The Shoebox of Prints: a 2015 Annual Review

I am just about wrapping up my first full year in business as a freelance photographer and I decided on a new (to me) way of evaluating my work and progress; PHYSICAL PRINTS! 

Meet a Subject: Moshe Zusman

The final installment of my Meet a Subject series looks at the time I have spent assisting DC portrait/headshot/you name it photographer Moshe Zusman. It has been about a year since I took the plunge and committed myself to full time independent freelance photography as my sole source of income and I have learned more about portraiture and, more importantly, the business side of photography from a few months working with Moshe than years of handling a camera on my own. 

The first few months of my entrepreneurial voyage were relatively busy. I was occupied with the multifaceted responsibility of establishing a business entity (just hire an account. Seriously), figuring out what it is that I would be doing photographically speaking, conceptualizing a brand, building a couple portfolios, growing contacts and generally adjusting to the strange ebb and flow of independent employment. I wasn't, however, doing a lot of photography. I heard that this was pretty normal in that pursuing photography as a business means running the business first and foremost with a bit of photography here and there. I also heard from a very trusted friend that the winter was coming, and the months can be slow. 

Meet a Subject: The man we call Shrake

Today's installment of my Meet a Subject series looks at longtime friend Scott Shrake, who's patronage of my photography services can be traced back to the start of my professional career. Founder and creative director/visionary of DC's Story League live story telling group, Shrake has provided many performers with a platform for expression, identity, self-discovery, fame and humor. He also provided me with my first paid photo gig. Professional story telling is to me, after years of watching and photographing, an intimate performance style that is on par with the level of difficulty of good stand up comedy. 

Note: this is from my first Story League Show. Notice my clumsy inclusion of an extra microphone stand in the composition...

Performers have the stage, a microphone and a few short minutes to capture (and keep) the attention of a live audience of strangers while telling a story about their life.

Meet a Subject: Jo Ann Block

Next up in my Meet a Subject series is another visual artist by the name of Jo Ann Block. A DC transplant via California & Vermont, Jo Ann's work investigates the complexities and ambiguities of queer identity throughout historical and contemporary culture. I was first introduced to Jo Ann at her studio space in the DC Arts Studios on one of my afternoons devoted to the ArtistSpaces project and we immediately began her work and career, as well as creative culture in general. 

Most of my sessions for the ArtistSpaces project involve a long chat about an artists work and interests as opposed to me just jumping in and snapping away, and neither of us appeared to be in a particular rush when we started chatting. I did notice however, once she sat down, that elements of her latest work "TransSurfing" were creating an absolutely dynamic frame around her likeness. This incredible composition was staring at me for an hour as I held onto our conversation, completely blown away by the story of her latest project while being constantly taunted by the possibilities of the frame. 

Meet a Subject: Eric B Ricks

Hey there - I would like to introduce fellow readers to a number of my favorite and notable portrait subjects from over the past year. Everyone featured in this series has been either chosen because of their interesting story or background, impact on me or my photographic endeavors, or any imaginable combination of the above. This will basically be a collective shout out to a number of people that bestow upon me the honor of taking their picture, and most of them have done so on a number of occasions.

Eric B Ricks, Collaborator in Creative Mayhem

First up is DC artist Eric B Ricks; muralist, painter, mixed media sculptor and general collaborator in creative mayhem. I first met Eric under some chance circumstances back in August of 2014. Eric had been working as an apprentice under local photography legend George de Vincent, who had recently passed away after a life of seemingly endless adventure, and Eric was in the process of moving out of de Vincent's house and studio located a couple blocks away from my apartment.

Updates: It seems like an eternity..

..Since I last put together a blogpost. April was pretty busy and as I sat at my desk a few minutes ago planning out some blogpost topics to write out and publish over the next few days, I realized a general summary of my latest activities was in order.

Just Ask!

Great opportunities start with very simple conversations.

"Hey man, is that a film camera you're using? I used to print in the darkroom all the time!" was the observational introduction volleyed by Robert Romano as I motored past him while out shooting with my rangefinder a bunch of month's ago. After some follow up in the form of meetings, chats, and collaborations we finally teamed up to do some fun headshots for a company earlier this week. And that's how opportunities come to fruition.

Multiple Exposure Portrait of Rob, taken by me

Multiple Exposure Portrait of me, taken by Rob

Advantages of the Digital Workflow

Sometimes I am really blown away by the speed and capabilities of the digital workflow. Last week, I took a new idea from concept, testing, execution and distribution in less than 8 hours of actual work, and that blows me away and so counter to my philosophy to shooting film.

Film taught me how to trust my gut and instincts in any given exposure situation. The patience to hold off on seeing the results until long after you have taken the exposure and, unless you're being financed by an outside source, the patience and discipline in your shot choice so that you don't become swamped with mediocre rolls of film. When I review my film work, I usually have a bit of flexibility in my predetermined expectations and the actual results; maybe that backlight was a little stronger than I thought or the shadows in a certain shot a bit deeper than my initial estimate.

This mentality is all well and good for 99% of my personal work and is actually a great exercise in training both your eye and brain, but what about when a new idea or concept calls upon the complete opposite set of objectives or working process? What if I have an idea but need to quickly and "cheaply" (as in, already spent money) test the results?

Due to the restraints and responsibilities of my current daytime job, I have about 2 hours per day available to photographic pursuits. And that time is split amongst taking, planning, developing, scanning, editing, researching, learning, networking, marketing & sharing my work. So that's not just two hours a day of shooting, that's two hours a day for everything. Hell, I wrote the initial copy of this blogpost at 4am because I had the words in mind and knew I wouldn't have another chance to put pen to paper until at least the weekend.

So when I am completely wrapped up in the possibilities and variables of a new technique and I'm presented with a quickly approaching opportunity to try it out, I unpack the D700.

At some point last week I found myself skimming through one of those "top 5 ways to incorporate lighting in your photos" lists when I started riffing on an idea. The section involved painting stationary objects with a flashlight during a long exposure and I thought "hmm..I wonder what it would look like to paint a portrait subject with a flashlight.." I'm sure it has been done in some capacity before, but I hadn't seen it or done it, and I wanted to learn, so off we go. This brainstorm inevitably lead to the realization of a perfect application of this yet untested technique; a four day DIY scene music/art/creative festival in DC that was to be headquartered at a local church.

The characters and the church setting could (and did) provide a perfect backdrop for the painterly ghosting effects I was envisioning. The only problem was my only opportunity to do so was two days away, which left for no time to test in film, develop and scan said rolls and come up with a committed solution. After a few rounds of tests (and a bunch of beer/wine) I had a system in place to deliver the effects I was going for. I could remotely fire my camera for a two second exposure while simultaneously rear curtain triggering a gridded off camera flash. The flashlight would flood various areas of the scene while I bark out weird instructions to willing subjects, sometimes even freezing parts of the subject halfway through their movements for a multiple exposure effect.

The participatory nature of the setup was a perfect complement to the, in my opinion, participatory mantra of punk; the subject and practitioner were equally involved with creating something different.

Rita Moreno at the National Portrait Gallery

Every once in a while I like to sign up for an event gig in an effort to explore a new venue, meet new people and stretch my muscles a bit in an area outside of live music and the Streets. Some events prove to be really rewarding and present me with ample opportunities to achieve all objectives,

Rita Moreno's interview and showcase at the National Portrait was such an occasion.

Rita's personality is truly addicting and inspiring, and the humor in which she dispatches the numerous life lessons she learned on her at times shaky road to stardom reminds the observer that nothing comes easy, especially if you're breaking the mold.

There were times throughout the evening when I just flat out stopped photographing so I could listen and laugh.