Jaime Permuth & Richard Bram
Two photographers from New York are taking part in todayâs âThe Swapâ by the name of Jaime Permuth and Richard Bram http://theswap.info/jprb.html
They answered some questions about their experience:
How do you know each other?
RB - While weâd known of each other and our work for some time via Facebook, I think the first time Jaime and I met in person was at an opening in Chelsea. We recognized each other from profile photos, nodded, shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and went our separate ways. However, in March 2012 we both found ourselves in Houston for FotoFest and ended up spending time together, sharing work and stories of Mexico and Guatemala over meals, between appointments, and became friends in the process.
How did you feel being the subject of a photograph as opposed to the photographer?
RB - While I much prefer to be on the back side of the camera, Iâm fairly used to being photographed. What I have to fight against was trying to âhelp' Jaime by assuming poses looking a certain way, making stock expressions, the sort of look that my wife calls my âIâm having my picture madeâ face - you know, putting on this or that mask. Itâs as hard for me as it probably is for anyone to drop that mask and allow something real through.
JP - Some days it's less painful than others. And it's not a bad thing to be reminded every so often of how it feels to be seen by a lens. The thing about being photographed is that -even if you don't relish the experience- you'll be grateful to have the image once the moment is gone.
Richard works in a very intuitive way, responding to life as it unfolds, and the photograph is taken before you even know it. Nothing better than that.
Did you discuss the shoot prior to taking the images?
RB - Not really. My picture of Jaime was made completely spontaneously one afternoon in a tea shop in Harlem. Weâd gotten together to have a chat about nothing in particular; the warm afternoon sun came in and made everything glow. As we were talking I knew I had to say "hold it,â pick up the camera and shoot about ten frames of Jaime right then. This is definitely the best of the lot.
It was a year later when I dropped Jaime a note to ask if heâd be the other half of the swap and he agreed. We really didnât talk about it that much other than to lock down a date and time. At his suggestion, he came downtown to where I live in the Financial District. The light is always interesting as it moves around through the canyons of Manhattan. When he came in, he said "the light is really nice and we should go out right now!" So we went for a walk around the neighborhood, trying this or that as he spotted a pool of light here, a reflection there, a different background, thenn we walked over toward the 9/11 Memorial Pools. As we walked by the just-completed 4 World Trade Center building, he noticed the sun going into the stark modern lobby as well as the reflections in the glass and asked me if he thought the security in the lobby would give us trouble. I decided that they wouldnât if we were quiet, fast, and didnât ask permission. (If you ask, the answer will almost always be âno.â) He told me where he wanted me to stand, I went in to the spot by the window, he directed me from outside and I did my best to follow instructions. This is the result of his vision.
JP - Haha, yeah that's right. Light dictates and we follow. Wall Street is one of my favorite places to photograph in the city. Light is refracted from many directions by the gleaming buildings all around and people are caught in the crossfire. The streets are frantic but interspersed with random pockets of almost pastoral quiet. This happens to be Richard's neighborhood and I wanted to photograph him there.
It's hard to take a bad picture of my handsome colleague, but this image -with the street inside- seems particularly memorable. Our minor transgression - "occupying" that interior corner of a private building - added a small and energizing challenge to our shoot.
Did you enjoy the process?
RB - In a word, yes. In more words, yes, very much.
JP - Nicely said, Mr. Bram.
Did you experiment with a new style of photography or did you reflect your normal approach?
RB - I Â spent many years as a portrait photographer with my own studio, but the most memorable portraits Iâve made, both for me and for my subjects, have been spontaneous, just like the photo of Jaime: a whim, a bit of serendipity. Now, I always have a camera with me, and I mean always. iâll be talking to someone and suddenly Iâll notice a certain look or gesture, a shaft of light, an interesting background. Up goes the camera quickly and click.
JP - I like to define the general parameters of a situation and then stay loose and go with whatever is there in the moment. A good portrait can never be anticipated or replicated: it's that person, on that given day, in that particular time and place. Go back to the same spot, with the same person at a different time and on a different day: you'll get a completely different photograph.
How do you think the two portraits relate to each other?
RB - The glib answer is that that theyâre both horizontal, color, and the subject is looking to the left of the frame. The serious answer is that they are both casual portraits, even though both photographers exercised quite a bit of formal rigor while composing the frames. they also both express a lot of each of our characters in the final results. This to me is crucial to any sort of good portrait, whether made in a controlled studio setting or in nominally casual circumstances. Jaime and I are both very serious men, especially about our work and the ways we choose to observe and record the world. This doesnât preclude having a sense of humor, though, and I think there is just enough in both pictures to give a subtle hint that we both like to laugh.
JP - As Richard mentioned, his was the first portrait and it happened spontaneously in the context of a leisurely and friendly conversation in Harlem, where I live. I responded by matching his choice of lens -50mm- and by asking him to join me in a walk through his own neighborhood, keeping the context of a shared experience among friends.
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