Dispatch From London

Field Testing Tilt/Shift

I’m writing this post from London, where I’ve come for a few days to photograph watches. The last time I was here, in 2000, it was also for work, but I was shooting film, had a different agent, never heard of a digi-tech, and my now bearded, bartender son was then only 4 years old. It’s been a minute.

What stands out most vividly, is the contrast between what work was like then and what it’s like now. Perhaps the biggest change here, is the amount of personal involvement and resourcefulness required to put a job together. I’d been relatively hands-off in the past, letting my agent, studio manager and assistants handle production. Basically, my brief was: show up, shoot, and go home. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I now find myself much more involved in all aspects of my career.

I’ve been mindful, on this trip in particular, of putting my ‘Lessons Learned’ and other Tilt/Shift advice to the test. Happily, there are no egregious errors to report. So far.

One thing I’ve mentioned in passing (see Note 1), but will emphasize here - it takes stamina to do this. After flying in, shooting that afternoon, switching hotels the next morning, setting up a studio in my new suite, shooting all day, switching hotels once more… I’m wiped!

There may be a few reasons for my particular brand of fatigue. On top of being 26 years older than I was back in 2000, and that martini I had at Duke’s, there used to be a clearer path from point A to point B in commercial photography. Now, more than ever, we need the energy to develop and maintain an internal road map, a set of guiding principles to prevent us from chasing our tails around while trying to navigate an ever changing industry.

Come to think of it, London is a great example of exactly the kind of tenacity and endurance we photographers need in order to succeed. Despite the invading hoards, ruthless bombings and beheadings, London is still up and running. Turns out my hotel has been around since 1789 and yesterday, I had lunch in a restaurant that started serving in 1742 - that’s a pretty good run.

Finally, there’s nothing like a visit to the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery to remind you of why any type of career in picture making is worth the effort. For me, just having a pinky toe in those waters, is enough to make me want to come back… again and again.