RAVE:
Last evening I had an opportunity to listen to Parish Kohanim speak about his photography, philosophy and decades of shooting for the world of advertising.
I remember picking up a Black Book oh so many years ago and finding his pages. He was in “South” category, Atlanta, and the work just jumped off the page. For years, when I would get a new Black Book or Workbook, I would immediately flip over to see what Kohanim had put in that year. Always a delight.
It was fun meeting him in person, and hearing him discuss creativity. A very soft spoken man with a wonderful imagination and a true, inspiring love for the still image.
A quick bio:
Starting in film school, he began shooting still life in his makeshift studio as a way to teach himself how to use a 4×5 and control light. The work began to stand on its own in a relatively short time, and for a while Parish shot still life work.
Photograph by Parish Kohanim, Atlanta
However, the desire to work with people was strong, and he began to add the occasional portrait into the mix of still life / product work that was keeping the doors open.
He has since stopped shooting the still life, and is now a full time people shooter primarily working for advertising agencies and companies the world over. His clients include many Fortune 500 companies; IBM, AT&T, Coca Cola, DeBeers Diamonds, Sony, Polaroid, Canon USA, Hanes, Fossil, Kodak, and Kimberly Clark, among others. Kohanim’s work has appeared in a myriad of publications including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Forbes, Time, and Newsweek.
The first of two things I took away was how excited he was by the seemingly ordinary turned extraordinary through the lens. whether by use of color or design, or the tools of the camera itself (shutter / DOF), it was possible to create magnificence out of the mundane. Light is the key, he stated. It was the thing that the photographer could use to show something in an exclusive way.
Yep, we at Lighting Essentials know that.
Photograph by Parish Kohanim, Atlanta
The second thing was the vision and the truth of that vision, that Kohanim maintained throughout the different ‘sections’ of his career. From the painterly portraits of today to the highly stylized fashion of an earlier period, the work was unmistakably Kohanim. He followed no fads and no trends other than the ones he created, staying true to the work made it more substantial and satisfying for him.
And while staying on his self made course, he also finds it necessary to mix it up a bit… challenge and explore. The exploration often leads to new works and styles to present to his clients. That consistent freshness, the vision to make something unique, and a constant wonder of the still image keeps Kohanim on top.
He is constantly shooting for clients, and for himself. There is always a project ongoing. From dancers to painterly portraits to the art nude, Kohanim is keeping his mind and eye fresh to discover new things. It is that constant challenge that keeps him motivated and excited.
Very little discussion on gear, but he showed a lot of ‘hot lights’ and flagged light portraiture. Grids were on display in a lot of his recent fashion work, and the impeccable styling in every photo enhanced the graphic elements of his composition.
In recent years he has added a gallery to his studio, showing and selling limited edition fine art prints. This new chapter of his life was something he was very excited about, and the work was impressive and beautiful.
I totally enjoyed his presentation last night. Thought I would share a bit with you.
Parish Kohanim’s studio website.
OnLine Gallery.
An Apple Profile and an article at Digital Photo Pro.
Photograph by Parish Kohanim
BTW, thanks to ASMP, Arizona/Phoenix Chapter and the guys at Legend City for putting on this event. It was well attended, and the space was perfect.
Thanks for coming along on this brief post. Tomorrow I leave for New York and a workshop there this weekend. I will be shooting and hanging in NY for the first part of next week, and then on to Baltimore for a workshop there. The week between should be filled with some fun stuff and I plan (plan, not promise) to post as often as I can on this kinda fun road-trip. Follow me on Twitter, and check out the Learn to Light site for more information on the workshops.
Yeah — I just happened upon his website several years ago when I was assisting full time still and was blown away by his work. I was then even more surprised to find out that his studio / gallery was just two or three miles down from where I lived. I immediately went to trying to set a appointment with him to come by and share my work with him as well as talk with him about assisting for him.
Great studio and a nice guy. I remember my rubber ducky images stood out to him. He seemed to like my work but seemed like he had more than enough assistants calling him for work at the time. I knew it would be tough getting in and would require calling every week for weeks checking in to get my foot in the door. I was already staying pretty slammed with other shooters in town so I never really did heavily pursue work with him. This is something I always regret when I look at his work. The dude is pretty brilliant and unique.
Maybe I will go check out his gallery again sometime soon and maybe even ask him about assisting work. I’m not above it — especially for somebody like him.
Great studio and a nice guy. I remember my rubber ducky images stood out to him. He seemed to like my work but seemed like he had more than enough assistants calling him for work at the time. I knew it would be tough getting in and would require calling every week for weeks checking in to get my foot in the door. I was already staying pretty slammed with other shooters in town so I never really did heavily pursue work with him. This is something I always regret when I look at his work. The dude is pretty brilliant and unique.
+1