Part Eight: Interview with Michael Winiarski
Part Nine: Interview with Nathan Weber
Part Ten: Interview with James Oatway
Part Eleven: Interview with Nick Kozak
Part Twelve: Two Months On

I was talking with Vincent Laforet about the contest he’s working on with Vimeo and Canon called “Beyond The Still” (here) and I decided to take the opportunity to interview him about his own transition from newspaper photographer to Hollywood commercial director. I was as big a skeptic as any when Vincent released “Reverie,” the first short photographed with a 5D that read more like a cologne commercial, but the list of elite DP’s who’ve volunteered to judge this contest has me believing people are really embracing the new technology and running with it. I give it up to Vincent for being on the tip of the spear with where this is headed and bringing his professionalism and sense of community with him.

APE: How long ago did you move to LA?

I moved in June of last year. With my wife newborn daughter and 5 year old son.

APE: Are you a filmmaker now?

I would call myself a commercial director slash photographer slash DP.

APE: How much photography are you doing now?

I’d say 30% at most, all commercial. I’ve had 2 editorial assignments in the last 16 months. Michael Jackson’s funeral and Obama’s Inauguration.

APE: Tell me about reinventing yourself. You were a big editorial photographer, you shot the summer Olympics in China and worked for the NY Times. You got started as a newspaper photographer right?

Sure, I got my start when I was 15 working for photo agencies such as Gamma and Sigma in France then the US. Then wire services in the US and then I worked for the NY Times for 6 years. So, yes I was an editorial guy through and through until roughly 4 years ago when I decided to jump into commercial photography.

Then about a year and a half ago the Canon 5D MKII came out and I was able to get my hands on it. That was probably the most important career-changing self funded shoot that I will likely ever do.

APE: You basically chucked everything and live in Hollywood now?

Well, I live in Manhattan Beach which is a bit of a different spot than Hollywood is, and I’m not looking to become a feature film director, but I am working as a commercial director.

APE: Way back when was this a part of your career path? Was this a goal of yours?

Film was always a part of my past. My father was a set photographer and my biological father was a director who filmed Emmanuel.

APE: Ok, so it’s in your blood.

I guess you could say that it’s always been in my blood. I could have gone to film school or journalism school – I got into Tisch at NYU and USC but for some reason I chose journalism and chose to pursue a degree in print journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

APE: Because, you’re like all kids and you do the opposite of your parents.

I wanted to tell true stories and discover the world for real, that’s what the draw was and that’s why I fell into photojournalism. I saw the way people were treated in the commercial/film and that was a bit of a turnoff back then.

APE: Right, you wanted to find your own identity and voice. Do you have formal training as Cinematographer, Director or Producer?

I didn’t go to school for it but I’ve been managing my business and setting up shoots since I was 15 years old. I paid my way through college and have always been focused on that kind of minutia. The hardest part about going into filmmaking for me was learning the difference between cinema lighting versus photography lighting or continuous light versus strobes – many of the principles are the same – but the equipment is very different. The 4 years of commercial photography experience and the almost 20 years of editorial photography helped better prepare me for the production issues and taught me how to frame an image and work on larger productions. Had I jumped straight from editorial into film I probably would have fallen flat on my face.

APE: I ask because I think a lot of people in the news photography business may be looking to reinvent themselves and you’ve done it. You told me you’re as busy as you’ve ever been.

I’ve never been this busy – and frankly I hate saying that publicly because I think it sounds obnoxious – especially given that the economy is still recovering. That being said it’s true, I think it’s a combination of the economy starting to revive and I think there are fewer photographers out there now who’ve made it through the last year and a half. Also, being, as you said, “on the tip of the spear of this technology” likely plays a big factor as well. Many of jobs coming in are looking to maximize the benefits of this new technology. Clients are looking for new ways to pull off a high quality end product – with budgets that have of course been impacted by the economic change we just went through. The new technology is allowing us to bridge that gap.

APE: Yeah, they’re all going “ok, who can we hire to shoot the DSLR video for us?”

It’s been a very interesting few years – Shane Hurlbut (DP for Terminator Salvation), Rodney Charters (DP for 24), Phillip Bloom (Director/DP in the UK) and I have fallen to the forefront of being the pioneers for the new technology. I think we were simply the early adopters who really put a lot of time and energy into making HDDSLR filmmaking work – we’re all put a lot of time into making this new breed of cameras come close to performing the same things that one would expect from a motion picture camera.

APE: What’s the terminology someone would use if they’re looking to hire an expert with the new technology? “We need…”

They would likely say that they need someone who’s an expert in the new hybrid Canon cameras – or HDDSLRs. Or they simply refer to he Canon 5D MKII, 1D MKIV, or 7D cameras directly.

APE: And why do they need an expert in the first place?

Because these cameras are not built to do what they want them to do. I’ve spent a year and a half now with some of the top camera operators and manufacturers in Hollywood building a system around this camera that basically allows it to do what you would do with a professional cinema camera.

APE: You’ve basically turned it into a regular movie camera. And what’s the advantage of using this over a movie camera? Cost?

Compared to RED camera for example, an HDSLR production can come in at half to a third of the price. Because of the weight of the camera, it’s sensitivity to light, and the support systems– you don’t need as large of a crew and it’s also significantly faster to set up and take down (again related to weight and size). And, it can look better in certain instances. These cameras shoot on a full frame sensor and they are astonishing in low light. Nothing comes close to it in low light. Another key factor is that these cameras can better take advantage of available light like few other cameras can – this means that you don’t necessarily have to bring in cube trucks full of lighting equipment in some instances – and obviously lighting is not only a big line item in any budget – it also contributes to more than a 1/3 of production day in terms of pre-lighting etc. That being said – and this is important: there is no substitute for good lighting! These HDSLRS just allow you to get away with a LOT more.

APE: Yeah, so you’re basically nocturnal now?

(laughs) You don’t want to take these cameras out to shoot bright sunny days, that’s where the Red camera will destroy the HDSLRs. But, indoors, offices, in difficult lighting the camera excels. So much so I have a 26 year steady cam operator/DP/Director, who has shot the same location we shot with this camera on “Nocturne” with this camera as he did with a high end Hollywood productions and it looks better – it looks better because it’s real. He was literally shocked when he saw the results. With no lighting. To reiterate – if the natural light is great – you can get away with murder. If the light is bad, it’s bad period. What these cameras allow you to do is to shoot in much lower levels of light – light that you once thought was impossible to shoot in. It does not turn bad light into good light.

APE: So, the technicians are probably really buzzing about the camera and word is spreading like wildfire through the industry?

This camera is not the the be all end all of cameras. There are some clear problems with it. But, besides the problems people are still gravitating to it. I can’t tell you how many commercials I see on TV that have been shot at least partly with a 5D.

APE: Let’s talk about this contest you’re doing. The first round of winners was announced on Saturday. You’ve got an incredible group of judges. How did you get DP from Titanic and the Producer of Star Wars to be a judge in the contest?

They’re all people I’ve met in the last year and a half.

APE: That’s got to be a huge turn-on to entering the contest. So, what’s the idea behind doing the contest in 7 segments?

I didn’t want to do just another film contest. There are so many of them. I wanted to try and not only leverage the new technology but also the power of social media and creative media over the web. Having people participate across the country in creating a film that has 7 chapters with interconnecting images. Who knows where it’s going. I have no idea what the final film will be like.

APE: Yeah, that’s going to be cool. Note: Anyone who’s interested in entering there’s 6 more chapters you can enter. See and vote on 5 finalists for chapter 1 (here).

APE: How does the future look for still photographers shooting the hybrid cameras?

I think we’re all going to have a very interesting next few years as still photographers. I think there’s tremendous potential for people out there who have an open mind. Not everyone needs to be a born-filmmaker. I’m not worried about photographers making transitions into video, or their unique version of how stills can transform into video. The only thing that worries me is that publications have a lot to figure out. The time it takes to pre-produce, shoot, and edit video is easily 2 to 4 times more time consuming as a still photography shoot. The gear involved is also significantly more expensive as well. And right now I don’t know that publications are ready to help defray any of those costs. In fact it seems that they want photographers to shoot both stills and video, for the same price. And, that’s not going to be sustainable for anyone, for more than the first assignment.

Once the photographer and even the editor, sees how much work is involved, I hope they will find a way to re-adjust. This clearly won’t be easy given the economy of print… but it’s something that needs to be discussed thoroughly. While you can’t expect photographers (or want them to) produce Hollywood quality pieces, you can’t forget that the audience is used to seeing Hollywood quality work on their television, so we need to make sure that we produce something that is either unique enough or at least good enough to hold their attention. One thing that will never change: people will always gravitate towards original and/or quality content.

See the list (here).

Interesting to see that several films at Sundance were centered around photography.

Restrepo

In 2008 Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the U.S. Army’s deadliest challenges. It is here that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his honor. Up close and personal, Junger and Hetherington gain extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of backbreaking labor and deadly firefights that are a way of life at Outpost Restrepo.

Ever wonder what it’s really like to be in the trenches of war? Look no further. Restrepo may be one of the most experiential and visceral war films you’ll ever see. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers reveal the humor and camaraderie of men who come under daily fire, never knowing which of them won’t make it home.

Smash His Camera

Paparazzi might be the norm in our celebrity-infested times, haphazardly snapping every movement of the rich and famous. Ron Galella, though, is the original paparazzo. He elevated the celebrity snapshot into art and, at 78, remains a stalwart in the business. Dogged in his quest to photograph celebrities in unguarded moments, he defines his passion for his work by the ups and downs of his career—documenting the parade of stars at a thriving Studio 54 and having the dubious honor of being sued by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (his favorite subject) and having his jaw broken by Marlon Brando.

Leon Gast (When We Were Kings) masterfully profiles Galella and places him at the center of the debate about the First Amendment right to privacy. Galella’s work and tactics have their critics, but his influence is undeniable. In a career defined by perseverance, he has created some of the most lasting, iconic photographs of our times.

Teenage Paparazzo

When precocious 13-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk snapped a photo of celebrity Adrian Grenier (HBO’s Entourage), little did he know his life was about to change. Turning the tables on the juvenile paparazzo, Grenier stepped on the other side of the lens in an attempt to mentor a teenager obsessed with the lure of the Hollywood lifestyle. Grenier develops a meaningful relationship with his camera-clicking young friend as he attempts to reconcile their mutual exploitation. Indeed, Grenier puts himself on the line here, trying to make sense of his own recently acquired fame.

Given the success of Entourage and its place in the Zeitgeist, Adrian Grenier is the perfect person to explore our preoccupation with celebrity and the adolescent desire for fame. Exquisitely layered, Teenage Paparazzo moves beyond personal documentary, charting a cultural revolution of celebrity obsession that may have been born in the United States but stretches across the globe.

Catfish

Nev, a 24-year-old New York–based photographer, has no idea what he’s in for when Abby, an eight-year-old girl from rural Michigan, contacts him on MySpace, seeking permission to paint one of his photographs. When he receives her remarkable painting, Nev begins a friendship and correspondence with Abby’s family. But things really get interesting when he develops a cyber-romance with Abby’s attractive older sister, Megan, a musician and model. Prompted by some startling revelations about Megan, Nev and his buddies embark on a road trip in search of the truth.

Catfish centers on a riveting mystery that is completely a product of our times, where social networking, mobile devices, and electronic communication so often replace face-to-face personal contact. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s grounded documentary is a remarkable and powerful story of grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

More at Sundance (here).

Photographer Eyal Landseman created a stop motion music video for Oren Lavie’s song “Her Morning Elegance” and now it’s up for a Grammy Award (here). How cool is that?

The photographer is exhibiting and selling 22 prints from the 2,321 images that make up video in a nice little publicity stunt (here).

The video has 10 million views on YouTube.

I like this. From the press release:

Professional photographers are offering a special edition fundraising magazine through the Magcloud print-on-demand service to benefit victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

The magazine features work from preeminent photographers and all proceeds will go directly to the International Red Cross to assist the people of Haiti. The issue is titled Onè Respe, after a traditional Haitian greeting meaning honor and respect.

San Francisco photojournalist Lane Hartwell, is spearheading the project.

See the magazine on MagCloud (here).

The outlook for photographers is not all bad. In fact, I run into photographers (online) all the time who are doing well and their business is growing. One photographer I spoke with recently said his business was up 20% this year and has been up 30% on average each of the last 5 years. How is that possible? I asked him to explain why he thinks he has been so successful in a dour economy. Here’s what he said:

For years I have been doing all of the expected marking: advertise in sourcebooks, online, emails, using social media and blogging. You’ve got to have a little bit of everything going because eventually you will hit on something and you may not know what it was that stuck. I think of it more as brand building for the long run than any one job. I love working on my marketing and advertising, because for me it is a way to help drive the direction of my career and getting the work I want. Ten years ago I had a very specific vision of where I wanted to be and I really think that has been the key to it all. That and persistence every single day, if I am not shooting I am marketing.

Here are other key points to why my business is growing:

Easy To Work With
This means not only helping to solve problems, but also being passionate about the entire job and not just the creative side. It’s also, having a good time on the shoot or at dinner or even having a good time traveling.

Flexible
Sure we’d all love higher fees but the reality is they’re not always there. It’s like dining in a restaurant, if you want Salmon and they’re out of Salmon, don’t you want the waiter to recommend something else or offer another solution? Clients are the same way. Photographers need to be problem solvers, they need to propose solutions to a roadblock, not complain about it.

I know this one is touchy because most people think lowering the price means lowering the fees. You don’t have to approach it that way, you can solve production issues in ways that are cost effective. Simply choosing a different location to shoot can reduce costs or going through the estimate with clients, because one shot out of 5 is really through the roof on the budget. Explain that and maybe that shot is the least important so they drop it. Give the ideas and alternative solutions based on the brand and what they want to communicate. That is why they hired you.

Other solutions include: reducing your crew, doing without the motorhome, using real talent, shooting close to home, finding more local crew. If you have to travel with a big crew, costs really add up so you can negotiate group rates, stay in less expensive hotels to reduce them. Also, watch extras like overtime, shoot an extra shot or 2 a day or shoot gorilla style. Clients appreciate when you are looking out for the budget and it’s possible to reduce the budget without lowering your fees.

Many times things change once you get to the location and start shooting and I completely understand when clients come up with new ideas and want to change things at the last minute because I was an art director for 5 years before I started my photo business. If you do your pre-production before and everything is set you can adapt and make it happen. Sometimes this effects the cost of the shoot and sometimes I do not bill additional for it but not every decision I make is financial.

Honesty
When clients ask me what I think or if I think something is headed the wrong direction on a project I tell them and give them my reasoning. They appreciate it as long is it is coming from an honest place and you are be constructive and not just complaining.

If you work with a staff and or a rep make sure they have the same integrity and honesty as you. This was the biggest decision for me in getting a rep and I have an awesome rep.

Being a true part of the creative process
Be a part of the creative process from the first phone call to the last, not just during the shoot. I have many clients now that involve me in initial concepting even if they do not know who the photographer will be yet. I get those jobs 95% of the time. I also have many clients that ask for feedback on the layouts after the shoot. I give my honest opinion.

I do not just shoot what clients ask me to shoot, I shoot it with my vision and my creativity. But, this is not about creating fine art, I am taking all the info I know about the brand and what they are trying to accomplish and then I apply my vision. At the end of they day the client appreciates it and understand my value as more than just a technical person that understand how to work all the fancy lights and equipment.

Be Polite
for those times when you just can’t make the budget work no matter what, or you don’t get the job, be gracious. I turned down several jobs last year for budget and schedule reasons. I always leave the door open for future work.

People are really responding to my vision
I think the slower economy has made clients re-evaluate all the excess over the last several years and want to get back to the basics. My style is more honest, direct and real feeling. That is just a suspicion of mine and not really justified by specific examples.

Personal projects
If you have nothing new to promote that you’ve shot for a client, promote yourself. Clients like to see what else you’re made of and chances are if you pour your heart into it you’ll ignite a new passion. Creative Directors, Art Directors and Art Buyers love talking about personal projects. I find these to be great conversation topics with clients I am working with or have worked with because they can feel your passion.

Marketing
I have actually increased my marketing and advertising this year. I am religious about doing marketing and do it every work day I am not shooting.

If you have a rep remember it’s a partnership. They need you to participate in the process, they need new work to show. My rep also supports and understands my creative goals beyond the pure business side and I think that is invaluable for any creative.

Surround Yourself With Good People
I have a great producer/assistant on staff and it has really freed me up to focus on the bigger picture aspects of my business. She also has honesty and integrity in abundance. I never have to give a single thought to how she will interact and work with clients.

Nadav Kander talks about his Prix Pictet award winning work from China:

They are just pictures, but pictures that cant be taken again. The Yangtze River, which forms the premise to this body of work, is the main artery that flows 4100 miles (6500km) across China, travelling from its furthest westerly point in Qinghai Providence to Shanghai in the East. In this installation, Nadav invites the visitors to reflect with him on his journey.

via, The FStop.

Just over 2 years ago a story ran in the New York Times that asked the question: “If the Copy Is an Artwork, Then What’s the Original? (here)” The original they were referring to belonged to Jim Krantz and the story went on to explain that Jim had recently paid a visit to the Guggenheim Museum where he discovered one of his photographs included in a retrospective of artist Richard Prince’s work. Most photographers by now are aware of Prince and his practice of using other peoples photographs to make his art and we’ve debated various aspects of the practice including the pending lawsuit by photographer Patrick Cariou (here). What caught my eye recently was that Krantz, a long time artist (here) as well as a big time commercial photographer is starting to get some recognition from the fickle fashion and art communities for his work. His statement in the New York Times article that, “I just want some recognition, and I want some understanding” may be coming true. He’s now represented by Danziger Projects in New York, he recently shot an advertising campaign based on the cowboy work for designer Adam Kimmel (here) and has a show hanging at the Colette in Paris that opened Monday (here). I gave him a call to discuss:

APE: In the time since that article came out about Richard Price using your photography how have things changed for you?

There’s been an awful lot of recognition of my work. So much of the time I work in a vacuum. The work that I produce for my commercial accounts is unconnected from my name. In fact the ad in itself is a very different interpretation from the work I create.

APE: Hasn’t that always been the case with advertising photography?

With tobacco in particular there’s even more of a disconnect because you can’t enter the work in CA or any photo contests. So, you’re really, really in a vacuum.

APE: Do you feel like what happened with Richard Prince changed peoples opinion about your work or brought it more recognition?

The general consensus from over 200 emails that I’ve gotten since that article ran is very negative and people were actually pissed off as far as what he’s done and how he goes about his business. There’s a fine line between appropriation and plagiarism. A lot of the people who write me are photographers and artists and they feel vulnerable to this because they project themselves into the situation I find myself in.

In general I’m not happy about it and artists are not happy about it. Now, if you go talk to a gallerist about it they will look at it as American iconography and describe him as a collector of images. I kind of understand if you take the whole Ad with the Marlboro words with the copy, the header and the cigarette pack stripped out. As opposed to what he’s doing which is stripping all the copy away so you have the photograph in its purest form. That’s a very different thing because at that point it’s not an Ad, which is a departure from what I’ve done, it’s literally exactly what I’ve done. The context is everything. And in the context with all the copy and everything else my work creates a new entity in itself. When he eliminates all of that, it goes back to the core image, which is mine, so yeah I don’t see this as really being a photograph of an advertisement. It’s really just the purest form of the art out of context. That’s exactly how I shoot it, I’m not thinking about cigarettes, I’m not thinking about anything more than fantastic art.

APE: Don’t you think that you have to be Richard Prince to pull it off. He’s dedicated his life to this practice. A lot of people react by saying anyone can do this, but it’s all wrapped up in him.

Yeah, I think you’re right but I think a lot of people take a lot of things all the time because everything is so accessible. I’ll bet there’s a lot of crazy things that take place that we don’t know about. I can’t imagine it, but it’s so accessible you know, why not. People do bad things all the time.

APE: How has it evolved for you from seeing it in the Guggenheim to now where you’re represented by James Danziger in NYC, you shot an advertising campaign for Adam Kimmel based on the cowboy work and you have an opening at the Colette in Paris this week?

What its done is its really illuminated my work and given me the opportunity to take it outside of the advertising world and into the fashion and art world right now. In the last month I’ve been in the New York Times twice, Wallpaper magazine coming up, Bon magazine in Europe, a feature in CA, Arena Hommes Plus, Hercules Magazine in Europe, French Vogue and German GQ.

So the recognition you were seeking for the work happened?

The recognition has been fantastic and the source for all of this is the article in the New York Times and it’s funny because I’ve been doing this since I was 19 when I took a photography workshop from Ansel Adams at his house and all these guys were hanging out there like Brett Weston and Jerry Uselman. I’ve been shooting fine art my entire career.

APE: But, that’s the irony isn’t it. Someone steals a photograph and suddenly your work is important to the art community. That’s what it took.

It’s amazing to me that the curators at the Guggenheim would bring this work in without acknowledging the source or giving the viewers the opportunity to see what motivates and inspires a person. You need a footnote in a paper but there’s no source recognized here.

APE: I think that is something that’s changing with the web. There’s suddenly more transparency whether you want it or not. People want to dig down and figure out what inspired something or reveal things that aren’t attributed properly.

This is a very fascinating phenomenon and where did anything originate is a big question.

APE: So, what are you feelings towards Richard Prince now that there’s been some form of attribution?

The recognition has been great because it’s fairly impossible with all the millions and millions of images out there to get recognized for anything now days.

But I still to this day don’t understand what he did. Put yourself in my shoes walking down the street and you see the photograph that I shot in Albany, TX in 1990 of a cowboy with his arms stretched out on those on banners wondering why are my pictures there. It’s bizarre man. So, do I understand it? No. And when I went in and saw the posters for the Richard Prince show with my photograph, I don’t understand that either.

APE: Yeah, I can’t imagine that. I won’t pretend to.

It’s not original and it’s not art. I still don’t understand it and I don’t see the significance of it no matter what.

It’s ballsy as hell, I’ll give him that.