Tag: Travel

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Robert Frank, “The Americans” and The Road

I went to see Robert Frank’s “The Americans” this past week at the Met in New York City. I have always been a fan of Frank, not so much for his fashion photography but his photographic observations of “us”robertfrank_10.T – us Americans, our culture at that time in our history.  He was an observer of “all” people not just the beautiful ones captured on the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, and he captured those observations for generations to come.

As I took my time looking at the prints and contact sheets displayed, I was able to get a glimpse of how he shot – what his camera lingered on and where he went from there.  I could see his thought process in how he made his selections, looking at the frames circled with his red grease pencil. I read his letters to his colleague Walker Evans, another favorite of mine and I got a much better sense of him as a person and photographer.  I watched an early video that he filmed and was amazed by how he pushed his own photographic boundaries into another medium.  The exhibition provided a wealth of insight and information on Frank, his project “The Americans” and a time in our country’s history – and I was captivated.

His images linger in my head and remind me of my beginnings in photography and “why” I became a photographer.  Like Frank, I’m an observer of all people, of cultures and use my camera as a means to capture my observations and share them with others.  My passion is rooted in my own personal road trips; I have taken over the years with my camera. It has triggered in me the desire to explore, to embark on another journey with my camera and see where it takes me.

I’ve spent a career and a lifetime “on the road”, always the traveler, observing and capturing the daily lives of others – not the famous, but the common man.  Not the horrific, the outrageous, the exotic for those reasons  – but because they’re part of the world I live in.  My hope is that I the images I leave behind, will provide others a glimpse of that time, that space, those lives that I stumbled upon during a lifetime spent on the road.

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Staying Outside The “box”

A friend of mine recently reminded me that I have said that I like to stay outside the “box”.  That I have spent much of my career trying not to be categorized or pigeon holed into one specialty of photography.  Perhaps not the greatest business decision, but nevertheless a series of mini decisions to continually depart from whatever my norm is or has been.

Even as a child I discovered early on that I wanted to explore – in the broadest sense of the word.  I surely did that in my days right out of high school and college when I embarked on a year long backpacking odyssey across half the globe.

Mooney, Peace Hotel, Shanghai, China 1983
Mooney, Peace Hotel, Shanghai, China 1983

But it was after that sojourn that I pursued a career in photography to facilitate a somewhat vagabond life.  And that I did combining a photographic career with my quest for discovering people and cultures. I ‘ve been  fortunate over the years to have garnered assignments from high profile magazines like National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian and Travel & Leisure.  And I loved the path that I had chosen.

It was about ten years ago that my restlessness pushed me into the medium of video.  Technology was making it possible and affordable for me to shoot my “stories” in this medium with sound and motion.  But I was more focused on adding those new dimensions to “the story” rather than on the “tools” itself. Getting into video proved to be a great move, certainly a good business move as society has gravitated more toward the web.

So in my desire to live a life “outside the box”, I’ve come full circle and realize that “decision” has not only been “good” for  business – it’s led to a very interesting and rewarding way to live life.

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Editing and the Story

I’ve grown to love the editing part of the video production process.  It’s where I “craft” the story and take it where I want it to go.

Last Spring I attended a conference at the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan.  The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, MichiganWhile staying at this historic gem, my goal was to create a short web video on the hotel and the island.  I shot the property in a dozen different ways getting b-roll footage of carriages, guests on the porch, tea in the parlor, the orchestra and other areas of the hotel as well as scenes in town. I also interviewed third generation owner and President, Dan Musser III and carriage driver Tom McCarthy.  Those interviews as well as some soundbites from a talk given by concierge Bob Tagatz – gave me my narrative track.

When I returned I gathered all my assets – interviews, b-roll and music and started to layout the story. Generally, I lay down my best soundbites first.  This drives the story.  I’ll then go through all my b-roll and live action shots and select the best clips that best illustrate the narrative track.  I was fortunate on this piece because I was able to capture footage of the harpist at the Grand Hotel and this not only provided me with some nice visuals, but it gave me a music track to work with that made sense in the context of the story.

After piecing together the story in Final Cut Pro, I then went  back and “cut” it.  Given time, I may even live with it a bit, going back and cutting more each time giving it more punch.  I’ve uploaded my first two cuts on vimeo.  Here’s a link to my latest rough cut. http://www.vimeo.com/5889700 I’ll probably live with it a bit and then go back and cut out another 20%.  It’s always hard to cut but it makes the piece stronger and these days – people don’t take the time to look at long web videos.

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“The Most Trusted Man in America” – Walter Cronkite 1916 -2009

We lost one of America’s greats yesterday, Walter Cronkite died at the age of 93. I grew up, getting my “news” from Mr. Cronkite along with millions of other Americans. We all believed what he said and we trusted that what he said was the “truth” and not just “opinion”.

Walter Cronkite brought us some of the most amazing news stories of the 20th Century and he did so with the utmost integrity. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth, John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Martin Luther King’s assassination, Bobby Kennedy’s assassination, news about the Vietnam War and of course the first Moon landing. He said once and I’m paraphrasing, that amongst all the turmoil and problems of the 1960’s, the Space Program and in particular that first landing on the Moon showed America’s true spirit and resiliency. He personified that – he gave us hope for the future.

I think anyone who remembers getting their news from Cronkite, longs for those days when the news was the news and not an endless stream of pundits’ opinions. We’ve lost our trust in journalism and journalistic integrity. And with social media and “citizen journalism” I not sure we’ll ever get that trust back.

I had the privilege of meeting and photographing Walter Cronkite in 1986. I was shooting a story for the National Geographic Traveler Magazine about Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. I was given contact info for Walter Cronkite and called him up and asked him if I could photograph him for the article. Mr. Cronkite spent his summers in Martha’s Vineyard and was a well known figure there especially among the “sailing set”, so it was thought that a photo of him would make a nice addition to the story . We set up a date and a time for the photograph. Being a professional, I always confirm any appointments the day before. So the day before our shoot was scheduled, I called the telephone number that I had, to confirm. This was well before the days of cell phones and emails and even before computers became such a big part of our lives. Throughout the day, I kept calling the number that I had from whatever pay phone was available but I kept getting a ringing phone – no answer and no message machine. The day came and went and so did the next day – the day I was supposed to photograph him. I missed our appointment because I never connected to get details of where to meet him. I felt betrayed by “the most trusted man in America” that somehow he had forgotten our appointment. And then something hit me that night – perhaps when I rewrote my notes with all my contacts and phone numbers for the shoot – I had not written his phone number down correctly. So I took a shot and called directory information to see if by some slim chance Walter Cronkite was listed. Much to my surprise he was listed! The next day I called him, profusely apologizing, embarrassed and humiliated and told him how I had incorrectly written his phone number down when I was rewriting my notes and that it never occurred to me to check the telephone directory to see if his number was listed. I assumed that someone like him who was so high profile would have an unlisted telephone number.

Cronkite

He was incredibly gracious, yet he did warn me about making “assumptions” and I have never forgotten that lesson. And he gave me a second chance and set up another day for the shoot.

The day of the shoot was a glorious day on Martha’s Vineyard and Mr. Cronkite suggested that I photograph him on his sailboat. His mother was also on board and I remember her as being quite a character. I have fond memories from that afternoon. I took my photos but he didn’t head back to shore to drop me off – he loved to sail and it was a perfect day for it so we continued to sail throughout the rest of the afternoon.

I cried last night when I heard the news of his death. I cried because he’s gone and also because we’ve lost our trust in journalists and the news media in general. But like Cronkite, I’m hopeful for the future. Thank you Mr. Cronkite for your integrity, professionalism and your personal words of wisdom for me that wonderful day so many years ago. “And that’s the way it is”.

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Travel and Video

When I started out as a still photographer over 30 years ago, I knew I wanted to travel. And that’s exactly what I did, I traveled the world on assignment for magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Islands, Smithsonian and many more. I shot over 18 stories for National Geographic Traveler alone.

Over those years, I found myself doing a lot of observing as well as interacting and listening to people from cultures around the globe. I was fascinated by their stories. I documented my observations through my images and when it all came together perfectly my visuals told their story.

Many times I would feel the need to add audio or movement to fully capture the spirit of a place. When digital video came along and now HD it was a dream come true. Technology making all that possible for an independent shooter.

Travel and the medium of video are a perfect match. Adding the sounds of a destination or a recorded conversation adds another dimension to a story. Much of what I remember from past trips I’ve taken are the sounds of the environment. The prayer chants from a mosque in Giza at dawn – the bells of a sleigh in the snow in Banff- a yell from a street vendor in NYC – children laughing in a school yard in Blarney, Ireland. All ideal elements for a video format.

As well as adding the dimension of sound, shooting video allows you to add movement. Photographs are moments in time – video is time in motion. When you shoot travel, you want to immerse yourself in the place you’re in to get a full sense it. Whether it’s dance or a bustling market or a ferris wheel, video captures the energy of a place. I got fabulous footage from shooting from a ferris wheel. It acted like a giant jib when I shot from the ride as the wheel came around.

As far as shooting travel, adding video to my skills has opened up new ways of seeing many places I had been to dozens of times before. And with smaller and more discreet cameras, I can be less obtrusive. Video and travel – a perfect match.

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Passion and Hard Work

What is the secret to success? Look no further than the title of this blog – passion and hard work.

I guess I’m just lucky because I’ve always been passionate – sometimes overly so. I love to talk about my passions and I love to share my passions with others. For me I love story telling through images and video. I love travel and exploring other cultures. And I love to combine those passions in my craft.

In addition, I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I have always given my all – and then some. There has never been a correlation between how hard I work with how much I’m getting paid. I always give it my all. I take pride in my work. I strive to be the best I can be.

It’s funny because up until yesterday I had taken those two character traits for granted – is there any other way to live? Then I heard Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee talk about his passions and how with a lot of hard work and honesty he grew his business through social media outlets. Ultimately social media outlets are the new day “word of mouth”. And word of mouth has always been the best way to build a business. But you must be transparent – you must be sincere.

So with all the talk of using twitter and facebook and linkedin etc. these days to grow your business – what’s most important are the basics – your fundamental beliefs – because ultimately they will shine through all the bull. You can’t fake passion – you just gotta love what you do. All of a sudden all those old fashioned character traits are back in style.