Finding My Focus

So you want to be a photographer. Great. What do you want to photograph?

Most photographers whom I’ve talked to that have gone to portfolio reviews with art directors and buyers hear that their portfolio lacks focus. You can argue that the days of specialization are over and today’s photographer needs to have a broader range in order to make a living. I agree with that argument but, if you’re concentrating on architecture and fashion, you’d better have two portfolios and two distinct sections on your website because the architects don’t care about your fashion work and vise versa.

From the time I decided to seriously pursue photography as a profession, I wanted to do portraiture, celebrity portraiture to be specific. I sold my house in Phoenix in 2002 and moved to the land of “lights, camera, action” to make a name for myself as a celebrity photographer. I stayed two years before leaving for other opportunities. While celebrity photography was what I consciously wanted to pursue almost from the beginning, other opportunities popped up along the way that took me in different directions.

An architectural spread of a restaurant featured in kontakt magazine.

I can’t really say if my interests followed my photography or my photography followed my interests. I can say that passion for photography is not enough. You also have to be passionate about what you’re photographing. In fact, I would argue that passion for your subject is more important than the passion for your craft. The desire to fully express yourself and what you are passionate about is the driving force behind perfecting your craft. This is why some people can create amazing images with their iPhone and others make complete crap with a $30k Hasselblad. Photography for photography sake is useless. </soapbox>

My mom likes telling the story (stay with me now) of how, at age four, I was already frying eggs for my own breakfast. I’ve always been pretty creative in the kitchen with a natural instinct for fusing flavors. As an adult, one of my favorite things is to invite friends over to my house for extravagant meals. When Food Network came on my Tivo was full of Iron Chef, Ming’s Quest and Naked Chef. When No Reservations came around that was the ultimate show to me, combining two of my three great loves in life: food and travel. Don’t even get me started on how cool I think Anthony Bourdain is (though more as a culinary advocate than a chef).

While living in Phoenix, I tried to find the hidden gems of the mostly chain, barely there culinary culture. There were some highlights. I spent a week in New Orleans and got a taste (no pun) of a culinary scene. It was not until I moved to NYC that I discovered what a culinary culture really is. I was engaged to someone with a love of food and an adventurous palate. While we probably didn’t even make a dent in the NYC food scene, it certainly wasn’t from lack of trying.

A walk through the subway station at Times Square prompted my return to LA from NYC. There was a series of posters featuring characters from True Blood, which ended in a group shot. It hit me. I had lost my way. This is what I wanted to do. So I came back to LA to make a name for myself and do photos for TV and film promotion.

Here’s the catch: there are almost as many wannabe celebrity photographers in LA as there are wannabe celebrities. This in itself did not deter me, as I’ve never been one to choose the easy path. But I came to the realization that I didn’t care as much about celebrity portraiture as I thought, maybe that wasn’t the way to go. Not to mention there are entirely too many celebrities who are famous just for being assholes on reality shows. At least Mel Gibson put out some great movies before he turned into an asshole. But I digress.

My start in food photography came from restaurant features in Ignite magazine.

I wish I could say I had an epiphany when I was contacted by I writer I knew to see if I was interested in contributing photographs to a book on the Arizona food scene. But it happened a little slower. I agreed to do the book, but I would have agreed to do anything at that point just to have the opportunity to shoot. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited about it, shooting portraits of chef would be good practice, but it was just a side-project for me.

The epiphany didn’t come until about a month ago. I had just done a test shoot for food since it has been years since I’ve seriously photographed food and wanted to test lighting ideas and lenses (post and images coming soon). I was getting the opinion of a photographer friend on photos that had been selected for a promo piece that was going to be sent out to architectural firms. There were a couple of restaurants in the mix. My friend had also seen the food photos I just shot and commented that restaurants and resorts look for photographers who can shoot architecture, portraits and food. It’s not super common because each one requires a completely different skill-set and lighting style than the other.

A few days later my friend from Costa Rica emailed me telling me how the management company for his rental condos had hired a photographer to spend the week at a condo and photograph several of the properties, including his. They wanted to charge him and when he saw the photos, he refused. He said the photos I took while I was there last year were much better. They paid for her stay, plus an additional $5,000. “Get down here,” he said. “You could make a killing.” Bing. Epiphany achieved.

The chef in the open kitchen at Salt's Cure in Hollywood.

Food, chefs and travel. This is what I’m passionate about and this is what I want to photograph. All of these things are creating the perfect storm to get me on track. The cookbook project has evolved into an exciting, recipe and chef-driven book, which I am headed to AZ to photograph the first chef this week. There will also be a website with extra chefs, recipes, behind-the-scenes and interview videos.

Finally, I am excited and inspired. I have a ton of ideas; so many that I’m having trouble keeping track and prioritizing them. I’ll reveal them as I get them sorted out. Some are for another time and some I need to get going on. But, most importantly, I’ve found my focus.

Photographer Assistant for Fun and Profit

A little over 10 years ago I sold my house in Phoenix and moved to (almost) LA to learn about the business and craft of photography and become a pro photographer. I had selected several photographers who were doing the type of photography I wanted to get into and doing it well. I met several of them but never made much headway. I assisted one photographer several times but I think I had more gear than she did and based on my lack of proximity to central LA (I lived in Riverside–don’t ask) it wasn’t very consistent. It was fun but I didn’t get the immersion into the LA photography scene I was looking for.

When I returned to LA I didn’t have any intention of looking for assisting work. I thought I might be too old and too experienced for anyone to hire me as an assistant. I have since learned that I couldn’t have been more wrong. I also felt that any additional learning would have to be on-the-job learning. I was wrong about that, too.

Getting the power hooked up at Pier 59 Studios West in Santa Monica.

Last October, out of the blue, I received an email from the studio manager of Michael Grecco asking if I was available to assist. I had met Michael my first time around and he was one of the top three photographers I wanted to work for. At first I thought they had me confused with someone else but figured I’d go with it and they booked me for the shoot.

I was a little nervous on the first shoot because I had only assisted a handful of times and that was over 10 years ago. I planned to just keep my eyes and ears open and count on my experience running my own shoots to get me through. Fortunately, I was the 2^nd assistant so I just followed the 1^st assistant’s lead. It was a cover shoot for People Magazine in Newport Coast. Michael is a patient photographer who keeps a loose and easy-going shoot atmosphere and he really knows his lighting.

After a couple of shoots I did well enough that Michael informed me that I was his go-to 1^st assistant. I have since learned that many assistants work for years to become 1^st assistants. I also learned that Michael only picks assistants who have been shooting for 10+ years.

On most shoots, Michael has two assistants so I have met many other assistants ranging from their early 20’s to their 40’s. I also found out that many of these guys are career assistants, which never occurred to me. Good ones can make a pretty good living working for several different photographers.

We rolled the NASCAR out to the front yard for this shoot for People Magazine in Virginia.

After working with Michael for the past 4 months, I have come to the conclusion that my initial preconceived notions about assisting were way off. To quote Peter Venkman, ‘mother puss-bucket’ I have a lot to learn! I can only credit serendipity and/or divine intervention with hooking me up with Michael. He is not as busy as either of us would like him to be, but he brings 30+ years of experience in shooting and lighting and has opened up new opportunities for me.

Michael is a lighting expert. He has a published a couple of lighting books including, Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait, along with a personal project book, Naked Ambition, and a companion documentary. He has photographed for every major magazine and most A-List celebrities you can think of. He is also the master of getting endorsements so he has enough gear to do pretty much any shoot he wants. His endorsements include Hasselblad, Dyna-Lite, Chimera, California Sunbounce, and for a while, Canon.

With all this gear, I have had an excellent opportunity to use equipment that I have not used before. This, and Michael’s knowledge, has made assisting him such a great learning experience. In the past, I have rigged ways to shape light for shoots or just given up on my initial vision and now I am finding that there are tools to do exactly what I was trying to do. I have also learned new ways of using light modifiers to get the effects I want.

Shooting in Steamboat Springs, Colorado for People Magazine.

I have traveled across the country assisting Michael and have done some pretty high-production shoots in major LA studios (Pier 59 Studios West, Smashbox) complete with set designers and builders. I have assisted Michael with a couple of celebrity shoots as well as some national ad campaigns. I have also met many people and made a few friends.

Assisting has been a great way to learn, immerse myself in photography and meet new people. It has also opened up new options for me including becoming a Digital Tech. I will post more about that later as I become more involved. But, for now, I’m headed to Las Vegas tomorrow for a shoot for Fortune Magazine. You can follow me on Instagram to see these shoots in action. My Instagram photos also feed to my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Surprisingly Ambivalent

I am on a plane to Costa Rica as I write this. Much to my dismay, I am completely ambivalent about this fact. I’ve been talking about going to Costa Rica for years and overcame resistance to make it happen this time. Yet, I cannot muster up the slightest bit of excitement. I am hoping it will change once I get there and it begins to sink in that I am actually there.

Leading up to this trip, there has been a lot going on in my life and I haven’t really had much time to think about it as much more than a looming deadline. Deadline for projects to be completed and living arrangements made were vying for my attention, not to mention my inner conflict of whether I really wanted to stay in LA or go back to New York. In addition, there have been personal changes that leave me without my favorite travel companion.

Between working on projects and intensive learning of Lightroom, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Spanish and anything else I can find online about photography business and photography in general, I have lived on my computer for the last 5 months even more than usual. I brought many learning things with me including the very textbook-like Best Business Practices for Photographers by John Harrington. But my brain is on overload so I think I’m going to forget all that for the next two weeks and just be. Just be in the moment and just be in Costa Rica.

Of course I will ‘just be’ with my camera. No detail will escape my lens. If I haven’t taken over 1000 pictures by the end of my trip, I haven’t gotten out enough. I am also there visiting my old song-writing partner so I expect some new music to come out of this. So I guess I have more plans than I thought. I will be posting regularly on this blog and my 90 Days photo blog for those who want to experience this vicariously through me. It is in the moment that I will find my passion for this trip through images, words and music.

Oaxacan Photographic Adventure

Continuing with the theme of travel to Latin America this year, I have confirmed a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico in October for the Día de los Muertos celebration. I am going with a small group including humanitarian photographers David duChemin and Jeffrey Chapman.

After reading a few of duChemin's books, I was intrigued with the idea of doing some travel and humanitarian photography. I love to travel, and when I get the chance, experience the local culture. I'm not really interested in tourist hotspots. So, in theory, I'd like to do some humanitarian and travel photography. I say in theory because I had a little problem connecting with the locals on my last trip to Mexico.

There was much tequila consumed on my last trip. I suspect there will not be quite as much this time.

I'm excited to go with David and Jeffrey to see them in action and work with them during this special holiday in Oaxaca. They have been all over the world shooting for various NGOs and I think there will be a lot to learn from them. Plus, I'm sure they have plenty of great stories of life in remote locations and cultural shocks a-plenty.

It is a week-long trip traveling around the Oaxacan Valley to various markets in preparation for the festivities and cemeteries for the holidays. The holiday itself is a time of remembering and celebration. There is going to be food, music and lots of decorations to honor the altars of the dead. There should be plenty of people and places to photograph as well as a great time to experience the Mexican culture.

Between Costa Rica and Oaxaca, I'll have to really get fired up on the Rosetta Stone lessons. I would love to go being able to speak Spanish fairly well. At least then I can have some conversations and maybe learn more.

Costa Rican Offer

I am in transition – vocationally, personally, spiritually and geographically. This entire blog is mostly about the first but this post is mostly about the last.

I left New York in the beginning of December (2010) and returned to Phoenix. I floated around Arizona for the holidays, spending it with family and friends. Then, in mid-January, I landed in Bakersfield, California. This was not a destination, it was just a stopover on the way to LA, an easy location to get my bearings and finish up some freelance projects so I could get paid and then find a home in LA. I had expected to be in my own place in LA by now but that hasn’t happened.

One of my freelance clients has been dogging it and a project that was supposed to be two weeks has now turned into two months. I can’t complain too much, it has turned into more work, including producing a video of their process. So now I am planning a trip back to Phoenix to shoot video and portraits for this company, delaying my move another month.

So this is not Costa Rica but it is Roatan, Honduras so I imagine they look similar.

I was given an opportunity to go to Costa Rica in the next couple of months for some shooting and some free time. It wasn’t going to pay much but it also wasn’t going to cost very much. I originally turned it down because I didn’t want another delay in getting my life started in LA. But, recently, I reconsidered.

I don’t really have to be anywhere at any time. I have no rent, no car payment and no job I have to go to at a specific time. I’m sure I’ll have other opportunities to go to Costa Rica in the future but why not take advantage of this opportunity while I can? Who knows what the future will bring?

I will be going for 2-3 weeks. I will stay around San Jose for a while but then have some time at Playa Herradura on the Pacific side photographing condos and resorts there. I will also go to the Caribbean side to photograph a former cattle ranch on 1000 acres of land overlooking the ocean. In addition, I found out that my trip will include a side-trip to Panama City to photograph more condos and land. Visit two countries for the price of one–too good to pass up.

So I am in the stages of planning the trip. I have to finish the video and also have to coordinate schedules in Costa Rica so it looks like I will be going towards the end of April. That will delay my move to LA another couple of months, but I am ok with that. This will be a great adventure and allow me to practice many things, including my Spanish.

I want to improve my Spanish because I have another trip planned for October. But more about that trip next week.