In the last few weeks that we’ve been moving into our new office, (YES!  Very excited!) there’s been a lot of news in the photography community.  Some of the saddest was that photography master Irving Penn passed away at his New York home, at 92 years old.  There’s not much I can add to the many, many stories posted on the life and career of Mr. Penn, (probably the best I’ve seen is on the New York Times site, here, and here), but I can add my own little, personal and perhaps a bit indulgent story about Irving Penn. 
 

In the early ‘80s I was a few years into my career as a commercial photographer.  I’d set up a studio, and had a few clients- notably a company called DarLabs, (literally two guys in a garage- to soon become ModTap, then, after ten years and astounding growth to be acquired by industry giant Molex), an offshoot of Digital Equipment Corp. called the Computer Museum, and a dear friend and supremely talented goldsmith, Blue Poitras (dear friend indeed, but certainly one of the most demanding and challenging clients I was to have… always asking me to push my limits).
 

As a budding young photographer I looked to everything I could find for direction, inspiration, a sense of style that I could relate to and that my clients would find compelling.  Interestingly, W Magazine, Vogue and the New York Times Fashion supplement were the sources of what seemed like the most exciting, current and inspiring photography- far more than anything the tech industry or photo industry was doing.  Not to mention I got to see all sorts of great shots of hot babes… 
 

One campaign really struck me in the early and mid-‘80s- the Clinique ads.  They were simple, beautiful photographs of the most rudimentary subjects- bottles and jars of cosmetics- yet the play of light, shadows, the reflections, and the overall vision and composition of the entire frame was a profound combination of simplicity, elegance and timelessness.  I started what would become a lifelong obsession with pools, streaks, washes of light, and used my developing style for everything from Blue’s gold jewelry to ModTap’s widgets to the furniture of Antoine Proulx to even architectural interiors and industrial machinery. 
 

I was just starting my journey, and this simple, elegant and timeless style first led, then sent me down a road that would last me a career.  It wasn’t until 15 years later that I learned who shot that campaign: Irving Penn.  

One of the most interesting things to me was that someone who had such a long, productive and influential career- Penn started working with Vogue in the late ‘30s- was taking jobs shooting cosmetics.  That, in itself, was a lesson for me.  It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, there is no assignment that is beneath you, or that you can’t lift to the level of artistic expression, or give the stamp of your photographic vision.  You simply have to look at everything afresh, through the eyes of a master, and a child, at the same time. 
 

At a time when the professional photography industry is under assault from every corner- including snapshooters and amateurs- and we often find ourselves defending our profession- Irving Penn can still teach us the most fundamental lesson:  learn to see- fresh, new, and with the control and understanding of our medium.  In answer to the question, “What does it mean to be a photographer?” let the photograph be the answer. 
 

Thank you, and I’ll miss you, Irving Penn.