thatsthespot.com Matt Barnes photography blog

Albert Watson

Photographing a fellow shooter can be a daunting task - a task made ever the more daunting when that shooter is a photographic idol…

On Friday, Matt was invited out by Vistek to a lecture that they were putting together for photographer Albert Watson. This in itself was an exciting event, as Albert’s work has long been admired by Matt, but it was to be made that much more exciting by Vistek’s Christopher Huchenski, who managed to meet Matt’s request for a post-lecture shoot with Albert. It wasn’t the first time that Matt was to meet an idol, as he’d previously spent a day in London with celebrity photographer John Stoddart, but it was the first time he’d been asked to photograph one…

After an extensive lecture (highlighted by a story where Albert recalled photographing both for Vogue in France & Vogue in NYC, followed by Frank Zappa in LA - in a single day) he was tired, but he still managed to give Matt a few tips on lighting while he sat for the photograph. What followed was a tremendous personal achievement and the final product was just as Matt set it out to be - a traditional and simple portrait. The experience harked back to an assignment Matt had back at Sheridan, about how one would approach photographing a favourite photographer - who knew it would be as easy as grabbing Jeff, Papi, and a Hassleblad!

Thanks to Vistek and Christopher Huchenski for hooking up a truly inspirational event, and to Albert Watson for such an engaging body of work, and putting up with Matt’s fandom - Matt’s favourite photographs by Albert appear below.