Boston Portfolio Reviews

I just came back from a 2 day portfolio review trip to Boston. I had worked there for almost 10 in the 20-otts (I think that's what the kids are calling the years between 2001 & 2010 these days) and it's always amazing to see what's changed and what hasn't.

(Spoiler Alert: The roads. still. suck.)

The Boulvevard Artists portfolio reviews though, were pretty fantastic. I met and possibly offended many incredibly smart, attractive, witty, sweet, kind, and nice smelling art directors from the likes of  Adam&Co, Arnold, Draper, Fidelity Investments, Isobar (go 'cuse!), Kor, PJA and more. I also met and re-met the competition whose books kept my jaw dropping. Robb, Cory, KC, Ken, Ryan, et al, are amazing photographer who are creating images that I aspire to.

I lugged THREE portfolios there covering a range of what I shoot for both work and pleasure. (a book of "one-offs" covering work corporate, editorial and institutional work, one book on The Learn Project, and a funky brand new one on kids and science housed in, what else, a Trapper Keeper!) Stephanie Menuez did a fantastic job with the pacing and the flow of each book. I was able to show one or several to each reviewer and the transitions between books just made sense. Everyone admired the spreads and I got a few "oohs" on the full pagers and compliments on the color. (Yes, me, color!) I wholeheartedly recommend Stephanie's services. 

The other highlight of the trip, aside from dining at B&G Oysters with Robb, was buying my first ever jean jacket, seen here tossed oh so carelessly on the driveway.

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a late 1960's LEvi's (the capital E is apparently important) reproduction model 3 in indigo.

Can I rock this jacket? It's too early to say, but I'm sure gonna try. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Alex bakes cupcakes for his pre-school class.

To Meet Interesting People and Find Myself in Unusual Places.

When aspiring photographers ask me how they can become professionals, I start with the same question, "Why do you want to be a professional photographer?"

It's not a trick question, and there's no right or wrong answer. But in my experience it's helpful to know your own motivations and why you would want to subject yourself to the agony of trying to earn a living doing something that you're passionate about, in a cut-throat, crowded field where someone else is always willing to do a job for next to nothing. What will sustain you when you're doing the bidding? Your taxes? The grunt work?

For me it's simple. I became a professional photographer to meet interesting people and find myself in unusual places. Not for the love of the art form, not to shoot women in bikinis, not for dreams of winning a Pulitzer. It's simply the selfish desire to rub elbows with and learn from fascinating people and experience places most others will never see. I work hard on the product, but I always try to enjoy the process.

This is Not a Political Post

This is not a political post, it's an origin story.

Once up on a time there was a kid who grew up in Maine. (For argument's sake, let's say that it was me.) He liked his hometown and all, but couldn't shake the feeling that everything was happening somewhere else. He didn't know anything more specifically, except that sometimes his little corner of the world felt like the outer rim, far away from the center of the galaxy. (Yes, that was a Star Wars reference.) I'm not saying that this is accurate, fair, or right, but it's just what he was feeling. Really important things (again he wasn't sure what) just didn't happen in Orono, Maine.

One day in 1992, during his (probably) Junior year of high school, he finds out that someone important (he suspects) is coming to the University of Maine to speak. Hillary Rodham Clinton was stumping for her husband, Bill Clinton, who was running for President. Not only was someone important 'from away' coming to town, but the venue was 200 yards from his house. His little corner didn't seem so remote anymore.

I can't remember the details, except that obviously I called someone, told them I was representing my high school newspaper, and secured press credentials. I do remember going through the secret service checkpoint (THE Secret Service!!), past the bomb sniffing dogs, and being allowed into the press photo pit up front. I remember sitting cross-legged shoulder to shoulder with the Bangor Daily News photographers. I remember my legs and my butt falling asleep. I remember wondering if I should use flash or not.  But mostly I remember feeling like I was actually being taken seriously. While this was just another stop along a long slog for the campaign, it was personally historic for me.

I've shot HRC, and many many other politicians in the more than twenty years since this picture was made. Mostly in step-and-repeats (the assembly line of the photo industry) and now this sort of thing feels, well, a bit tedious. I realize that it's part ofthe same machinery whether it's politics, Hollywood, or sports. It's the grind that keeps things churning, for better or worse.  These days, my work involves more interacting with and learning from the subject, but the thrill of working with people who are at the apex of their professions is still there. I don't feel like Orono is the edge of the galaxy anymore (New Brunswick is a lovely place) but sometimes we need to step away from our own center of gravity to look at, and appreciate it from away.

Photo notes:

• B&W image made with Minolta x-700 and Rokinon (I think) 80-200 f4.5. Film was probably Tri-X pushed a stop but I may have gotten fancy and shot T-Max 400 pushed.
• Photo of Photo: iPhone6
• Beer: Flying Dog limited edition Denali Imperial IPA.