The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets From One of the World's Top Shooters

night’s sleep that magazines continually put on their covers because they know it sells. Who doesn’t wanna know how to get a better set of zzzz’s?

    Call me twisted, masochistic, or just plain dumb, but my response to illustrate sleeplessness in the workplace involved a cast of 29 people, a crew of five, two Winnebagos, hair, makeup, and styling, a panel truck filled with photo gear, about 30,000-watt-seconds of strobes, one of the most famous intersections in America, the New York City Police department, location permits, about 10 hours of setup, and (mildly ironic) a sleepless night.

    “No matter how nuts it gets out there, you just gotta laugh it off and keep pursuing the photo.”

    About midway through something like this, a gator-filled swamp looks pretty darn appealing.
     
    But that’s the deal. No matter how nuts it gets out there, you just gotta laugh it off and keep pursuing the photo. You gotta ignore those alligators.
    Break the Rules
     

    “Another rule at Augusta is photogs are not allowed on the course until after 8:00 a.m., just when the light starts to suck. I was coached by other shooters about how to get around this-talk to people, make friends, be, you know, Southern….”

    Augusta National Golf Club is home to the Masters golf tournament, the famous green jacket, and more rules than the Pentagon. Within minutes of my very first ever arrival at Augusta, I was cordially accosted by what appeared to be a 16-year-old who had the face of a kewpie doll and the attitude of a dominatrix.

    “Good mornin’, sir, I see ya’ll have a cell phone. Ya’ll have to check that cell phone,” she said. “Oh, I see now ya’ll a memba of the media. Ya’ll be allowed to keep that cell phone. But ya’ll need to register it and get a sticka. You’ll be escorted ova to that station. Now ya’ll can only use your cell phone within the confines of the press center. Ya’ll cannot use a cell phone outside the press center. Do you understand, sir ?”

    She kind of said “sir” the way a Marine D.I. says “maggot.”

    Another rule at Augusta is photogs are not allowed on the course until after 8:00 a.m., just when the light starts to suck. I was coached by other shooters about how to get around this…talk to people, make friends, be, you know, Southern…you might could get on the course a few minutes early!

    I’m from New York and I’m not that f-ing chatty that early in the morning, so I just went through the food service entrance. A few guys would be hanging around. “How you doin’? How you doin’? Hey, how you doin’?”

    And then I’d get on the course and it would be complete darkness and nobody messes with a New Yorker in complete darkness.

    I found a spot and waited for light.

     
    Listen to the Voice of Experience
     

    It was the very first rodeo I’d ever covered, the grandaddy of ‘em all, out in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It’s funny when you’re a photographer out in the field and you’ve got the fever, you know? You come up with this idea you think no one else has ever thought of.

    I thought it would be cool to stick my fisheye lens in between the slats of the bull chute and make a pic as the bull shot out of there—it would be all sorts of dramatic. I crouched down, got in position with my fancy motor-driven Nikon, and waited.
     
    An old rodeo cowboy photographer with a Honeywell single-shot camera and screw-in 200mm lens was leaning against the fence. He looked over and gave a half smile. I was from New York, young and competitive, so I already felt myself getting ugly, thinking he was going to steal my shot or tell me how to do it better.

    “Ya know what they do to make the bull come outta the chute?,” he asked. Of course I didn’t, being a greenhorn.

    “Well, they hit ‘em with an electric prod…and that bull’s gonna shit all over the place.”

    I looked around and realized where I was crouching actually smelled really bad.
     
    I thanked him kindly and chose another angle. I’ve always been grateful to that man, because he could’ve sat back and had himself a really good laugh and a story to tell that night at the bar.

    “‘Ya know what they do to make the bull come outta the chute?,’ he asked. Of course I didn’t, being a greenhorn.”

     
    Turn Things Around
     

    “We flipped the set, with my camera angle being where the action usually took place. Instead of looking into darkness, I’m looking at spectators.”

    It’s always tough to