Drinking with a Dead Mantag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://12008-06-20T16:01:33ZMovable Type 3.33Stacktag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1782008-06-20T15:02:53Z2008-06-20T16:01:33Z I woke up this morning home again and happy, even if zombie-esque, until I saw my large stack of mail and to-dos forming a crumb trail between the front door and bedroom. Luckily the 2-week stack includes a handful...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
I woke up this morning home again and happy, even if zombie-esque, until I saw my large stack of mail and to-dos forming a crumb trail between the front door and bedroom. Luckily the 2-week stack includes a handful of checks along with the bucket full of bills, and a couple of new summer clips to share, beginning with my profile of remarkable explorer and submariner Capt. Alfred McLaren, retired U.S. Navy seen in the new month's Men's Journal. I'm really pleased with the clip and give big props to picture editor Jennifer Santana for choosing this select, which I think fits in well with a nice July issue overall for the MJ crew. Thanks Jenn for the gig, and many thanks to you, Capt. Fred, for a great morning shoot.
Next up is new client CRM Magazine, who commissioned me to do a cover of Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer back in March during a conference in Orlando. CRM is not a magazine that uses much, or really any, photography (other than some stock), so I was interested to see how they would manage the shoot, which was made complicated by Balmer, who I found to basically be an über-hyper child. He's a rich and powerful dude, and obviously can do whatever he wants, but out of the 15 minutes we were promised I got about 45 seconds, during which he would not give me a single straight face, even though he knew that the tone of the piece was about his serious and bold leadership role. Instead of being the picture of a CEO that the client wanted he opted to act like a giant ass. Note to Microsoft PR: if your CEO doesn't want to do photo shoots, then just don't have him agree to do them; I couldn't care less either way. From the looks of last month's Business Week cover, Balmer is an ass no matter which magazine shows up.
CRM really stepped up though and handled the tanked formal portrait aspect of the shoot by leaning on the documentary photography I shot during Balmer's keynote address. Fist-pound (Michelle Obama style, baby!) goes to designer Laura Hegyi for the opening spread use (which was my favorite image from the shoot based on Balmer's apparent disconnect from, uh, sanity?). Nice work, Laura!
I'm going to wrap up my morning of catch up and head north to see The Fiancée who is at Baby H.Q. with her sister. I come bearing Japanese gifts, and am excited for a bit of post-vacation vacation before the show starts back up again on Monday. Have a good weekend and enjoy these other favorites.
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Final approachtag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1772008-06-19T06:47:19Z2008-06-19T07:10:46Z The trip home from Japan has landed me in San Francisco for a 23-hour layover that I have used to basically just sleep my ass off in Marriott's comfy beds. I'm excited to get home home, though English-speaking "home"...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
The trip home from Japan has landed me in San Francisco for a 23-hour layover that I have used to basically just sleep my ass off in Marriott's comfy beds. I'm excited to get home home, though English-speaking "home" is nice too, and I celebrated being back in the States with a first meal of a turkey bacon club and a half bottle of Cabernet. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes my body to re-adjust. I was so tired this morning when I landed at SFO that I took the wrong hotel shuttle twice. There are just too many separate Marriott properties.
At dinner I watched the tribute to Tim Russert and thought about how we respond to and are influenced by the passing of icons. For some reason I began thinking about Bresson's recent death and the total non-affect that it had on my life or work, considering his stature in my specific profession. But Russert's passing has had me reeling and thinking in double-time; just as it created a loud gasp of shock and sadness in our Kyoto hotel room from my sister.
I watched Meet the Press but I wasn't devoted nearly as much as other friends of mine. What I now miss and always respected, though, is how Russert conducted himself and represented within media and the sad, diseased, dark corner of our industry perversely titled broadcast journalism. Through his passion, preparation, and intelligence he elevated the form to some of its former Murrow-era glory and partially suspended the "left" vs. "right" talking points insane 24-hour, time-filling exercise of TV news (which reminds me of the Seinfeld joke about how the only reason that people exercise is to be in good enough shape to exercise more).
The take-away from Russert's life of joy and early death should be for all of us to try to bring just a percentage of his integrity to our work. Let his passing challenge journalists around the world to work harder and better to inform citizens without insulting them with make-believe drama, fear mongering, and laziness.]]>
Japan, Pt. 3tag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1762008-06-17T01:58:07Z2008-06-17T02:09:17Z Some of Japan's billions of amazing textured details, modern and traditional. Will be on my way home tomorrow....John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
Some of Japan's billions of amazing textured details, modern and traditional. Will be on my way home tomorrow.
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Japan, Pt. 2tag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1752008-06-16T09:59:58Z2008-06-16T10:18:07Z Up and down hill through thousands of torii prayer gates to the Shinto god Inari in Inari, Japan. Below: people lounge at sunset at the Sky Garden on top of the JR Kyoto Station; part of the vast Osaka...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/Up and down hill through thousands of torii prayer gates to the Shinto god Inari in Inari, Japan. Below: people lounge at sunset at the Sky Garden on top of the JR Kyoto Station; part of the vast Osaka skyline from behind lined glass; visitors to the Floating Garden Observatory in the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka are reflected in circular windows; School children segregate by gender to take snapshots at the Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) temple in Kyoto.
The second half of the trip and Kyoto has been fantastic. Our hotel, Hotel Granzia, located directly in Kyoto Station, is pretty much wicked awesome (if the means are available, Ferris would highly recommend it) - the public spaces are like Japan-cum-Star Wars (dozens of floors, escalators EVERYWHERE, sky bridges, public art, crazy lighting), the staff is incredibly helpful and gracious, and there is both a Cafe du Monde and Starbucks within 3 minutes from our door. Things are winding down though and I'm getting the itch to get back to my regularly scheduled life. Here are a few more...
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Japantag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1742008-06-12T09:54:21Z2008-06-16T10:17:16Z Sunday afternoon picnics at the Japanese garden section of the beautiful Shinjuku-Gyoen park; Afternoon showers bring out umbrellas in high end shopping district Ginza; Visions of the Rinnō-ji complex in Nikko. After a morning spent with jaws dropped at...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/Sunday afternoon picnics at the Japanese garden section of the beautiful Shinjuku-Gyoen park; Afternoon showers bring out umbrellas in high end shopping district Ginza; Visions of the Rinnō-ji complex in Nikko.
After a morning spent with jaws dropped at the amazing Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, we arrived to Kyoto this afternoon to begin the second half of our vacation in Japan. Not much to say except that its been great, except for the 13-hour time change which is still playing tricks on my body/mind. I'm looking forward to seeing Japan from a traditional standpoint down here in shrine/temple city, after becoming dizzy day after day in the hyper modern verticality of Tokyo. I'll be back in the office ready to work on June 20.
The fast and furious tuna auction at the Tsukiji central warehouse market in Tokyo; A foreman stands on a mountain of styrofoam containers during the morning rush at Tsukiji.
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The opposite of lovetag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1732008-06-03T23:30:15Z2008-06-04T00:42:00Z High school, 2008 - from the series "Opposite of Love" June began with a sweltering shoot yesterday for Der Spiegel in Key West that was just plain brutal even if rewarding, and continued this morning with the exciting news...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/High school, 2008 - from the series "Opposite of Love"
June began with a sweltering shoot yesterday for Der Spiegel in Key West that was just plain brutal even if rewarding, and continued this morning with the exciting news that as of 12:57 a.m. the fiancée and I are aunt/uncle's to a very cute and plump baby boy (congrats Madzia & Mohammad!!).
As things usually slow down during the summer I've been refocusing myself on a few personal projects, the new website, and of course on getting the hell out of Miami for vacation, which I'm going to accomplish quite dramatically on Friday when I head to Japan for 2 weeks with my little brother and sister. It's going to be an amazing trip and wonderful to get some distance and perspective in a country I've always wanted to visit.
Before leaving I wanted to share the beginnings of one of the new projects that I've been trying to wrap my head around this last few weeks. The idea began as a portraiture record of all of the people that I know, and then expanded into the memory of my friend Tracey in college and her talk about how love & hate are not opposite emotions, sort of trading on the Elie Wiesel notion that "the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." Born out of my belief that apathy is sort of the quintessential modern emotion (we have so much, so efficiently at hand, that many of us Westerners are bored/overwhelmed by all of it), I've started making portraits for a series titled "Opposite of Love."
The project is interesting for me because its on top of being a pretty large departure from my background, the idea exists in a paradox. As soon as you ask someone what they care the least about, they immediately care a little more than they did before you asked in naming it, which means that in some sense I'm perhaps helping to change things (minutely) just by my process. I wanted the series to find the subjects in a sort of trance, akin to the excellent "gamers" series shot by a few smart portrait-eers, and for the style to be straightforward, but overlit and melodramatic.
These first two images explore the at-odds lighting with the simple premise of people not caring, hopefully in a similarly perverse way as how the most annoying (and loud) television commercials are always for shit you would never want/buy. "High school" and "Politics" will soon be joined by several more, including (no big surprise here, from a girl) "Baseball," once I return from the land of the Rising Sun. For those needing to reach me from June 6-19th, I'll be in limited touch via e-mail.
Politics, 2008 - from the series "Opposite of Love"]]>
Notes on a redesigntag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1722008-05-27T13:23:46Z2008-05-27T14:56:45ZCelebrating the conclusion of my 5th year of successful freelancing I decided that JohnLoomis.com should have a new and dynamic home created this year that would be the website that I've always wanted for my photography. Originally I hoped to...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
JohnLoomis.com should have a new and dynamic home created this year that would be the website that I've always wanted for my photography. Originally I hoped to use the project as a launching pad to become an advanced web designer myself (I've designed every version of JL.com since the beginning), but that idea was eventually scrapped (see "Expert") because web design on that level is a distraction from my core goals. So I decided to hire a true expert and begin the process to help create the new site. A lot of us are (or will be soon) doing the same, so I thought I'd take some notes.
Before I even thought of making of list of designers, friends, and firms I'd like to approach with my project I began with a list of ideas and goals that the website should fulfill. Just like a photo editor needs to understand what they want with the direction of a story before they begin to call a photographer to shoot it, I wanted to have a clear image of the new site in my head before I both entrusted it someone else and allowed it to take the twist and turns I knew it would in becoming real. It began with a list of concepts/adjectives:
Permanent; dynamic; BIG; elegant; smart; expensive; image-based; updateable; cohesive.
Those few words had a few thousands words behind them which represented the history of JL.com and of my brand concept for my work and business. Because I've been so hands-on with my websites and branding I knew that I was basically a nightmare client -- knowing enough to be a total pain in the ass, but also knowing too little to truly handle it myself. Here is a condensed list breakdown.
Permanent, dynamic, & BIG: As the lead designer, I have routinely gotten bored with my site on at least an annual basis and (with a weekend of free-time from assignments) completely revamped the whole thing (because I could, and because my skills have never been significant enough to allow me to create something truly lasting). So one of the first big things I wanted with a redesign was to create something I could be happy with for a "long" while (3 years). The new site would be coming after many years of HTML DIY projects which worked well enough, but if I was going to hire someone to do something, it should be something truly dynamic and exploding the simplicity of my former sites. Ditto for the size and scale of the new project... it should be a statement; it should feel BIG. Capital Letters, shouting, "I Am Here, PE's, AB's, AD's, & CD's of the World!"
Elegant, smart, & expensive: I wanted the first impression of the new site to wow both in terms of the aesthetics of the design, but also in the fluidity of the UX. I wanted something very elegant and thoughtful, but not bulky or needlessly ornate. Though the new project would be a Flash site, it would use Flash to connect things seamlessly, present photography gracefully, and be ready with want you wanted when you wanted it (like a good waiter in a nice restaurant... there and not). The site would be smart; no intro movies, no shutter click sounds; nothing that makes you leap for the close window button. But on top of all of this yin/yang it would ultimately feel high end and expensive, meant to encourage the consideration of my work as a luxury item, not a space-filler. I wanted the new site to be fancy enough to stop some of the bullshit calls we all receive dead in their tracks before I ever had to deal with them. (Hi, I'm an art buyer from McDonald's... we want you to do some publicity photography for us, but I'm afraid our budget is only $450 including expenses). That may sound crass, but I wanted the first time that I talked to a new client to be concerned with photography ideas and possibilities, not budget.
Image-based, cohesive: Lastly the new site was going to be for and focused on photography. I wanted images to speak for themselves and not be dependent on elaborate text and menus upon submenus of information architecture. There should be a joy in exploring the photography, and a freedom of movement throughout the site, allowing users to experience the photography to their own preference (thumbs, BIG images, slideshows). Of course my new site had to have the flexibility and power of a custom backend that would allow me to simply and quickly add and delete new pictures, change text info in a bio, and manage the site without having to send off an e-mail and wait a week. And all of these words ultimately had to paint a picture of a unified set of ideas that made up John Loomis Photography, bringing together the many threads and styles all in a single home which gave them connections. With the new site I would almost certainly be dismantling the JLPFL.com advertising site test, and knew I would be searching for something whole.
To match the wish list was another smaller list of things that the website did not need to be. It did not need to (at this time), fully integrate my archive within my portfolio site; or present (future) multimedia work; or deeply focus on keywording/meta concerns (I knew I wanted a Flash site after all).
With all of those thoughts in mind I created a set of blueprints (Photoshop mockups) of what this dream site actually looked like in a rough sense. I matched those with as articulate and clear of a simple description as I could about what I was hoping to have created: new flash-based portfolio website with a modern, elegant, and dynamic design aesthetic focusing on images rather than words, powered by simple backend CMS solution. I had a short-list of other sites that were inspiring to me in the process (here and here, primarily), and perhaps most importantly I had a potential budget and timetable for the project: $10,000 to $15,000 and 3 to 4 months.
My project request went out to 8 potential designers, both small and large, half of which never got back to me in any real way (that's how it is, I wasn't upset). I got concrete bids from 3 firms and they ranged very widely, both above and below my budget. I got a lot of advice from friends, and considered working with a close friend on the project but decided against that for various reasons. Before choosing my new designer I got in touch with several of their former clients (always important), all of whom professed a deep admiration for their methods, communication (before, during, and after launch), quality, and delivery.
Ultimately the job was awarded to Arseni and iHouse Design largely because I found their sites to not only be done in a clean, modern style, but especially because they felt pretty bullet-proof, unlike a lot of other designers out there (where everything looks nice until you check under the hood and bug after bug appears causing a potential viewer to have to refresh and start over in the site). iHouse had a clear picture of what I wanted, an aggressive time-table that included a penalty for late delivery (my idea), and a pretty incredible budget (bang for the buck, wise). Working with Arseni, I received a full sitemap and the first round of designs (full mockups in browser) within a week of my initial payment! Last week we completed the design of the new site after at least 4 rounds of back and forth, and are moving on to the interface/UX before testing and then launch.
I'll close out this first post with some last notes on working with a designer. As I've already said Arseni has been great to work with, but communicating about design (especially without the right vocab) can be tricky, especially if you are a pain in the ass client (like me). After using straight up words to try to describe detailed corrections to the first 2 rounds of designs, I gave up and decided to literally bring the designs into Photoshop and use the much more plain and powerful language (considering my ignorance) of lines and symbols, using the pen, line, and annotation tools directly on top. The effect was immediate. The next set of designs was 99% perfect.
I would also advise anyone in the same process to think a lot about whether what they actually are looking for is a programmer instead of a designer. To some degree I was looking for both, but understanding the difference makes things much clearer if you want your own ideas executed exactly without creative input. A designer (more expensive, typically) is going to take your ideas and needs and run with them. A programmer (less $) is going to take your sketch and make it a reality. If you are already a good designer, or have a very, very clear idea of what you want, you may be able to save some cash by finding a programmer, but your overall project might suffer (especially in the details).
That's the end of Part 1 of this adventure. Sorry to not illustrate anything with examples of the new site, but it wouldn't be much of a surprise if I did, would it?! Part 2 will follow the new site's launch in early fall.]]>
My, my, metag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1712008-05-23T18:24:42Z2008-05-27T19:45:08ZJust wrapping up transmitting the final images from my last shoot (a really fun one for Bicycling Magazine) during a busy week down in the already sweltering Magic City, and I need to download some of the heavy thinking I've...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
Bicycling Magazine) during a busy week down in the already sweltering Magic City, and I need to download some of the heavy thinking I've been doing all morning over the role of the Me in contemporary photography/modern media since reading (nearly got through 2 pages before I fell out of my chair while sputtering "who fucking cares?!") of the cover story in this weekend's NYT Mag. If you are scratching your heads, Rachel has a blurb about it as well.
The first two competing thoughts is that the pairing of a navel-gazing, blogger girl, writing about how revealing incredibly personal attitudes and details about her relationship might (ya think?!) not work out that well in the end, with self-centric extraordinaire art photographer Elinor Carucci is both a stroke of genius and almost, well, plain gruesome. That thought and gross aftertaste is quickly followed mentally by trying to settle myself down that ego in art (are those actually even two distinct words?) and photography is as old or older a pairing than the sun and moon, and that there is nothing inherently bad or wrong about any artist turing their medium on themselves, in fact there are all kinds of things wrong about some artists, especially photojournalists, if I can nudge it under the "A-word" banner, ignoring their own subjective contribution to any attempts at objectivity.
OK, I haven't said anything yet. So here goes... Even though I love many, many classical examples of self-examinations (van Gogh's self portraits, to just blurt out the first of a long, long list), and deeply admire any photographer who puts themselves into their work in theory or fact, I'm so fucking sick of the role of Me in contemporary photography, and by extension in all media. I'm so sick of the mental strain of hearing about someone talk about themselves as if they have lived so importantly or rarely that we need to hear about it again and again.
For the longest time I didn't get Brokaw's The Greatest Generation stuff and how he kept hammering that tune over and over, but now I really get it. The man was going to kill himself he was so crazy of all of the Me noise that is everywhere. He had to find people outside of his life to tell stories about who had something to share, who had lived! for fuck's sake.
What this cover story represents to me is continued and complete disintegration of people looking outside of their own lives, no matter how banal or arrogant, for the ideas and diving boards for their story-telling, true or fictional. We see this annoying slide all over the place, even in places that were once truly special islands of thought and concern, like the radio show This American Life, which recently seems to be nothing more than a never-ending march of mediocre writers telling mediocre tales from their typical adolescent memories in a monotone voice only slightly heightened by the producer's good taste in background music. So at this point if you have ever been slightly to severely depressed, or had parents who were, or maybe not but they got divorced, or maybe you watched too much TV, or maybe you grew up in the suburbs or were not the most popular kid, or are just a marginally good writer... then you too can broadcast your "personal reflections" on all of the not that interesting shit that has brought you to this moment in your life. How about another memoir of a 20-something year old?! Or maybe an independent film about you and your friends doing very little?! But whatever you do, do not forget the dead pan look/tone/mood, though -- that's everything, baby!
I'm sure Emily Gould is a cool person and that the story will mean something to many, even if it only serves to break out debates in coffee shops (I think that's the editor's hand seen right here, folks), and maybe even force parents to pad lock the laptops of America and force the kids outside (while they blog about how kids are spending too much time online).
But I'd like it to stand for the bigger point that even if your life is really interesting... someone else's is still infinitely more interesting. As important as any artist is in the choices of creation, they don't have to be both the medium and the message. You can have personal vision without only photographing your fucking self (in your bosses office, maybe...). Please get out of your own fucking heads, out of your doors, and go out and find something and someone that is worth describing. You are not the story.
In closing, to be fair and in full disclosure... I don't consider myself to be important in anyway to the viewing of my photography. Knowing anything about me is completely irrelevant I hope to learning about the subjects who have honored my work by allowing me access. Whatever grace I have documented or transmitted was not mine. Whatever skills I possess I hope to drain completely into the story and not my recording of it. My life and work are not the same thing. I would much rather be known as a good reporter than as a great artist. And my greatest desire is to lead an interesting life, filled with meeting many unique souls who have really lived, and share that in truth.
Follow-up:In a Q&A posted on 5/27 with some of the many, many comments (1200 at last count) that Ms. Gould's article received via NYTimes.com over the holiday weekend, Emily said she was now sorry for the choice of art that accompanied the story, and furthermore that she understands and expected all of this bashing. Sigh.]]>
Busttag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1702008-05-21T19:26:18Z2008-05-21T19:41:42Z I did another interesting assignment for The New York Times business section a couple of weeks ago about the incredibly high foreclosure rates in Miami's (many) dozens of condo buildings (across the board from low to high end), many...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
I did another interesting assignment for The New York Times business section a couple of weeks ago about the incredibly high foreclosure rates in Miami's (many) dozens of condo buildings (across the board from low to high end), many of which were just built in the development boom that I began to photograph when I first moved to south Florida two years ago (turns out I was really looking at the death throws then). Though the story was not as graphic as we had been led to believe (big surprise), I really enjoyed mining for a sort of "evidence" approach, even more because I got the OK to use my now departed Mamiya 7 camera to do it. So all in all the assignment brought me full circle in more ways than one.
We (some realtors and an Italian investor looking to capitalize on the foreclosures) visited a few buildings in Brickell and I was pretty shocked to learn that a couple of these condo towers have foreclosure rates from 15-30% (not just unoccupied, but foreclosed). Now many floors in the buildings feel like a ghost town, with lock boxes covering doors, dirt and dust everywhere, and very dark hallways with bright yellow foreclosure notices pasted up. I guess just like in the Texas oil towns, if you believe the boom you gotta expect the bust.]]>
Caught uptag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1692008-05-13T15:26:48Z2008-05-13T16:53:21Z While I've been sleeping on the blog a few things have stacked up lately that I've been meaning to share. Most notably, a couple of weeks ago I was honored to learn that my portrait of nurse Fonza Luke...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
While I've been sleeping on the blog a few things have stacked up lately that I've been meaning to share. Most notably, a couple of weeks ago I was honored to learn that my portrait of nurse Fonza Luke will appear in the 2008 CommArts photo annual. I've always liked flipping through each new CA, and am excited to land my first image in the book, especially for an image which meant something to me. Many thanks also go to Geoffrey Hiller, who has very kindly featured me on today's Verve Photo.
The above clip is from my portrait of Miami emerging rapper Ace Hood that appeared in June's XXL. On a related though sour note, due to a new and insanely shitty contract that they are asking photographers to sign, the Ace shoot was probably my last for the magazine and its sister pubs King and Rides (Harris Publishing) until they strike out the rights-grabbing language in paragraph 4 of said contract. I don't imagine they are worried about losing me as a contributor, but I would deeply encourage every photographer to think very carefully before signing their heinous agreement (which is effectively retroactive in its rights-grabbing back to every job you've ever shot for them). Regardlessly, here is another frame I liked from the gig with Ace, who was a great subject.
And here are a few more loose ends: a portrait of art collector and patroness Ella Fontanals-Cisneros shot for the German magazine Park Avenue, a pre-dawn landscape of my little townhouse community that is a part of a little personal thing I'm working on, and finally a couple of images from my coverage of the '07 Design Miami art fair for Elle Decoration UK (a portrait of photographer turned designer Stuart Haygarth in front of his "Drop Chandelier," and a detail of Mike Meiré's The Farm Project kitchen.)
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Welcome to Miamitag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1682008-04-28T19:19:29Z2008-04-29T13:42:55ZThis is my third year back in Miami (I was born here, my family has lived here for generations, but I've only worked professionally here since 2006) and I thought it would be fun and informative to create a mini...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
Weather, locale, getting around.
So welcome to Miami and good luck. It's a great place to have fun and a great place to watch shrink away in your rearview mirror or your way home. Shooting here can be easy, breezy, but just as often it's a total hassle. A lot depends on the time of year and on location.
To begin with, Miami isn't that big of a place, even though it stretches for miles and miles. Only certain parts even feel like a big city, and if you are coming here for a shoot you probably only need to know 2 places: the airport and South Beach (Miami Beach south of 23rd St). Getting here is not hard with dozens of daily directs into MIA or FLL, but god help you if you are coming in from out of the country (esp. at MIA). Arriving and hoping not to need to get a rental car? Dream on, you're going to need one. Why?, well for one our taxis are total shit and very expensive. Even if they weren't, our mass transit is non-existent and mostly useless, on top of most of everything you'll need being 10 miles and 25 minutes away from each other. If you are just going to be at one hotel in South Beach and then right out on the beach next to it, you are probably fine. But if you have multiple locations or a tight deadline, you need a rental. Sorry.
And even though I said you need a rental car, let me go ahead and apologize about the traffic/maniacs on the road here. Yes, its true (and verified by a nationwide poll in 2007), traffic and drivers in Miami are fucking horrible. There, I said I was sorry and I warned you.
Life in Miami is broken into two distinct periods of time: season vs. not. During season (roughly December (Art Basel) until May (Mother's Day)) hotels are booked with a million conventions and vacations, rental houses are empty because of the commercial shooters, and everything is more expensive; the upside is that the weather is heaven (mid-70's with a breeze and lots of sun). During off-season the place heats up (mid-90's+ and humid) and empties out. All of the snowbirds head back to fucking New Jersey or wherever and its easier to get deals on hotels and flights. You are going to sweat your ass off, but hey, nothing is perfect; plus down here no one dresses up for anything except the clubs, which you should stay away from anyway, so you'll be comfy in shorts and flip-flops.
Just as an aside, even though Miami and the Keys are very close relative to New York and, say, Chicago, they are not really that close at all practically speaking. Therefore, you can not shoot in the Keys but be based in Miami - you can try but you'll spend the entire time driving between on US-1/Overseas Hwy, which is not a fun thing to do (trust me). Key West is a good, long 2-lane drive away and just like an island in the Caribbean, it operates on its own time and has scarce local resources (no rental, no film, no assistants, no problem mate!).
Sleeping and eating.
Depending on your client and location, staying in SoBe is fun but going to run you between $250-$500+; but you will be within easy walking distance to hundreds of spots to eat, get coffee, jog, and club. Walking distance in Miami is a rare, rare thing. Staying north on the beach will save you money but you'll have very few appetizing options if you care about food. Another option is staying in Miami proper (I would unless its your first trip), but most of the hotels are either in downtown (no man's land after 5 p.m. generally), Aventura (Jewish 70+ paradise of mall shopping and corporate eating), Doral (way, way West of Miami only convenient for golfers), South/Red Road (near University of Miami campus and nothing else), or near the Airport (just close you eyes and pick randomly at that point).
OK, so you have a hotel, but where to eat. Like any major city Miami has a lot of everything and every major chain, but there are some highlights you should know about. If you must have a steak in Miami, it should probably be at one of the many Argentinian or Brazilian carnivor-a-thons dotting the landscape. There is a general consensus that you must try some of the Cuban fare (most famous is Versailles in Calle Ocho (SW 8th)), but just make sure you have plenty of time for a nap afterwards. If you love Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Ethiopian, Chinese, or Mexican food then sorry, you should really just wait until you are back home. Instead pick just about any seafood, Italian, Russian, or Latin spot and you'll probably be fine (hit up OLA on James Ave. in SoBe for great nuevo-Latin cuisine); even better fuck the good food and capitalize on the great views. If you are a veggie/vegan and don't eat fish, then buy some crackers, baby, it's going to be rough.
Time for work.
With a place to sleep and a full stomach, it's probably time to get some work done, so lets talk about what you'll need to know in terms of shooting in Miami and around South Florida. First of all there are some good rental studios and film labs (well, 2 of each). For rentals check out Aperture Professional and Carousel Studios, and for film labs I like using The Color House. Now if one of these studios can't help you then you are in a spot, because you can not depend on any of the photo shops in Miami to have anything in stock you may need (seriously). But if you don't believe me, the largest is Pitman Photo Supply (way the fuck down in South Miami), and your 2nd (and even more gruesome option) is World Wide Foto (near the Design District). You'll find out very quickly that if you need a piece of pro gear which can't be rented in town, then you are going to either have to bring it with you or have it shipped in from the big boys (sigh, last minute overnight shipping to hotels is AWESOME, right?!).
Speaking of gear its common for photo editors to hear the word Miami and begin to have wet dreams about underwater angles for their assignment, no matter if its a business portrait 10 miles from the ocean. On that score I just recently came across someone who rents pro underwater housings (Stephen Frink Photographic), but if he's out then it ain't going to happen. Do what I've been advised to do and buy yourself a Canon G9 with a housing (both are out of stock in Miami, I bet you $20).
OK, moving on. If you are shooting on the beach you technically are going to need a permit. I've shot on the beach dozens of times and never had one but I don't have big sets with lots of gear. So if you are planning on a full-day shoot or big operation you should be smart and give the City of Miami Beach a call just in case. When shooting on the beach you absolutely are going to want to have a few things: a beach cart (photo gear cart with large tires for the sand), a photo hood or screen for seeing laptops or even chimping, either tie downs, many assistants, or MANY sand bags, and sunscreen (duh), dark sunglasses, and/or a hat (getting burnt is no fun). If you like using large soft boxes, scrims/flags, or anything else (common sense alarm) you are either going to hire a small army to keep them secure and in the right orientation or are going to be smart and leave the 5' octodomes or (eek) 12x12's at home and use a beauty dish instead. Beauty dishes are worth their weight in gold in Miami because its always windy.
Miami has a lot of very good commercial assistants (so I hear) because of the advertising and film work that is constantly going on down here. However, it does not have that many decent editorial assistants. You really can't depend on finding local help at the $200 range last minute down here unless you have a friend who owes you a favor. Instead have the client eat another plane ticket and get something who you can depend on. That being said, you don't need to worry about finding good local stylists of any stripe (hair, makeup, wardrobe, etc). There are plenty in Miami who have a ton of experience and most of them are great to work with. And because this is party central, catering is not going to be a problem either.
Unlike New York, most of Miami is not so media savvy that you'll need pay for access to use a location (usually). Most of them are totally fine with you shooting as long as you have proof of liability insurance (which you should anyway, right). Also, just like any major city there are many areas that you don't want to get stuck in at the wrong time of day, just be smart about it. It should be said that Miami is much safer than it was in the Cocaine Cowboy days of the 70-80's. Still, stay away from parts of South Miami, Liberty City, Overtown, Opa-Locka, and Hialeah after dark unless you have local assets watching your back.
Summing it all up.
I've certainly missed dozen of things here but this is a solid beginning. I'll try to add to this guide to keep it relevant and to respond to any questions that might come. Hopefully others of you out there can share of your knowledge of working in and out of other major cities that all of us have to spend time in. Atlanta anyone? Houston? Lets see some love get shared!]]>
Sell outtag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1672008-04-28T16:04:47Z2008-05-12T03:01:18ZApologies for this lapse into practical use of DwaDM, but I've been wheeling and dealing a bit lately and as a result have some excess gear on my hands that I'd like to find a friendly new home. Mamiya 7...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
DwaDM, but I've been wheeling and dealing a bit lately and as a result have some excess gear on my hands that I'd like to find a friendly new home.
Mamiya 7 II Med. format (black) camera with Mamiya 80mm f/4 lens - $1750SOLDMamiya super wide angle 50mm f/4.5 lens for the Mamiya 7 II - $1300
Beautiful, super clean, like new condition lens. Selling with optical viewfinder (lens is equal to a 25mm on a 35mm camera), B+W UV filter, front and back caps, and hood. 9/10 rating.
http://tinyurl.com/57ezndCanon 100 f/2 EF USM lens - $250SOLDEpson Perfection 3200 Photo scanner - $30 / OBO
A little outdated but in great shape. Glass is very clean and comes with all cables, holders, and accessories. PC or Mac. 8/10 rating.
http://tinyurl.com/4wy29wApple DVI to ADC display adapter - $70
In brand new condition with plastic wrap still on; I only used it for a single week. One of those annoying Apple accessories that if you need it, you need it. 10/10 rating.
http://tinyurl.com/4oq5nuMountainsmith Paragon camera daypack - $60 / OBO
Bought new a couple of years ago but only ever used on 1 trip, this bag (which has been discontinued I think) is in perfect condition. Its a great solution for trekking with gear, with daypack storage for personal items or clothes. 9.5/10 rating.
http://tinyurl.com/6ofzkt
I will accept PayPal (International or U.S.) or check for the items (U.S. only, delivery after check clears) and don't mind shipping them anywhere (except for the scanner and daypack). If you are interested send me an e-mail.
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Cool beanstag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1662008-04-21T19:20:29Z2008-04-21T19:37:53Z Workers speed drying of the late harvest coffee beans in the open sun at Doka Estate, part of the Santa Eduviges farms in Costa Rica. See much more in the archive. Found in this Sunday's New York Times business...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/Workers speed drying of the late harvest coffee beans in the open sun at Doka Estate, part of the Santa Eduviges farms in Costa Rica. See much more in the archive.
Found in this Sunday's New York Times business section are the "cherries" from the last half of my week down in Costa Rica back in February and a small photo essay on Starbucks Coffee and their farmer education program. Despite being pretty exhausted from the hike, Andy Martin (the writer) and I had a really great time with the Starbucks folks as we saw just a tiny corner of their operation in central Costa Rica and the way that they teach sustainable methods and quality control to help farmers around the world not only produce better beans but also become able to earn a much higher premium for their efforts and families.
No matter what you think about Starbucks as a company you have to be impressed by the lengths they go around the world to source their product. They look at the whole thing a bit like I try to with my freelance work -- I don't want a single job from someone, I want to build relationships that can deepen and strengthen over time. The same is true with their relationships with farmers (which in many of these places is really just huge extended families who have worked the same ground for generations), some of which are 20+ years old.
Photographically speaking we were off in our timing down in Costa Rica and had missed the first big harvest of the year; so many of the images I wanted just didn't exist. Instead I did portraits and details and tried to make something interesting, while also trying just to soak up the environment while simultaneously not getting attacked by bugs. Big ups to Sbux rockstar Scott McMartin (seen below) who was fun to hang out (bullshit) with during the trip.
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Rattletag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1652008-04-16T14:24:16Z2008-04-16T15:19:30ZAfter a week of admiration I finally exchanged virtual credit for a virtual copy of the new R.E.M. album Accelerate after watching the Stipe & Co. collaboration with Vincent Moon and the amazing Take Away Show crew. I already knew...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
Accelerate after watching the Stipe & Co. collaboration with Vincent Moon and the amazing Take Away Show crew. I already knew the album was a return to all of the things that had resounded in me with the band pre-Berry's exit, and had earlier in my older brother Ryan back when we lived in rural Georgia during the Chronic Town days, but it was seeing the band after all of this time and fame open themselves up/bare to something as potentially difficult as indie/DIY live music filmmaking that loosened my purse strings.
If I ever get to the point where I can quantify that I made it in whatever way is important to me, I hope I have the integrity, humility, and passion to risk/disregard that success again with returning back to the beginning and sinking into something hard - such as the subsequent collaboration between R.E.M. and Moon and creation of video web projects NinetyNights and SupernaturalSuperserious. The whole affair, regardless of the outcome, deeply turns me on from a creative perspective. I suppose its the basic reason why we keep moving with Blueeyes...
I was thinking about all of this yesterday when I bounced over to a day-in-the-life post from Timothy Archibald via Rachel/PhotoShelter recounting his recent composite shoot for Runner's World (*RH, this is by FAR your best post yet - thanks). Interspersed with the how do I do this stuff is the note about authenticity and the search for humanity in editorial portraiture and I was struck in the same way again. I had recently been spending a good deal of time on TA's website when preparing my new stripped down best of '08 JL.com update (I think its cool how few images you have there, Timothy - very elegant approach to what you are about), and that play between authenticity/humanity and the logistical challenge of larger productions that create these fictional empty, but very pretty, concept-driven visions was heavy on my mind.
So I guess the way it distills in my head is in thinking about the way that my own editorial work has been shifting (over the last few years) and the way that I've been using and thinking about light. Honestly I've just finally gotten familiar and comfortable with all of the tools of location lighting that I'm really starting to enjoy how I can use it and make it my own, which is perhaps the way that TA feels about the larger productions... its finally become something he is good at so there is an inherent pleasure in pulling them off for his clients.
Last week I bought a fairly polarizing piece of lighting equipment that I had planned on always keeping at a distance because of its constant overuse over the last several years. But with the hope that I can do something different with it I'm excited to open myself to something different and redefine the way that I try to record authenticity in my portraits. Maybe its a bit backwards, but with all of this more I want to try to strip things back and bring the subject forward in a bigger way. Like TA and a lot of us, I suspect, the ultimate judge will be The Fiancée and her wonderful ability to see through all of the bullshit and figure out if I've actually achieved anything at all.
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Cousteau vs. Cousteautag:getdrunk.johnloomis.com,2008://1.1642008-04-10T18:42:58Z2008-04-11T15:49:11Z It's been a good week in the JLPFL mailroom, highlighted by some long awaited checks (straight to the AMEX) and the new (May) issue of Men's Journal for which I shot a really interesting feature on the legacy of...John Loomishttp://www.johnloomis.com/
It's been a good week in the JLPFL mailroom, highlighted by some long awaited checks (straight to the AMEX) and the new (May) issue of Men's Journal for which I shot a really interesting feature on the legacy of ocean explorer and environmental champion Jacques Cousteau. Its a meaty piece and I was very excited to work on it with Rob just before he made his exit (stage West). The shoot was first mentioned vaguely on DwaDM back in November, but there was ultimately a lot more to it.
The idea for the piece was to shoot Cousteau grandsons Philippe Jr. and Fabien, and contrast the different ways in which they've used their famous last name in a profile on the bitter family feud that erupted after Jacques death. I was initially only hired to make an "authentic" portrait of Philippe and we went out on a boat off of Lighthouse Point to shoot early in the morning. As I mentioned in the previous point it was gnarly with bad luck, seas, weather, wind... but Philippe was super awesome to work with and despite shooting 6x7 film with lights on a small boat while trying not to be tossed into the rocks, we managed to get some cool stuff.
A couple of weeks later Rob was back in touch and I was asked to photograph the other half of the family represented by Fabien. Sweet! Only problem was that MJ wanted to try to exactly match the best selects from the first shoot again for the second shoot of Fabien, and of course I hadn't exactly been taking notes on the positions, angles, lighting, exposure, time of day, etc. from Philippe's session. But no problem, right?! At the very least we were certainly not to get shit weather two straight times!
Ah, well, no. Not only was Fabien's shoot extremely tight on time and at a different part of the morning, the conditions were even worse. Immediately upon getting out on the boat with him and his very cool sister (regardless of whatever tension there is in the Cousteau family, I had a killer time meeting and working with everyone), we found out that we didn't have all of the (scuba) gear we would need to really mock up the first session, which sort of didn't matter anyway because the only suits that Fabien had were their very cool new free diving suits (I was thankful that they were different colors, lending to the Spy vs. Spy aesthetic of the final layout). But with 8x10 print outs of my Philippe selects (Rob picked 3 to do our best to replicate), we tried to make the best of it.
Out on the water the wind was whipping like crazy and the sun was in a completely different spot and height than I wanted it in (matching would be impossible given our time frame). As soon as we got in position my assistant almost immediately had 2 of the 3 8x10 selects fly out of her hand and right overboard into the rough water. Amazingly we were able to save 1 of them, but there was a very awkward moment when one half of the family was all huddled around looking at these images of Philippe in the exact same setting. I don't think I would have been very cool with this, but they were and I respect them for being open and honest.
With a beauty dish being hand held by my assistant Erica off to my right, she holding on to the rail for dear life, I had 15-second window opportunities kneeling in the right position with Fabien in place to shoot before the captain had to gun the engines and keep us from crashing on the rocks. We only had a total of about 15 minutes out on the water, and I had maybe 10 of these 15 second bursts. We only had 2 of the 3 8x10's left to compare with (next time I'll me smarter and laminate and bring extra copies), but with all of the rough water and wind I was trying hard just to get my exposures right let alone match horizon lines and body posture. By the time we wrapped I was pretty bummed that we just didn't get it done.
My 6x7 selects of the 2nd shoot got to the Men's Journal office the day before Rob left (bummer), but Jenn Santana picked up the pieces and made some great sense of the images. I was super excited to get a call from her a couple of weeks ago that they loved the results and wanted to get me to get back out on the water for another feature story coming up this weekend (I must be crazy). Nothing better than that though! I'll leave you another frame that I liked of Philippe Cousteau, Jr.
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I woke up this morning home again and happy, even if zombie-esque, until I saw my large stack of mail and to-dos forming a crumb trail between the front door and bedroom. Luckily the 2-week stack includes a handful of checks along with the bucket full of bills, and a couple of new summer clips to share, beginning with my profile of remarkable explorer and submariner Capt. Alfred McLaren, retired U.S. Navy seen in the new month's Men's Journal. I'm really pleased with the clip and give big props to picture editor Jennifer Santana for choosing this select, which I think fits in well with a nice July issue overall for the MJ crew. Thanks Jenn for the gig, and many thanks to you, Capt. Fred, for a great morning shoot.
Next up is new client CRM Magazine, who commissioned me to do a cover of Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer back in March during a conference in Orlando. CRM is not a magazine that uses much, or really any, photography (other than some stock), so I was interested to see how they would manage the shoot, which was made complicated by Balmer, who I found to basically be an über-hyper child. He's a rich and powerful dude, and obviously can do whatever he wants, but out of the 15 minutes we were promised I got about 45 seconds, during which he would not give me a single straight face, even though he knew that the tone of the piece was about his serious and bold leadership role. Instead of being the picture of a CEO that the client wanted he opted to act like a giant ass. Note to Microsoft PR: if your CEO doesn't want to do photo shoots, then just don't have him agree to do them; I couldn't care less either way. From the looks of last month's Business Week cover, Balmer is an ass no matter which magazine shows up.
CRM really stepped up though and handled the tanked formal portrait aspect of the shoot by leaning on the documentary photography I shot during Balmer's keynote address. Fist-pound (Michelle Obama style, baby!) goes to designer Laura Hegyi for the opening spread use (which was my favorite image from the shoot based on Balmer's apparent disconnect from, uh, sanity?). Nice work, Laura!
I'm going to wrap up my morning of catch up and head north to see The Fiancée who is at Baby H.Q. with her sister. I come bearing Japanese gifts, and am excited for a bit of post-vacation vacation before the show starts back up again on Monday. Have a good weekend and enjoy these other favorites.
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The trip home from Japan has landed me in San Francisco for a 23-hour layover that I have used to basically just sleep my ass off in Marriott's comfy beds. I'm excited to get home home, though English-speaking "home" is nice too, and I celebrated being back in the States with a first meal of a turkey bacon club and a half bottle of Cabernet. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes my body to re-adjust. I was so tired this morning when I landed at SFO that I took the wrong hotel shuttle twice. There are just too many separate Marriott properties.
At dinner I watched the tribute to Tim Russert and thought about how we respond to and are influenced by the passing of icons. For some reason I began thinking about Bresson's recent death and the total non-affect that it had on my life or work, considering his stature in my specific profession. But Russert's passing has had me reeling and thinking in double-time; just as it created a loud gasp of shock and sadness in our Kyoto hotel room from my sister.
I watched Meet the Press but I wasn't devoted nearly as much as other friends of mine. What I now miss and always respected, though, is how Russert conducted himself and represented within media and the sad, diseased, dark corner of our industry perversely titled broadcast journalism. Through his passion, preparation, and intelligence he elevated the form to some of its former Murrow-era glory and partially suspended the "left" vs. "right" talking points insane 24-hour, time-filling exercise of TV news (which reminds me of the Seinfeld joke about how the only reason that people exercise is to be in good enough shape to exercise more).
The take-away from Russert's life of joy and early death should be for all of us to try to bring just a percentage of his integrity to our work. Let his passing challenge journalists around the world to work harder and better to inform citizens without insulting them with make-believe drama, fear mongering, and laziness.]]>
I did another interesting assignment for The New York Times business section a couple of weeks ago about the incredibly high foreclosure rates in Miami's (many) dozens of condo buildings (across the board from low to high end), many of which were just built in the development boom that I began to photograph when I first moved to south Florida two years ago (turns out I was really looking at the death throws then). Though the story was not as graphic as we had been led to believe (big surprise), I really enjoyed mining for a sort of "evidence" approach, even more because I got the OK to use my now departed Mamiya 7 camera to do it. So all in all the assignment brought me full circle in more ways than one.
We (some realtors and an Italian investor looking to capitalize on the foreclosures) visited a few buildings in Brickell and I was pretty shocked to learn that a couple of these condo towers have foreclosure rates from 15-30% (not just unoccupied, but foreclosed). Now many floors in the buildings feel like a ghost town, with lock boxes covering doors, dirt and dust everywhere, and very dark hallways with bright yellow foreclosure notices pasted up. I guess just like in the Texas oil towns, if you believe the boom you gotta expect the bust.]]>
While I've been sleeping on the blog a few things have stacked up lately that I've been meaning to share. Most notably, a couple of weeks ago I was honored to learn that my portrait of nurse Fonza Luke will appear in the 2008 CommArts photo annual. I've always liked flipping through each new CA, and am excited to land my first image in the book, especially for an image which meant something to me. Many thanks also go to Geoffrey Hiller, who has very kindly featured me on today's Verve Photo.
The above clip is from my portrait of Miami emerging rapper Ace Hood that appeared in June's XXL. On a related though sour note, due to a new and insanely shitty contract that they are asking photographers to sign, the Ace shoot was probably my last for the magazine and its sister pubs King and Rides (Harris Publishing) until they strike out the rights-grabbing language in paragraph 4 of said contract. I don't imagine they are worried about losing me as a contributor, but I would deeply encourage every photographer to think very carefully before signing their heinous agreement (which is effectively retroactive in its rights-grabbing back to every job you've ever shot for them). Regardlessly, here is another frame I liked from the gig with Ace, who was a great subject.
It's been a good week in the JLPFL mailroom, highlighted by some long awaited checks (straight to the AMEX) and the new (May) issue of Men's Journal for which I shot a really interesting feature on the legacy of ocean explorer and environmental champion Jacques Cousteau. Its a meaty piece and I was very excited to work on it with Rob just before he made his exit (stage West). The shoot was first mentioned vaguely on DwaDM back in November, but there was ultimately a lot more to it.
The idea for the piece was to shoot Cousteau grandsons Philippe Jr. and Fabien, and contrast the different ways in which they've used their famous last name in a profile on the bitter family feud that erupted after Jacques death. I was initially only hired to make an "authentic" portrait of Philippe and we went out on a boat off of Lighthouse Point to shoot early in the morning. As I mentioned in the previous point it was gnarly with bad luck, seas, weather, wind... but Philippe was super awesome to work with and despite shooting 6x7 film with lights on a small boat while trying not to be tossed into the rocks, we managed to get some cool stuff.
A couple of weeks later Rob was back in touch and I was asked to photograph the other half of the family represented by Fabien. Sweet! Only problem was that MJ wanted to try to exactly match the best selects from the first shoot again for the second shoot of Fabien, and of course I hadn't exactly been taking notes on the positions, angles, lighting, exposure, time of day, etc. from Philippe's session. But no problem, right?! At the very least we were certainly not to get shit weather two straight times!
Ah, well, no. Not only was Fabien's shoot extremely tight on time and at a different part of the morning, the conditions were even worse. Immediately upon getting out on the boat with him and his very cool sister (regardless of whatever tension there is in the Cousteau family, I had a killer time meeting and working with everyone), we found out that we didn't have all of the (scuba) gear we would need to really mock up the first session, which sort of didn't matter anyway because the only suits that Fabien had were their very cool new free diving suits (I was thankful that they were different colors, lending to the Spy vs. Spy aesthetic of the final layout). But with 8x10 print outs of my Philippe selects (Rob picked 3 to do our best to replicate), we tried to make the best of it.
Out on the water the wind was whipping like crazy and the sun was in a completely different spot and height than I wanted it in (matching would be impossible given our time frame). As soon as we got in position my assistant almost immediately had 2 of the 3 8x10 selects fly out of her hand and right overboard into the rough water. Amazingly we were able to save 1 of them, but there was a very awkward moment when one half of the family was all huddled around looking at these images of Philippe in the exact same setting. I don't think I would have been very cool with this, but they were and I respect them for being open and honest.
With a beauty dish being hand held by my assistant Erica off to my right, she holding on to the rail for dear life, I had 15-second window opportunities kneeling in the right position with Fabien in place to shoot before the captain had to gun the engines and keep us from crashing on the rocks. We only had a total of about 15 minutes out on the water, and I had maybe 10 of these 15 second bursts. We only had 2 of the 3 8x10's left to compare with (next time I'll me smarter and laminate and bring extra copies), but with all of the rough water and wind I was trying hard just to get my exposures right let alone match horizon lines and body posture. By the time we wrapped I was pretty bummed that we just didn't get it done.
My 6x7 selects of the 2nd shoot got to the Men's Journal office the day before Rob left (bummer), but Jenn Santana picked up the pieces and made some great sense of the images. I was super excited to get a call from her a couple of weeks ago that they loved the results and wanted to get me to get back out on the water for another feature story coming up this weekend (I must be crazy). Nothing better than that though! I'll leave you another frame that I liked of Philippe Cousteau, Jr.
