The best part about travel is the people you meet and the places you see. Fishing is an excuse to travel, and the sport in of itself generates some truly fantastic storytelling opportunities. I’ve been lucky enough to explore a bit of the South Pacific over the past few years, and when Bjorn over at “Bonefish on the Brain” asked if I would mind doing an interview on the subject, I was more than happy to oblige. (And had some convenient airplane time in which to sit and answer questions!)
Here’s a snippet:
Bjorn: You shoot some mean photos. I’m wondering what sort of considerations you take when you head somewhere so remote in order to not have the whole trip go sideways on you.
Jess: Something always goes sideways; that’s a given. On this trip, I ended up in the little atoll clinic (luckily the rotating, listing French nurse was there at the time) with toe and foot infections from coral cuts. I ended up losing both toenails and by the end of the trip I could barely fit my feet into my flip-flops for the flight home. Part of the game, and there’s no question in my mind the images were worth it.
In planning any shoot, I sit down with the client beforehand and develop a shot list so I know what their “must have” shots are. This list can be as short as a half a page and as long as ten. If logistics allow, I sit down every evening with clients while on location to review shots and ensure they like what they are seeing. Typically we do it the first day or two, then they know they’re comfortable with what we’re shooting and it’s less of a worry. It’s always a good sign when the client starts to bring beer to the photo review.
I’m lucky to travel frequently enough to have developed a “gear list” with items I know I’ll need. It varies location by location and job by job, of course, but the basics stay the same. I take meticulous care of cameras on location — in saltwater locations they get swiped down with a damp cloth then dried each night, lenses and filters carefully cleaned, batteries charged, and memory cards backed up three times then cleared. If I don’t have time to do all that and sleep, then I don’t get sleep. It’s pretty simple.
You can read the full interview here. Thanks again to Bjorn for the opportunity!
Tags: Interviews
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