CREATIVE QUADRANTS

Okay…..the phone rings, or I get an e-mail. It’s the Art Director or
Photo Editor at some magazine. They want me to shoot something
for them.

Great. I love taking pictures and I really like paying my mortgage. Let’s
get this puppy shot.

But, not so fast………

It’s swell that they like my work, but what work do they like? As an
editorial photographer it’s important for me to know what kind of
imagery they want, what their demographic will consume. (I suppose
that there are those top-drawer editorial shooters who just shoot how
they want to shoot and the world beats a path to their door. That’s not
how it works in my market, let me tell ya.)

For instance, if I was shooting a shot of twin girls for, say, Report
on Business magazine, I’d shoot them differently that if I was shoot-
ing them for a parenting magazine.

twins shot for a national parenting magazine

Now, I’m not casting aspersions here, or anything. I understand the
marketplace enough to know that what will fly in one publication will
just cause head scratching in another.

Occasionally there’s some discussion with the AD/PE. Other times
the magazine trusts me enough to know which, what I call “Ceative
Quadrant”, I need to be working in.

But let me tell you this…….I’ll always try my darndest to put (at least)
a little bit of myself into any job I’m asked to shoot, no matter what.

ARCHITECTUR WEEK

Architecture Week is coming to Ottawa.

To celebrate this there’s going to be a juried exhibition
of architectural fotos mounted at The Red Wall Gallery
and at the big tourist mecca, the NCC Infocentre.

I understand that the fotos are to be printed BIG. So I suppose
we should all make the effort to troop down to have a look.

Just in case you can’t make it…..here’s my piece, at least.

Department of National Defense Headquarters, Ottawa

USER BANNED IN CHINA

Chinese website Xitek recently ran a feature on USER. It would
seem that I’m “Tuonifusi” in Chinese.

Apparently words (or at least some words, I suppose) are okay
to use and be seen in China. But when it comes to the photos,
well….no way José.

APRIL+ERIK

April + Erik have their own URL.

April, me and Erik

The 12 shots that make up the sequence don’t all fit on one page
over there, so don’t forget to click the arrow at the bottom of the
first page to see the rest of the pix. Plus, if you wanna see ‘em
bigger, click on the shot.

Go here “APRIL+ERIK” to see them.
NOT SAFE FOR WORK.

DAVID HEATH

David Heath is a legend in the photo scene, has been since his seminal
book: A Dialogue With Solitude came out.

Brooklyn, © David Heath

Howard Crawford Jr., Korea, 1953/53, © David Heath

He’s has been instrumental in forging the direction and sensibility
of countless photographers. And, he happened to be my neighbor
when I lived in Toronto.

What a stroke of luck. Me, a high school drop out who loved taking
photos, being the neighbor of a guy who knew (and knows) how to
talk about photography.

I have to admit that we didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but that
don’t mean a thing. Because working in opposition to expertise
is just as valid (or even more valid) than just getting your biases
reinforced.

Anyway, I bumped into David last nite at an opening at The Patrick
Mikhail Gallery, where he has a photo in a group show. I hadn’t seen
him for 25 years.

We talked.

David Heath, last nite