Bill Frakes interviewé sur le blog !
Bill Frakes fait partie de l’équipe de photographes du magazine américain Sports Illustrated. Basé en Floride, il a travaillé dans plus de 125 pays pour une grande variété de clients éditoriaux et publicitaires.
On peut compter parmi ses clients publicitaires Apple, Nike, Manfrotto, Coca-Cola, Champion, Isleworth, Stryker, IBM, Nikon, Canon, Kodak, et Reebok. Il dirige les clips et les publicités télévisées.
Il a remporté le très convoité “Newspaper Photographer of the Year” dans la prestigieuse catéorie “Pictures of the Year”. Il était un membre du staff du Miami Herald quand il a remporté le prix Pulitzer pour sa couverture de l’ouragan Andrew. Le World Press Photo lui a décerné la médaille d’or. Il a également été honoré par le Prix Robert F. Kennedy du journalisme pour ses reportages sur les personnes défavorisées ou encore par l’Overseas Press Club. Il a reçu des centaines de récompenses nationales et internationales pour son travail.
Il a enseigné à l’Université de Miami, l’Université de Floride et l’Université du Kansas comme professeur adjoint et professeur. Au cours des cinq dernières années, il a enseigné à plus de 100 universités sur les thèmes du multimédia et du photojournalisme.
En 2010, il a siégé dans le jury du World Press Photo.
Et aujourd’hui, j’ai le plaisir de l’interviewer pour le blog suite à notre rencontre à Venise. En anglais dans le texte pour ne pas déformer ses propos par une traduction approximative de ma part.
Hi! Thanks for answering my questions! Let’s start !
How did you come to photography ?
My mother, unbeknownst to me raised me to be an artist through daily example. Visuals are the best way for me to communicate, so the evolution was simple.
Is there something you would do different in your career ?
Not really, move faster maybe. I always morph too slowly from one to the next. But that is from my perspective, many others think I move very quickly.
How do you imagine yourself in 5 years ?
Making images both moving and still. Celebrating life. Telling stories.
Could you describe your style ?
Clean. Pure. Precise. Evocative.
Same thing in 5 words ?
Why do I need to add another word? Ich praktiziere die Effizienz meiner deutschen Vorfahren.
What is for you the perfect shoot you would like to do ?
A subject that wants to be photographed in the way I think is best to do the work.
Tell me a little bit about yourself ?
I am American. I am a storyteller and teacher. A father. A son. A reader. A lover of music. A traveler.
What is your favorite food?
So many choices. I love cookies. I love cheese pizza. Strawberries are very important to me. But I survive on yogurt–universally great food.
At what time do you get up on sunday ?
Same time I get up every day. 4 hours after I have gone to bed the night before.
Where are you, right now ?
37,000 feet over the Swiss Alps
Everybody is knowing where you come from, but where do you want to go now ?
When I figure it out I will let you know. There are so many wonderful paths available to travel, I am limited only by time.
Can you feed our imagination with some of your prefered shoots ?
I have been very fortunate, and worked extremely hard to get the jobs I want. Doing the international ad campaign for the Nikon D3s with the great art director Gen Umei was pretty wonderful. I have covered 10 Olympic games, each special. I really have had the best seat in the house for the last 30 years, so many shoots that have been immensely enjoyable.
http://billfrakes.photoshelter.com/swf/CSlideShow.swf?feedSRC=http://billfrakes.photoshelter.com/gallery/G0000KO4nFHnsqs4?feed=json&ppg=200&imgT=casc&cred=iptc
Exclusive Images by Bill Frakes for the blog !
Are you working alone or with a team ?
It depends on the size of the production, but most often I work with Laura Heald, formerly my assistant and now my creative partner in strawhatvisuals.com. For a film we might have a really big crew, for photojournalism I normally work solo.
Lets talk equipment a little bit, what cameras/lens is your most used combination ?
This varies widely. For journalism now it is 1Nikon D3s, and 2 Nikon D7000 with the 24 f 1.4 Nikkor, the 85 f 1.4 Nikkor, and the 300 f 2.8 Nikkor. For sports I use as many Nikon D3s bodies as are necessary for the sport, with the Nikkor 14-24 f2.8, the Nikkor 24-120 f4 , the Nikkor 400 f2.8 and the Nikkor 600 f4 being the most important lenses in my hands. For remote work I use the Nikkor f2.8 70-200 heavily, along with the Nikkor 16-35 f2.8.
I’m sure you love the light, what lightning equipment you use the most ?
The Sun. Elinchrome strobes, diffusers.
What is the “must have” accessory for you ?
Gaffer tape.
Any tips to give to my reader ? I will keep that secret, I promise 😉
For me the most important thing is to be true to myself, to give the effort to anything that I do that is important for my success, and enjoyment.
Which is your favorite Film ?
It was Kodak Tri X. Love the grain, the structure, the latitude, the detail. A staple of my early career. Nothing else like it for presenting things the way I wanted to present them.
Who is … your favorite photographer ?
Jean Loup Sieff. W. Eugene Smith. Howard Schatz. I have likely 4000 photography books. There are many, many others that occupy my heart on any given day or hour.
Some links to give me?
Thanks a lot for your time, i hope to meet you again !
Et pour finir une video de Bill Frakes faites dans le cadre du concours Imagine More de Manfrotto (lien sur facebook)
http://www.facebook.com/v/148336301922649
Quelques infos de traduction
unbeknownst to me : à mon insu, sans me le dire/me prévenirIch praktiziere die Effizienz meiner deutschen Vorfahren : Je pratique l'efficacité de mes ancêtres allemands. (Une occasion de dire d'où il vient)