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Read MoreSET THE WORLD ON FIRE: MACIEK JASIK
SET THE WORLD ON FIRE:
MACIEK JASIK
"I don’t always get away with what I want."
WNW Member and Photographer #3769 Maciek Jasik spends much of his days setting off fireworks and smoke bombs, all in the name of art. Maciek came from Poland to the United States at the age of six, sponsored by the Arkansas Catholic Church. He speaks deliberately, fully articulating his words in a way that English-as-a-second language speakers are apt to do. Maciek is equally thoughtful in his work. He is playful in his purpose, experimenting with color and light in novel ways. Just don't call it psychedelic.
Like so many in this community, Maciek's path to freelance photographer was nonlinear. Maciek attended Johns Hopkins for political science and pre-law, though any legal aspirations evaporated upon taking his first law class. He then became a writer and editor and soon found himself teaching English in Japan. While in Japan, Maciek says he became overwhelmed by being in such a visually stimulating environment, which lead in turn to the pursuit of photography.
We spoke to Maciek about some of his favorite work, why he considers painting to be inspirational and devastating, and how he balances commercial work with personal projects. So much of what Maciek does requires his subjects' participation and a willingness to just 'see what happens.' However sometimes when there's smoke, there might be fire: “The second I got the image, the smoke alarm went off. I had to explain to the person I was staying with that there was no fire, that I was just shooting with smoke. Thankfully he was incredibly nice about and he really liked the image.”
Are your parents in the creative world? Do they understand and support your decision to not be a lawyer?
I think my parents as immigrants tend to be practical and as the next generation I'm less practical. They both paint in their spare time but they chose to be much more practical. So when I first started doing photography, they were a bit skeptical. But once I showed how determined I was, and I started getting more commissions, I think they realized how real the situation was.
Is it important for you to be a freelancer rather than going in-house?
It's really important for me to be freelance to have the time between projects to develop my own projects or do research. There's more and more full-time work being done in photography, especially since more and more businesses like fashion houses develop their own in-house studios. But in a sense that's kind of a dead-end because once you decide to do that, you really have no other options. You don't have any other content really that you can provide. But I understand that certain people have economic constraints that force them into that position. There's no judgment made, but for me I don't see any way besides freelance to really be able to do what I want to do effectively.
How would you describe your own work? How have you heard it described?
I've heard it described in ways that kind of unsettle me. People say things like "psychedelic" which I don't see or understand. But I think it's an interesting aspect that when people are presented with vibrant color they react in a series of different ways. I use color because for me, it's very emotional. People have a very strong response to it, so I use color to make landscapes and faces and bodies surreal and different and unexpected. When I meet people, I tell them I work in color, and that seems like a very simple response to them. But as they soon see, it is much more complicated.
How has your photography evolved over time?
It took a really long time to go from being an amateur to I guess a professional. You go two ways: you either imitate somebody, or you try to do something different. Doing something different is far riskier, far more difficult. I think commercially it's much easier to say you're the poor man's David Sims or Steven Meisel but i think it's much more rewarding to do something on your own. So it took several years for me to come into my own. I started shooting my A Thousand Souls project, my color portraits, in 2009, and that was kind of my break into doing my own aesthetic. But it took a few years before that really caught fire and allowed me to do things either commercially or otherwise besides working on my own.
Do you dabble in film as well?
I was actually a double major in political science and film. My first obsession really was film. I'd watch two to three films a day for months. There was a period after school when I lived in New York and I watched I think a film every single day for a year. And then I got completely burnt out. And I don't actually watch that many films anymore.
But I've started making video. I made a skateboarding video in Los Anglees in an abandoned mall. We strapped fireworks to my friend's skateboard and we did all kinds of tricks. I'm starting to work in film, but it's a very different application. The way you approach still image versus moving image is so different. With film you're taking all of these pieces of a puzzle and putting them together, whereas a still image is the entire puzzle. You kind of have to rewire your brain. So I'm in the process of doing that.
What have you gained from your experiences shooting commercial photography?
Commercial photography has really taught me how to perform under pressure, to stay calm, to stay focused, to understand what shots you can get safely, what you can risk, what you can't risk, how to maintain your composure so no one has any idea how disastrous things could possibly be... And that's really taught me a lot and really helped me in my own personal work.
What's your ratio of commercial work to personal work?
I used to have a ratio probably 95% personal, 5% commercial. Recently, I've become a lot busier, so it's probably been 95% commercial really. I've hardly had any time. I was traveling to London for Wired UK, I had a story for Huffington Post in Alabama, Fast Company in Phoenix. An ideal ratio is probably 50/50 but you have to just take what you can get, and when it rains it pours so I'm happy to work.
Some of Maciek's Favorites:
Claire Wasserman is the Director of Marketing at Working Not Working, based in New York and Portland, Maine. You can follow her on WNW and Instagram. Her last article for Free Range was an interview with Kat Gordon, founder of the 3% Conference.
ON AMERICANA: CHRISTOPHER LANE
ON AMERICANA:
CHRISTOPHER LANE
Fun fact: WNW Member #1439 Christopher Lane came to the United States from England in 1995 to pursue a professional golf career. He ended up playing golf for the Savannah College of Art and Design, but soon after shifted his focus to photography. He's an ADC Young Gun, specializing in documentary and portrait photography, with a real draw to all things Americana.
Christopher was kind of enough to sit down with us in person and walk us through the inspiration and process behind some of his photographs. Accompanying each image is a sound clip, so you can hear Christopher's stories behind the shoot, in his own words. He's negotiated image prices with Jerry Seinfeld, developed friendships with the Ms. Senior America contestants, and bossed around President Barack Obama.
As a Brit living in the US, Christopher is particularly fascinated by Americana and the access being a photographer affords him: "The amazing thing is when you have the camera, sometimes you can end up in the White House or end up in a cell. It's pretty fascinating sometimes. That spectrum really is an amazing privilege."
ON STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Sometimes you can go around the city of New York and everyone will say, 'No, I don't want my picture taken.' But I think it's a feeling that people get from you, how approachable you are. If you’re in a happy good mood, usually people can pick up on that. It's a weird kind of aura.
I ask a lot of questions like, "What did you dream last night? And what's the greatest invention in your lifetime?"
ON NAILING THE SHOT
It was pretty amazing when we asked Jerry to perform. He did the shot where the coffee is spilling out. It was the the first shot, the first time we tried it. We sort of got it in one take and he saw that. Jerry was like, "Great, we got it!" It's always nice to do a few but I didn’t want to destroy the studio too much.
ON PHOTOGRAPHING THE PRESIDENT
When he arrived, I wasn’t ready. He says, “You’ve got 10 minutes and you can do whatever you want." I did push the boundaries a bit. But I think it was good.
Before you go into a shoot, do you already have an idea of the essence you want to capture?
I’m finding nowadays there’s a lot more art direction, a bit too much even. Before, they’d let you do whatever you liked. With creative freedom, I used to do a lot of research, looking at paintings, going to museums, looking at old newspapers and magazines. I used to kind of be a hoarder and collect old New York Times Magazines. Inspiration comes from everywhere. I like to look at a lot of older photographs. One of my favorite photographers is August Sander.
How do you adjust your approach to match your subject's energy?
It's a lot more controlled these days. I frequently find the subject will say, “I’m not going to do this, I’m not going to do that.” So I find it's important to have several ideas and there will always be one that they’re willing to do. Sometimes you just have to go with what you’re given.
ON NOT GETTING STAR-STRUCK
I find it's a lot easier with actors since they’re used to the camera, to the performance. A lot of times you only have a few minutes with the subject, especially celebrities. It's rare that you get more than twenty minutes, sometimes you literally get 20 seconds. So you have to have something ready to go. It depends if they’re willing to interact with you as well.
Do you get nervous photographing celebrities, or does nothing phase you at this point?
I think they’d pick up on the nervousness. I guess you become a little bit heightened, but it's important not to get nervous and to make them as comfortable as possible. It's the one time that they’re not in control, and you get to boss them around. If you’re confident about doing that in the nicest way, I think they actually appreciate it. Basically everyone’s kissing their ass. So they do live in this kind of fantasy bubble and it’s nice just to have that reality check and just be a bit more normal to them.
ON PERSONAL PROJECTS
I like to at least do one or two personal projects a year. I feel you get the most reward out of doing your own personal work. It’s so hard to do especially when you’re bombarded with commercial work, but I think it’s always the most gratifying for me and it’s where I can be the most artistic as well. I don’t have to answer to anyone, no deadlines and I don’t have to get the images the next day. I can relax and then can really enjoy the subjects.
I usually find inspiration from going out onto the street and especially in New York it’s pretty amazing. If you’re stuck for ideas, just to walk down 5th Avenue and see all the different characters. I always find it’s really good just to walk with the camera to find different subjects or different ideas for a new project.
ON MS. SENIOR AMERICA
It's for 60+ ladies who like to have a good time. It's a bit like the dog show, but for seniors. I went down on a whim but then I became friends with some of these ladies and they wanted me to come back.
Ms. Nebraska did this charity thing where she rode a bicycle from Nebraska to New Jersey and she got run over by a garbage truck... she nearly didn't make it.
ON PHOTOGRAPHY AS DOCUMENTARY
The prison system has become a Wall Street corporation. It's easy to get prisoners, and there's a dollar bill on their head. People are making profits out of this. They use the prisoners as circus acts, they make them do bull riding. So six or seven times a year they put on these performances where the prisoners are the bull riders. But they’re horrible bull riders since they never get to practice. And many of them end up injured or in the hospital... they risk their life. But I think they can earn over a $100 or $500 which in prison, is like winning the lottery.
Photographs taken at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola.
