Journalist/Writer Christopher Hitchens for Good Weekend

The gift Christopher Hitchens gave me when he answered the door at his apartment wasn't a stiff drink (though that was repeatedly offered), but something photographers dream of getting with their subjects-- complete honesty and an utter lack of care about how he looked. The only caveat was his sensitivity to light, so I did my best not to blast him with any direct light.

And no, I didn't end up drinking with Mr. Hitchens. Against my better judgment, I refused all drink offers, though in retrospect downing a few drinks might have given me even more time with him. Here's a few more that I liked from the shoot.

Having never had any formal photography training, I used to spend hours poring over the photography magazines, trying to extract every last piece of information from them, in search of some elusive "secret" to becoming a successful photographer. One of the magazines that I always spent time with was American Photo and I was really pleased to be contacted by them about running some of my work from the Detroit schools.

Over the course of a few weeks, writer Eric Rudolph and I spoke a half dozen times about what brought me to Detroit and the experience of being in these schools for the single day I spent shooting this. I owe him a big thanks for making the excerpts of these conversations sound coherent and was happy about seeing my name on the cover next to one of my photographic heroes.


click to enlarge


click to enlarge

Any shoot that starts with procuring a 14 lb. wild salmon is clearly heading in the right direction. Dr. Hibbeln is a researcher at NIH, specifically focused on the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids which can be found in abundance in wild salmon. I started taking fish oil capsules each day with my wife when she was expecting and had a great conversation with Dr. Hibbeln about his research. There's evidence that daily consumption can reduce risks of everything from cardiovascular disease to cancer, and even contribute to better mental health.

Dr. Hibbeln was a great sport for the entire shoot, and I sent him home with the salmon for dinner.

Thanks to my friend Jay for setting up this time lapse for the shoot. As you can see, our initial setup with the salmon was just too low, so we propped the table (a bit precariously) on a garbage can to bring it up to waist level and help the shot come together a bit more. Many thanks to Mike Balzano at EatingWell for this assignment.

A few weeks ago, I spent the day in and around a small concrete building in Landover, Maryland where UPS drivers are trained in the requirements of the job and the smallest details of being a good driver. I learned the right way to hold a package, to exit a truck and even the timing of the double-honk they use to announce their arrival at a delivery site.

Many of the tests the trainees must take are sudden death, meaning if they don't pass, they're sent back to the hotel to pack their things and go home. This created some great drama and tension and fortunately all of the drivers I photographed passed and are on their way to full-time employment by UPS.

Here are a few more I liked from the day.

With the sad news of layoffs at BusinessWeek, I thought I'd post the most recent few of my tearsheets for them and also wish a hearty thanks and good luck to the wonderful editors I've worked with.

A special thank you to Sarah Morse, Lori Perbeck, Mindy Katzman, Scott Mlyn, Kathy Moore and Andrew Popper, who have seen me through 60+ assignments in the last year and a half. I know for a fact that my professional development as a photographer has been hastened along in the last 18 months due in no small part to the faith these editors had in me and the wonderful, and challenging shoots they've entrusted me with. Their incredible talents will no doubt be missed, but I'm hopeful there will continue to be jobs out there in this strange media landscape for talented editors with strong visions like the ones I've been lucky to work for.


Congressman Darrell Issa for BusinessWeek

I photographed Congressman Darrel Issa and T. Rowe Price Director James Kennedy almost 3 months apart, but the photos came out within a couple weeks of each other. Congressman Issa does not have the typical political backstory, and in fact was admittedly a car thief who was arrested several times along with his brother in stolen vehicles, but never charged with a crime. Issa went on to run the largest car alarm company in the country.


T. Rowe Price's James Kennedy for BusinessWeek


T. Rowe Price's James Kennedy for BusinessWeek

Mr. Kennedy helped T. Rowe Price weather the financial crisis, foreseeing the coming problems with mortgage-backed securities. While I didn't leave with any hot stock tips, I was taken with his generosity in making sure I didn't feel rushed and letting me use locations spread out all over the entire building where the company was headquartered.