Posts By Brad Moore

[Ed. Note – Some of the imagery within this post contains artistic nudity. If you prefer not to view these images, don’t click the “Read the rest of this entry” link.]

There never is a dull moment, because every moment is meaningful.

Howard Schatz: Photographer, Retinal Specialist M.D.

Howard Schatz is a man not easily described. His interests and passions run deep and broad. His choice of photographic subjects is wide ranging, from pregnancy, to newborns, to athletes and dancers and people with rare talents. He studies and photographs the human body and the way it moves, as well as light, water and fauna. Howard photographs stunning models flaunting their freakish beauty in extraordinary settings one day, and rare flowers exhibiting pure grace the next. Prima ballerinas underwater at his custom designed pool in a dream of weightlessness, and breakdancers on the stage of his versatile New York studio.

He photographs actors famous the world over as well as those not yet known anywhere. He directs them for his lens from no more than two feet away. Prisoners at Sing Sing, the homeless on the streets of San Francisco, club goers in New York, Cirque Du Soleil in the ring, and boxers, both retired and still fighting, the world over all make appearances in his camera. He paints fonts with light and creates other fonts out of nimble and acrobatic dancers. He shoots campaigns for Sprite, Showtime, Ralph Lauren, Epson, Neil LaBute and Macdonalds. He shoots editorials for Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, Vanity Fair and Time to name just a few. He does all of this with an exactitude fitting a surgeon. His photographs are exhibited at museums and galleries in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Canada, Argentina, New York, San Francisco, Honolulu, Tokyo, Edinburgh, Brussels, Stockholm, Paris, Cannes, Florence, Antwerp, Milan, Lausanne, Lisbon, Kiev and on and on…

Myself: Bart Babinski, Howard’s assistant; Aspiring Photographer

Born in Poland, grown up in Libya, Italy, Germany and northern New Jersey; BFA in photography NJCU; Cinematography student at The New School and the Kieslowski Film Dept. of Silesia University; Passionate about looking, seeing, and making images, plus life, people and the world, in all its color.

Photography
We all know what it is, but what is it really? (more…)

…the next person in our Assistant Guest Blog series, Bart Babinski!  Bart has been working with Howard Schatz for the past few years.  After reading his blog, I (Brad) can tell you that he’s learned quite a lot about many different types of photography from Howard.  It’s interesting to hear him talk about finding ways to make the impossible possible, because Howard does some crazy experiments!

So check back tomorrow to get some insight into the world of a very innovative photographer and what it’s like to help him break down the walls of impossibility!

Photo by Kelsey Foster

Howdy folks… Extremely humbled to be here.  Big thanks to Scott and Brad for giving me the stage.  Three-Act play here today… let’s get started.

ONE // INTRO

Three short years ago I stood in a tiny restroom six stories above 31st Street & Park Avenue in Manhattan.  Buzzed from my 4th cup of crappy office coffee, I stared at my reflection for what seemed like hours. Did I really just leave my entire world behind, only to find myself in a supremely uninspiring job in an extremely lonely city?   Was this really what the rest of my life was destined to become?  Did I really believe that moving to New York City would ignite some long-lost passion I had buried somewhere?  I was three years out of business school, stuck in a boring finance job, in a new city with zero time to invest in my growing interest in photography.  I chuckled at myself, realizing I was staring back at a young man either a) on the verge of a serious life change or b) destined for (more…)

Brooklyn-based commercial photographer Eric Ryan Anderson! I (Brad) met Eric when I was in New York for Photo Plus a few weeks ago.  Once I got back home and checked out his website, I immediately fell in love with his work, which you can check out here (he even shoots Polaroids!).

His post for tomorrow is part inspirational, part practical, and all heart.  He loves what he does, and that really comes through in his writing.  My favorite line, in regards to keeping things in perspective, is, “Most of your Twitter followers won’t be at your wedding… or your funeral.”

Come by tomorrow (or tonight, if you’re up late) and check it out!

Wow, thanks to Scott and Brad for giving me this rad opportunity to guest blog. I’ve been an avid Photoshop user for about 15 years and have been impacted by Scott’s amazing books and tutorials for as long as I can remember, so it’s really cool for me to get to do this.

Most of you don’t know me, so here’s a little ice breaker:

10 Ways I’ve Used Gaff Tape in the last year:

1. To reduce terrible chafing between my legs while shooting at Witch’s Rock in Costa Rica.
2. To patch up holes in my mosquito net over my bed in Tanzania
3. To hold up the water bladder I used to bathe in Sudan
4. As a bandaid to keep the blood from my cut finger off equipment
5. To keep the insane knot-untying raccoons out of my bag while camping on the beach in Costa Rica
6. To strap my camera to the top of a piece of rebar for a time-lapse in the earthquake zone of Beichuan, China.
7. To attach my camera to my hand while paragliding in the Himalayas
8. To make it unbelievably difficult to steal a camera I wanted to leave on a construction site for a 5-day time lapse (used like half a roll on that sucker, it worked!)
9. To hold my battery charger into a really jankity outlet in India.
10. To keep the spitting cobras out of my cottage in Zambia

Using gaff to set up a time-lapse in rural China

I finished school about a year ago and since then I’ve been able to travel through about 20 countries working with a variety of different missions-based organizations on assignment to capture what they are doing abroad (both through still and motion picture.) My work is typically used to share what they are doing with others in efforts to raise money for the organization in one way or another, whether it’s sold as art or just connecting with donors on an emotional level.

It’s definitely been a whirlwind of a year and I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve learned so much from the people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had and the failures I’ve endured. I could write forever about all the ins and outs of travel photography; how to prepare for a shoot in 140°F Sudan, how to pull off an album cover shoot in an earthquake zone in rural China or even how to get the best seats on international flights (without paying an extra penny!) (more…)

Looking at photography is one of my favorite pass-times. It’s awesome how the great photographers can make me actually feel the moment of capture. I enjoy the greatness of their talent. What a trap.

As if photography wasn’t full time enough, lately I’ve been charging head down in an ancillary effort to learn what drives people to create. Research, writing, listening and conducting interviews across all disciplines while dissecting my own work.

Most photographers I know can recall nearly every click of the shutter, and those book-worthy gems capture more than just a replica of the moment. We own the image more than the others. There was nothing tentative about the instant we pressed the shutter. There it is – Got it.

My latest talk was with one of the most gifted guitarists I know; a long time professional of both studio and live performances. Recounting the time when he first entered the studio after touring live, he shared a moment of struggle to get something respectable on tape. What probably seemed harsh at the time was sage in its simplicity:
“It all starts from your fingers, I’m just trying to get on tape what you’re sending me” – was the curt response from the engineer.

Since I’m not a musician what I heard was, “It all starts at your eyes”. It doesn’t start at your camera. It doesn’t start with the file download or the choice of a good post artist. I’m a photographer, it starts at my eyes.

It took a musician to remind a photographer that ignoring a seemingly trite perspective can make one tentative. There’s no truth in your work unless you not only understand that it starts from your eyes, but own it like a born again evangelist.

You can view Part II of Will’s interview here.

The trick to looking at photographs is to surround yourself with the art – the emotion. The moment questions start, abandon the effort. Comparisons keep me from starting the photograph from my eyes. Comparisons turn me tentative. Could I do that? No. It’s a trap, there’s no truth found by going there.

You can view Bruce’s photography at DeBoerWorks.com, and read more of his thoughts on creativity at his blogazine PermissionToSuck.com