The shift was almost unbelievable. Yellows turned black, reds turned gold, whites turned silver. “You’ve got to haul ass,” Jay Maisel said, showing a series of images of objects and landscapes photographed from one side and then photographed 180 degrees from the original shot… the change in light revealed or hid details and color in ways that completely transformed the images he was showing.
Maisel implored the audience to change perspective, to look at the world differently. His own work is peppered with photographs taken from helicopters, through material, close up and from blocks away. One shot, taken in Egypt, was taken from a distant hill, high up, where no one had photographed from before. When he asked why, he found out that it was a firing range. Haul ass.
Maisel carries his camera with him almost everywhere he goes, which shows up in his work as spontaneously captured moments of movement and light. During his presentation, he repeatedly mentioned the transitory nature of his work… the difference a few seconds of shifting daylight, a cloud, or a moving subject would have made.
Portraits of people looking at the wreckage of the world trade centers just after 9-11 give way to pictures of his daughter and then transition to a field of flowers and then break to a picture of his doctor. When asked what links his work together, Maisel responded, “Fear.” When capturing the pictures he really cares about he finds himself fearing that he will lose the moment--that the subject might move or change or that the light may disappear.
Maybe that’s why his pictures seem to be as much about time as they are about color, light, and composition. Each moment captured on film, or memory card as he shoots primarily digital these days, has a tension, a clarity that the moment won’t last forever.
In one photograph, taken in London, lawn chairs are lit up like small green projection screens, each holding a shadow of a person. In another, the last moments of the setting sun illuminate the back end of a cab and a woman reaching for the door, her red shoes shining brightly in the last few moments of daylight. “Be ready,” he warns. “By the time you get your camera and come back, the moment is gone.”
Portfolio Center students share a strong desire to communicate ideas, the willingness to let go of preconceived notions, and the compulsion to learn new ways of thinking. These qualities are fostered by the school’s constant stream of industry bigwigs, who bring their varied and colorful perspectives from all over the country. These creatives, who are always generous with their time and energy, tend to hang out with students, conducting informal workshops and continuing the day’s discussions over dinner. Often, what results are provocative interviews—written, shot, and designed by PC students.
