I was blown away with the group that showed up at Ogilvy to support the release of Behind Photographs. It was great to reconnect with 29 of the photographers that are in the book and a couple hundred other supporters that braved the rain and wind. Here are a few pics from the party. I should have books in San Diego soon and will be posting info on book events in San Diego, LA and San Francisco. Thanks again to everyone that has supported and encouraged me over the past five years to see this project through to publication.
JIll Enfield, Douglas Kirkland, Barbara Bordnick, Guido Karp, Greg Watermann and Dan Kramer
Roxanne Lowitt and Tim Mantoani look over a wall of images
Keith Green with his portrait
John Iacono and John Dominis
Douglas Kirkland signing books while designer Mark Murphy and Sandro catch up.
Douglas Dubler signed books
Lois Greenfield and Ryszard Horowitz
May Pang and Tim Mantoani
Guido Karp made the trip from Germany!
Thom Mangelsen checking out Al Wertheimer and "The Kiss"
A few months back I spent the day in Northern California with Zach Parise and Mike Cammalleri as they toured Easton Bell and got to see how helmets are made. Here are a few screen grabs from the new website. Both of these guys are great to work with.
It was very sad news last week to hear of the passing of Lou Capozzola, a great SI shooter and a great guy. I had the pleasure of shooting along side of Lou at several Upper Deck shoots and was always a fan of his amazing eye. Please take a moment to pay tribute and view his gallery on SI.com.
Last year, I set up a private signing with Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins to autograph 33, 30×30 prints as promotions for my business. I have listed one of these prints on Ebay as a benefit to raise money for one of my freelance assistants who was seriously injured on the 4th of July. You can read about Kevin and his accident here, http://kevinyoungdonation.com
EA Sports trusted us again to create the cover image for Madden 12. This is the third year running we have shot the cover art. There was a big twist to the shoot this year than in the past. In prior years, the subject matter of the cover was top secret and not revealed until months after the shoot, just prior to the game hitting stores. However, this year EA held a voting contest on ESPN allowing, for the first time, the fans to choose the cover athlete. After 12.7 million votes, it came down to Michael Vick and Peyton Hillis as the final two. Since the winner would not be announced until the night prior to the shoot, we had to prep for both athletes, having their complete uniforms in hand. In the end, the Cleveland fans prevailed giving Hillis honors.
To further the fan involvement, unlike our prior shoots that were closed sets, EA chose to shoot the cover in a public venue the day prior to the NFL Draft in New York. Working closely with the NFL, Diversified Production Service and HG Producers, we had a small football field built on Military Island in Times Square where the shoot took place. Beginning at 11:30 PM, the night prior to the shoot, construction began for our 9:00 a.m. shoot, the following day.
Here is a time-lapse of the production, it’s not everyday your photo shoot is projected live on the Jumbo Tron in Times Square!
I will be teaching and speaking at The Sports Shooter Academy Lighting Luau on April 22nd. Joining me is Robert Beck, a super talented Sports Illustrated shooter and inspirational speaker. Please join us at the Crowne Plaza Orange County Airport Hotel from 7:30-10:00 for the evening lecture. Robert and I will each speak for about a hour and half. The daytime workshop is sold out, but there is still room for the evening. Tickets and info at http://www.samys.com/index/page/product/product_id/48579. A special thanks to Samy’s for supporting this event and to Robert Hanashiro for the invite.
I also will be participating in PechaKucha night, Volume 11, in San Diego on April 20th at the W Hotel. There will be 7 guest speakers, from a wide range of professions, for this unique event hosted by the San Diego Architectural Foundation. PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in 2003 as an event for young designers to meet and show their work. It has spread around the globe and is now thriving in San Diego. The name comes from the sound for “chit chat” and the presentation format is simple: each speaker shows 20 images for 20 seconds each. I will be presenting 20 images from my personal project, Behind Photographs. You can find out more here, http://www.pecha-kucha.org/night/san-diego/11. This evening is more of a social event with a lecture in the mix!
EA announced today that the cover of NCAA 12 will be determined by vote on Facebook. We were supposed to shoot all four players in Dallas just prior to Super Bowl, but that freak storm that hit the state kept a couple guys from making it out and caused us to pick up an additional day in LA the following week. All four players were great to work with and very enthusiastic about their shot at being on the cover.
In addition to portraits of each player, we shot action photos for the game box that will be revealed with the announcement of the winner. I hope to have a behind the scenes video of the shoot up soon.
LeRoy Grannis is known for taking some of the most iconic surfing images of the 1960s and 70s. I photographed “Granny” at a retirement home in Carlsbad with his picture of Dewey Weber at 22nd Street in Hermosa Beach. This was one of two 20×24 Polaroids we shot. The room had a very low ceiling, so I had to pop out one of the ceiling tiles so the dark slide could come all the way up. Thanks Granny for your inspiration and your images, we will miss you.
I was asked to shoot some new film for the Impossible Project last month for a show “Facing the Impossible”, currently up in New York at The Impossible Project Gallery. I tested out the PUSH film on the SX-70 and the PX600 on my Polaroid 680. Both films are very fun and bring some analog soul to the party. Here is a button they made with one of my images. You can get them at
Here are a few spreads from the new Easton Hockey catalog. I was hired to shoot the portraits, backgrounds and even do the post work. Another group of great guys to photograph.
Every year in January, I flip the page on my giant wall calendar, take a deep breath and think to myself…..365 days of unemployment!
A few months ago, I purchased a vintage copy of The American Journal of Photography off of Ebay. The issue, from 1896, cost 25 cents back then. As I flipped through the pages , I found some amazing ads for wet plate cameras, chemistry, brass lenses and an amazing quote from John B. Gough that, in my opinion, is as relevant today as it was then.
I was curious who John B Gough was so I looked him up. It appears he was an amazing orator that gave over 9,600 lectures to over nine million people at the time. Impressive considering that the bulk of his speeches involved his opinion on the ills of drinking. He was one of he first people to turn his fame into a living and was considered one of the first celebrities known. It appears that his celebrity status got the best of him and in his later years had a “well-reported episode of drinking and sexual debauchery”. Guess he went missing some time in 1845 and was found in a brothel. (info from teachushistory.org)
So, I think that sums it up on several fronts. Over 100 years later, while everything has changed in term of the way we capture images, communicate and catch up on the latest celebrity gossip, the basics of human nature and the main ingredients to success and failure are the same. We still remain human.
My take for a successful 2011 and life for that matter is to go out and make it happen on our own, dive into the deep end and stop waiting by the roadside……I guess a few cocktails along the way can’t hurt either!
Cheers to a great 2011 to all of you, thanks for reading.
My studio is next door to a motorcycle shop and this 1947 Moto Guzzi, Guzzino appeared one day. It belongs to Jessie, one of the mechanics, so I was able to get it in the studio for a few hours to shoot. They just don’t make them like this anymore.
Here is a peek at a few shots of Calc shot for Golf. Always rewarding to see a magazine that has great design and art direction to help make my photographs shine. Mark was great work with, love it when subjects and clients just let you do “your thing”.
(Photo Geeks: One Large Chimera box off to the side. Canon 28-70mm.)
One of my portraits was recently used on the cover of Journeys, a guide for the International Studies Abroad program at USD. I made this image while on assignment in Jamaica for USD a few years ago. The interesting thing is that this image was made on my one day off when I hired a driver to take me around to shoot personal work. We happened upon a school near Duncans where we got out and approached a teacher about shooting a few portraits. In addition to this image I did a portrait of the entire school on the front steps.
The image was lit with one large Chimera softbox illuminated by a single Canon Speedlight.
I first met Phil Borges a few years back when he sat for a portrait for me. I was very familiar with his work and had always found his images to have a quiet power and beauty. We caught up a couple of weeks ago while he was in town for a lecture and show opening at USD for his Stirring the Fire project. Stirring the Fire is a global movement to empower woman and girls through awareness and action. I found myself being very inspired by this project and having a clearer understanding that a photographer with a voice, vision and purpose can help to change the world. My hat is off to Phil for his passion and for using photography to force change. Please take a look at the project site www.stirringthefire.org and see how you can help.
For years I have heard how HUGE and amazing Photokina is and I have to say that it is true. 9 giant halls packed with anything and everything related to photography. A special thanks to Guido Karp for the honor of being included as a guest speak and to the presenters of Photokina for featuring a partial exhibit of Behind Photographs. I hope we can get all of the prints there for 2011.
Steve Thornton on stage in Hall 9
Tim Mantoani workshop and lecture at Photokina 2010
Herman Leonard with his photograph of Dexter Gordon at the Royal Roost 1948
The work of Herman Leonard has had a great impact on the world of photography. Herman had a unique perspective and a thirst for technical perfection. Although his work was recorded in still photographs, his images often gave you a sense of sound. He will be missed dearly. Please pay him a tribute by viewing his work http://www.hermanleonard.com/
On the bottom of his Polaroid portrait he wrote, “It was early 1948 at the Royal Roost in New York. An afternoon rehearsal gave me a unique opportunity to photograph many giants of jazz with my trusty 4×5 Speed Graphic. What a great career! To do what you love and be entertained at the same time!”
Here is a double page spread from GOLF this month. Steve is an amazing man that invented many golf items long before we heard of them. I love his 5 1/2 Iron, I want to get one for my bag!
Steve came up with a smaller set of clubs including 1/2 irons
