RobertBenson.com

“One job leads to another” that’s what I tell myself or others when they might be questioning why they are shooting something they may not want to be shooting. Even with great assignments sometimes I find that one job leads to another.

This rule seemed to be the case too for photographer Mat Szwajkos, who recently shot for InStyle magazine at the Toronto Film Festival. There, he shot black and white “photo booth” style images of celebrities. He said previous work he did – close up portraits of celebs made with a wide angle lens inches from their face – got him the gig: “I got this assignment because the up close project showed that I can gain trust quickly and get the shot in only a couple frames.” Read more from Mat below.

Photos by Mat Szwajokos

I saw your rich, luscious portraits in the November issue of InStyle Magazine. A three page spread, but I had to look really hard for the byline. The headline read: “Every year, Oscar buzz begins up north, where the biggest stars premiere the biggest movies at the Toronto Film Festival. InStyle teamed up with Matt Damon’s charity, One X One, to set up a photo studio. Our favorite actors came by as a favor to Damon-and we, in turn, asked them: What’s the last favor you requested of a friend?” That’s all good, but I feel like this entire creation really comes down to the image you made – do you think your byline should have been worked into the sub-headline here?
I agree, my images make the story come together but ultimately this is about the charity and not me.

Were these images made somewhere near the red carpet entrance, or inside the venue?
My studio was set up in the InStyle lounge at the Windsor Arms Hotel right in the heart of the festival.

What kinds of permissions were necessary to obtain to set up this kind of photo booth. I know organizers of celeb events like the Toronto Film Festival may like to limit media areas/events….
In general you have to have a great team in place to bring in the A-list talent. Everything has to go through the movie house publicists and then each celebrity’s personal publicist before they can walk in the door and be photographed. They are all there for the promotional junkets, from press conferences to portrait sessions, premiers to parties, everything is a choreographed dance of public relations. All of the sessions were prearranged and scheduled to fit the talents’ daily press tours. I have to give credit to Karen and Bronwyn at InStyle for allowing me to remain focused on shooting while they handled the schedule.

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Shot a guy today who get’s in his Ghostbusters-looking car and drives around San Diego looking for stranded motorists, who he helps. He’s been doing it for 30 years and doesn’t accept payment. He said he’s helped more than 6,000 people. He had quite a few stories to tell. I did a three hour ride along and he helped a person with a flat. Has two shotguns in the back, just in case, along with gas, air compressors, jacks, spare tires, flares, firefighting gear, lights and a bunch of other stuff. The crappy video was shot with a phone. His name is Thomas Weller. Great guy.

This is the coolest website you will see this year. Very European. Think Saturday Night Live Sprockets except weirder:

Here’s a blog detailing a Jeff Lypsky photoshoot in Kyoto,  Japan. Interesting behind the scenes stuff. Click on photo to link to it:

I’m a bookstore junkie. I like to look through magazines and see what other photographers are doing. Plus, now I’m one of those blackberry people I hoped never to become. So I thought I’d share spreads I think look good, all shot with camera phone.

I’m a fan of Gregg Segal’s work. Here he is behind the scenes shooting for ESPN the Magazine:

Photographer Jeffrey Milstein is best known for his airplane photography. He shoots planes, portraits of them, in an artistic way and makes some stunning art.  For most of his photographs, he shoots straight up, as the planes fly directly overhead. As a result they almost look toylike. What he does with the layout and post processing work makes the images even more special.  Read on!

Photo by Jeffrey Milstein

Your photos are very recognizable. How did you get this idea of photographing planes in this unique way?

When I was a kid I loved planes and dreamed of flying. My favorite Sunday event was to go to LAX and hang around at the end of the runway so the planes would come right overhead while landing.

Do you live near a major airport?

No

When you were younger did your dad bring you to the local airport, by the fence, to watch planes land and take off?

Yes. When I was 10 years old I rode my bicycle 10 miles from my house to LA airport. In those days there was minimal security. A mechanic let me sit in the cockpit of a United DC-6. When I graduated junior high school in Los Angeles in the 1950’s my dad gave me a Keystone 8mm movie camera for a present. My first movies were made of planes landing at the end of the runway at Santa Monica airport.

Where do you shoot most of these planes?

LAX

All your aircraft photographs seem to have been taken when the aircraft was directly overhead. Do you wait until they are directly above you?

Yes

Photo by Jeffrey Milstein

Why the square format (I like it by the way)?

I started the series with a 16meg Kodak square digital back. I liked keeping a regular format and the square worked so I just continued it even after the backs became rectangular.

Do you try to shoot at certain times of the day?

I do most of the shooting morning through afternoon, but if I am after a particular plane I have been known to get up quite early.

Do viewers of your photos often think they are toy planes?

Sometimes. They often stare for a while trying to figure out how I do it.

Do kids, boys maybe, seem to enjoy your photos more than adults?

No. And women seem to enjoy them as much if not more than men.

Wheels seem to be down on the planes in most of your pictures - are these shot with a long lens a few miles from an airport, or maybe shortly after takeoff?

Yes. I take them while they are landing.

Photo by Jeffrey Milstein

Have you ever been asked what you were doing by authorities?

All the time.

Do the white backgrounds on your images come from post in Photoshop?

Yes

How long have you been doing this type of photography?

As a typology with the backgrounds removed, about 9 years.

Is there any type of aircraft you like to photograph, or are you just trying to document all the types of aircraft you can?

I started with the airliners, but now I am doing helicopters, military, antique, blimps, and other things are in the works.

There’s a certain point when photos transcend the photography medium and are called “art”. Do you consider yourself an artist or a photographer, or both?

Photography is my third career. I started as an architect, then did various kinds of graphic and product design. The photograph is a way to create art. I like it because it is instant. I never seem to have enough time, so it works for me. I think of myself as an artist.

Your airplane work has been featured in quite a few publications. How do you think these editors find your body of work?

Definitely my book helped. Galleries, professional publications like PDN, my website.

Photo by Jeffrey Milstein

Please tell me about any future projects you might be working on.

I am finishing up a book of Cuba photographs to be published in April by Monacelli Press. I have been working on a typology of Palm Spring trailer homes, and some aircraft black boxes which you can find on my website.

Anything else?

Well I have a few ideas percolating in my mind that I am excited about. The challenge is finding time to work on them. I am a single dad with a 13 year old daughter and I try to spend as much time with her as I can, so new projects sometimes take a while to get to.