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Jeremy graduated from High School, spent two years in community college, and then move to San Francisco where he spent 4 years studying photography at the Academy Of Art College.
So many photographers would kill to shoot Rockstars for dream clients like Rolling Stone and Spin - how did you establish yourself as the "go-to" pro in this genre?
What was your most rewarding / favorite / most difficult assignment you've had and why?
Favorite: probably getting to photograph Ozzy Osbourne in his home in LA. I've been a big fan for years. Or shooting Slayer in front of a 400 year old cathedral in Mexico City.
Most difficult: doing a story for Bicycling Magazine on people who have been
Injured or had loved ones killed by motorists while cycling in Sonoma County.
That was a tough one, not technically, but just some heavy emotions to deal with.
Oh yes. Mostly lifestyle and travel. I'd love to shoot for Outside Magazine, or travel and Leisure. To be a good travel photographer one has to be skilled at shooting landscapes, portraits, food.....I think I'm more then qualified.
Explain what inspired your deeply personal project American Asylums. . .and what drives you to take such commando-style risks in the image acquisition?
The idea of illegally entering these buildings and the stories I'd heard from various other explorers was also enticing. Sneaking over fences and through open windows into tunnels under the cover of darkness. Sleeping in buildings until the early morning light streams through broken windows into large cavernous ward hallways and patient rooms. Each building presented it's own challenges and I found the adrenaline rush to be quite addicting.
We hear you have an Asylum book coming out. . .can you tease us with a few details? Well, I'm currently shopping a sample book around to publishers. Hope to get a big coffee table book out within a year or two.....actually still have more shooting to do.
Have you ever been arrested for taking photographs of any kind? If so, please elaborate. . .
And once in Weston, VA a friend and I were discovered in an asylum by a redneck security guard. He called the police, but rather then wait for "processing", my friend and I decided to make a run for it. Down three flights of stairs and out the front door of the hospital, the security guard behind us shouting, "hey! you can't do that, you gotta wait for the LAW!" in a thick southern drawl. We managed to make it to the car, and drove off campus as three police cars came flying by the in the opposite direction. Boy was that close.
No not at all! Wedding photography is not what it was when I was growing up. People are now wanting creative, unique and artistic images that tell the story of their big day. People hire me because the like my style, they want to look like rock stars! Plus people are always getting married and marketing costs are almost non-existent. It's all word of mouth and referrals. In a shaky economy where advertising and editorial budgets are down, weddings are a fun, creative, and lucrative alternative.
Are there any new areas of subject matter you plan on exploring - personally or professionally?
Going forward, will your focus remain Editorial, or are you moving further into Fine Art territory?
Can you bless us with a few parting words of wisdom for young / new photographers seeking to achieve your well-decorated level of success?
What are you working on right now?
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