portraits

Ted Sabarese’s personal and fine art work have won critical acclaim and have been exhibited in galleries in both the U.S. and abroad. This exposure compliments his many commercial advertising and editorial assignments and awards. He is repped by Josette Lata.

Your advertising, editorial, and personal work have a similar aesthetic while serving different purposes. Is there anything you change about how you shoot when photographing advertising as opposed to personal work?
‘Thank you for the compliment. I think if you look at my body of work, there are a couple, constant elements that have helped to define my aesthetic. Casting and composition. I enjoy shooting individuals who don’t necessarily conform to the typical definition of beauty. People with physical idiosyncrasies and arresting, quirky personalities pique my interest at castings. When one comes along, I start to get really excited and know I have the basis for a provocative image. Compositionally, I tend towards simpler, more graphic setups that allow the talent (and subsequent story) to be hero. I don’t like clutter. I’d rather subtract props than add them to an image.

‘So, to answer your question, I try to do most of the same things whether I’m shooting advertising or fine art. Find a great cast and use a light, thoughtful touch on art direction. For ad jobs, I enjoy working together with the creative team and client. And taking into consideration all of their concerns. When you’re more collaborative, the shoots run smoother, people are happier and you usually finish in a better place. Lighting may vary slightly, also. Many advertising clients are looking for a cleaner, punchier look, but I’ll try to add a bit of moodiness whenever I can’.

You’ve had a few careers before settling on photography. What were the steps you took that enabled you to make a successful transition?
‘Luckily, all of my previous careers, one way or another, contributed to making me a photographer. Teaching college English and creative writing honed my storytelling abilities. Graphic design helped cultivate my visual sensibilities. Working on the creative side in advertising not only made me a more conceptual thinker, but also got me looking at talented photographers books and participating in photo shoots, where I watched like a student. During this entire advertising period, I was taking photography classes at the New School. Without my advertising background, the transition to professional photography would have been much more challenging. Plus, I have an insiders understanding of all the different types people involved in the production process-creatives, account execs, art buyers, clients, etc. and can empathize with all of their individual concerns. That’s proved particularly invaluable’.

There is a definite sense of humor about your work. How did you gravitate towards this style of photography?
‘The sense of humor you see in my work is a pretty close approximation to my own. I’m no ha-ha funny comedian. I’m one of those people who can be quietly amusing, if you’re listening well. I prefer my comedy on the subtle side, whether it’s in photography, film or fiction. After years of experimenting with different styles of photography, I learned that it’s always easiest (and best) to do what comes most naturally to you’.

You have many awards under your belt. Do you feel that you have been commissioned for jobs directly from this recognition?
‘Awards certainly don’t hurt, but I don’t know that I’ve ever been awarded a job solely because of them. When my book gets called in for a specific project, the people looking at it may recognize more of the award-winning work. They may be impressed to see my list of achievements. All of this helps on some, maybe subconscious, level, but the portfolio still has to wow them and demonstrate the exact style of photography they’re looking for. That said, I continue to enter all the major shows, every year’.

Do you always carry a camera around wherever you go? If so, what or where do you find yourself photographing most often?
‘I used to carry a film camera with me at all times. Literally. At work, in restaurants and bars, around the city, in church, in the subway, in the bathroom. My friends couldn’t stand me, but I always wanted to be armed and ready for whatever visual possibilities New York threw at me. I took a lot of black and white street photography, party snapshots and liked to give myself projects to work on (I still have a wall of images showcasing close-ups of people’s open mouths). I think there came a point where I got that all out of my system. Nowadays, I do sometimes carry around a Canon G9 and fill up the memory card with pics of my 20-month-old daughter’.

Born and raised in Missouri, Sarah Wilmer lives and works in New York where she shoots for Surface, Rolling Stone, and Spin, amongst other high profile clients. Of her work, she says: ‘I am inspired by Edward Gorey, Joanna Newsom, 17th century Dutch and Flemish paintings, my cat Tubs, my friends and the surrealists’.

Your photos have a cinematic quality to them. What films (or other medium) would you consider to be influences?
‘I love the work of Dario Argento, Roman Polanski, David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky. Their films are so beautiful and interesting, I would say all of them have influenced me in one way or another’.

What is the most elaborate shoot you can recall and what did it entail?
‘There isn’t one shoot that stands out as being particularly elaborate. It’s like you have an idea, and you make it happen. It’s work and challenging and sure there are a lot of details to manage, but when you are excited and passionate. it’s all just part of the process’.

Where do most of your shoots take place?
‘In and around New York City’.

If you could photograph anyone, who would it be? And where?
‘I’d like to do a series of photos with Joanna Newsom in Iceland with local animals and children’.

Where has your work been seen?
‘I have had solo shows in New York City, Washington D.C. and Portland Oregon. I have been in group shows in New York City, Los Angeles, Portland Oregon, Tokyo, St.Louis and Washington D.C. My work has been published in V Magazine, Korean Vogue, Vision, Surface, Rolling Stone, Spin, PDN, Billboard, Marie Claire, XLR8R, Tennis, Spex, and Nomenus Quarterly, among others’.

Kate Kunath earned a BFA in photography from the University of Washington in Seattle. In her practice, she has sought to discover and illuminate the consequences of modern life, confront cultural mythologies, and challenge what we think we know. Provoked by themes of reproduction, modernization, and globalization. She has produced one series per year since arriving in New York in 2004. By focusing in depth on one topic at a time, Kate develops a personal and artistic investment in illuminating what naturally emerges from this investigation. With humor and tenderness, narratives develop organically, and the symmetry in nature and the human experience is explored.

Do you have a favorite rabbit in the series?
‘There are 45-50 breeds in total and it’s very hard to choose a favorite. Most of the breeders don’t have names for their champs because they don’t keep them as pets, so it’s hard to keep track of their names. I’m a sucker for the Angora rabbits, as in the angora sweater. One of my favorite moments was visiting the hall where they blow dry and comb out the angora hair. It was like a big tranny parlor. The biggest hair you have ever seen on any animal. It was fantastic. One of my favorite jobs at the show is the Breeding Chairman. He or she must be present when any of the breeders are planning to mate their rabbits. Sometimes the service is free, but other times they have to pay for the sex if the genetic material is valuable enough’.

How did you get into shooting bunnies with their owners and where and how were these photos captured?
‘Well, it’s always been a dream of mine to photograph rabbit breeders. I got my big break in 2004 at the American Rabbit Breeders Convention. I’m kidding, but there really is a Best in Show for bunnies every year, similar to the Westminster for dogs, without the high brow. The first time I went to a show, I was really impressed by the rabbit breeders, so I returned the following year with a photo studio. The rabbit Standard of Perfection is attained through a regimen of breeding and selecting, much more rapidly than a dog breeder, for example. Which means that they are culling, a process of removing the undesirable genes from the pool, by way of killing the rabbits for food or fur, or giving them to pet stores to sell. It doesn’t sound very pleasant coming from me but the rabbit breeders have a very eloquent way of stating things when it comes to the cycle of life. They are also very professional, as one can see from their expressions. Even proud. Their rabbits as subjects took away some of the anxiety of having their own portraits done. The portrait studio I set up at the show was well attended. I did over 100 portraits in a weeks time’.

The expressions of the owners holding the rabbits are almost as memorable as the rabbits themselves. Were their reactions spontaneous, or was it more the result of prompting on your behalf?
‘As a general rule in my photography, I am always letting my subjects know that they don’t have to smile. You’d be surprised, if people don’t have to smile, they generally don’t. And then there are others who just can’t help themselves. I found that if I asked them to relax and not smile they understood that I was attempting to take them seriously. Most of the time, no matter their expression, I was behind the camera thinking to myself, ‘Oh my god, can this be real?’ There was one instance where the rabbit breeder was in a very good mood, and we were both laughing, so I went to press the shutter and just as I did his angora rabbit let out a big yawn. It happened so quickly that I wasn’t sure I had it, but when I got the film back I could see that I had captured a full set of yawning teeth- the only visible feature of the rabbit other than the fur. So there is room for spontaneity within this model. However, because taking humorous or ironic pictures in this situation was like shooting fish in a barrel, I thought it was a more just representation of the rabbit breeders if I tried to convey them as they saw themselves: as dignified, specialized professionals’.

Can you tell us about the equipment that you used for this shoot?
‘I shot this project with film using a Fugi 680, a medium format camera that has swings and tilts like a 4×5. I liked it because it gave me a little extra length in the torso and allowed me to keep both the rabbits and the people in focus’.

Shannon Taggart is a freelance photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. She received her BFA in Applied Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Blind Spot, TIME and Newsweek. She has shown at Photoworks in Brighton, England, The Photographic Resource Center in Boston, Redux Pictures in New York and the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles. Her work has been recognized by the Inge Morath Foundation, American Photography and the Alexia Foundation for World Peace, among others.

There seems to be a lot more women than men in your photographs. Is this true of the spiritualist community in general or have you simply chosen to focus more on women in your photographs?
‘In my latest series of portraits, the focus on women was very intentional. I chose to shoot only women for a period of time. Volume two and three of the series will focus on men, couples and small groupings of people. Otherwise in my work, any focus on women in particular was unintentional. It just so happened a majority of the spiritualists and mediums I met and photographed were women, but there could be something to that I suppose’.

How did you come up with the title “Edwina” for your series on snake handlers?
‘Edwina is short for Jimmy and Pam Morrow’s Edwina Church of God in Jesus Name, located in Newport, TN’.

You’ve been photographing the spiritualist community for a while now, along with snake handlers and exorcisms. What keeps you coming back to this subject matter?
‘I am completely fascinated by how the individual experiences the spiritual uniquely. And that such experiences can be so profoundly different, deeply interior, and utterly mysterious. I seek to make visible via the camera a metaphor for what is happening within the psychological space surrounding the person, the ritual or the actuality of the event. Also, there is just something totally hypnotic about witnessing the attempt to bring something abstract, like belief or faith, into the physical’.

What is the strangest thing that has happened to you while photographing paranormal activities?
‘Honestly, there are many strange things that happened. Most sound silly when I attempt to describe them in words. The main reason I began the spiritualism project was because of a dramatic message my cousin received from my grandfather via a medium. Whatever their explanation, the experiences I had while making the photographs are all special to me’.

You have photographed spiritualists in both the U.S. and England. Were there any major differences in attitude between the subjects in these respective countries?
‘I spent very little time in England comparatively so it’s hard to be certain. The main thing that stuck out was that the British style was generally more formal and theatrical. Also, I think people are willing to pay more money to mediums for readings in the United States’.

Do you shoot film or digital?
‘My latest portrait series is the first project I have shot digitally. All of my other images are scanned 645 or 35mm color negative. I am truly excited by my new digital camera. It has allowed me to explore and experiment with motion and chance elements in amazing ways’.

Sarah Stolfa earned her BS in photography from Drexel University, Philadelphia, in 2005 and her MFA in Photography from Yale University in 2008. The work for which she has garnered the most recognition is a portrait series of the regular patrons at McGlinchey’s Bar, where she has worked as a bartender for several years. With this series, Stolfa won The New York Times Photography Contest for College Students in 2004 and several of her photographs were reproduced in The New York Times Magazine. In addition to the Times award, Stolfa has also won the Noah Addis Photojournalism Award, an award for Artistic Excellence in the Perkins Center Photography Competition and the Alice Kimball Traveling Fellowship. Stolfa’s work, The Regulars will be published by Artisan books in June 2009.

What kind of place is McGlinchey’s, and what made you start taking photographs from behind the bar?
‘McGlinchey’s is a kind of hole in the wall bar in the middle of Center City Philadelphia surrounded by office buildings, large theaters, and recently opened chain restaurants. It has seen the neighborhood change with time since the end of Prohibition and for three generations the bar has sold cheap booze. It is dark and smoky with a circular bar. Since it is downtown, it gets all sorts of people; from the 10:00 am Bankers Club gin drinker, to the construction worker drinking Bud for lunch, to the lawyer who sips Jameson at 5:05 pm, to the Jersey suburbanite weekend warrior slugging back Miller Lites and the art student chugging a Lager after class’.

What were you looking for when deciding to photograph a patron?
‘I was not looking for anything particular except I would mostly only photograph people who were alone in the bar. I was drawn to people for different reasons: their clothes, their hair, their mannerisms, their face, or their mood. I was drawn to each person for a different reason’.

Do you have favorites from this series, and does this ever change over time?
‘I do have favorites, but in almost all there will be a small detail that excites me, like Joanna’s chewed black nail polish or the gold leaf in Georgia’s hair’.

How many portraits would you make each night and how many shots would you take of one subject?
‘Each subject I would shoot a roll of, 12 shots. Some nights I would photograph two or three people, some nights none. I had no control over who would walk through the door so there was no rhyme or pattern to when I would photograph’.

What camera are you using?
‘I was using a Hasselblad for that body of work’.

Growing up in a military family and being the new kid in a classroom at least sixteen times has given Michelle Pedone a unique perspective on the world. Experiencing the subculture evident in each new place nourished the love of pop culture, so evident in her work today. Michelle enjoys shooting all ages and walks of life bringing her sparkle and zest. Her recent portraiture project, “All Eyes On U!” was awarded in American Photography 24. Michelle received her BFA from The Corcoran School of Art, in Washington, DC. She lives in New York City with her husband James, Affenpinscher Pepito, and kitty Baby Olive. In her spare time, Michelle likes to sing karaoke.

When planning a shoot do you usually start out with an idea or a strict visual of what you want to accomplish?
‘I like to sketch out ideas, taking into consideration the theme and setting of the shoot, which then inspires the color palette and helps to shape the over all mood of the images I want to create. Casting is also a huge factor in bringing my vision to life. It doesn’t matter to me if I am working with a professional model or an average joe, I am inspired by interesting looking people that can bring a genuine spontaneity to my set’.

How did the idea of the frames come about?
‘My All Eyes On U! series was inspired by the “Big Eyed” painting movement of the late sixties. I wanted to pay homage to these paintings by reinterpreting them through the medium of photography. Some of my favorite “Big Eyed” painters are Eden, Keane, Eve, and Lee. I have been collecting their work for a while, and actually photographed a few of the vintage frames to use in my interpretation’.

Your work is very fashionable in a cool zany kind of way. Do you work with a stylist?
‘The look of the image is very important to me. I pay great attention to the color and texture of clothing, accessories, and props to make sure it’s all working. Often times with my personal work I do my own styling. I always work with a stylist on my commercial jobs. I enjoy the collaborative process of discussing my color palette ideas and brainstorming for inspirations’.

What is the one rule of photography that you break most often?
‘I’m not sure if I would call this a rule but there always seems to be certain “guidelines” as to what’s marketable at any given time. I try to follow my own vision without being corrupted with what style of imagery is hot at the moment. Staying away from trends and sticking with my own style and aesthetic has allowed me to focus and grow as a photographer’.

How do you go about finding props?
‘I am always on the look out for unusual props. I’ll buy things just because I like the way they look. They can end up as a prop in one of my shoots, or once in a while inspire the whole theme of an image. I love anything with Twinkie the kid the best, his boots rock! I’m still trying to figure out a way to incorporate him into a shoot. I seek out items on Ebay, thrift stores, and sometimes rent from prop houses. Working with a prop stylist is the best because they can often find hidden gems faster than I can’.

Susana Raab is a documentary and editorial photographer who creates warm, and often quirky images of people and places, familiar and strange. She approaches subjects with a generous spirit and sense of humor. Relying on a combination of color, composition, and movement, she balances poignancy and whimsy to create modern yet timeless images for her clients. Her work has received recognition from numerous sources including the Lucie Awards, American Photography 24, Photo District News, The Camera Club of New York, PhotoEspana, the White House News Photographers’ Association, The Ernst Haas/Golden Light Awards, and the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities. Her photographs have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Because you so clearly capture people in the moment, is your method to shoot a lot of photos of a subject or to shoot a few and move on?
‘How I shoot really depends on the situation. My training as a photojournalist really taught me to “work the situation.” But often times because I am constantly scanning a crowd, there may not be much of a situation to work, the moment really is just that. So it depends on what I can do, if it is something that is unfolding and I have the opportunity to work it I will. But often it is something I see and compose, and then the flash goes off and that is it, the moment is gone. It makes editing easier, no obsessing over which frame, but I am often thinking to myself,”Whew, that was a close one.” Since I am shooting with a medium format rangefinder, I sometimes am not completely certain that the moment if kinetic, was in my focal plane’.

How do you find being a photographer in DC? Apart from you personal work, what type of projects are you commissioned to photograph?
‘Well, I’m here in DC because my partner has a great job here in DC – not because I think it is the best editorial market for my work. But I love the town, it’s like living in a giant park with great museums and restaurants, and smart people. Of course you also have the other extreme, urban poverty and all that goes with it. I do a lot of travel work that gets me out of DC, I do a lot of portraits here in DC, and occasionally I get great feature stories in the mid-Atlantic that are totally up my alley. It’s a real mix, and I’m constantly working on getting more work that plays to my strengths’.

What are you looking for in a subject when deciding to photograph them?
‘Well my interests are myriad – so my subjects are too. For two of my personal projects, Consumed & Off-Season, I don’t consider the people in them my subjects so much as players in this great American tableaux I am trying to capture. Other subjects become more obvious: to photograph workers in the tomato industry that puts catsup and tomatoes in fast food restaurants I look for migrant workers in Immokalee, Florida, to photograph the homes of Southern writers who inspired me I photograph the physical absence of these writers, but their intangible presence in their homes. And if you are asking me how do I find the subjects of the personal projects I shoot, there is an endless loop going through my head, I am inspired by reading mostly, and just the random eureka moments you have every day. I try and carry a notebook around all the time. I am not always successful. The problem is not generating ideas, the problem is limiting them!’

What kind of camera do you use?
‘I use a Mamiya 7, a Holga, and a Crown Graphic 4×5 for my personal work and Nikon Digitals for most of my editorial work’.

Emily Shur was born in New York City. She discovered photography at age 14 and has been taking pictures ever since. Emily attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with a major in Photography. She graduated in 1998 with academic honors along with the Artist Award for Creative Excellence. Emily’s editorial clientele includes The New York Times Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ, Interview, Wired, and Elle Magazine to name a few. Her advertising work includes campaigns for America Online, Yahoo!, MTV Networks, Gary Fisher Bicycles, and 24 Hour Fitness. Emily has lectured about her work several times at New York University, School of Visual Arts in New York City, The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Loyola Marymount University. In 2005, she was selected as a winner in The Art Director’s Club Young Guns global competition. She currently has an image in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Money aside, what do you find is the main difference between shooting for editorial as opposed to advertising clients?
‘Editorial allows for more spontaneity and creativity, while advertising is more structured and planned out. Advertising shoots are larger productions, so you really have to get into the shoot and work on it for a while before any pictures are even taken. Also, there is more at stake, so there is more attention paid to every last detail. Editorial allows for more experimentation, but you can’t really make mistakes on any advertising or editorial job’.

The photos of Jeremy Piven make me laugh. Was the direction a collaboration or strictly your idea?
‘The Jeremy Piven shoot was a collaboration between Jeremy, myself, and the magazine I shot him for (British Esquire). The magazine suggested photographing him with some models and wanted the whole thing to be very debonair. I decided on the location and the different set ups, and then within those set ups, Jeremy and I collaborated on how he should “be”. His ability to project emotion through extremely subtle facial expressions really elevated the shoot to a higher level. He’s a great actor, and I had so much fun that day’.

Where and when do you find you are most creative?
‘In terms of my portrait work, I am most creative when working with someone inspiring. As I mentioned above regarding Jeremy Piven, I find shoots of that nature where the subject really wants to do something interesting and different to be the most creative. It’s hard to make something amazing when you feel as if you are pulling teeth to get your subject excited about being photographed. In terms of my personal work, I am most inspired by location. I associate a lot of emotion with different places I have been and usually return to the places where I felt most inspired. I feel most creative exploring a place with my camera. Sometimes the pictures come easily and sometimes they do not. Either way, that is definitely when I feel most free, photographically speaking’.

Your photos have that bright and radiant Los Angeles feel to them. How much are you influenced/inspired by your environment and if you lived in Detroit, let’s say, do you think your style would change?
‘I started my career in New York, and I lived there for almost 12 years. I worked there for 8 years before I moved to Los Angeles a little over 3 years ago. I think environment and location plays a huge part in the look and feel of a picture, and I do think that Los Angeles photos have a certain feel to them, just like New York pictures have their own feeling. I have definitely been inspired by all that Los Angeles has to offer, location-wise. The light is beautiful here, and the wealth of location options are so vast. I also think that over time, one’s style just evolves no matter where they live. I used to heavily light everything. Now, if I am on location, I see what the natural light is doing and I use it to the best of my ability’.

What is your strongest motivation?
‘My strongest motivation is to make work that I am proud of. The motivating and frightening part of shooting editorial is that my name is next every photograph I take, so I try my best to take pictures that I am excited to be associated with. It’s not always possible to do so. It doesn’t always work out, but that is the ultimate goal’.

Brooklyn-based JJ Sulin specialises in portraits, lifestyle, and conceptual photography and has a long list of clients, including Miller, Hard Rock Hotel, BMW Magazine, Nestle, the US Army, and the Joffrey Ballet.

Your photographs have an undeniable humor. How would you describe your style of photography?
‘Humor is definitely one of the ideas I try to stay aware of when taking a photograph. I like to think of the work as being part of a real experience. The moments in between the big moments is what I am interested in. The big ball, the award ceremony, prom or New Years Eve end up being the smallest of moments. Most of our time is spent living, making dinner, cleaning up dinner, practicing whatever it is we do. And hopefully enjoying all of this’.

What cameras do you use?
‘If I am being paid to make imagery, I almost always use digital, usually the H2 with a Phase back. When I am working in advertising, it is always a collaboration, so to work digitally with a large monitor eases the collaborative process. Everyone who needs a say can see what we are doing and we can all fight about what we think is important and the client gets a well thought-out image, including a couple of images where I go off on my own and follow my own instincts. When I am working on my own projects, I still use a lot of film and Hasselblad. I find when I shoot film, I have to edit internally far more before I even shoot a frame than when shooting digital. My images tend to be more personal when I can meditate on the image before taking it, if even only for 30 seconds’.

Who are your subjects and what are you looking for in a model?
‘It can be hard to find models. There should be some sort of attraction-either the person looks like no one I have ever seen before, or maybe they look like a specific person and that intrigues me. Sometimes I see a movie or read a book and there is a character I can’t get out of my mind and I want to go explore that type of person. But usually it is someone who is an individual. It may be dress, it may be a presence, it is hard to say’.

How much planning do you do before a shoot and how much do you leave to chance?
‘It depends. I am working on a series now that has to do with the Midwest. A lot of that work is hard to plan out. I approach those days more concerned about what I want to convey and then try to make that happen as I wander streets, parks or interesting places that I come upon. When I find someone I want to shoot as a portrait, I will try and secure a location first, make drawings before the shoot, and then at the shoot, I can concentrate on my subject’.

What are three of your favorite locations to shoot at?
‘Finding a location for me is much like finding a subject. In my life I try to shop at small businesses, the local butcher, getting a beer at some old-time place. I am looking for a connection, I don’t like contrived or trendy places. The other day I was making some spaghetti sauce and needed some beef. I went for a walk in a direction I haven’t really explored since moving into my new Brooklyn neighborhood. There is a Polish butcher with several young chubby guys wearing white paper hats behind the counter. The counter is loaded with chops of smoked meat. Hanging behind them are all kinds and shapes of sausage hanging over their heads. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I need to photograph this. Pretty sexy, huh?’