Recently I had the opportunity to photograph Ed Mell a famous Southwestern artist. The image I wanted to create would be reminiscent of images you might have seen in a 1930's to 40's black and white movie. In these movies strong shadows added to the importance of the person and revealed a "bigger than life look" to the person.I met with the artist several weeks earlier to learn about him. I wanted to see how he behaved in relaxed conversation to get a feel for his personality. I needed this information so I could understand what his life was like, his aspirations and his struggles.
All of the small talk we did helped me frame the style and approach I would use to create the image. It also helped me understand the range of emotion I could obtain from him while I photographed him. The session went badly in the beginning when one of my strobes failed. However, because we had established a good relationship before the shoot he showed great patience. I think the end result shows how important understanding your subject and establishing a good rapport with him is to the final image.
Barry Wolf
Barry Wolf
Barry, you obviously have made great strides since I last looked at your portraits.
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Paul Lurie
Barry, you are my hero. So talented and bright.
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Ellen Hirsch
Being a longtime collector of Photographic Art, I can appreciate your desire and motivation to capture the emotion of your subjects. Your life experience,and multi disiplines in communicating ideas, brings a unique quality to your work for all to enjoy. Keep up the search for the perfect ligting. Sandy
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