Do you go into a situation with a different mindset depending on what company you are shooting for? If you are shooting for Time do you give yourself or more artistic freedom over shooting for a wire? 

In some ways yes, and in some ways no. A great picture is a great picture, no matter who the client is, and if I see an opportunity to get something special, I go for it. A wire service has certain requirements, however: the interest is in ensuring fairly comprehensive coverage of a situation. I shoot wide, medium, tight, making sure to get all the key personalities, while balancing the need to sum up the story in a single frame with opportunities to take pictures that will be useful later on for a wide variety of stories. All the wires also serve as large photo archives, and pictures from years ago of, say, a senator can be pulled for a story today that has nothing to do with the original assignment. When I’m working for TIME or for myself, I’m not as concerned with getting “the picture.” That’s what the wires are for. I’m free to step back and look harder at the edges of the room, and to shoot more metaphorically.

You weren’t formally educated in journalism or photography. How has your study of Art History affected the way you approach your assignments, if at all?

It can be really hard to understand your own style and see the influence of others in your own pictures. But, given that I didn’t study photography, I think art history was a pretty decent, and maybe in some ways superior, way to refine a sense of composition, light, and gesture. Studying Greek and Roman sculpture was really helpful in understanding body language and recognizing graceful, expressive movements and expressions. Picasso also had an amazing ability to capture the essence of a figure. Rembrandt and Vermeer were masters of light, and any photo that resembles their work is still like crack to me. At the same time, I wish I had some earlier guidance in using pictures for storytelling.

Can you discuss how you transitioned yourself from working 9-5 at an NGO to becoming a freelance photographer? 

For four years after I got out of college, I worked in energy policy at a mid-size NGO in DC. Ultimately, I decided that my daily life there didn’t match up with my interests or talents. I didn’t like the dogmatic approach to complex policy questions, I didn’t like being limited to one issue, and I didn’t like sitting behind a desk. Photography was a hobby, but photojournalism and documentary photography seemed so much better matched to what I wanted out of life. I could explore social and political issues I cared about while being free to embrace and highlight the complexity of a story, with no pressure to pick sides.

Several bits of luck allowed me to make the switch. One was that my former boss at the NGO left to start her own organization, and I came aboard as a part-time graphic designer paid by the hour. That left me with the flexibility to shoot when I needed to take an assignment, but I still had a modest base of income to rely on. That lasted for a little over two years, until I had enough assignment work to sustain myself. The other bit of luck was connecting with WpN, a photo agency from back in the day that got me started shooting on Capitol Hill. By covering events up there regularly for them, I got to know everyone else working there, which is what eventually led to my work for Getty, the New York Times, and other clients.

Kind of a broad question but; what do you think makes a good photograph?

Oh man, that might be near impossible to answer. Plus, my understanding of a good picture probably evolves and changes every day. I think the simplest answer is a good picture is one that clearly communicates the photographer’s intention in taking the picture.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?

Arrive early and stay late. My personal matra when I was just starting out was don’t be an idiot and don’t be a whiny little bitch. In real life that meant don’t show up late for an assignment (or flake entirely), don’t complain about your assignment (especially to the editor that gave it to you), and don’t make excuses.

Have you made any memorable blunders?

I’ve been pretty careful so I don’t think there’s anything too bad. My first time at Perpignan I was introduced to an editor very quickly and told I should show him my portfolio. I had never heard of the magazine he was from, and tried to ask what type of photograhy they used. He was pretty offended that I was trying to show him my work and didn’t even know the magazine. I don’t totally consider that my fault because I was sort of shoved into the situation, but it was a lesson nonetheless.

One of the hardest moments is when you’re first starting out, you’re totally broke, and you get the call for a rare assignment that either pays well or sounds interesting, and you’re already booked for something that pays less and is less fun. Actually, it never gets easier, but going back to my mantra of don’t be an idiot: that’s life. Don’t bail on an assignment you’ve already accepted. Also, be very careful about accepting overlapping assignments if you really can’t put 100% into each one. It’s not worth the stress. Yes, each of those things happened to me when I was first starting out, and I’ve learned my lesson.

Which artists, past or present, do you most admire?

I was a big Warhol fan in high school. That’s cliché, but I read the Andy Warhol diaries (all 800 pages) and my big takeaway from that was how he lived his entire life through the filter of art – he thought about every experience in the context of how he might use it in a painting or a film, and lived his life as performance art to a large degree. I don’t think I’m there yet, but in an ideal world there’d be no gap between my life and my work. I’d put Picasso on the list simply because of his incredible output over so many decades, and his willingness to reinvent himself and keep growing. Henri Cartier-Bresson more or less invented documentary photography as we know it. It’s hard to wrap your head around that idea, because we’re so steeped in it these days, but it’s a concept and a style that he created without all the references and touchstones we have today. That’s huge.

I had the good fortune of experiencing a slice of life at Caddo Lake in February. It’s a still and quiet place during the winter months, with a life explosion lurking in the coming spring. The Spanish moss covered cypress trees stand like tall grey ghostly giants dripping in paint. Toby, pictured above, is a man of Caddo. Cautiously working one’s way through the maze of muted swamp forest, a sense of generations that came before Toby can be felt in it’s shallow mystical depths, checking their trotlines and beaver traps, communing with the boundless life that thrives there.

With the addition of Riley Spencer, dedicated intern and American University senior, to our team this spring, we’ve decided to begin a new series on our blog. It’s called (as you can see) Questions from the Intern. The idea is to give him pretty free rein to explore topics of his choosing and ask the questions that we might not think to ask ourselves. This week he grills Max Whittaker on campaign coverage generally and specifically his recent work for The New York Times in Nevada. It would be great to make this into a conversation. Add your own questions in the comments and Max will do his best to answer.

You have been following these candidates for a while now, first Iowa and now Nevada. How are they as subjects, are they always aware of your camera or are there moments when you can catch them off guard?

The candidates are very aware of your presence. Whether it’s just myself at a small summer campaign event in Iowa or a whole pack of media and hundreds of supporters like some of the events last week in Nevada, they’re painfully aware that they’re on camera. That said, there are always honest moments you can capture….they’re just few and far between. You have to be vigilant and thinking.

What is the relationship between the photographer and candidate like?

Somewhat uneasy, on both sides. Beyond maybe a passing few words or a handshake, I don’t have much of a direct relationship with the candidate. Their staff is a different matter. You spend a lot of time with the staffers, often in a friendly, ongoing stage of negotiation. They definitely want to steer you towards the image of the candidate that they want the public to see, while you’re looking for something that gives a peek into the reality of the candidate/campaign. I truly believe that honest, insightful moments are what the viewer wants to see, and are definitely not always negative. The staffers typically want to play it safe, and push you towards the staged, artificial image.

Did the atmosphere – the people and energy – differ at all between the two states?

Yes and no. Iowa has a long history of presidential campaigns, and even the general public can be very savvy about the process. Nevada’s population is a bit more raw, genuine about it. However, the biggest difference is the time of year. I covered Iowa over the summer when things were small and low-key. Now the GOP campaign is in full-cry, a lot more is at stake, and shit’s a lot more managed.

My favorite images of yours are the ones of what goes on behind the scenes with the volunteers and supporters. Can you talk about what that experience was like? Were the volunteers welcoming?

I try to focus as much as possible on the scene itself, rather than the candidate. There’s an incredible amount of attention focused on the candidate themselves, and that’s also the most closely controlled access. The supporters are what give a candidate influence, and can often tell a more real and nuanced story about the campaign. The volunteers and supporters are always incredibly welcoming and nice. How many people do you know show up at campaign events? These are the true believers.

How do you go about telling your story with the camera? When you shoot a political event is there something specific you try to seek out and capture before hand or is it more organic?

I rarely have something specific in mind beforehand. Rather than tell a specific story, I’m really striving to communicate a vibe or mood. What does a campaign event feel like? I think still photographs excel at capturing that.

In general what are these events like for you as a photographer, compared to lets say your experiences in Afghanistan. Is there a certain approach or mentality that stays consistent throughout all of your work?

As a photographer, these events are frustratingly stage-managed, but I love the challenge of trying to work around that. I much prefer to work in a situation that is more free-flowing and natural, like even an embed in Afghanistan, but politics and the process of choosing our elected officials is too important to be ignored in favor of the more low-hanging fruit.

What kind of gear do you bring when shooting these events?

Generally two bodies and two or three lenses. I usually use a 35mm, a 24-70, and sometimes toss in a 70-200 if I’m on a specific assignment.

Do you personally choose which candidate you follow? If so how did you make your decision?

When I’m on my own, without an assignment, yes. When I’m on assignment, like in Nevada for The New York Times, no, not so much. I do my own research, and can influence decisions made, but ultimately it’s the editor’s decision. When I am on my own, I generally go with whatever I think is most interesting.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?

Probably not the best advice, but germane to campaign coverage: Get there early and stay late. The best pictures are always on the margins.

How did you get your first break in the business?

When I could barely call myself a photographer in the most basic of senses, Rollin Banderob hired me to be a fill-in staff photographer for over a month at the Record-Searchlight newspaper in Redding, California. I didn’t have a portfolio, resume, and had never used a flash, but Rollin took a chance on me anyway. Without him, I doubt I’d be where I am today.

Which photographers, past or present, do you most admire?

Luc Delahaye, Robert Frank, Paolo Pellegrin, William Allard, and Jonas Bendiksen.

You can see a larger edit of Max’s work from the Nevada caucus in our archive.

I thought it might be fun to post some work in progress, an experiment that may never become a full-fledged essay but with which I’d like to continue playing. Finding different ways to photograph presidential candidates – especially in a way that still says something meaningful – is profoundly difficult. With so many photographers in one place, and access so controlled, to justify spending one’s time by producing insightful work that says something unique is a constant challenge.

Behind-the-scenes coverage is one standard way to do this. Negotiate, either through the brand name of your assigning publication or sheer charm, access to a candidate when they are out of the public eye and, in theory, acting more like themselves. But how sure can you be that the off-stage candidate isn’t still putting on a show for you?

In my coverage of the presidential race this cycle, I’ve been perhaps more interested in the opposite of behind-the-scenes pictures, instead probing how candidates present themselves to the public on the theory that we can learn as much, if not more, about a candidate by thinking critically about their very carefully crafted public persona as opposed to a private performance off stage. Since the public image is created more for digestion by the media than for the crowd in the room, the media is an inseparable piece of the broader story. It’s a cat and mouse game, with each side attempting to play the other to their own advantage, and the poor voter stuck in the middle. How to communicate that visually is something I’m still challenged by, and one of the reasons I find the election such a compelling topic to cover.

As Max noted before me, the Occupy movement made for a compelling story that, with a twinge of regret, I never really had the time or drive to document comprehensively. So I was actually rather glad when I got a call from Getty the other day to head down to Occupy DC to photograph what had all the makings of the movement’s very last day. The U.S. Park Police had set a deadline for high noon to convert their encampment into a 24 hour vigil. The lines are a bit blurry, but enclosed tents, sleeping materials, and the like would now be forbidden. Open tents, however, were still permitted, and with the deadline approaching there was little activity to suggest the situation in the park would change substantially. Technically, the only thing that had to be different was that nobody would be able to sleep there anymore. After some rowdy mayhem in Oakland a few days earlier, a confrontation seemed possible but not likely.

On a pleasant late January day in Washington, with the sun out and temperatures in the 50s, the atmosphere was, for most of the day, surprisingly mellow and enjoyable. Someone played tunes on a portable sound system. Taunting the police gave way to meditation and relaxation, and the creation of the “Tent of Dreams” – which was a large tarp draped over top of the equine statue in the middle of the park – created a space where, in fact, another world actually existed. By the late afternoon, things had been quiet for hours and it was clear the Park Police weren’t going to move in and clear the space, at least during rush hour. I left and came back shortly after 8pm for another shift, but with the light gone, temperatures down, and everyone on edge for the day of reckoning, the festive feeling that characterized the day was well and truly gone.

My one regret this fall is that a hectic schedule left me with only minimal time to nibble around the edges of the Occupy movement. Fortunately, I was able to squeeze in a few days at some of the nation’s campus flashpoints: Occupy Cal and Occupy UC Davis, thanks to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Getty, and Reuters.

Supported by The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Dominic Bracco II photography, video, editing
Susana Seijas producer
Jorge Lagunas production assistant, sound

I always welcome shifts in perspective and last week, on Thanksgiving morning, I was jolted into a story of a young woman’s abuse at the hands of her father, a judge in south Texas. Just as I was strolling out my door for a day of thanks with family and friends, The Times of London called for an urgent portrait assignment of Hillary Adams in San Antonio.  Hillary is a beautiful, smart and vibrant 23-yr young woman who recently uploaded a video of her father brutally lashing her with a belt when she was sixteen.  The video has caused an outpouring of support and rage from around the world, and I would say her family’s dynamic will never be the same.

The video is gut-wrenching.  I sat quietly stunned after watching it, shifting from a mind-set of celebration to one of compassion and welling anger.

I would only get a short time with Hillary and to help I called Brendan to talk through some concepts and get my head in the game.  I wanted to shoot a portrait in her bedroom, perhaps with subdued strobe lights, to illustrate she now has a safe place and sanctuary, a contrast to her childhood bedroom where the beatings took place.  However when I got to Hillary’s apartment, she declined the idea for a variety of perfectly understandable reasons.  Instead I took advantage of the ambient light around her apartment building, keeping it simple and covering the shot list sent by the photo editor.  Just before Hillary headed off to work, she agreed to be photographed in her bedroom.  The light, room configuration, and rush in time presented a challenge but I felt that environment is important.

Her story has sparked emotional debates over corporal punishment, family privacy, abuse, and qualifications for judges.  I wish all the best  and healing for Hillary and her family.

This past Sunday was a day many people had waited a long time to see. Efforts have been underway since 1983 to install a monument on the National Mall in Washington, DC, to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights icon. Though the memorial itself officially opened to the public nearly two months ago, the official dedication was postponed due to Hurricane Irene’s descent on the East Coast. 

The event was exceptionally meaningful to African Americans in particular, who seemed to express a mix of excitement and understandable pride at King being recognized as an equal among the monuments to America’s founding fathers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. The progress made over the past 50 years was emphasized most clearly by the happy coincidence of the country’s first black president being on hand to dedicate the memorial, which chants of “four more years” echoing through the crowd as Obama’s speech played on giant screens.

Tens of thousands of people were on hand, many since before dawn or even the night before, to hear speeches, music, and simply celebrate their collective achievement. These are a few of the images I made, with a wider selection available in our archive.

It’s hard to put into words the amount of respect I have for the subject of an assignment I had a few months back, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Kapacziewski – equaled only, perhaps, by the respect I have for his wife Kimberly. Kapacziewski lost his lower leg in Iraq in 2005, but with years of grueling rehabilitation he was able to not only gain back the strength to resume normal activities, but to return to direct combat as a US Army Ranger in Afghanistan. He is the only amputee to do so. With a wife and two children, it takes a serious level of commitment to make that choice, one I’m not sure I can even fathom. Kimberly probably deserves a medal as well for letting him go, and raising their children mostly alone.

The assignment itself was pretty simple: follow Kapacziewski and his family around DC while they had a free morning, and then accompany him to Walter Reed in the afternoon to pick up one of his prosthetic legs from the repair shop, where a worn-out tread had been replaced. I took the metro to their hotel, where the Kapacziewskis, who live in Georgia, had no idea what they wanted to spend the day doing. For all the time they spent in DC at Walter Reed, they hadn’t really learned the city, for obvious reasons. We settled on the Museum of Natural History, where their two sons could see dinosaurs. It worked, and kept the kids occupied long enough to get some shots of quality family time. After stopping off for some lunch, Kimberly drove us up to Walter Reed, where Kapacziewski picked up his leg and got in a quick workout before we parted ways.

It’s worth pointing out that Kapacziewski was clearly not interested in the spotlight, but like a good soldier he did what needed to be done for this assignment without complaining.

You can read the article in USA Today here, and see a gallery of photos here.