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Your inside look at the Tampa photography services industry by Tampa photographer Chris Passinault
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Words and pictures by Tampa photographer Chris Passinault, lead photographer for Aurora PhotoArts Tampa Bay photography and design
The Photographer
By C. A. Passinault
“One can never tell what lies behind closed doors.”
-C. A. Passinault
December, 2001
The day was not unlike a spring day. The air was brisk, but the breeze
was pleasant. The shops that lined the storefronts were busy with their
affairs. There were many people. The jaded wife. The window shopper, which
wasn’t always the case because the mark downs at the storefront
gave leverage to temptation. The scrutinized, but well dressed, businessman.
Some gentlemen moved from shop to shop in packs, the pecking order from
the office hitchhiking along for lunch. Their dress was haughty, and their
manner derived. The still, blue sky presented a contrast to the constant
motion of the people.
It wasn’t spring, however. The climate was deceiving. It was the
dead of winter.
The glass iris jockeyed for position. A prone, slender figure reflected
like a silhouette off of the lense. A thin finger went down on the stocky
button. A pair of hands braced the small, metal frame for the shot.
“That will be a great picture!”
One of the businessmen spoke from within his group.
Another press of the button. A wince. The rude suit moved on with his
pack. The camera came down. A smile.
“We got the shot. Ready for lunch?”
“Yes, I am”.
The restaurant was more organized. Large windows let in the clear light,
and well-dressed people made small talk among the subdued music that was
playing. The hostess was accommodating.
“Table for two.” The gentleman said, slipping the camera into
a bag.
“Smoking or none smoking?”
He looked over at his companion. She was tall, with a slender build. Her
presence was elegant. She was quite striking.
He forwarded the inquiry. “It’s up to you.”
She smiled, and looked at the hostess. “Smoking, please.”
The hostess looked around the room. “It will be one moment.”
A group of people moved toward the exit. A girl maneuvered from the flock
and approached them. She was quick to speak.
“You ever think of modeling? There’s this photographer, right
over there, who’d love to photograph you. Here’s his card.”
He was briefly surprised. “A photographer? Where?”
The girl handed the card to his companion. She avoided eye contact with
him. The model took the card, and looked it over, turning it over in her
hand.
“He’s across the street, on the second floor.” The girl
finally looked at him, “He’s really good, too.”
The model smiled. “I already have photographers.”
The girl wedged in. “There are so many in this area that aren’t
that good. He’s from New York, and he’s now here in Ybor.
You’re just the girl that he’s looking for.”
He interjected, playing to her point. He chimed in, smiling at the model.
“She’s right. There are a lot of photographers who aren’t
that great around here. Maybe this guy is really talented.”
The girl looked at him. “You’re her photographer?”
“Yes. For the moment.”
He took out the camera and fired off a preview on the display. He quickly
returned it to its nest.
The girl re composed herself. She turned to the model again. “Oh.
Well, you have his card. Give him a call if you would like to work with
him.”
She left as quickly as she had come.
They looked at the card. The face of it had a picture of a car with some
people in it. It was a convertible, and appeared to be going down a street
toward the viewer. It was also dreadfully out of focus.
She shrugged. “What is this?”
“The girl is cashing in on referrals, no doubt.” He mused,
“Looks interesting, though.”
The pair were escorted to a table. He smiled at her en route. “See,
did I tell you? You are such an incredible model that everyone notices”.
She smiled back. “Thank you.”
They took their seat. He continued.
“That was kind of rude of her, though.”
“Yes, it was. How often does that happen?”
He removed his jacket and placed the camera with it at his side in the
booth. He relaxed.
“A few times. Once I was at a Hops in Brandon with a model. We had
some of her prints out on the table, and were looking them over. The waitress
came up, and during the conversation told her that if she booked with
a photographer, she would be a great model. I was like, ‘hello!
What do you think these are?’”.
She laughed.
“You know, this restaurant has one of my prints. I was here with
a model last January, we took a few pictures here, and I brought them
the best print six weeks ago. I don’t know what they did with it.”
She looked around. “You didn’t see it in here?”
“So far, no. Want to hear something that could have been cool, though?”
“Yeah, sure!”
“Wouldn’t it have been cool if it was up over the hostess
station at the door? When the girl came up to us, I could have pointed
it out, and said “That’s one of my prints.”
She laughed. “That would have been cool.”
“Well, I don’t see it anywhere.”
He looked over at his bag, and continued.
“Working with a photographer, though, she would have known what
a camera bag looks like.”
“Right? Rude girl.”
“It’s like the movies, and the events that we work on. I always
seem to run into people like that girl when I’m out with my talent.
They always seem to insult me in some way. It doesn’t happen that
often, though. I find that everyone has their distinct opinion, and when
they are financially motivated, manners go out the window. It’s
like they don’t see the whole picture, and they try to move in on
what we have going on.”
“It just show’s their lack of talent.”
He paused, reflected. “I just wish that picture would have been
on the wall in here.”
“True.” She added, “But people tend to go by what they
see in front of them, and not for the great things that aren’t always
apparent.”
They took their time and had lunch. Upon thanking the staff and exiting
the restaurant, the model went into the restroom to change into her next
set of clothes. He waited for her outside the indoor entrance area, and
looked down a staircase for inspiration. There had to be an angle there.
The hostess was watching him, and called him back inside.
“What is it that you do?”
He smiled. “Oh, I work with models, among other things.”
He presented a card. The hostess’ eyes lit up. She recognized a
picture on the card.
“Oh, you’re that photographer! We have one of your
pictures.”
He looked around. “Where?”
She smiled, accepting the card from him. “It’s framed, and
is up in the back office. I really love it! We all do!”
He smiled, and glanced beside him. The model had returned, and was by
his side again. “Are you ready to shoot?”
The model motioned toward the outer doors. “Always.”
He returned his attention to the hostess. “Thank you very much.
Have a great day, ok?”
“You two have a merry Christmas!”
They left the restaurant, and returned to work. “You know what?”
“What is that?” The model replied.
“That was really cool. It wasn’t obvious, but it was there
the entire time.”
“She really liked your work. I do, too.”
They laughed. He brought out the camera. Now, if only they could top that
framed picture hanging in the restaurant office.
In the end, they did.
Shoot Log Archives (Just before turning pro)
By C. A. Passinault
“Boardwalks
and Bridges”
SHOOT LOG
Monday, 18 January, 1999
This was truly an epic shoot.
Model Kristen W. joined Aurora photoarts photographer C. A. Passinault
on her second ten hour shoot. Being a Holiday, neither had any previous
engagements.
Kristen posed for some blue screen work, modeling for her role as Colony
Alpha’s cyber hostess, Serena Staten. During breaks, she helped
out with the concept and design of her alter ego, which flushed out nicely.
Hours into the shoot, which began at 1PM, Passinault noticed that the
evening sky was overcast, diffusing the sunlight. On a whim, the pair
headed out into the wilds of Riverview. They traveled to a private community
called Waterford. Passinault told Kristen about how he, Kelly, and Tabitha
used to sneak back onto the community’s boardwalk on weekend nights
back in 1989 and get trashed together. The gate was open, so they parked
and took photo’s as they explored the now run down ruins of the
boardwalk, which had fallen into disrepair. The shots, as you can see,
came out rather well, as did the ones they next shot on the washed out
bridge in nearby shadow run.
As night fell, the returned to the studio, polished off the Bluescreens,
and Kristen relaxed with a gaming session of F-Zero X and Zelda 64 in
Geomedia 3 as Passinault struck the set.
“The Crush”
SHOOT LOG
Saturday, 30 January, 1999
This time, a team of models
and photographers traveled to the mine fields of moo moo land. “The
Crush” was an apt title, as our models, Michael and Kristen W.,
looked a lot like the Actors in the movie of that same name. Kristen,
however, resented being constantly compared to Alicia Silverstone.
The day began interestingly enough. It was a warm, clear Saturday morning.
Haze from the blanket of cool fog that filled the countryside began to
lift. The air would have been serene, almost perfect, if not for the overhead
droning of a helicopter. A police helicopter. Passinault glanced out the
window.
Police cruisers blocked the road leading to the studio. He was not amused.
That was the road that his models would have to pass.
The police proved to be a trivial nuisance at the most, as they were looking
for some toddler that had wandered off. Passinault picked up Kristen,
and upon making their way through the thicket of officers, they relaxed
and waited for Michael to arrive. They snacked on donuts, Kristen made
a phone call to the Cayman Islands, and Passinault jammed on a a quick
game of Time Pilot 84 on the Studio’s MAME 32 arcade emulator. Michael
showed up, and Kristen called her friend Jolene, who was also slated to
model with her that day. Jolene, unfortunately, canceled.
At that, Kristen and Passinault loaded up his mini truck and cruised into
Brandon with Michael and his jeep following. They picked up Manny Torres,
the other photographer, who rode with Michael, and headed off for breakfast.
To their dismay, it was too early to eat at their first choice, Hops.
So, they settled for Steak and Shake. The food was- Bland. Kristen and
Passinault had a laugh, though, drawing a “rest in peace”
cartoon on the napkin and placing it over a dish of fries.
The conversation, however, sparkled in contrast, as they bounced topics
between the four of them.
The first stop after making a pit stop at the studio was a field off of
Rhodine road. It was an abandoned pasture. Passinault, as a teenager back
in 1986, had hiked through this very pasture. He observed that, other
than the paved bridge crossing Bell Creek to the east of them, it had
not changed. It was still quite beautiful. Even the dark land mines that
the grazing cows had left behind had a certain charm.
Manny had brought a recorder with him, and he proceeded to interview the
party as the shoot began. The models eased into the act, even to the point
of dancing around to the dance mix of Party Zone RMX, which blared from
a boom box.
They next traveled to the store for a quick lunch, and proceeded to the
boardwalk in the Waterford community, where Kristen had posed for shots
just two weeks prior. Passinault discovered that the gate was shut, and
relished the thought of using the “Kelly Code”, 325, which
he had learned from his highschool friend Kelly Duvall ten years before.
He had told Kristen the previous shoot that, in a private community of
this size, it was hard to change out codes, and the ancient code probably
still worked.
To his disappointment, there was a car in front of them, which opened
the gate. Passinault’s pick up and Michael’s jeep followed
closely behind.
He pulled into the parking slip just inside the gate. Michael’s
jeep purred in beside them. “Hey, there’s some lady behind
us. She doesn’t look too happy.....”.
Manny’s voice. They looked behind them. A red Cherokee, idling off
on the curb. A middle aged woman glared at them from the drivers seat,
her face scrunched up into a scowl. She was well dressed, and, under normal
circumstances, Passinault mused, would be attractive.
“We should leave. I don’t think she wants us here.....”
Manny’s voice again. Passinault frowned. He was right, they’d
have to leave or the whole shoot would be in jeopardy. The grinch in the
Cherokee would have them towed while they shot back on the boardwalk.
He cursed to Kristen as they left, pointing out the beautiful shots that
they would have to miss out on. A thought spilled out. “We should
have taken her picture!”. Kristen laughed.
They decided to go to a large park in Valrico to finish the shoot. Upon
arriving a half hour later, the had an impromptu picnic at a table, then
began shooting in an area with hills. During the shoot, a young fan begged
to have his picture taken with Kristen. It was the highlight of his twelve
years.
The shoot wrapped with a parting shot of Passinault posing with Michael
and Kristen. They parted ways, Michael taking Manny home, and Kristen
going back to the studio with Passinault. After getting a bit lost, they
found their way, and Kristen started to fall asleep from exhaustion.
Upon arrival, he let Kristen take a nap as he washed the truck. He then
woke his star model up, and they took pictures of her pottery on the smooth,
hard lid covering the bed on the back of the pick up. That done, Passinault
took her to work.
“Club Hopping”
SHOOT LOG
Saturday, 27 February, 1999
This was our first Ybor City
shoot. Passinault met up with model Michael in front of the Ritz theater
on Seventh Avenue. After soaking up the sites wandering the strip, the
rendezvoused with Rachel Eaglin, her husband Brady, and two of her friends,
Stephanie and Sonya. Their first spot was the Z Spot, where they spent
a couple of hours taking pictures, and then they went back toward the
Ritz, and went into the Rub.
The Rub was an unique environment for photography. Not only was it not
allowed, but a fog machine kept the air hazy. Techno music thundered as
Passinault circled the dance floor, “sniping” off shots of
the models, and the people dancing. He was careful to keep moving between
shots, as he didn’t want the Bouncers to locate him. Back at one
of the bars, more pictures were taken of the group. An intoxicated woman,
named “Melisa”, inquired about the concealed photography gear
when she rubbed against Passinault at the bar, who, upon first inspection,
did not appear to have any gear on him. “Is that a Camera, or are
you just happy to see me?” . Passinault laughed. “Somehow,
I had a feeling that I was going to hear that line tonight!”. Passinault
took a few shots of his new “friend”, and Melisa snagged a
business card off of him.
Soon after, the shoot wrapped, as the Club was becoming much too foggy
to get any worthwhile pics.
Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 4:00 AM - Tampa Photographer Log for Photographer Chris Passinault
Obtained Tampa Photography Blog domain name as a way for sharing informal opinions and news on the Tampa photography scene and my adventures as a professional photographer. I'm up to my eyes in web sites and coding right now, so it will be next week before this baby can launch. This is not really an entry, as I wrote in in on February 28, retroactively, as an official note on when I obtained the domain name.
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