In addition I have created two Blub books and had a slip case made to hold them both. One book shows commercial work and one shows the CTWWWTB.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Reconciliation Part 3
In addition I have created two Blub books and had a slip case made to hold them both. One book shows commercial work and one shows the CTWWWTB.
Reconciliation Part 4
And then sometimes you make photographs and you are not sure what to make of them.
The truth is I am not sure how to make sense of all of this and it feels alot like trying to turn an ocean liner around in a bathtub.
Either this says: Genius! Genius !Genius ! or....
...Hack, hack, hack
http://photohistory.tistory.com/2458
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Makes You feel old
I came across this image I shot years ago of Bob Knight on the NYTimes website today. I think I was 19 when I took it and remember being excited the AP picked up the shot.
I was never much of a sports shooter. I would come back from a football game with a bunch of film and out of 20 rolls I may have had 6 images that were sharp and two that were usable. I would look across the light table at what the other guys had and it was usually hundreds of sharp frames and the occasional soft one. I was more the wide angle off moment guy. Not the peak action guy. I guess things don't change.
Friday, February 1, 2008
New Feature: Interview With Art Buyer Jen Small
This is the first in a series of interviews with people at agencies. I hope to do more of these. Art Buyer Jennifer Small is first.
THE BIG AND THE SMALL OF IT
TB:I am a little nervous I don't know why.
JS: You are asking me the questions not the other way around
TB:I want it to go well and I don't want it to be boring
JS:What do u want to talk about?
TB:Well a couple things. You are not like most art buyers and I want to talk about that and then I want to talk about the industry but I don't want it to be boring.
JS:Ok. For it not to be boring people always love haters.
TB:We talk about ....
JS:Oh no we can't can't talk about them. You are recording this I can't talk about that.
TB:I am totally recording this.
JS;We have to move on.
TB:So I get the details right. You studied photography at Parson and got a masters in design at University of Texas. You know the first time we met I was struck by the fact you are not like the typical art buyer. Do you get that alot ?
JS:Not so much because of my education or background but because I know alot about photography and looking at it. What's good and not good.
TB: That struck me for sure- more than your education. Your whole take on photography.
JS Alot of people when they hear me talking they ask why aren’t you a photographer? Why aren't you out making pictures for money?
TB:What's the answer to that?
JS: The answer to that is I am just not interested in making a living out of making pictures. I would rather just make pictures and not have to worry about making money off of it.
TB: How do you think your background and your point of view inform how you do your job and how does it make you different?
JS :I probably spend more time with art directors to find what style they are looking for. A lot of times they throw names at me because names are the currency . So I try not to talk to them in names but in style. Are you looking for something realist , romantic or Spartan? What kind of color do you want? And then sometimes people hand me a picture and they tell me they want it to look like this. And I ask them do you want the people to look that way or the lighting to look that way? So I am able to have a more in depth conversation and am able to work more collaboratively. Which I think they appreciate because young art directors especially, get freaked out about the decision and especially because they are going to have to back their decision up to a creative director who for whatever reason may want to work with some else.
TB; So are you really neutral when you recommend a photographer ? How much selling are you doing?
JS: I have to be neutral. My job is to help get things produced. Secondarily my job is to help art directors find the best photographer for the job. You wish I was more guiding? You wish I said oh my god I hate everybody except these three people and they have to do all the jobs I work on?
TB;No .My concern is that here you have vast body of knowledge and this aesthetic but by staying so neutral you are underselling yourself. You know what I mean?
JS:The art directors I know are not interested in having a photography education. If they did they would be photographers. If they want to know then I am absulelty willing to tell them. The hard and fast truth is , that I done it for so long , that they do not want to hear what I have to say. They just don't. They want to own the whole process because they have to stand and say I made this decision. And they don;t care about my opinion. It would be nieve to think that my opinion is the decisive one. There some people where it is very important (to get my opinion) and there are others who say I want to bid this person. But there are more people who are the latter than the former.
TB:Latter is the second one?
JS:Yeah. Another big part of my job is that alot of people say they want to work with Nadav Kander and I say that's awesome let the client know they are going to a ton of money. So that is a bigger part of my job is to find solutions when we can't afford Nadav or Annie Liebowitz. I am sorry if I took the wind out of your sales because I don;t use much of knowledge at work.
ANTONIN KRATOCHVIL
TB: Ok I want to talk about Antonin Kratochivil. That is a very unconventional choice for that campaign (ray-ban). Its a big production. He doesn't show alot of that. There may have been some concern that he couldn't pull it off.
JS:The creatives were looking for someone who could make a beautiful but unconventional picture so I came up with Antonin. But you are right he is not a commercial photographer. He is an artist with a capital A and that has its own problems with it. Its just different but his pictures are amazing. He is total purist and shoots with a Lieca. You get to look at contact sheets and there are some art directors who don't know what to look at when you show contacts. Its like showing them Greek or something. You got it give him props for pulling it off. It was never an issue because the pictures were so good.
TB: Unintelligible.
JS: I think those questions (whether a photographer can pull of the logistics of a complicated job) are never client questions. They are always agency questions. And they are questions when an Art Buyer has had a bad experience and needs a photographer who she can trust to do the job.
TB:So if it is not a client concern than the assumption from the client's point of view is the agency can do the job and if there is a problem then it is on the agency.
JS:Exactly.
THE CALL
TB :On every job there is a conference call with the photographer and some combination of art buyer and creatives.
JS:Its like American Idol.
TB What function does it serve? How important is it? Have creatives changed there minds about who there favorite is based on the call?
JS:That call is very important especially when the art director has no idea who they want to use. They are kind of like a try out. I have been on calls before when the Art Director is totally convinced they know they want to go with a particular photographer and he get on the phone and it is clear he absolutely could care less. He hasn't really thought about the job and hasn't really looked at the layouts and just pulling stuff out of their ass. And it is a bummer because we love this guy's work and would love to work with him. And it turns out he is an ass. It really impacts the decision. I mean those calls suck.
TB:They totally suck. I have a hard time sounding like a human being.
JS:All photographers hate those calls but they do them because they have to. It is really hard because it boils down to a personality contest. I am sorry but there it is.
TB It has always astounded me that based on a handful of images and a 10 minute conversation that some one is willing to spend a quarter million dollars on someone.
JS But is not based on those two things. It may appear that way but there is a lot of discussion and thought goes into it.
PARTING SHOT
TB : Last question. When ever I work with a new assistant or stylist the conversation always turns to stories of photographers behaving badly and I love to compile these. Without naming names do you have any prima donna experiences with photographers?
JS: Right when I started working in this business I was on a job. The photographer had an assistant , and granted he hadn't taken a day off in a long time and we were shooting in Wyoming. And there is not really a place in Wyoming to get a catered lobster lunch. The producer went out and got sandwiches but it was all very nice. And the assistant comes up to the table and looks at the food and says,”I can’t work like this!!”and stomps off.
About JSMALL-Jennifer Small's art-buying career began in 1996 at Ogilvy Worldwide in New York. She spent three years at GSD&M in Austin Texas, and after moving to the Bay Area in the fall of 2005, she has spent time at Publicis/Hal Riney, TBWA/Chiat Day and is currently at OgilvyOne (ogilvy.com/o_one/).
THE BIG AND THE SMALL OF IT
TB:I am a little nervous I don't know why.
JS: You are asking me the questions not the other way around
TB:I want it to go well and I don't want it to be boring
JS:What do u want to talk about?
TB:Well a couple things. You are not like most art buyers and I want to talk about that and then I want to talk about the industry but I don't want it to be boring.
JS:Ok. For it not to be boring people always love haters.
TB:We talk about ....
JS:Oh no we can't can't talk about them. You are recording this I can't talk about that.
TB:I am totally recording this.
JS;We have to move on.
TB:So I get the details right. You studied photography at Parson and got a masters in design at University of Texas. You know the first time we met I was struck by the fact you are not like the typical art buyer. Do you get that alot ?
JS:Not so much because of my education or background but because I know alot about photography and looking at it. What's good and not good.
TB: That struck me for sure- more than your education. Your whole take on photography.
JS Alot of people when they hear me talking they ask why aren’t you a photographer? Why aren't you out making pictures for money?
TB:What's the answer to that?
JS: The answer to that is I am just not interested in making a living out of making pictures. I would rather just make pictures and not have to worry about making money off of it.
TB: How do you think your background and your point of view inform how you do your job and how does it make you different?
JS :I probably spend more time with art directors to find what style they are looking for. A lot of times they throw names at me because names are the currency . So I try not to talk to them in names but in style. Are you looking for something realist , romantic or Spartan? What kind of color do you want? And then sometimes people hand me a picture and they tell me they want it to look like this. And I ask them do you want the people to look that way or the lighting to look that way? So I am able to have a more in depth conversation and am able to work more collaboratively. Which I think they appreciate because young art directors especially, get freaked out about the decision and especially because they are going to have to back their decision up to a creative director who for whatever reason may want to work with some else.
TB; So are you really neutral when you recommend a photographer ? How much selling are you doing?
JS: I have to be neutral. My job is to help get things produced. Secondarily my job is to help art directors find the best photographer for the job. You wish I was more guiding? You wish I said oh my god I hate everybody except these three people and they have to do all the jobs I work on?
TB;No .My concern is that here you have vast body of knowledge and this aesthetic but by staying so neutral you are underselling yourself. You know what I mean?
JS:The art directors I know are not interested in having a photography education. If they did they would be photographers. If they want to know then I am absulelty willing to tell them. The hard and fast truth is , that I done it for so long , that they do not want to hear what I have to say. They just don't. They want to own the whole process because they have to stand and say I made this decision. And they don;t care about my opinion. It would be nieve to think that my opinion is the decisive one. There some people where it is very important (to get my opinion) and there are others who say I want to bid this person. But there are more people who are the latter than the former.
TB:Latter is the second one?
JS:Yeah. Another big part of my job is that alot of people say they want to work with Nadav Kander and I say that's awesome let the client know they are going to a ton of money. So that is a bigger part of my job is to find solutions when we can't afford Nadav or Annie Liebowitz. I am sorry if I took the wind out of your sales because I don;t use much of knowledge at work.
ANTONIN KRATOCHVIL
TB: Ok I want to talk about Antonin Kratochivil. That is a very unconventional choice for that campaign (ray-ban). Its a big production. He doesn't show alot of that. There may have been some concern that he couldn't pull it off.
JS:The creatives were looking for someone who could make a beautiful but unconventional picture so I came up with Antonin. But you are right he is not a commercial photographer. He is an artist with a capital A and that has its own problems with it. Its just different but his pictures are amazing. He is total purist and shoots with a Lieca. You get to look at contact sheets and there are some art directors who don't know what to look at when you show contacts. Its like showing them Greek or something. You got it give him props for pulling it off. It was never an issue because the pictures were so good.
TB: Unintelligible.
JS: I think those questions (whether a photographer can pull of the logistics of a complicated job) are never client questions. They are always agency questions. And they are questions when an Art Buyer has had a bad experience and needs a photographer who she can trust to do the job.
TB:So if it is not a client concern than the assumption from the client's point of view is the agency can do the job and if there is a problem then it is on the agency.
JS:Exactly.
THE CALL
TB :On every job there is a conference call with the photographer and some combination of art buyer and creatives.
JS:Its like American Idol.
TB What function does it serve? How important is it? Have creatives changed there minds about who there favorite is based on the call?
JS:That call is very important especially when the art director has no idea who they want to use. They are kind of like a try out. I have been on calls before when the Art Director is totally convinced they know they want to go with a particular photographer and he get on the phone and it is clear he absolutely could care less. He hasn't really thought about the job and hasn't really looked at the layouts and just pulling stuff out of their ass. And it is a bummer because we love this guy's work and would love to work with him. And it turns out he is an ass. It really impacts the decision. I mean those calls suck.
TB:They totally suck. I have a hard time sounding like a human being.
JS:All photographers hate those calls but they do them because they have to. It is really hard because it boils down to a personality contest. I am sorry but there it is.
TB It has always astounded me that based on a handful of images and a 10 minute conversation that some one is willing to spend a quarter million dollars on someone.
JS But is not based on those two things. It may appear that way but there is a lot of discussion and thought goes into it.
PARTING SHOT
TB : Last question. When ever I work with a new assistant or stylist the conversation always turns to stories of photographers behaving badly and I love to compile these. Without naming names do you have any prima donna experiences with photographers?
JS: Right when I started working in this business I was on a job. The photographer had an assistant , and granted he hadn't taken a day off in a long time and we were shooting in Wyoming. And there is not really a place in Wyoming to get a catered lobster lunch. The producer went out and got sandwiches but it was all very nice. And the assistant comes up to the table and looks at the food and says,”I can’t work like this!!”and stomps off.
About JSMALL-Jennifer Small's art-buying career began in 1996 at Ogilvy Worldwide in New York. She spent three years at GSD&M in Austin Texas, and after moving to the Bay Area in the fall of 2005, she has spent time at Publicis/Hal Riney, TBWA/Chiat Day and is currently at OgilvyOne (ogilvy.com/o_one/).
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Oh dear
From an anonymous Art Buyer on Bitter Photographer via Jackanory:
"I wish I too could be honest at my job. When I review a car photographer's portfolio I wish I could say: "wow thanks for showing me this amazing car book that looks like every other photographer's portfolio. You really nailed it. I love the moody skies. How did you think of that? I also love how your trying to sell this piece of crap like it's real art and not just another advertisement for a fucking car."
Please keep up the great postings.
Anonymous Art Buyer"
"I wish I too could be honest at my job. When I review a car photographer's portfolio I wish I could say: "wow thanks for showing me this amazing car book that looks like every other photographer's portfolio. You really nailed it. I love the moody skies. How did you think of that? I also love how your trying to sell this piece of crap like it's real art and not just another advertisement for a fucking car."
Please keep up the great postings.
Anonymous Art Buyer"
Friday, January 25, 2008
IN NY
I am meeting with potential agents this week and it is going well. The response to the work has been really positive and I am anxious to see where it will lead.
I got to meet with fellow bloggers Robert Wright and Andrew Hetherington and I think after a few hours we were able to solve all the isssues in contemporary photography.
I got to meet with fellow bloggers Robert Wright and Andrew Hetherington and I think after a few hours we were able to solve all the isssues in contemporary photography.
Website
New website is close to completion.
You can see it here:
http://m-i-lab.com/thomasBroening/build7/
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Looking for a new Pad
Back in the day Doug Adesko, Timothy Archibald and I all had reps. Doug had been with his for a while but Archibald and I had just signed with new reps. Tim's reps were a couple of women who started an agency called Tidepool.
Doug (on the phone to Tim) : How is Lilly Pad treating you?
TA: What?
DA: Lilly Pad. Didn;t you just sign with Lilly Pad or something?
TA; Tidepool. Not Lilly Pad.
DA: Same thing.
TA: Not Pad. Tidepool.
So of course, hours later, Archibald recounts this story to me and from that day four years ago a new word has entered the lexicon:
Pad :meaning agent.
As in:
Have you heard back from the Pad about that job?
Oh yeah I know Lars' work. Who is his Pad?
Here in SF, the retouchers have Pads. The stylists have pads. You are no one without a Pad.
Doug (on the phone to Tim) : How is Lilly Pad treating you?
TA: What?
DA: Lilly Pad. Didn;t you just sign with Lilly Pad or something?
TA; Tidepool. Not Lilly Pad.
DA: Same thing.
TA: Not Pad. Tidepool.
So of course, hours later, Archibald recounts this story to me and from that day four years ago a new word has entered the lexicon:
Pad :meaning agent.
As in:
Have you heard back from the Pad about that job?
Oh yeah I know Lars' work. Who is his Pad?
Here in SF, the retouchers have Pads. The stylists have pads. You are no one without a Pad.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I am in the process of
putting together an application for Review Santa Fe. I have never liked having to explain an image and felt that any image that needed explanation was a failure. The closest I have come to putting words to my pictures comes from the T is silent:
"love the cacti from el paso on the blog - i can feel the search your on in this photo and some of the others from reno - this "quest" is very earnest and it shows in the photos. When these photos are working(the cacti definitely is), as a viewer, i feel i'm wandering, searching for nothing important and at the same time the most important thing, meaning. steven shore and alec are great but i see a yearning in these images of yours that is inthralling - A professor of mine explained the deference between documenting or illustrating a project and embodying an idea or concept- the difference between lauren greenfield documenting kids and jim goldberg or larry clark embodying their projects. this difference seemed barely noticeable at first but the more i looked at photos i could start to tell the difference- the embodied works were the ones where i felt something, they were the books i checked out again and again, i think your work is on this path, very exciting. i commend your search and hope you are finding what you are looking for -"
"love the cacti from el paso on the blog - i can feel the search your on in this photo and some of the others from reno - this "quest" is very earnest and it shows in the photos. When these photos are working(the cacti definitely is), as a viewer, i feel i'm wandering, searching for nothing important and at the same time the most important thing, meaning. steven shore and alec are great but i see a yearning in these images of yours that is inthralling - A professor of mine explained the deference between documenting or illustrating a project and embodying an idea or concept- the difference between lauren greenfield documenting kids and jim goldberg or larry clark embodying their projects. this difference seemed barely noticeable at first but the more i looked at photos i could start to tell the difference- the embodied works were the ones where i felt something, they were the books i checked out again and again, i think your work is on this path, very exciting. i commend your search and hope you are finding what you are looking for -"
Monday, January 14, 2008
Book
In an effort to trick a new rep into thinking I am not just a big old commercial hack I have been making a bunch of books through Blurb and have been pretty impressed by the quality. I only include work that I have made since the beginning of last sumer and it only includes work from the Copy Stand and urban landscapes.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Is there room in commercial photography for photography?
I have noticed something interesting during my discussions with potential reps. There seems to be a east coast vs west coast difference in terms of what is the best kind of photography to show.
The WC reps prefer to show work that looks very much like advertising. The idea is that agencies need to be able to demonstrate to a client that a photographer not only is capable of executing an image but has in fact made the image previously.
I shot a cow once. It was part of a personal project where I shot the interior of an old movie theatre, shot farm animals in a studio and composited them together in post. The series got some attention and an art buyer saw it in CA. She had a campaign for a giant cow feed conglomerate and needed a cow shot. She saw my series and I was hired to shoot a cow for the agency. I used the same animal wrangler from the movie theatre series and we shot the same cow.
The art buyer moved from a midwest agency to a NYC agency. I talked to her and she assured me if she ever needed a cow shot at her new agency she would be sure to call me. I have been shooting for 20 years and have only shot one cow (twice) but I will always be seen as the bovine shooter by this one art buyer. Talk about being pigeon holed.
On the other end of the spectrum are agencies that bring me in early in the process of coming up with a campaign. I got a call from an agency. They had a client and needed help coming up with an idea. They gave me a rough outline who the customers for the product were and I was charged with putting together the campaign. I pitched my idea and we shot in a few weeks later.
I am in the process of changing the kind of work that I show. The new criteria will be the strength of the image and no longer whether the picture looks like an ad. I used to be puzzled when I saw the pictures other photographers showed. What the hell was Nadav Kander thinking when he showed those pictures of empty hotel rooms? Yeah they were emotionally compelling and looked like real photographs but what product did it look like he was selling? What about Carlos Serrao's pictures of a lion on a dock? Yeah they were cool and looked like nothing else out there but they looked like nothing else out there. You are supposed to show work that looks like other work that has been published. That's the rule right?
The WC reps prefer to show work that looks very much like advertising. The idea is that agencies need to be able to demonstrate to a client that a photographer not only is capable of executing an image but has in fact made the image previously.
I shot a cow once. It was part of a personal project where I shot the interior of an old movie theatre, shot farm animals in a studio and composited them together in post. The series got some attention and an art buyer saw it in CA. She had a campaign for a giant cow feed conglomerate and needed a cow shot. She saw my series and I was hired to shoot a cow for the agency. I used the same animal wrangler from the movie theatre series and we shot the same cow.
The art buyer moved from a midwest agency to a NYC agency. I talked to her and she assured me if she ever needed a cow shot at her new agency she would be sure to call me. I have been shooting for 20 years and have only shot one cow (twice) but I will always be seen as the bovine shooter by this one art buyer. Talk about being pigeon holed.
On the other end of the spectrum are agencies that bring me in early in the process of coming up with a campaign. I got a call from an agency. They had a client and needed help coming up with an idea. They gave me a rough outline who the customers for the product were and I was charged with putting together the campaign. I pitched my idea and we shot in a few weeks later.
I am in the process of changing the kind of work that I show. The new criteria will be the strength of the image and no longer whether the picture looks like an ad. I used to be puzzled when I saw the pictures other photographers showed. What the hell was Nadav Kander thinking when he showed those pictures of empty hotel rooms? Yeah they were emotionally compelling and looked like real photographs but what product did it look like he was selling? What about Carlos Serrao's pictures of a lion on a dock? Yeah they were cool and looked like nothing else out there but they looked like nothing else out there. You are supposed to show work that looks like other work that has been published. That's the rule right?
Friday, January 11, 2008
Last One
My productivity definitely fell off as the week went along. Because there is such a small window when I like to shoot in the day it is really important for me to have a plan. I saw this water tower from the freeway and made a point of coming back at dusk.
Entry Point
From Tim Archibald:
Entry Point-An image that works in both the commercial and art world.
El Paso Day 2
I got up early and checked out the area around the hotel. I scouted it the night before.
Call Sheets: How not to do it
I am in the process of booking a hotel in New York for an upcoming trip to meet with reps. I used to stay just stay in the cheapest hotel I could find but as I get older my personal comfort is becoming all important.
We shot a job in LA last year. There was a little wiggle room in the budget for a nice hotel so I ended up staying at L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills. This is by far the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. I think the room had more square feet than my house and put the P in Phat. They provided me with letter head and business cards with my name on it with the hotel contact info on it. So I settled into my room and checked my email.
Oh look the producer has sent call sheets. I see my name and my assistants name with our respective numbers and rooms numbers at L'Ermitage. Let's see where everyone else is staying: Oh Dear. They are all staying at a Best Western in Long Beach. All of them the client and agency people. Yikes this does not look good.
The next day at the preproduction everyone made small talk and made sure to stay clear of discussion of accommodations. The weather is always safe. Or at least in LA you can always talk about the traffic.
We shot a job in LA last year. There was a little wiggle room in the budget for a nice hotel so I ended up staying at L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills. This is by far the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. I think the room had more square feet than my house and put the P in Phat. They provided me with letter head and business cards with my name on it with the hotel contact info on it. So I settled into my room and checked my email.
Oh look the producer has sent call sheets. I see my name and my assistants name with our respective numbers and rooms numbers at L'Ermitage. Let's see where everyone else is staying: Oh Dear. They are all staying at a Best Western in Long Beach. All of them the client and agency people. Yikes this does not look good.
The next day at the preproduction everyone made small talk and made sure to stay clear of discussion of accommodations. The weather is always safe. Or at least in LA you can always talk about the traffic.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
El Paso Day 1
My plane landed at 430 and the sun set at 530 and managed to grab this on the way to the hotel. I shot this plant a bunch of ways but liked this approach the best.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Photo Safari
When I worked as an intern at a newspaper in Florida when I had a day off I would jump in the car and just drive and take pictures of things that interested me along the way.
All my children and my wife has been sick for the last three weeks and I am starting to go a little stir crazy. Everyone is on the mend so I am off. A big storm is about to hit all of California so after some weather searching I have picked El Paso to begin my safari.
Flight leaves at 1130.
All my children and my wife has been sick for the last three weeks and I am starting to go a little stir crazy. Everyone is on the mend so I am off. A big storm is about to hit all of California so after some weather searching I have picked El Paso to begin my safari.
Flight leaves at 1130.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Coming home
I came across this church on the way into Dallas from DFW. I think it is called Trinity Ministry Broadcasting. There were a bunch of buildings in the complex along with a virtual realty tour and a production facility. I spent a couple days shooting it.
The first day I parked a mile away and lugged my equipment across a series of medians and gullies. I was convinced the church had a ton of security and did not allow any one to photograph let alone park nearby. The next day I just parked in the church parking lot and walked around.
Shooting landscapes means you spend alot of time waiting for light. Often I will have to wait for a couple hours for a shadow to move or for the sun to get where I like it. In Dallas it got me thinking about my own church experience.
As a kid I was in a boys choir for 10 years at an Episcopal church up the street from our house in Baltimore. I was raised an atheist and spent the $10/month I was paid on candy and Dungeons and Dragons figures. My brother and I would go into the church so he could play the massive organ while I photographed him. He went on to get a Phd in Music theory and I can still barely carry a tune. During rehearsals and performance the choir leader would always make wild hand gestures at me to indicate it might be best if I sang more softly or better yet mouthed the words.
Many years later I found myself at a different church: The Oakland Coliseum. My girlfriend at the time (now wife) and I had decided to" take a break" and I was in a world of pain. I was lost and was searching for something to hold on to. I saw a billboard on the highway saying that Billy Graham was coming for a three day revival. In the Bay Area you are more likely to have some one admit to having a special relationship with a farm animal then admit to being born again.
I sat way up high on Mt Al Davis, hundreds of rows above the field and waited for him to speak. I had to sit through Christian boy bands , rock-bands and the worst: Christian rap. Finally way down on the filed I saw a man with silver hair whizzing toward the stage in the passenger seat of a golf cart. The Reverend Billy Graham.
He was an amazing speaker and told the story of his religious conversion as a boy. He told how he found Jesus and how it changed his life. He then invited any one of us 60,000 poor souls who wanted to turn his life over to Jesus to come forward. And slowly like little ants approaching an ant hill I saw hundreds of people moving foreword. And I felt the pull. Here was an answer to all my problems and here were all these other people who seemed to think Jesus was the answer.
But I couldn't do it. I had no connection to Jesus and never considered myself a Christian nor had I ever read the Bible.
So I climbed off Mt Davis, got back on the BART and over time repaired the relationship with my future wife. Years later we have four children and some kind of faith in something out there.
Sometimes when I am driving alone through the central valley coming back from LA I turn on AM radio until I come across a preacher talking about Jesus and I feel the pull and think about those ants heading home to the hill...
Dallas
There is a fine line between a picture of nothing and a picture of nothing that really works. I often mistake one for the other.
Co-Best In Show
Fellow bathtub photographer Emily Merrill and I discuss her decision to make me Honorary Co- Best in Show (HOCBIS) winner at the APA Show last night. We talked about reprinting the party invitations with MY image on it but fugured the APA bigwigs would never go for it.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Better Art Direction than Photography
Here is one of those cases where the art direction was alot better than the photography. Wachovia Bank.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)