Location: I live in Athens, Georgia, and NYC, fiscusphoto.com.
Duration: After years of shooting ads, I started to work on the "looks." I would deliver two proofs to the agency. One that was straight, and one that had a look I thought applied to the message. Dark shadows for ominous, saturated colors for happy, etc. The art directors almost always picked my version. Just when it was all heating up, we suffered our national loss in September 2001. Times got tough and yet our studio was determined to stay together. We thought if we were going to risk it, we would risk it full on. I threw out the book and started over. Now it's all a lot of fun.
Staff: Three full-time at the studio including myself. Andrea Smith, studio manager, is a recovering art buyer. She brings her dog to work, and makes order of chaos. Scott Doorman, digital artist, likes cars, eBay and storage capacity.
Education: One very important year at East Texas State University under the tutorship of Jim Newberry. After that I had the fortunate misfortune of carrying cases for some really good photographers.
Cultural Influences: Travel, growing up in rural Texas, people watching, Henry Kissinger, Norman Rockwell, hip-hop culture, the Ottoman Empire. Spare time in New York, Joel-Peter Witkin, the Coen Brothers' films, BMW motorcycles, the South and Apple computers. Lisa.
Environment: Most of my work is done on location. Our studio is used mainly for pre-production and digital post. When working, everyone in the crew is included in the process.
Philosophy: Controlled disorder. Pre-production is the most important part of the job. When away from work, don't work at all.