So happy (and proud) that this layout (in particular) was chosen by the Society of Publication Designers for the next annual. “Prickly Passion” is an unconventional story of an unconventional guy shot in an unconventional way.

Park Nobel is the world’s leading expert on the environmental biology of cacti, and their many benefits. He bought a really crappy (seemingly infertile) piece of land in the most posh area of LA, Bel-Air, and had the nerve to plant 5,000 kinds of drought-tolerant plants on a steep hillside with no irrigation. And it worked!

It would have been easy to shoot this guy with a cactus and some early morning light, but photographer Jeremy Samuelson and I had a better idea. From a vantage point way up the hill Jeremy shot down on the entire cacti garden with Dr. Nobel and his dog as small elements in this larger landscape. This is truly an “environmental portrait” — a man, his dog, and his garden.

And I framed this double-page image with a tight closeup of a cacti, so the tight, detailed, tactile texture of the plant frames the pulled-back, sun-splashed scene below. I like the incidental flare, the heroic, contemplative pose, and especially the unexpected nature of this feature story opener. Thanks SPD.

Happy to announce that we’re a finalist for a Gold or Silver Medal at this year’s Society of Publications awards, for the design of this feature pictured above. Our work at UCLA Magazine has been recognized as Merit winners many times over the years, but this is only the second time I’ve been nominated for a medal. And the first time was my photo essay for Buzz Magazine shot by Mary Ellen Mark! (So that was a few years back and shot by a legend.)

The story, “Clearing The Air,” was written by Greg Critser, who coincidentally I worked with at Buzz. The feature details the work of UCLA scientists and the vast improvements in air quality over the past couple decades. And for that I envisioned an opening spread diptych contrasting the smog over downtown vs. the promise of blue skies ahead. I hired Amanda Friedman to shoot it. She’s best known for her beautiful portraiture, but also for her stunning landscape and “nightscape” photography. 

This part of the story was relatively easy, but where she really earned the big bucks is on her many visits to Terminal Island, the most toxic spot in Southern California. Night after night she shot long exposures landscapes of the oil wells and processing plants. This is not only the most daunting place you could ever imagine, but it’s also well protected and foreboding. The security is tight and the stench is ungodly. After only one night down there all I wanted to do is drink the largest beer we could find at the gas station and bathe in Lysol.

These shots are from her many trips to Terminal Island. They’re hauntingly beautiful and eerie. For her hard work and dedication she got a visit from the FBI! (But that’s another story.)

Come Sunday night, we’ll be glued to the Oscars broadcast. Not because we’ve been waiting eagerly for Billy Crystal’s tired schtick, and certainly not because we live for cutaway shots of nominees forcing fake smiles when they find out they’ve lost. We’re watching for one reason only — because we’re rooting for The Artist.

So, in honor of The Artist we’ve made up our own theme party. You can try this at home:

1. Serve only French food. (French fries don’t count.) May I suggest stinky French cheeses, a nice Bordeaux, a big mess of Bouillabaisse, followed by Coq Au Vin, and finally some creme brûlée or eclairs. 

2. Wear only black and white clothes. (Technically gray clothes would work too. Anything on the grayscale is okay.) Bonus points if you wear a tux or evening dress.

3. Be completely silent.

(This last one you can fudge a bit. And definitely scream your head off if it wins Best Picture.)

Finally, because this is a design blog, I offer these gorgeous stills from the movie. The lighting, cinematography, costumes and sets were all impeccable. 

Happy Oscars!

I recently went to Connections, the Le Book show at Milk Studios in Hollywood. It’s a good way to see a lot of photography and illustration in a short amount of time. And, of course, make a few connections. 

It was great to see so many reps I’ve worked with over the years, but certainly the highlight was meeting Alison McCreery who runs one of my favorite photo blogs, POP, Photographers on Photography. We hit it off immediately — kindred spirits. 

She asked me if I’d be willing to be interviewed for her blog. I was both flattered and a little apprehensive. Edward Leida, Bill Cahill and Timothy Archibald are recent contributors — august company, right?

Anyway, a few hours of interviewing and 18 images later we had our blog post. Hope it’s a good read. Write a comment if you’re inspired. And bookmark her site — it’s consistently smart and relevant.

If you come equipped with a pair of eyes (and a heart) do not miss The Artist. It’s visually stunning — a modern take on a classic era. You could print and frame virtually any shot in the movie. 

And if you’re interested in how they cast a silent movie, this piece in today’s New York Times Carpetbagger blog breaks it down. Plus, best of all, they’re running an exclusive video featuring some of the actual auditions along with the scene as it appeared in the movie.

One commentator wrote about Casting Director Heidi Levitt: “I am trying to remember another film in which the casting director’s choices were so masterful that they rightfully joined the choices made by the writer and director as equal parts of the collective auteur.” 

Stay tuned for the the Oscar nominations tomorrow!

Heidi Volpe from APhotoEditor.com interviewed me about developing this photo essay and working with JB Fitts. Check it out.

I was never much for entering design competitions. It’s great to get the exposure, but they’ve gotten really expensive and there are so many of them now that they’ve all been diluted. 

And this is coming from a guy who started his career at Print Magazine. But in those days there was Print, CA and maybe Art Directors Club. Now there’s a billion of them. No big surprise — they’re a license to print money. You can always make money off people’s egos!

But for me there is one exception. I ALWAYS enter and support SPD, the Society of Publication Designers.  Because I’m a publication designer and because they’re so much better than most of the other design organizations. Check out the website. Great events (if you live in NYC) and tons of interesting posts (if you live anywhere with an internet connection!) 

We had two pieces selected in the new SPD annual. The top one is the opening spread of a feature on keeping hospitals healthy, where I commissioned great still life photography. And the second one is a feature spread on something called Outlaw Biology, where we cast, staged and propped a shoot like the David Lynch version of the Old West.

JB Fitts is a talented and thoughtful fine art photographer working out of LA. His special talent is finding the hidden beauty in the everyday, innocuous world. And making visual order out of the randomness of life. Check out his photo essays on abandoned, empty swimming pools, golf course driving ranges at night, and (to anyone but JB) ugly, generic industrial buildings. They’re on his site, and represented by Paul Kopeikin Gallery.

I had admired his work for awhile, and was lucky enough to find an opportunity to commission him. I asked him to wander UCLA campus and find the beauty in the in-between spaces that we all pass by but never notice. Everyone knows the picture postcard views of Royce Hall, Pauley Pavilion, Janns Steps and the other landmarks, but in between those icons are the everyday spaces that people actually live and work in; the ones you pass but rarely see.

JB spent weeks getting up at the crack of dawn and shooting an unpeopled campus. A campus that’s usually packed with walkers, bikers and skateboarders, thru his lens becomes a haunted ghost town. We see the signs of human existence, but not the humans. 

As a kid he used to sneak onto campus and skateboard. Now, as an adult, he’s getting paid to revisit the same places but with a more artful purpose.

When I was the Art Director of Buzz Magazine I used to commission and run a photo essay in every issue. It was another way to tell a story. I would pair up an artist I admired with a visual essay derived from their own personal passions. Mary Ellen Mark shot a children’s beauty pageant, Michael Grecco shot blues musicians in South Central, Lara Jo Regan shot squatters in abandoned buildings, and many more. They weren’t just shooting an assignment; they were making pictures for Buzz that they probably would have done for free. And this heightened enthusiasm for the subject came through on the pages.

We’re starting to resurrect that approach. In coming months you’ll see more of these photo essays where the photographer’s personal work merges with our paid assignments. Stay tuned!

Magazines come in all different moods and attitudes, but more often than not they’re either sexy and alluring (sells magazines) or dark and ominous (also sells magazines!) It’s not often that they convey a feeling of pure, unadulterated joy. That’s why I’m particularly proud of this cover and the brilliant eye of photographer Tamar Levine.

I design the magazine for Thacher, an old, historic, prestigious prep school in Ojai, CA. Thacher is a wonderful school in many ways, but the single most interesting thing about Thacher is its western ethos — which means it has deep ties to nature, animals, the environment and tradition.

For this issue focusing on how to balance tradition with change we hired photographer Tamar Levine to spend a day on campus and shoot. She had a great day and came back with tons of beautiful pictures. I used them all throughout the feature well. And a few of the best I mocked up as covers. I presented all the more expected imagery of iconic buildings and signature landscapes, and threw this one in at the end, knowing that I loved it, but not really expecting the client to pick it.

Well, never underestimate your clients. They loved this one for its energy and exuberance, which is what I loved about it too. But they also loved it for deeper, more historic reasons that I didn’t fully anticipate. Two of the biggest changes at Thacher were the introduction of girls (it had been a boys prep school for most of its life) and the introduction of grass to campus (where it had traditionally been just dirt and scrub before.) So, unbeknownst to me, this cover resonated for reasons I hadn’t expected. Either way its a great cover image — thanks to Tamar for capturing the moment.

One of my clients, Manhattan College, was struck particularly hard by the attacks of 9/11. Quite a few of their alumni died that day, and many others were first responders, or had worked on the engineering and construction of the towers. 

So, for the tenth anniversary they held a day of remembrance featuring a series of events and a keynote by Manhattan College alum Rudy Guiliani. I hired Katie Bleacher and Dean Everard to shoot some of the events with the thought that we’d get coverage of the day, and if we were lucky we might get a cover as well. Luckily we struck gold with this image.

We had been looking for something celebratory and forward-looking. And when I saw this image, one of the most unconventional that they shot that day, I knew it might work. But it wasn’t til I placed it in layout and saw the sun rays bursting through the signature logo M that I knew we had an especially memorable and appropriate cover — on a topic that had been done to death (but never quite so personally.) 

Looking at it now, a week after it shipped to the printer, I’m reminded how many great covers come from fortuitous moments. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. And sometimes it’s better to recognize that perfect un-art directed moment and grab it. I never could have art directed this shot, but I’m happy that at least I was smart enough to know it when I saw it.

And to the great credit of my client, and editor Kristen Cuppek, when I sent them a few cover options they unanimously agreed that this was the shot. Which leads me to my last lesson of the day: it’s ALWAYS good to have smart clients!