Commercial photography commission for Comcast Beltway

I’m proud to present some imagery I created for Comcast Beltway’s public relations team, published today to announce the installation of a huge solar panel array on the roof of their tech building on Michigan Ave. in Washington, DC.

The project was a technical challenge. The only access to the roof was a very solid, albeit utilitarian ladder. My first concern was for the safety of myself, my crew and the subjects, some of whom I worried might lack the ability to climb up and down the ladder.

Up in the bucket truck. It seems much higher up when you’re inside!

Up in the bucket truck. It seems much higher up when you’re inside!

Another concern was timing and the weather. Although we could have made great pictures in almost any condition, our hope was for sunny weather to emphasize the solar panels. Thankfully, we picked a day with full sun and decent temperatures. Also, there were no problems with people going up and down the ladder with the exception of one person who decided to take a bucket from a bucket truck for a ride down. Thankfully, the client is a cable company with plenty of bucket trucks lying around.

The bucket truck also came in handy for the last shot of the day, an aerial showing the entire building. Being up that high is always a thrill. We are also lucky for the easy access to bucket trucks since drones are mostly banned in the DC region.

Check out the results below!

Champion Cornhole Player Ryan Smith for The Wall Street Journal

Ryan Smith, a former defensive back for James Madison University, found his post-collegiate athletic calling through the game of cornhole. The object, to toss a bean bag 45 feet away into a hole six inches in diameter, is as challenging as it sounds.

I was able to photograph Ryan at a brewery, Twinpanzee, in Sterling, Virginia. The cavernous space offered lots of room to work in. Movable walls made of plywood the brewery uses to separate brewing equipment from the cornhole court created interesting, clean backgrounds and good visual separation between Ryan and what would otherwise have been a very cluttered background of tanks and hoses. The best part is Ryan had no problem at all with my strobe blasting away for the whole shoot. He continually dropped bags into the hole like he was standing right over it - it really was amazing to witness.

It’s a good thing we both showed up early, because I used up a half-hour attempting some stroboscopic images of Ryan tossing the bag, but there was just too much ambient light I couldn’t control, so I bagged the idea and moved the strobe behind and to Ryan’s right, really just to see what it would look like and to get some kind of visual starting point. As soon as I saw the potential in the first frame of creating Ryan’s silhouette on the wall and getting his beanbag in there, nicely separated inside the shadow, I knew I’d have a keeper.

My favorite photo is the first one below. I brought along a Q-Flash T5D-R, a small, powerful strobe that is easy to move around in active environments like the cornhole court.

The image also set a style for the remainder of the shoot. Luckily, Ryan was playing in front of a large stainless steel wall, inside which kegs of delicious beer are kept. The Q-Flash loves shiny surfaces, and with Ryan’s bright red jersey, blue beanbags, and outgoing personality, I was able to create images that, for me at least, made something visible from the invisible.

Check out The Wall Street Journal’s story to learn about his workout routine and how he keeps in shape physically and mentally for his upcoming busy tournament season. And see some outtakes and the tearsheet below.

Fifty from 50 - Images from US Highway 50, from California to Maryland, fourth in a series of posts

Constructed in 1926, US 50 was part of the original United States highway system and extends from California to Maryland. Our recent move from Oakland, California to Silver Spring, Maryland near Washington, DC inspired me to travel on this historic byway and document my journey. All work was shot on a Mamiya 6, a film camera that creates negatives that are six centimeters square. This camera really forces me to shoot with intention. The film stock is mostly Ektar 100, for those who are curious.

Jill Vialet, CEO and Founder of Playworks for Harvard Magazine

I recently had a fun shoot with Jill Vialet, the CEO and founder of Playworks. How could it not be when the founder’s organization partners with schools to promote exercise and social and emotional health through recess, and the shoot is on a school playground? Jill was game for just about anything and the location was perfect. Check out some outtakes and tearsheets below.

Omni Labs, Inc. for Yahoo News

Photography: Portraits of start-up co-founders

Alex Modon and Vikram Tiwari, co-founders of Omni Labs, Inc. in San Francisco, have been forced to open a secondary office in Vancouver, BC because an immigration regulation, the International Entrepreneur Rule, is under threat by the Trump administration. The regulation is supposed to grant a limited stay in the U.S. to certain qualifying entrepreneurs. Two of Omni Labs, Inc. co-founders meet this qualification. Yet, their immigration status remains in limbo.

Alex Modon, left, and Vikram Tiwari, co-founders of Omni Labs, Inc., Friday, April 13, 2018 in San Francisco, CA.

After speaking with the photo editor and reporter before the shoot, we discussed ways to communicate what is at risk. In this case, it is Omni Labs, Inc. business itself. I asked one of the subjects to send me some shots of the office a few days before the shoot. It was a small, humble office, shared with another start-up. However, in the location shots, I noticed a huge map on the wall, and a small conference room with a huge window. Driving down the freeway, where I get a lot of ideas, I wondered if the map was the right distance to reflect back onto the conference room window, possibly allowing me to use the map as a translucent layer on top of the subjects, a prop to connote immigration in an abstract way. 

Alex Modon, left, and Vikram Tiwari, co-founders of Omni Labs, Inc., Friday, April 13, 2018 in San Francisco, CA.

I got to their office as early as I was allowed, and started by lighting the map with a 10 degree grid. Then I went inside the small conference room where I would photograph Alex and Tiwari and set up another 10 degree grid. The wall behind them was white, so I had to bring the key light up high and angle it down so I wouldn't illuminate the wall as well. In hindsight, I should have brought a 5' roll of black or grey seamless to tape up behind them to create better separation. Nonetheless, having a high, angled spotlight cut enough spill from the back wall to do what I needed it to do. One of the subjects showed up late, and had a meeting scheduled for 10 minutes after we started. Having arrived two hours early, I was able to accomplish what I had set out to do in 13 minutes.

Alex Modon, left, and Vikram Tiwari, co-founders of Omni Labs, Inc., Friday, April 13, 2018 in San Francisco, CA.

I caught a lucky break with the giant map and glass-walled conference room. I hope Omni Labs, Inc. catches one, too.

The Light Is Fantastic

Photography: Portraits of a stage artist, student and tech wiz

I love working as a photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area. The light is fantastic, there are numerous locations offering great architecture or interior design, and because of the culture’s embrace of creativity and innovation, many of the subjects are game to play and experiment during photo shoots.  To show you what I mean, I’ve selected just three images from some recent assignments.

Theater artist Taylor Mac won a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2017. Mac writes, directs, acts, sings, and performs experimental works that work as theatre and social commentary. I had about 15 minutes to photograph Mac for the MacArthur Foundation. Between performances of the groundbreaking “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music,” Mac was staying at the Hotel G in downtown San Francisco, built in 1909. The hotel room abutted a stairway; I peeked inside, saw the color of the walls and the window light, and immediately knew this was the place to make a picture. I had Mac play the ukulele, which was slightly difficult due to a hurt finger from stumbling in high heels during last night’s performance. Nonetheless, Mac was able to strum two or three chords, humming a quiet melody as I made pictures.

Photographed for the MacArthur Foundation.

Aaron Chow, an economics freshman at UC Berkeley, decided to research and investigate a real estate investment trust that a friend had invested in, only to discover that the trust had failed to file all kinds of SEC paperwork. Oops! Good for him, an…

Aaron Chow, an economics freshman at UC Berkeley, decided to research and investigate a real estate investment trust that a friend had invested in, only to discover that the trust had failed to file all kinds of SEC paperwork. Oops! Good for him, and probably bad for shady investment firms, once this young man graduates and starts his career. Chow suggested we shoot at the Asian Studies library because it has "cool architecture." By the Japanese periodicals, I custom white-balanced the fluorescent light by his head, which pushed the huge skylight in the background into a deep blue. I love it when I can employ optical physics instead of a dolly full of lighting equipment to make a compelling portrait!

Photographed for The Wall Street Journal.

David Wallerstein, the “Chief Exploration Officer” for Tencent, works in a converted church in Palo Alto. We made a number of moody pictures by the stained glass windows, and thought we had it in the bag. As we were walking back to the front door, w…

David Wallerstein, the “Chief Exploration Officer” for Tencent, works in a converted church in Palo Alto. We made a number of moody pictures by the stained glass windows, and thought we had it in the bag. As we were walking back to the front door, we passed through the kitchen area where I saw the yellow-green wall with symmetrical clocks. At this point, we were warmed up and talking. David was using his phone to play some of his band’s heavy metal songs for me, and I commandeered his public relations assistant to hold a strobe. As you can see, David rocks!

Photographed for The Wall Street Journal.

From the archives: Bull Riding School Student Portraits

I recently took time to reorganize some of my negative archives when I came across some portraits I took at a bull riding school in 2014. I remember my goal was to make a portrait of the students immediately following their first-ever ride on a bull. The students, to my surprise and initial disappointment, looked nonplussed. I wanted to see a modicum of vulnerability in their faces, but instead only saw pictures of teenagers in cowboy clothing. I scrapped the idea and moved on.

A second look this month, at least three years later, revealed there is an underlying tension in the images, for me at least. Whom of us as adolescents couldn't wait to grow up to be the archetype we most admired? In some of these images, I see some who easily slide into the role, and others have a long trail ahead of them.

In case you're interested, the images were shot with a Hasselblad 553ex and Tri-X film. Let me know what you think!

Cheers,

Eric

On Assignment: Multiple Shoots for the San Francisco Chronicle

A flurry of assignments greeted me to the San Francisco bay area last month from the San Francisco Chronicle. From firearms to sneakers, my subject matter was as diverse as the region. I'm excited to be here and can't wait to see what comes next!

From the archive: Gothic Beauty Pageant

In time for Halloween, a post from the archive:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and for some people, that includes leather, studs and a whole bunch of creativity. I live nearby Numbers nightclub in Houston, which hosts an annual Gothic Beauty Pageant. I decided to set up a photo booth to photograph some of the contestants. Tom Phuckery, below, won first place in the men's competition.

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Memories of a Chris Buck photography workshop

In the process of cleaning out our attic, I came across the notes I took during an Austin, Texas workshop with portrait photographer phenomenon Chris Buck. I eagerly reread my notes and thought I'd share some of the wisdom passed on that weekend. Interspersed are a few photos I made on the first day, which were unlike anything I had previously made.

His guidance and take-no-prisoners approach motivated me to stretch my creativity. We were provided a model, whatever we could could find around the studio we were working in, and the pithy thoughts of a master photographer.

“You can’t be careful all the time. Otherwise, you’re just someone’s bitch.”

  • Use a light test as a way of manipulating a subject into off-moments.

  • Your job is not to make the subject happy but to make great pictures.

  • Set the vibe on the set to say "This is MY shoot!"

  • I have to follow my instinct. If I want to make dark, introspective photos, I'm going to do it.

“I’m more afraid of my client than my subject.”

  • Make your lighting as undistracting as possible.

  • Solve problems in a simple way.

  • Connection to subjects is overemphasized.

  • I love working with props. People relax and engage with props because they have something to do.

“I just focus on what I want and do what I can to get it.”

  • I come in with talking points beforehand and generally speaking, I don't talk about work.

  • (To subject) I can ask anything I want and you can say no to anything you want.

  • To ask permission is to seek denial.

  • Photographers aren't frustrated videographers.

On Assignment: Link Ermis for AARP

AARP, one of my newest clients, sent me to Huntsville a couple of months ago to photograph Link Ermis, a military veteran whose social security benefits have been turned upside down. Ermis is "one of 1.5 million public employees nationwide, including teachers, firefighters and police, who face a big reduction in benefits because they worked jobs in which they and their employers did not pay into Social Security."

The editor asked for live photos as well as some portraits. Things were going to be tight. Ermis drove a school bus to school and had less than 10 minutes to sit for a portrait before he had to begin his first period history class. I used a small Quantum strobe for some outdoor portraits, then we hustled inside so he could start his class. He used my presence as a quick lesson to his class about what he was contending with personally with his social security benefits. I also got a refresher on the start of the First World War as he explained it to his students while I made pictures.

Digital tearsheet