Altpick.com : Artist Spotlight : Scott McDermott

[July 23, 2008 ] Originally from the US, Scott McDermott grew up in Switzerland from the age of five. He spent a lot of time skiing and doing outdoor sports and when the reality of him not making the world cup ski circuit set in, it was time to head back to the US for college. However, before getting to school it seemed like it might a good idea to figure out what to study. So Scott took a year to travel and ended up in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah for a few months. Followed by a hearty walk through the Himalayas. At the end of that year it was off to school with photography in mind. A good Himalayan walk really does clear your head. A few years at Ithaca College were to follow, mostly spent in the darkroom. Scott is now based in NYC where he brings his distinctive style to a wide variety of editorial and advertising clients in the sports and entertainment world.

Are your celebrity portraits specifically shot for magazines and syndication?
It would depend on the situation and who I was shooting for. While on assignment I would of course shoot what the client is looking for first. But I have also done a fair amount of shoots just for syndication too. I started out shooting much more just for syndication but am now doing more assignments. there is a great amount of freedom when shooting just for syndication. Even more so than editorial. It really ends up coming down to how much time you have with the subject and how efficient you can be.

Your celebrity portfolio spans from musician to actors. Wynton Marsalis, Quentin Tarantino, Robert DeNiro, Lenny Kravitz, Dennis Hopper to mention a few. Is this an area that you would like to continue to pursue?
Yes. I am a huge fan of both music and film and many of the people I have been fortunate enough to photograph I respect immensely for their work. So it's a real thrill to get to photograph them even if it's very quick sometimes. I am starting to shoot more celebrity athletes too which is a natural crossover between my sports and portrait work.

Sports or Celebrities...which do you prefer?
Both. I got into photography through sports and will always love the active and adventure parts of that. Plus I am constantly amazed at what the athletes I shoot can do. But on the other hand the Portrait work has opened many doors into other opportunities and has allowed me to meet a lot of great people which I really enjoy. I'm glad I don't have to pick between them.

Your sports portfolio is geared mainly for advertising campaigns What was a memorable campaign that your shot recently?
I just did a shoot for Target that was great mix of the two sides of the work I do. It was a men's fashion shoot for a new line they are coming out with that incorporated a lot of action and movement but had a very studio lit feel to it with selective use of black and white in the final images. It was a case where the art director saw the two sides to my work and came to me with a concept that was a little of both and really neither at the same time. I love it when that happens.

Prior to your photography career, you were a serious skier and spent a lot of time doing adventure sports. Do those skills and experiences help your sports photography and career in general? If so, how?
I think so. On a practical level certainly with the adventure sports which you have to be a participant in to photograph a lot of the time and you can't fake it. But also on the level of confidence and knowing what my strengths and limitations are on a personal level. If you have been through some intense experiences of extreme cold or altitude for example, it can put a lot of other things in perspective. You know where your pain threshold is.

When you took your "walk" in the Himalayan mountains, were you tempted to climb Mt Everest?
Funny you should ask. I actually was initially going to go to Nepal to help out on an Everest expedition that some NOLS instructors I had were climbing with. I was never supposed to climb but help out at base camp. There was an expectation for me to contribute financially to the expedition and do quite a bit of work towards the cause of cleaning up trash at base camp. It occurred to me that I would be paying a lot to fly half way across the earth to carry gear and haul trash while other folks climbed. I did a little research and found that I could really go on a serious trek of my own for that kind of money and get to see the country and not have to carry any trash (although I do agree with the cause of cleaning up base camp). So I headed out on my own for a 6 week trek around the Annapurna range which was more of an adventure than I ever could have imagined.

In your travels where is your ideal place to live and work? Is it NYC?
I do love NYC but it has it's limitations. I wish there was first class skiing an hour away. I always thought I could live in San Francisco and maybe some day, I will. Geneva, Switzerland, where I grew up, isn't a bad spot either. But for now it's NYC.

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