A few months ago in Chicago, I was shooting the exterior, of a new chic hotel. It was a crisp fall morning, unseasonably warm, and the Gold Coast was still waking up. After lining everything up, and getting my frame squared away, I realized a car or two needed to be moved outside the hotel. The first one I walked up to was a white van, with the words “Antique Archeology” on the side. Immediately I knew I was about to encounter two guys, whom I really enjoyed watching. If you don’t know, there is a show on the History Channel called “American Pickers.” It’s a great concept, and a fun adventure. One of the reasons I love the History Channel.

Sure enough, as looked to my left, I saw Mike Wolfe talking to his producer about 15 away, and Frank Fritz talking on his cell phone across the street. Similar to what you would expect, Mike was all smiles and Frank looked grumpy. Once Mike got done chatting, I approached him and gave him the “hey i’m a fan” routine. As you would expect, he was a super nice guy, even nicer in person, than on the show. We got to talking about the show and Mike’s journey from Iowa to the world of television. Mike told me, he had to present the idea to The History Channel 5 different times, before they game him a shot. Let’s recount that. Mike Wolfe, came up with the concept for his show, and had to meet and pitch the idea for “American Pickers” five different times before they gave him a a green light for the show. Can you imagine? The average person would have given up after the first time. After a second time? Even an ambitious dreamer, would have negativity creep in and think, maybe they’re right, it’s not a good idea for a show. But I was impressed.

Mike had an idea and he stuck with it. He didn’t let anyone stop him. Either he was going to get his shot, or they were going to have to drag him out the door. As I was talking to Mike, Frank came over, tired and hungry. So I asked if I could take a shot of them. After seeing my camera Mike said “a shot of us with you right?” I replied, i’d rather just take a photo of them. So I lined them up and snapped a shot. It was fun, they seemed rather surprised and intrigued that I just wanted a picture of them. But, i’ve never been about posing with celebrities. Part of my job is to be behind the scenes, what I see through my lens is proof enough, I was there. Mike said they were headed out to do some taping and I wished him luck. It was a quick meeting, but an inspiring one never-the-less. In my world, you never know who you are going to run into. And i’m always happy to report, when people are as genuine in person, as they are on camera.

I think often when we see successful people, or successful businesses, or in this case, successful shows, we think everything happened overnight. As if out of thin air, success falls into someone’s lap, and money rains from the sky. Worst of all, we let it get us down, because our perspective is so warped. Granted, nothing is guaranteed in life, but if you work hard enough, good things will happen. No one is going to put you on a stage in this world right away. Even if they did, you’d probably screw it up, because you wouldn’t have enough experience making mistakes. Ashlee Simpson and Saturday Night Live anyone? So keep practicing your skills, don’t give up, and be thankful for rejection. Rejection is the hammer, the red hot fire that tempers, forms, and sharpens your sword. The sword you will one day use to slay your insecurities, and conquer your goals.  So keep believing!

Until next time,

JS

One of the craziest memories, I recall during high school, occurred outside a photography class.

It was senior year, winter quarter, and a Friday. I was heading towards my favorite “bell”, photography. Ironically, at the time, I didn’t even consider it as a future career. I had just been admitted to college for film school. Photography was just a break to do something fun and exciting, during an otherwise horrible drag between calculus and physics.

As I turned the corridor to the room, something was amiss. It involved a girl in my class, who had shot a series of five incredible portraits of her boyfriend. They were dramatic combinations of color and black and white. I remember one of them specifically. It was a closeup of his piercing blue eyes, the skin around the eyes tinted black and white, so as to create impact. Some of her photos were ripped in half, dangling on the bulletin board by a thumbtack, only the top third remaining. One had been torn all the way off the wall, lying scuffed on the green carpet, with footprints all over from the class to class shuffle of students. The last photo, with the piercing blue eyes, was nowhere to be found. I was shocked. Who would vandalize this girl’s photographs? However, as I went into class it became clear, seeing as her head was down on her desk, with tears in her eyes. The couple had broken up. She herself was the vandal of her own work. As a young lad, I didn’t get it. It seemed drastic and destructive. My ignorant bliss obviously couldn’t comprehend why or how this happened.

So the question begs, at what point does someone destroy their own art, during a fit of emotion, or to erase the past? I wonder if some of the most beautiful works of art, never survived because they were destroyed over breakups? What if Da Vinci burned some of his most beautiful sketches, to forget the past, then used the recycled charcoal to start anew, and draw new works of art in his notebook?

The famous fashion and portrait photographer, Richard Avedon, once said:

“My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph.”

When an artist destroys their own work, out of emotional dismay, or to banish the past, are they in fact destroying that piece of themselves? I often wonder if the girl regrets destroying the prints, rather than keeping them in a box under her bed. I guess i’ll never know. But maybe there is still one that survived, perhaps tucked away in a box, below a stack of essays in her parent’s basement. Its blue eyes piercing into the vacant space, waiting to be rediscovered.

This past Saturday evening, I took a cab to a photo assignment. As soon as I sat down,  a friendly voice greeted me, and asked where i’m headed. “The Metro Theatre,” I responded, as I went through my shot list, stored in my phone. As we turned the corner, he excitedly remarked “man…back in the 60’s, my band played at that theatre, we were called “Chubbs and the Twighlights. I was the drummer and the singer.” Curious, I looked up into the rear view mirror, and saw a friendly old grey haired man. There was a glitter in his eyes, a friendliness in his demeanor. Something i’ve never seen in a cabbie. He wasn’t talking on his bluetooth about lord knows what, and he grinned out the frosted windshield. It was as if he was heading off to collect on his winning lottery ticket. As he talked, I couldn’t help but notice a sign in his window, something i’d somehow missed.

It read:

“P.M.A, positive-mental-attitude. Life is what you make it. Not happy with your job, or your marriage, move or improve. Plan your goals and work your plan. It’s all about ATTITUDE.”

When I asked him about the sign, he called it his “School of Positive Mental Attitude.” Looking into Chubbs eyes in the rear view mirror, this guy wasn’t a student, he was a Dr. in P.M.A. Chubbs went on to describe how, if I ever needed a ride to the airport in the morning, he’d bring coffee and donuts free of charge. He even mentioned, that last week, one of his clients called to set up a proposal in Chubbs’ cab, so he could ask his girlfriend to marry him. Amazed and rather charmed, I marveled at his wisdom. Chubbs looked back at me in the mirror and remarked,
“to succeed, you have to set yourself apart. I love my job. It’s all about the P.M.A.”

Life is a never ending mystery to me, and as I get older, it gets more and more confusing. But I felt like this particular cab ride wasn’t an accident. Meeting Chubbs, the man who once played the great theatre, as the drummer and lead singer of “Chubbs and the Twightlights,” I felt like this cab ride was destiny. As I exited the cab, he smiled and said to me, “go get em!”

Thanks Chubbs, chances are i’ll never see you again, but you are the man!

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory,” you’ve heard of Slugworth, Willie’s infamous competitor always trying to steal his recipes. It seems everywhere I go, somebody’s watching me. Case in point, I found these photos of me, from a desert excursion. It appears someone wanted to see what equipment I was using, from what vantage point I was shooting, and how I managed to scale the bare rock faces, using only my bare hands. Now I feel sympathy for Kim Kardashian. Click photos to enlarge!

Me eyeing the paparazzi with angst.

Long distance stalking

Super long distance stalking (that's me in the bottom left corner)

This is what they were after. My "ever lasting gobstopper" of sorts.

Alright i’ll admit it. I called the paparazzi on myself! Good PR though, my agent made me do it!

Good morning! It’s Monday and freezing here in Chicago. So as you venture into work,  it wouldn’t surprise me, if you aren’t feeling on top of the world. So let me share a real photograph (no photoshop), and some words of wisdom.

The Fighting Chipmunk.

As we all know, the common chipmunk squares away nuts and acorns for the winter (correct me if i’m wrong). Why do they do this? Because winter, in general, sucks. Survival of the fittest, is all about finding the fight, within each and every one of us, to survive. To prepare for the worst and find the courage to face the future, without fear. As my dad says, “tough times never last, but tough people do!” To wit, when I was in Frisco, Colorado, I came across a little chipmunk who wasn’t happy at all to be photographed. He proceeded to put his plunder (acorn), in his mouth, and throw up his fists to fight me (at least that’s what it looks like doesn’t it?). So let’s take a cue from my friend the fighting chipmunk. Life is hard, sometimes we face challenges that seem impossible to overcome. But adversity is what makes life worth living. Without the cold, we wouldn’t learn to appreciate the sun. Without the bad, we wouldn’t know how to appreciate the good. And when things seem bleak…remember. “Tough times never last, but tough people do!”

Have a great week,

JS

If you just got a shiny new digital slr, or a phone with a cool camera for that matter, there’s 3 easy ways to make your photos better:

1. Shoot like crazy.

We don’t use film anymore, that is unless you’re in a fine art class. So fire off as many photos as possible, as often as possible. If they suck delete them, who cares, they are free my friend! You learn not from the good photos you take, but from the bad photos you take. It’s no different than a basketball player, learning how to shoot the perfect free throw.

2. Don’t always shoot from eye level.

If you really want to have interesting photographs, use perspective. Lay prone on the ground, and shoot up at the subject. Stand on a chair (without falling, hurting yourself, then suing me) and shoot down at your subject. We see the world, through our eyes every day, at pretty much the same angle. After, say 26 years, it’s kind of boring. So get dirty and get different angles that show the world from a new perspective. My favorite trick is to shoot people, while standing on something. Why? It eliminates the double chin. So take that tip to the bank.

3. Shoot something meaningful.

Taking photos of you and your friends, doing tequila shots every weekend is all well and good. But why waste such a cool tool that literally changed the world. Can you imagine life before the invention of the camera? It was impossible to preserve reality, unless you could afford a painting, and had the time to sit still for 8 hours. Next time you see the sunset after a bad day at work, snap a photo of it. 6 months from then, you won’t remember the bad day, you’ll remember the incredible way the light painted the sky. Take a candid picture of it. Life is short, one day you are going to look back, if your lucky enough, as an old man/woman and wonder where the time went. Do something about it! Capture something beautiful, something that pulls a heart string. Take pictures of your kids, your parents, your dog, the landscape, the city skyline, the rain, a rose wilted by the first frost. A camera is a gift to mankind, don’t take it for granted.

Until next time…happy new year!