Manufacturing the Moment

Another day and another photo, but this time the assignment is interesting and I am excited about shooting the president of the American Wind Energy Association.

The name "Altamont" is probably more famous for the tragic Rolling Stones concert in 1969 where a black man was stabbed to death by a gang of white thugs, but the windy Altamont Pass is home to thousands of turbines that dot the hillsides, catching the cool-costal, marine gush before it evaporates into the Central Valley. The pass is said to be the largest collection of wind turbines in the world and my subject is a betting man. He's betting his legal practice on renewable alternative energy as a source of new revenue for his law firm.

I know this is could be a great photo, but I have to massage the moment. I ask him if he has any sunglasses. He shrugs and searches his suitcase (he just flew into Oakland from L.A.). I tell him it'll make a fantastic photo and after some "wrong moments" I create an image that sums it all up.

You Look Marvelous!

So picture yourself having a baby being delivered and at the same time working a $400 million dollar deal.

I find myself driving down Page Mill once again, the Mecca of Silicon Valley and once again pulling into the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop. I do my meet and greet with the perp and he’s a little heavy in the middle and although it doesn’t need to be pointed out it’s one of the first things he mentions. I go through the motions and tell him he looks marvelous. I show him a photo and I can tell he is surprised, in a good way.

I leave and head back to SF. I wonder about his kid, I wonder about his wife, I wonder what it would be like if I made as much money as him. I know I wouldn’t want to leave my wife during delivery, even if it meant more money than I could imagine and $400 million is more than I can fathom. Think about it. What would that much money look like in one room?