Fantastic article in the July/August 2010 issue of Digital Photo Pro magazine by William Sawalich with a behind the scenes look at my about my ‘Art & Soul’ project!

Photographing People with Sony Artisan of Imagery Brian Smith this Saturday, May 15th in Dallas, Texas. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith has been photographing with the famous and infamous faces of celebrities for magazines and advertising for the past 25 years.

Ritz University Special Event
WHERE: Embassy Suites – DFW Airport North
2401 Bass Pro Drive, Grapevine, TX 76051
(972-724-2600)

Space is limited Sign up early!
Cost: $25 Per Person, Per Session
Visit any the Ritz/Wolf Camera & Image to register
No phone registrations – You must register in person.

Session one: Saturday, May 15, 2010 (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
THE CELEBRITY PORTRAIT: 15 MINUTES WITH FAME
Smith will share his favorite celebrity portraits and the stories behind them and he will discuss the importance that lighting, styling, hair & make-up and location play in adding production value in producing better environmental portraits that can make your work stand out. Smith will show how photography can give everyone their 15 minutes of fame whether they are famous or infamous globally or just famous in your world.

Session Two: Saturday, May 15, 2010 (3:00 PM – 6:00 PM)
PORTRAITS ON LOCATION: CAPTURING PERSONALITY AND PLACE
Great environmental portraits capture both personality and place. Brian photographs noteworthy and notorious celebrities in the locations where they live, work and play. Smith will show how he photographs subjects on location so that the environment adds another dimension to the shoot citing examples of how he approaches shooting on location whether it’s a large production shoot of a famous subject or simply the someone he runs into on the street while traveling. The seminar will discuss location lighting and tips on selecting the best location to add visual interest to your photographs.

Whether you are a professional photographer or just want to shoot like one, join us for either of both of these informative seminars.

The Creative Coalition will host an exclusive one-night-only sneak preview of my portraits of performing artists from the entertainment industry with an exhibit of the ‘Art & Soul’ project in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress on April 29th. ‘Art & Soul’ is the cornerstone of The Creative Coalition’s arts advocacy campaign to focus national attention on the need to secure federal funding and support for the arts.

Entertainment for the evening’s star-studded event will be The Creative Coalition’s one-night show by the same name, ‘Art & Soul’.  The show, written and produced by multiple Emmy Award-winning producer Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide:  Life on Street) starring Co-Presidents of The Creative Coalition, Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives); directors Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing); actors Adrian Grenier (Entourage), Omar Epps (House); Marlon Wayans (White Chicks, Scary Movie), Ashley Greene (Twilight), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm); Steven Weber (Brothers & Sisters); Wendie Malick (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Just Shoot Me);  Richard Schiff (The West Wing), CCH Pounder (Avatar) and legendary news anchor Morley Safer (60 Minutes) among others to be announced.

The portraits of artists including Anne Hathaway, Samuel Jackson, Alyssa Milano, Zooey Deschanel, Tony Bennett and Kerry Washington are accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each individual, expressing the positive impact art has had on their lives which will appear in a book to be published by Filipacchi Publishing, the book division of HFM U.S. The exhibition is sponsored by Sony and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. and it will showcase 20 photographs from the project printed by Duggal Visual Solutions.

“We are proud to enlist the members of The Creative Coalition to bring arts to the top of the American agenda,” said The Creative Coalition Executive Director Robin Bronk. “Art & Soul is The Creative Coalition’s initiative that brings together today’s greatest artistic voices and storytellers to illuminate the importance – to every American — of support for the arts and efficacy of arts in education.”

PDN’s 30 2010: Our Choice of New and Emerging Photographers to Watch

Thursday, April 15
Seminar: 6:30 – 8pm
Reception: 8 – 9pm
SVA Theatre, 333 West 23 Street
Free and open to the public

I’ll be appearing in a panel moderated by Holly Hughes, editor of Photo District News, with photographers chosen for the 2010 PDN’s 30 will offer their perspectives on getting started in the photo industry, how they go their first jobs and paid for their first promotional efforts, as well as what they learned in school and what they wish they had been taught. Panelists include three photographers from PDN’s 30: Adrian Mueller, Elizabeth Weinberg and Wayne Lawrence plus Men’s Health deputy photo director Jeanne Graves and Sony Artisan of Imagery Brian Smith.

Presented by the BFA Photography Department at SVA, Sony, Kodak and the ASMP.

Back in LA to shoot ‘Art & Soul’ for The Creative Coalition during Oscar Week. Takes me back to where the project started a year ago. HUGE thanks to Kayla Lindquist, director of Sony’s Artisans of Imagery program, for dropping a little 3-day shoot in my lap and then helping every step along the way as it grew into something much, much bigger. In the last year, we’ve now shot 18,563 images of 153 celebrities and counting…

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3: Took our usual 8:35am flight to LAX. Love flyin’ Business class in the Triple Seven. Yeah! Just traded seats so I could sit with my wife. The guy I swapped with didn’t mind. He got to sit next to Anna Kournikova. Though my wife is is probably the only woman on the plane who is  hotter. Fired out a few more invites for our shoot. Terrill Owens is sitting a few rows behind us.. Oscar-bound T.O.? Mimosas before takeoff…Decide to watch The Blind Side first to get in a Oscar mood followed by Couples Retreat and The Invention of Lying...flight smooth…landing on time. Picked-up our car, circled back for Kayla Linquist landing from JFK. The we all head to the Andaz Hotel on Sunset to check-in and set-up our shoot. Then just enough time for dinner at El Cholo before Wednesday night’s event at our hotel was a party for The Cove so I got to see my college buddy director Louie Psihoyos making his third stop of a busy pre-Oscar evening. Very proud of you, Louie! Then we caught up with The Cove co-director Fisher Stevens and celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch from last year’s Art & Soul shoot. Between drinks, Robin Bronk corralled Evan Handler (Californication) and Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire) and dragged them down the the studio.

DAY 2 – THURSDAY, MARCH 4:

Our day started off with Joel Warren and Edward Tricomi of Warren-Tricomi Salons who have provided our 20 hair & make-up artists through out this shoot. Brian White, James Kyson Lee of Heros, Adrianna Costa Hollywood 411, Summer Altice, Bitchslap’s Erin Cummings,  Grey’s Anatomy McHeartthrob Jesse Williams, Gilles Marini, Melissa Manchester, Aaron Staton of Mad Men, an incredible shoot with the irrepressible Alan Cumming, followed by Iceland Actress Anita Briem.

Grabbed a quick bite at the Hotel the set up again to get ready to catch stars from that night’s party for “Precious” which thanks to great celebrity wrangling by Georgi Page and Dennis St. Rose brought us comedian Eddie Griffin, Jr., Oscar-nominated Costume Designer Sharen Davis, Obama-classmate Hill Harper (a former Iowan…who knew?),”Precious” director Lee Daniels, Elise Neal, 24‘s Best President Dennis Haysbert, we talked about my favorite photographer Irving Penn with J. “Miss J” Alexander sporting rings by Penn’s daughter, Oscar-winning songwriter Siedah Garrett, The Blind Side‘s larger than life Qunitin Aaron looking very dapper and Geoffrey Fletcher, Oscar winner for Best Screenplay for “Precious”

DAY 3 – FRIDAY, MARCH 5:

Feeling drained from the night before when we started the day with Jason “Wee-Man” Acuna of Jackass fame, Desperate Housewives’ Kathy Joosten, 90210‘s Greg Vaughn, Scott Krinsky Chuck, TCC founder Stephen Collins, then just enough time to sit on the couch for an interview with premiere.com‘s Red Carpet Roxi Manning, back to it with CCH Pounder, Charlayne Woodward, Portia Doubleday lovely in Youth in Revolt, then we staged a Wings‘ reunion of Steven Weber and Tim Daly, Nia Verdalos and Ian Gomez My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Camryn Manheim, Richard Kind of A Serious Man, Chazz Palminteri, Dash Mihok, dragged Dana Delany and Rachael Leigh Cook from previous shoots back in for more shots simply because they both looked sooo good, then on to Masi Oka of Heros, Bond villain extraordinaire Rick Yune, Kathy Najimy, Ty Burrell, Richard Schiff, Mekhi Phifer and Aaron Paul

CREDITS:
My Biggest thanks as always goes to my lovely wife, stylist Fazia Ali who makes sure everyone always looks great! Thanks once again to Sony Artisans of Imagery director Kayla Lindquist for finding and supporting this wonderful project and Sony’s Linda Barger and Paine PR’s Krys Grondorf for getting the word out and lining up so many interviews to talk up the project, The Creative Coalition executive director Robin Bronk along with TCC’s Barbara Horvath, Briana Mulherin and Dennis St. Rose, Al Silvestri and Georgi Page of Hachette Filipacchi Media and to David Manning and Gia of A-List Communications once again put together a great lounge.

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 Cameras
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8 Zoom
Sony Zeiss 85/1.4
Sony 100/2.8 Macro
Sony Zeiss 135/1.8
Profoto Pro 7 – 2400 Packs
Profoto Pro Heads

Back in The OC to speak at the 2010 PMA convention. Brings back a lot of memories of great times of my days as a staff photographer for the Orange County Register in the ’80s. Of course back in the day, Orange County was always said in italics…

DAY 1 – SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20: 6:55am flight through Dallas. John Wayne International Airport is much bigger and better than I remember. Blue Pixel’s Kevin Gilbert picks us up and we head straight to the Anaheim Convention Center. Hand off updates of the presentations to Jamie Horton for run through of my three talks that I’ll be doing at the Sony booth. Sony Senior Product Manager for Digital-SLR Cameras, Mark Weir gives me the first glimpse of the new Sony prototype lenses the CZ 24/2 and 500/4 G. Sony Alpha product manager Kristen Elder shows me the super-cool new super-compact APS-C concept camera. A smaller camera that I can take everywhere. Can’t wait to get my hands on one of them. El-Deane Naude shows off Sony’s new VX2000 camcorder with dual card slots and XLR inputs. Gotta get one of those too. Then run-though of the product launch I’m doing tomorrow at the press event to kick off PMA. I really dig the new and improved intelligent sweep panorama on the Cybershot TX5 and product manager Hiroyuki “Tommy” Tominaga tells me it actually stitches together up to a HUNDRED images to create a panorama image on the fly. Whoa! I’ll be on stage in between announcements by Brennan Mullin, Senior VP of Sony Electronics’ personal imaging and audio business and Masashi “Tiger” Imamura, Sony President of Personal Imaging. TALK ABOUT PRESSURE!!!  Director of the Sony’s Artisans program, Kayla Linquist is kind enough to lie to me and say I was funny. My wife Fazia is mortified. I think I’ll have to go with my wife’s call on this one…

DAY 2 – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21: Started out the day making the product launch announcement for the Cyber-shot LX5 Showing off it’s rugged good looks by breaking it out of a block of ice, sticking it in a dust chamber, dunking it in a tank of water and dropping it from five feet onto the stage. Why they thought of me to do that…well, I guess you can figure that out. Managed to nearly hit Sony’s CMO with a chunk of ice, yet I somehow didn’t have to hitchhike home from the show or use the ice pick on myself. Gave two talks on Location Portraits and the Art & Soul project in between fellow Sony Artisan’s Andy Katz, showing Images of India and Wine Country and Matthew Jordan Smith, showing his Polar Bear Fashion and Fashion Week in New York. American PHOTO’s Russell Hart stops by to introduce me to their new photo editor Chelsea Stickel and we talk about an upcoming project. Then did two lighting demos with models Yuki and Stephanie and then headed off to a Sony press dinner. Great dinner. Got to talk with a lot of people about the projects I’ve been doing over the last year.

DAY 3 – MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22: No press event today, whew! Gave three talks today and two model shoots. Yuki is really amazing (a great discovery by Matthew Jordan Smith) Cristina Mittermeier joins the fun, Saving the Planet One Pixel at a Time. My wife Fazia helps transform Yuki into and Indian bride for Cristina’s shoot. Kayla Linquist and I talk with Sony’s Linda Barger and Erin Georgrieff of Paine PR about ideas to promote the ‘Art & Soul’ project. Derrick Story, Tim Grimmer and Yvonne Petro of Lowepro show me their cool new line of bags. Andy Katz surprises us a lovely gift of a bottle of 2007 Katz Cabernet. Sony Artisans dinner at Napa Rose with Steve Sommers, Veronica Garcia, Mark Weir, Michael Kenny III, Kayla Linquist, and the rest of the crew from Sony.

DAY 4 – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23: Finally got a good night sleep, so I’m feeling great for the final day. The day flies as I give all three talks again and more lighting demos with Yuki as a super-hot version of “Minnie Mouse” and surfer Glen channeling ‘Jeff Spicoli’ even though he wasn’t born with ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ dropped. Gary Pageu from PMA stops by to check out my talks. Dinner at Roy’s.

DAY 5 – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24: Flying home today. On my way to LAX, I drive down Sunset from the 101 past the Andaz Hotel where I will be shooting ‘Art & Soul’ for The Creative Coalition next week at the Oscars. They already have a giant Moet Oscar Week ad covering the entire side of the hotel…I know what I’ll be drinking next week. Just enough time for a final lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Cholo with our friend James Russell before heading home on our flight to MIA…

PMA 2010 at Anaheim Convention Center

Sony President of Personal Imaging Masashi Imamura, kicks off PMA to a full house

The New Sony Zeiss 24/2.0

The New Sony 500/4.0 G

Super-compact Sony APS-C Concept Camera

Press photograph the new Sony Lenses

Press Photograph the New Sony Concept Camera

Lovely Model Yuki as Minnie

Heading back from Park City, Utah where we took The Creative Coalition’s ‘Art & Soul’ project to the Sundance Film Festival shooting more celebrity portraits for the arts advocacy project which is the cornerstone of a grassroots campaign to focus national attention on the need to ensure that arts in America thrive and flourish. ‘Art & Soul’ has been used to successfully lobby Congress and the White House for increased funding for the arts and arts education. Thanks to the participation of over 40 celebrities at Sundance we have now photographed 160 celebrities to date as part of one of the greatest projects that I’ve ever been involved with. It’s a great thing for those of us lucky enough to make a living from the arts to have an opportunity to show our support and give back. Here is our story…

DAY 1 – January 22:
We started off our Sundance shoots with Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt and Thomas Ian Nicholas from Please Give. Wonderful air guitar rifts from Thomas who brought his vintage Gibson Sunburst guitar to Sundance. Next the lovely Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza stopped in followed by director Kevin Asch of Holy Rollers, Ryan O’Nan The Dry Land, Jon Prescott from Howl and John Ortiz of Jack Goes Boating, spoke of Al Pacino’s generosity to him as a first film Carlito’s Way.

DAY 2 – January 23:
An amazing start with the lovely Vicky Cristina Barcelona herself Rebecca Hall in town to promote Please Give, Happythankyoumoreplease‘s Kate Mara, Tony Hale and Pablo Schreiber, Noureen DeWulf and Jon Prescott from Howl. The day’s highlight was a very pleasant surprise drop-in by Oscar-winner Adrian Brody – thanks to a big assist from John Ortiz who had such a good time with us the day before he sent his friend our way. I’ve always wanted to meet Adrian – not only because I’m a big fan of his work – but because very early in my career I took a workshop with his mother, renowned photographer Sylvia Plachy.

DAY 3 – January 24
Started with Michael Shannon of The Runaways then a a visit from our sponsor Silvercup Studios head Stuart Match Suna, followed by Emma Bell of Frozen, Justin Bartha of Holy Rollers, Ellen Hollman Skateland, Bellamy Young, model Emme, Nathaniel Parker A Perfect Host, 3 Backyards’ Danai Gurira and Kathryn Erbe – one of my favorite actresses for her work in Oz and Law & Order: Criminal Intent and finally High SchooI‘s Adhir Kalyan who was marvelous in Youth in Revolt and Nip/Tuck.

DAY 4 – January 25:
Our day began rapid fire with Sam Jackson, Jimmy Smits and Josh Radnor and ended with ended with Adrian Grenier. Along the way we ran into lovely Kerry Washington who lobbied Capitol Hill for increased funding for the Arts with me last May. Next was Rikki Lake, High School Musical’s KayCee Stroh, Haley Ramm, of Skateland. After that, we entertained director Joel Schumacher with stories about burlesque legends Tempest Storm and Satan’s Angel. Still laughing from a wonderful laugh-filled shoot of Laura Silverman. High School‘s Nadine Crocker showed up leather-clad and looking like the perfect addition to the cast of Sons of Anarchy. Chris Ashworth of The Wire who showed up with Russian bombshell Natalie Gal, Frozen director Adam Green and Drones Amber Benson, Adam Busch, Samm Levine and Tangi Miller. Before dinner at the The Creative Coalition’s Spotlight Initiative Awards we added Melissa Leo of Welcome to the Rileys, Treat Williams of Howl, Malin Akerman of Happythankyoumoreplease, snapped ‘Art & Soul’ participant Jason Ritter again, Christopher McDonald and Entourage’s own ‘Vinne Chase’ Adrian Grenier picking up his award for Teenage Paparazzo. Then chatted up Creative Coalition President and friend Tim Daly and had dinner with Twitter co-creator Dom Sagolla showing off the next BIG thing, the Square, and yes..I tweeted about it…

CREDITS:
As always, my BIGGEST THANKS goes to my lovely wife Fazia who makes sure everyone always looks great! Returning the thanks to The Creative Coalition executive director Robin Bronk for the kind words at The Creative Coalition’s Spotlight Initiative Awards and to Barbara Horvath, Briana Mulherin, Liviya Kraemer, Dennis St. Rose and Gabrielle Young of TCC and assistance from BYU student Bethany Davis. David Manning of A-List Communications and his staff for put together a great lounge at Sky Lodge. Special thanks to Stuart Match Suna, head of Silvercup Studios for their sponsorship of our shoot and to  Sony Artisans of Imagery director Kayla Lindquist for dropping this wonderful project on me and for finding a way to get me to Utah.

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 Cameras
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8 Zoom
Sony Zeiss 85/1.4
Sony 100/2.8 Macro
Sony Zeiss 135/1.8
Profoto Acute 2 – 2400 Packs
Profoto Acute 2 Heads

Generous support provided by:

If you’re attending the PhotoPlus Expo in New York, come see me at the Sony Booth

Thursday, October 22:
10:00 am  The Celebrity Portrait: 15 Minutes with Fame
1:45pm      Art & Soul: Celebrities Support the Arts
4:00pm     The Celebrity Portrait: 15 Minutes with Fame

Saturday, October 24:
1:15pm       The Celebrity Portrait: 15 Minutes with Fame
2:45pm      Art & Soul: Celebrities Support the Arts

If you’re going to be in New York for the PhotoPlus Expo, be sure to catch the Sony Artisans of Imagery Exhibit showcasing personal projects by the Sony Artisans of Imagery alongside a show of the Sony World Photography Awards Global Tour 2009/10 at the Aperture Gallery in New York from October 22 through October 30, 2009.

The show will include five of the latest photographs from my long-term project on Burlesque. I began photographing the Legends of Burlesque in 1992 when I photographed the “Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque” Dixie Evans. Over the years I returned to Exotic World, located just off Route 66 in the California desert, to photograph their annual reunions where Dixie was kind enough to introduce me to many of her friends, allowing me to capture this part of Americana. The images in the show are the most recent additions to the project were taken at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend in Las Vegas.

Come check out the work of my fellow Sony Artisans of Imagery: Matthew Jordan Smith, Andy Katz, Cristina Mittermeier, David McLain and Me Ra Koh. Big thanks to Kayla Lindquist, director of the Sony Artisan’s of Imagery, for putting this great show together for the one year anniversary of the program.

Show Sponsored by SONY and American PHOTO

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor
Between 10th and 11th Avenues
New York, New York

Hours: Monday–Saturday: 10:00 am–6:00 pm, Sunday: closed