Martin Trailer Productions » authentic portrait

Authentic Portraits – Las Vegas, NM

Martin Trailer — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 08:00:11 +0000

Local teen in the town square, Las Vegas, NM

I am including something unexpected, but related into the mix of Authentic Portraits, street portrait photography. The origins of street photography began over century ago, so this is nothing breakthough, just up to date and current. Photographers like Atget, Steichen, Struss, Kertesz, Evans and so many others ( see more ) captured on film what or better how, we visually record and remember the past. Whether it was the fashion, architecture, decor or people just being people in their enviroment, these street photographers were the recorders of our past, our history of the day.

Walking around photographing unfamiliar places, stretches one abilities to “see” interesting places, people and situations, it forces you out of your comfort zone. When walking around the familiar, so much can be taken for granted and not “seen” or noticed as easily.

Fella's hangin on the front porch, Las Vegas, NM

These are just a couple of examples catching authentic people walking around an unfamiliar neighborhood, seeking and looking. By exercising those innate senses we all have , and as a photographer, sharpening that skill of recognizing ” the shot” that makes a photograph have that extra spark of life and value. It will just hit you and you’ll just know you have a great shot. The more you exercise that skill, the faster you’ll recognize it in the view finder the next time. Personal work is a photographers continuing education. Stuff you can’t learn reading a book, looking at what others have done or listening to a lecture. Ya gotta’ feel it, to know it.

Las Vegas, New Mexico is a quaint americana style town with the central square block of the downtown, a park where folks stroll, gather or just hang out. It is just east of Santa Fe, NM off the I-85.

People totally unrehearsed, no casting, no propping, no clients, just people in their element, being absolutely authentic. Capturing authentic is a skill learned by doing, convincing the viewer, real, adding to the value .

Real, relaxed and Authentic.

Martin Trailer, is a commercial/advertising photographer based in Southern California, working for clients worldwide. A working photographer for over 30 years, Martin has regularly provided thoughtfully produced photographs adding value for clients. Starting out in the newspaper business, covering general news, events, sports of all types, often on tight deadlines and honed the skill set of pushing to end up with the nearly intangible authentic final image. Over the years as a photographer, working in advertising, corporate, multimedia and editorial fields, consisting of autos, food, tabletop, fashion, architecture and destinations, all culminating on a focus of people and the authenticity of the person(s). Personal projects include most anything vintage themed and especially vintage trailers and there owners. Authenticity creates added value for the client, person, product or service. All images are registered with the US Copyright office. See more of Martin’s work at http://MartinTrailer.com

Possibly Related Posts:

Authentic Portraits – Peter

Martin Trailer — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:00:20 +0000

Peter Kuhn, PhD of The Scripp Reseach Institute with a model of the SARS virus. ©Martin Trailer

The goal of this “Authentic Portrait” is to portray a research scientist researching the SARS virus, with something tangible. Building a model representative of a polymorphic virus that causes the severe acute respiratpory syndrome (SARS), the virus was a challenge since the virus is much to small to actually see without an electron microscope.

A few years back when the SARS was spreading though southern China and urban areas of Hong Kong and Toronto infecting over 8,000 people, this research group was formed shortly there after to understand this new virus which had never infected humans before.

Peter leads a multi-disiplined, multi-city group of researchers.

Endeavor Vol 8, No 2

Possibly Related Posts:

Authentic Portraits – Irene (sort of)

Martin Trailer — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 08:00:46 +0000

Irene, Postal Worker, ©MartinTrailer

This “Authentic, to the creative brief, Portrait” was created for one of the smaller competitors of the Postal Service and widely used in several ways, ads, posters, mailers, etc.. The idea was to contrast the postal employees to the a private mail service in a humorous way garnering a second look. The agency of record ended up with the biggest private mail service, even though this was a controversial image. Some felt it was insulting to the Post Office and workers, one of the clients biggest suppliers. My studio mail carrier even commented as such, but once I explained it was all in fun, she thought it was a hoot and decided to embrace it, telling me that she knew folks like this at the post office.

I choose to post this because the substitute mailman said he had seen this everywhere. (BTW, if you do, let me know, please) It happens to be be in the lobby of my studio when you first walk-in.

This is a derivative from the original theme, “Authentic Portraits”. Previously, I have posted portraits of people authentically portrayed, thus “Authentic Portraits”. However, this time authentic is true to the creative brief and not specific to the person. (although some would argue in the advertising business, as a advertising agency print buyer, Irene Hook was pretty tough)

An apropos quote passed on to me; “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditation

Believable, comfortable and authentic.

Possibly Related Posts:

Authentic Portraits – Martin

Martin Trailer — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 08:00:12 +0000

Dr. Martin Friedlander reseacher at Scripps Reseach Institute. Adult stem cells for eye disease. © Martin Trailer

This Authentic Portrait of a research scientist, Dr. Martin Friedlander whose research into retinitis pigmenosa which causes blindness, effecting the rods and cones in the back of our eyes. His research involves the use of stem cells, the patients own, that slows and improves the condition over time.

His portrait is based on a culmination of interviewing and lengthly discussion on how to illustrate the research of the eye disease and the therapeutic research. Our conclusion is fairly straight forward, the rods and cones in the back of the eye, in a clean representation using the sculptural piece of treatment target as a background. The sculpture was created by combining very simple items, snow cone cups (rods) and styrofoam cups, (cones) on foam core with a glue gun in a matter of a few hours. Simple and effective.

“If someone told me 15 years ago that you could take human bone marrow stem cells and use them to treat blindness, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
–Martin Friedlander, M.D., Ph.D.

Believable, comfortable and authentic.

To read the entire story, Click Here.

Possibly Related Posts:

Authentic Portraits – David, Stefan, Geoffrey

Martin Trailer — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:00:20 +0000

BackScatter Authors and discoverers of Code Red, ©Martin Trailer

This Authentic Portrait is a group of programmers that for the first time ever, were able to track and see live on the internet a computer virus spread across the world. Until then, no one had been able to track a computer worm/virus over the internet, only within a local area network (LAN). (see below)

The guys are academics that had not been in the limelight before, so it was important to make them comfortable with the all the notoriety. When shooting people that are not seeking or comfortable with the limelight, it is important to ease that discomfort. The response to the comfort you provide will result in a much more relaxed, authentic photograph.

I met up with them at UCSD in their offices after looking around the campus prior to our scheduled time, and found a few locations that might work on campus, but three people with some relevant setting or background of value to the image, was not jumping out. Never giving up, we proceeded to do what we could constantly searching for some relevant visual. Nearing the end of our time together on campus, I asked if they were game to come to the studio later to do a shot in studio that would in my mind be much better. They were agreeable and we decide to meet a couple hours later at the studio. This gave me sometime to get some props and set-up the idea I had imagined.

The globe was the prop I had in mind and once we were in the studio working out the lighting and grouping, I began to think about how these guys were really detectives in their own realm. The sunglasses were quickly sourced and they were game, they were enthusiastic with the idea.

By then we had done several variations and once the glasses, globe and lighting all came together, the shot came alive.

The guys were totally into the worldwide detective idea, relaxed and authentic.

This is a animation of how the Code Red virus spread worldwide. Click Here.

Comments welcome.

Martin
MartinTrailer.com

Possibly Related Posts:

Authentic Portraits – Ed

Martin Trailer — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:00:19 +0000

This Authentic Portrait of Ed Lum is part of my personal work seeking vintage trailers. Personal work like continuing education keeps sharpening your skill set and adds to the “10,000 hours” I mentioned in the first of this Authentic Portraits series.

Ed lives in a trailer park in Monterey Park, right next to Pasadena, California. I just showed up because of an article I read the day before in the Los Angeles Times about the trailer park. Ed does not live in this gold tone Airfloat trailer, but it was the rarest in the park and a vintage travel trailer. Most all the trailers in the park were vintage park types, versus the typical travel or pull types I seek. It was highlighted in the paper since the place has a history going back as an Auto Camp on Route 66 and further to the days as a Pony Express stop.

My experience and with Ed, when I explain what I am looking for and why, most folks are very cooperative and are very helpful with suggestions and willing subjects.

Ed is in his element, relaxed and authentic.

Comments encouraged.

Martin
MartinTrailer.com

Possibly Related Posts: