My
Photographic Philosophy
For me,
photography has been a deeply personal,
highly emotional, somewhat risky but totally
satisfying profession. I am as
excited about my business today as I was 35
years ago, when it was all new to me.
No two
photographers are alike. Every
shooter has his or her own very personal reasons for doing
what they do. Personalities,
attitudes, ethics, skills, artistic sense,
equipment selections, business practices and
all of our life experiences impact on the
quality of our final photographic product.
I feel that
photography, by itself, is an art form.
The final
quality of every photograph is determined,
to a large measure, by the sophistication of
the equipment used and the innate skills of the artist making the
pictures. The actual picture content,
angle selections, cropping, colors and
the visual story told by every photograph is really
determined by the very soul of the person
making the pictures.
I use the
best and, by far, the most expensive cameras
and digital recording systems in the world.
Always have
and always will.
I only use the
medium format, commercial grade, Hasselblad H1 and Noblex Panoramic
cameras. I have the 22 million pixel
and 39 million pixel Phase One, P25 and P45
digital systems.
There is
nothing better in the whole world. Hasselblad
and Phase have set the standards for
commercial, medium format, digital
photography.
www.hasselbladusa.com
www.phaseone.com
My
profession demands an immense,
never-ending, investment of both time and
money. Commercial Photography, Wedding Photography,
Bar Mitzvah & Bat Mitzvah Photography, Debutante
Ball and Senior Presentation Photography all
require constant practice.
Photography is not
easy. This is not
a game. This is a serious
business that just happens to be a lot
of fun.
Photography is
like playing a musical instrument.
Just about anyone can play an instrument.
However, it takes an artist to really make
music. That is a gift from God.
Like good
music, good photography comes from the
heart. The
art in my pictures draws from the very core
of my personality.
This is not
just my business...
it's my
life.
While some
would argue that cameras have
gotten easier to use, the basic, age old principles
of what makes a great photo remain the same.
Photography
uses the latest in technology and the oldest
of psychology.
It thrives on high quality lenses, beautiful
light,
thoughtful intentions, subtle methods,
artistic crops, careful editing,
professional post production, fantastic
computer programs and a
level of pre-visualization that is the
essence of every picture.
And, I must
accomplish all of this under extreme
pressure, as quickly as possible, with no
noise, within budget, with no commotion and,
often, with
no hope for a second chance.
|
In 1973, as a pre-dental
student, I found myself
becoming creatively bored with
my thoughtful, scientific life.
On
a whim, after 8 years of
University-level science courses, I took
some entry-level courses in
photography. After
only one day, I was hooked
and I have never looked back.
I had found my purpose.
Within
that one year, I graduated with
my B.S. Degree in Zoology, I
bought my first 2 Hasselblad
cameras, I built my
first darkroom in the
garage below my apartment and
I became totally obsessed with everything
photographic. I couldn't
read fast enough. I
couldn't study enough and I
paid local photographers to
watch them work.
Money was no object for me.
If I needed something, I bought
it. If I couldn't afford
it, at the time, I worked more
hours until I could. I did
it all myself and I made no
concessions for quality.
Whatever it was, if it produced a better picture,
I bought it.
I had always worked
full-time while I was in school.
I had become a store-level, Liquor-Deli
manager for a large grocery
store chain, in Southern
California. I enjoyed
interacting with my special customers.
Even though I was just a
Liquor/Deli Manager, I treated my
Department as
if it was my own little business. If my
customers wanted something
special, I made it happen.
I was used to making high-level
decisions, setting financial
goals and meeting corporate
objectives.
As
a student, I interviewed local,
working, professional
photographers. I quickly
learned that the best equipment
made the best pictures. In
the 70's, the best camera was
the medium format Hasselblad.
It still is.
So,
in 1973, I bought my first
Hasselblad cameras. I also
bought two 35mm Nikon F3's so that I
could shoot "35mm slides".
I wanted to be a "Slide Show
Producer". The
Nikon F3's were the best
35mm cameras, at
the time. However, I
quickly saw the differences
between enlarged pictures made with those
beautiful 35mm
cameras and the same pictures made with my
medium format Hasselblads.
The medium
format Hasselblad negatives were
much larger than the little,
35mm negatives and they produced a much
higher quality picture.
They still do.
Whenever I had something
important to shoot, I used the
Hasselblads. I have built
my business on my Hasselblads.
I am a success because of
Hasselblad.
|
I took 4 more years worth of
University courses in photography.
From day one, I was shooting commercially
and making money. I started out doing
"Head Shots" for actors. I shot
building interiors and exteriors for listing
agents. I loved shooting small product
ads, in the school studio at night,
for small businesses in town. I was
just a student but I already had a lot of
commercial clients.
At some point,
I decided that I needed to stop taking photo
courses and begin working full-time as
a professional photographer.
Within a
month, I gave notice to my grocery
store bosses, assembled my commercial portfolio, bought a
nice 3-piece suit (with a reversible vest)
from Sears and made a few phone calls.
I went to my first and only interview.
I was hired
on the spot. I was working at the
Medical Center the next morning. I
had just taken a 50% cut in pay but I
couldn't have been more excited.
Within an
hour, I had become the
one and only Medical and Public Relations Photographer
for a major Medical Center in the Los
Angeles area. My scientific background,
with the pre-dental emphasis, helped me to
understand exactly what the doctors and
nurses were talking about. I was a
perfect match.
I immediately moved all of
my personal, professional grade, darkroom equipment into a vacant
Physical Therapy room, at the Medical
Center. My darkroom sink was an old
bath tub. I put plywood and dark plastic over the
windows, pulled on a pair of "scrubs", put
on a name badge and went to work, having
more fun than I could imagine.
I shot open
heart surgeries, organ transplants,
Emergency Room procedures, Labor and
Deliveries, Oncology patients,
Administrative meetings, Public Relations,
Special Events, medical education materials and lots of
doctor/patient interactions.
While working
at the Medical Center, I started teaching
photography to kids, young adults and adults,
at night and on the weekends, at
two, local recreation centers.
I had 4 and 5 different classes of 35 people
each. I just taught them what I knew.
My first
wedding was for an old girlfriend whose
original photographer got into a car wreck.
At the time, I had never even been to a
wedding before but I loved every moment.
Since then, I have done both of her
daughters weddings, as well.
I was also shooting small
products for advertising, commercial buildings, food, medical tools and clothing.
I did stuff for billboards, Annual Reports,
TV ads, magazines and a lot of slide shows.
Then, I started flying helicopters and
shooting from the air.
I was shooting
35mm slides, producing 18-projector slide
shows, shooting video,
doing aerials, shooting medical stuff,
shooting weddings and bar mitzvahs, doing
commercial stuff, working special events and teaching photography...
all being done at night and on the weekends.
It was
getting a bit frenetic.
In 1985,
I started my own business, calling it "The
Media Master" because I could do so much.
It was
time to leave my hospital family behind.
I had too much work of my own and I could
not continue to juggle all of my deadlines.
That was the hardest decision I have ever
made. I owe the Medical Center a debt
of gratitude that exceeds my ability to
repay.
That one
interview, that first "job", had prepared me for
the rest of my life.
My
wife, my little brother and I opened our
first 3,000 square foot studio and photo lab
in Santa Ana. We did
computer-generated slide shows, commercial
photography, food, product, medical shots,
legal cases, construction assignments and a lot of weddings.
The studio grew
to almost 6,000 square feet. We built a 30'
helium-filled blimp system to shoot
low-level buildings and events. Our
blimp held 40 pounds
of video and still cameras. It flew up
to 700 feet in the air and transmitted a TV
signal down to our clients on the ground.
I
had worked on Presidential political
campaigns, shot ad stuff for huge
billboards, did huge slide shows,
in giant ballrooms, in Las Vegas. We
worked on new car shows and shot frozen
foods in walk-in freezers.
However, in
1999, we decided that we could extend our
reach Nation wide if we just
shut down the studio. We no longer needed the studio to attract
our clients. We could go anywhere to
work. Instead of making our clients
come to us, we went to our clients.
That saved them money and made us wildly
popular.
As always, I
let my clients run my business for me.
I just do what my clients ask me to do.
