Jerry Abramowicz Photography

A friend of mine called me up the other day and was bored. She was walking around town wanting to photography something but couldn't figure out what she wanted to shoot. This happens to all of us from time to time so I understood how she felt. She asked if I would join her on her little journey which I happily obliged. It was a pretty drab day, rain was threatening, a bit cool (it is November) and most cities look pretty bland this time of year anyway. It didn't take long before I got her laughing though and we just started shooting. We first started looking for things with colour, then it turned to people watching and from there it was all the architecture around us. I opened her eyes to the fact that you don't have to go far to see quite a few different things in the same location. We stayed in the same block and a half that I met her in and kept shooting for the rest of the afternoon. It was a fun day.

The point is, if you're in a funk don't be afraid to call a friend. They may or may not join you but they may help to open your eyes to what is right in front of you. What's that old saying, can't see the forest for the trees? It happens. 

I was working on this job with Victoria’s Secret last week. Not as a photographer (even though I did take some shots) but as the location manager for a helicopter landing. My job was to get a permit and manage a helicopter landing in the downtown core of Toronto for the Grand opening of a new VS store. After weeks of preparation and meetings the day finally came and wouldn’t you know it, Mother Nature decided she was not going to cooperate. High winds prevented the landing at the chosen site which left us scrambling at 6:00am to find another one, a safer one, and we did. We were to land in and amongst some tall buildings which would have been visually amazing but safety always comes first. My point here is that no matter how beautiful the shot is, how skilled you think you are, your life and the life of others are more important than any photograph can ever be. The pro’s I work with all know this. It was a great team from Victoria’s Secret including the helicopter pilot, Dave, from Four Seasons Aviation. Because in the end and as always in this business we get our shots. It may not be from the best location or vantage point, more importantly though, we do get to go home to our loved ones and talk about it. So be safe out there.

 

I live a double life, one as a location scout and manager for TV & Film and the other as a photographer. I must admit it can be a bit taxing but in the end, very rewarding. I travel around and see things most people never do from beautiful landscapes, great architecture to odd looking structures in the strangest places. I have the pleasure of meeting all sorts of people from all walks of life and I can say with ease that only a few I could have done without. Whether I’m taking pictures or getting permits I take a moment to enjoy where I am. I guess that’s what I want to get across to you is that whether you get a shot or not, take that moment and enjoy the people and your surroundings. To me that’s half the pleasure of doing what I do. Those experiences and wonderful conversations you will have can last a life time. It can also change how you feel about the shot you were thinking about. One moment it’s just a chair, the next it has meaning. The shot above is just a bus shelter; I took it from inside my jeep on a very rainy evening while out scouting locations with a director I was working with. After we had driven around and talked about it (and many more) he got me thinking about coming back and reshooting it properly (instead of on the fly at 6400iso). You see, now I had some stories to add emotion to the shot. This lone shelter in a desolate area now has meaning. Whether I shoot it at different times of day or seasons I now can tell a story about it all because of a simple conversation.