MODEL PORTFOLIO CHECKLIST
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This Month's Featured Photographer
Robert Bruce Duncan
bruce@robertbruceduncan.com
http://www.robertbruceduncan.com
From a closet darkroom while in prep school, to interviewing and shooting celebrities to writing and illustrating a book, Robert Bruce Duncan has spent the last 40 years involved with photography. Hailing from Santa Barbara, CA, he has traveled the world and drawn upon those experiences to produce some excellent images that have a very real feeling to them:
“For fashion, I like images that aren't over-done. I'm not a big fan of
grotesque poses. I think images that look real, that look like people as
you see them in the street, or at a café, work best."
"I despise "Glammer" photography, the over-produced color images that
areintended only to titillate and tease. I love simple, classic black and
white nudes, and duotones. Stuff that tends towards portraiture."
Bruce's background had been originally classic photography. He recommends that everyone involved
with photography read Penelope Niven's biography of Edward Steichen. He has crossed paths with some
of the top photographers of our era:
"When I went to prep school in upstate New York--Millbrook--I was lucky
enough to find a great photography department. Our annual photo
contest was often judged by real photographers--Minor White, for example--and also
lucky enough to be indulged by my family, in the sense that I was encouraged
with good cameras."
"At UCSB (University of California at Santa Barbara), I studied photography under
Bill Rohrbach, an art professor. Not too long after that I went to Paris to live
with my girlfriend, who was studying at the Sorbonne. I came back with great images, but an
absolute ignorance of how to market them."
"In the '80s, I had an attack of ambition. I had always admired the
"headsheet" posted by the La Belle Agency in Santa Barbara, so I
screwed up my courage and took images from three shoots to the agency. They liked
the work, put me on the test list, and soon I was on the "Pro" list."
Which wasn't surprising - he sold his first image at the age of 19 to Surfer magazine, the subject being his trip to Puerto Rico with a bunch of "crazy Australian surfers". His budding career was cut short just before being sent on assignment by Surfer to Hawaii by a "Greeting from the President."
After his stint in the service. he eventually fell into writing as well, submitting to the local 'alternative' newspaper, "The Weekly". Bruce went on to working for a couple of glossy magazines, doing celebrity interviews with the likes of Jimmy Conners and actor Anthony Edwards. He also was a contributing editor and staff photographer for a niche magazine called "Excellence, A Magazine About Porsche Cars", where one of the perqs was being able to take one of the cars home for a week.
Bruce also developed a love for the sea:
"I had a nautical background--ex-charter captain--so I settled on
the idea of a book about antique speedboats. I've never been much
interested in grim photographs--I believe there's enough pain in the world
already--and the beauty of the boats attracted me."
""Cutwater, Speedboats and Launches from the Golden Age of Boating"
debuted to rave reviews, and is now in its seventh printing. The French
language edition came out last year. Text and photography by Robert Bruce Duncan.
One reviewer, Joe Gribbins, now director of publications for Mystic Seaport Museum
and no slouch of a writer himself, called my prose "lyrical." Go figure!"
"My book, of course, is my biggest project. I just completed images for
a second book. In terms of fame, I shot a whole slew of celebrities when
I was staff photographer for the Santa Barbara International Film
Festival for a couple of years, but it was all paparazzi work. Jimmy Stewart, Robert
Mitchum, and so on."
"I'm not much interested in landscape - slow moving targets, I'd call
it - and I don't think I could take a "table top" photograph if my life depended
on it. I don't make a lot of money, but I do manage to have fun."
"I almost invariably fall in love with the girls I shoot--it's okay, I'm
big into professional distance, and besides, even Edward Steichen fell in
love with his models."
"Mainly, the women I shoot are intelligent, ambitious, and vivacious.
The energy levels when we shoot sometimes approach meltdown. And when my
work--our work--is at its best, I cannot tell you how rewarding it is. And in the
summers, I get to travel around to great locations--I love being
on the water--and photograph boats."
"I find models anywhere I can. The Mesa Café in Santa Barbara has over
100 of my black and white portraits on the wall, and sometimes, if I'm
feeling very brave, I'll approach one of the many beautiful patrons.
Word of mouth is good. If you do good work with one girl, you'll get a
pile of referrals. Beautiful women run in packs."
"Agency referrals are the best: These girls are serious, they've
probably been in front of a camera before, and they want to make good images as
much as you do. They pay for their prints, and they return phone calls."
Bruce offers advice for photographers:
"Number one, burn film. Read a lot of books. Look at art in museums and
books, and take a couple of simple courses. Learn the basics. When you look at
an image, be analytical. What is the camera's point of view? Where's the
light coming from? What's happening with composition?"
"The best that can be said of photography schools is that you make all
your mistakes there, where they don't cost you money. If you make those
mistakes as a pro, oh dear! And, schools can offer great connections."
So, if you ever get to Santa Barbara, be sure to see Robert Bruce Duncan's work on display at the Mesa Cafe. If you're lucky, you may find a new model to work with. If you're even luckier, you'll meet Bruce in person. Be sure to buy him a martini!
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