These will answer any particular questions you might have, if not ask away.

What is this Tumblr for?

This is my personal Tumblr. I have two others. In Cold Hell In Thicket, and Ninesixtynine (company). This one has been a depository of a sort for things I reference and feeling I have. Some of my work as a photographer is here, and more will be here as I start to transform it into a page where I start to explore my own direction. 

When did you start this Tumblr?

2008. I am not sure if this is when Tumblr became a site, but I was very early on. It seems to my mind to be the only way I can possibly blog. I have two other blogs, but I don’t update them and they are just idle space in hyperspace.

It says you are a poet, photographer, art director and artist. Well, which is it?

I have been a few things over the span of a creative life. I didn’t throw musician in there because I gave that up soon after high school. I went to The Kerouac School where I studied with a few folks that are in the “outrider” or “Beat” tradition of American writing. I don’t feel as close to that tradition as you might think. I was always interested in experimental approaches, and feel more of an affinity to the European Surrealists and Situationists. The so-called LANGUAGE school also interests me. So, I am a trained (anthologized) poet.

To make a living, I had to do other things. One of which was be an art director and a graphic designer for a number of years. I got involved early on with the whole internet dot-com explosion at a time when artists were being pulled in to do production and it was all experimental and we were able to make a living off of  the venture capitalists that were trying to grab hold of whatever was the next-big-thing. That lasted for a few years, and introduced me to a number of other artists via a community of designers, photographers, and other content providers and builders. Not being trained as a visual artist, I needed this “education”. I started to realize that these people were the new-Beats, in a sense, and that writing the Great-American-Novel was replaced by being a purveyor of visual-information on the world-wide-web.

It wasn’t until after my very nasty divorce that I became a photographer. I had had cameras for years, and started to realize that most every new device I owned or ran across had a camera. The camera and computer replaced my pen. I haven’t looked back. I feel my photography is also my art.

I am primarily a fashion photographer - which to me is a paid artist that takes much more than their own individual vision to enact their art - it takes a small army. I believe in that community. As well, I have returned to print from years of creating images on the web, not that I believe one medium is better than the other - it’s just print seems to hold a particular caliber that nothing else like it does!

You reference other places you have lived, where have you lived?

I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky USA. Have lived in New Orleans, Denver/Boulder, New York City, Chicago, and Prague, Czech Republic. I have traveled Europe and the Americas and expect there will be more of that, eventually.

Your work sometimes has a very cinematic style, why is that?

I have always loved films and think of them when shooting. I worked for a film company in Prague. I guess that might be it. I think in motion.

What equipment do you use to get your look?

I don’t believe this is important, you have to learn to work with what you can afford or have on hand. I will say that I primarily shoot with Canon digital SLRs and lenses and Pentax 645 medium format film, but I have used Hassys, Leica film cameras, Nikon, Polaroid and Kodak instimatics, my droid or iPhone, various point-and-shoots. Whatever.

My work is 99% digital. But I believe a photographer can use anything and get the work they want. I feel like you get what you can afford and work from there. It is your eyes, your intention, and your (for lack of a better word) unique voice that is most important.

Do you use lights?

Yes. However I believe that a photographer should be able to shoot and command any lighting situation. Photography literally means “writing with light.”

Is editing, processing your work important to you? Don’t you think it makes it less of a photograph?

Some of my clients and agencies want work directly out of the camera, unedited. So for that reason I try to work with the light and subject to get an image right the first time. Often, an editor or modeling agency will re-edit my work for their needs and look. This doesn’t really bother me now, but it used to.

As for my own process, it is constantly evolving and is at least 50% the finished photo. I don’t destroy the original image or blow-out the subject. I work with the tones, hues, color and contrast mostly to enhance a photograph instead of destroy it’s original essence. At least I think that is what I am doing. I might tell you different as I further develop. Nothing is set in stone.

How did you start out?

I just did it. People gave me the opportunities along the way. Many I had to seek out. I saw where I thought I fit and went with it. I have worked for modeling agencies and advertising agencies both as a photographer and art director. I was also a publicist for a good many years, a poet and continue to write. I am currently the creative director of Black & Grey magazine. You should check it out.

How often do you shoot?

I try to shoot 3-5 times per week. On an average 100-150 days a year.

Do you need someone to carry your bags, lights, etc?

I often have need of production assisstants, and do offer a sort of follow-me-if-you-dare session. Send me a message on Facebook if you are close by.

Are you available to shoot me?

I am primarily a fashion and editorial photographer and have a schedule that is pretty booked. Send me a message on Facebook or via email. We can assess what we can do for one another. I have rates. I don’t do trade unless it is a special situation. I do often need models for editorial work and we can arrange a test. I also work on commission. Just hit me up.

How do tests work?

If you are an agency model your agency will send you to me and we go from there. If you are indie, and work alone, you contact me here or on Facebook and we arrange a shoot. There will be a fee or we will know what we are doing the test for. Either way you get photos from the shoot, and I get photos from the shoot and we both get what we want. I have also been successful in helping place models and getting them off the ground, this is a concerted effort and you have to have what they want. Enthusiasm is a good deal of the push. Be enthusiastic.

A little about tests. Tests are usually so we can get to know each other’s working style so I can place you in editorial or commercial work that I have. If I test with you, there is a 80% chance I will call you back at some point. Most people I test with are worth it.

Do you pay models?

A client pays models, your agency pays you if you are represented. If I am payed to hire a model I will pay you out of that. Test shoots are never paid.

Who is Alaska?

Alaska is the pseudonym of a model I worked with primarily from 2008-early 2011. We created a substantial body of work that can be seen invariably across the web. This working and literal relationship changed me in a real sense. My statistics went from around 1,200 views per day to 57,000 in one day. I am not saying this is incredibly abnormal, but it did define a few directions for me.

Do you have a favorite model you have worked with? A muse?

Not really. I used to. Well… maybe ;)

I have very close working relationships and friendships with many of the models I work with, as well as the team that I work with. I feel this is important. Trust is important. The hurdles that I have had to get past were finding the right team, then the right talent (which is ongoing) and then the right clients and representation in the market. There are a lot of politics and business practices that are important to learn along the way. I read once that “art is a popularity contest” and although I don’t exactly buy that particular statement it does seem to hold true when it comes to getting jobs.

I will say that when a model shows potential I will do everything I can to make sure they get where they want to be.

How quickly can you put together a fully staffed shoot from scratch?

In most cases, less than a day. The least amount of time was literally 20 minutes. I prefer at least 24 hours notice however, and to be paid upfront.

How did you get to be so badass?

Ha! You make me that way!