In October of 2011 I shot the 99 Faces of Occupy Wall St. portrait project, which took on a life of its own as it spread virally first through social media and then through the mainstream media. My intention was to start shooting portraits as a balance to the elaborate and complex logistical shoots I had been doing. The relative simplicity and low-production aspect of a simple portrait was appealing.

I could not have imagined the reach that the OWS portraits achieved, nor that the project would have so quickly opened up so many interesting portrait opportunities. But as a result, 2012 has been the year of portrait photography for me.

While there are too many to cover here, I wanted to share a sampling. I just updated the portrait section of the portfolio with five new shoots — it would overwhelm the website to post them all, but I’ve decided to feature more to give a sense of the broad range of subjects I’ve been working with.

Being based in Los Angeles, I’ve been doing a lot of editorial portrait work with actors. The energy of the “young Hollywood” set is always fun to be a part of, so it has been great to work with Twilight star Jackson Rathbone and the co-stars of “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” — Megan Park and Francia Raisa. Sports has been another big area this year, featured here are images from my shoot with NBA superstar Chris Webber and yoga master Rodney Yee. And of course music is always a source of inspiration and creative energy, and my shoot with trumpet virtuoso Gabriel Johnson was among the most exciting.

We have many more in the pipeline; these projects are often quarantined for long periods afterward timed around their planned public release dates. Others come with requests for a low profile from the subjets and their management. But wanted to share a sampling here.

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I have been working on a series of promotional images with Jesse Campbell, the powerhouse vocalist and leading performer with Christina Aguilera’s team on the NBC tv show “The Voice”.

If you haven’t seen Jesse yet (both of his performances so far on The Voice have been viral hits), you should check these out: Battle Round performance and Audition performance.

I’ve also been working with Jesse’s design team for his web site www.JesseCampbell.com, so that will have a lot of familiar images. Jesse asked them to build his website around the work we shot together (layouts, color tones, etc…). Nice to have the work find a home so well designed for it.

We shot most of these at the design studio of Thomas Schoos, another creative collaborator I’ve been brainstorming with and a huge talent in his own right (he has done some of the most high profile interior designs of restaurants and hotels in LA and around the world).

Images below.

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I was commissioned by DPA microphones to shoot a portrait of jazz legend Wayne Shorter.

My assistants and I drove to his home in West Hollywood, set up a small portable studio in his garage, did a few lighting tests then let him know we were ready.

He came out with three different types of saxophones. For each we attached the DPA mic, and he played while I shot. What a cool way to get into a rhythm and riff off of another artist while in one’s own creative process.

To me portraits are the opposite of the big conceptual or fashion shoots. Simple, quick, intimate. Small crew, minimal gear. All about a conversation with the subject in which we are both giving and taking.

I have committed to doing a lot more of these in 2012.

Images below.

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This is a collection of images we did with fashion designer Anthony Franco.

It follows the story of a special training facility for the “lethal arts & sciences”. It’s not every day you get to depict assassins and gun-play in a commercial shoot, so when the chance arises one needs to make the most of it. This is what we did with the opportunity.

It was a large team working on this from wardrobe, to casting and talent, to set design, production, and the assisting team. And that’s just for the still photography part of the shoot.

We shot in several locations — most of which was in the building where my studio is. But we transformed several of these spots, even people who know the building well would not recognize them. It always helps when the environment is physically built rather than doing it digitally in post. I think it leads to better images, and is certainly a more engaging experience on set.

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I recently did a WWII aviator concept shoot for a film in development.

The images feature actress Ina Kopp who is a prominent name in film and tv in parts of Europe, and is now making a move to the American scene. Wardrobe by Louis Verdad.

It was fun shooting at the air field with the classic planes and all the wind and smoke. We shot in an airplane hanger and out on the runway, but space was tight as both were crowded with other planes and equipment.

These are actual planes from the WWII era. The distressed one was underwater for 40 years — set designers couldn’t build that very easily.

Had to keep our footprint small, and be in and out quickly so used one power pack (Verso) with two or three heads off of it. Played with colored gels to create subtle mixed colors in the light. Wind machine, smoke machine, and two great assistants. All shot on Hasselblad 39 megapixel.

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We recently shot campaign images for the LOUVER label by fashion designer Louis Verdad.  Louis and I have been working together on campaign images for years, as well as on creative projects beyond the seasonal lines. It’s always great to get in the studio when he has a new collection.

My team and I painted the set a blueish-green and splattered a deeper, bluer shade of paint over top to give it some texture and a worn, messy look while maintaining a vibrant graphic quality.  The color went beautifully with the Fall 2011 LOUVER designs — thin stripes of the same color were woven into some of the plaids.

Then we brought in some furniture with a rich golden yellow tone to liven-up the palette and give it a regal spin. The vibe felt reminiscent to me of the Hermitage museum and the city around it (St. Petersberg) where you see a place with an ornate decor and a grand history, but in a state of decay.

The floor is a painted hardwood, originally created for the previous shoot that I will elaborate on when that one is ready for release. The gold flourishes came from an elaborate wrought-iron mirror, an equally grand picture frame, and a chair with rich yellow upholstery and clear signs of wear.

Within this context, I wanted the models to portray a pride and nobility that the once newly decorative environment surely possessed in its prime, oblivious to the erosion of time.

Photos below. “Behind the scenes” media will be posted soon.

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With many forms of print distribution steadily migrating to digital platforms, many previously still-only uses now have motion possibilities. And these motion-capable outlets have  different needs than content made for tv or theaters.

When digital out-of-home signage first appeared, there was a rush to use existing tv content on it. The backlash was immediate due to the rapid, distracting, disconcerting flash of motion that was not comprehensible in the brief moments given to such a communication platform. It was just visual noise. Nobody is going to stop and watch an unfolding narrative when on their way to through public transport centers.

And we consume magazine editorial content differently too.  In magazines, we like a curated collection of content around the title’s theme. Magazine’s are not where we go to watch a full program. And usually the visuals are complementing a written story — even on digital devices. It’s the mix that is rewarding in magazines, and they tend to be quicker reads than longer-form storytelling.

I love shooting portraits, and they are an essential staple of magazines. Portraits for me are the intimate, low key balance to the more elaborate conceptual and fashion productions I do. I feel that conceptual and fashion shoots are like sculpture, where you meticulously craft an image or scene. And portraits are more like jazz, where the photographer/director and subject spontaneously improvise and and riff off of each other.

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