Draw your own conclusions.
As founder of The Warren Report, Warren Etheredge hosts over 250 events every year,
a podcast and television series. The Warren Report promotes "slow culture" through commentary, outreach,
events and education. Our principle: Smarter audiences make a better world!
While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see. ~ Dorothea Lange
There is so much to take in when viewing Zack Snyder‘s WATCHMEN. The movie is visually arresting, but it is the still photographs, taken by Clay Enos, that best capture the adaptation’s masked heros. Warner Brothers hired Enos to chronicle the epic shoot on-set and off-camera. The award-winning photographer has compiled the work into three coffee-table books, the first of which, Watchmen: Portraits
What amazes me about Clay’s art is, as Dorothea Lange suggested, the evidence it offers of how little our eyes permit us to see. Study Matt Frewer‘s wizened face, Billy Crudup‘s madcap, mo-cap “freckles,” and the photographer as his own battle-ready subject. As The Warren Report oft encourages: Question what you see. Consider what you don’t. Draw your own conclusions. Clay Enos’ photos provide the luxury for you to do so. I wish he’d follow Darren Aronofsky on location. (Or maybe Maura Tierney at home?)
Of course, Clay has better things to do than pique my filmic curiosity or peak to fulfill my puerile fantasy. Heck, he’s a busy man. For AOL Music, he creates portraits of rockers and rappers from Sting to 50 Cent. He points and clicks for corporate behemoths like Coca Cola and Virgin Mobile. He travels worldwide on behalf of foundations celebrating the work of those who would change (and save?) the world including chimp-champ Jane Goodall.
To top it all off — or wash it all down? — he helped found the Organic Coffee Cartel, a charitable organization that promotes good, limited-edition java and better lives for those make it. On February 25th, 2009, “the OCC introduced Veidt Enterprise’s “Nite Owl Dark Roast,” a limited-edition confection and collectible designed for fans and organic coffee gourmands alike. A MAJORITY of the proceeds from the special roast will be donated to charity.”
While he may prefer his quiet life behind the lens, I swayed Clay to express himself in words and pictures for The Warren Report. Given the opportunity to ask him ten questions, I fired away…
WARREN: Much of your work seems philanthropically motivated. Why sign up to document a major Hollywood production?
CLAY: Curiosity is a huge motivation in my work. The same thing that brings me to far off corners of the world brought me to Vancouver. Plus, a steady paycheck for five months then affords more philanthropic efforts afterwards. In the end,it’s all service.
WARREN: You have converted your work chronicling the production and personalities of WATCHMEN into three coffee-table books. Are these coffee-table tomes just a subliminal ruse to encourage more folks to buy java from The Organic Coffee Cartel® of which you are one of the kingpins?
CLAY: I love the idea of being a Kingpin! Wouldn’t it be awesome if even a tiny percentage of the WATCHMEN marketing effort went to selling my coffee? We’d have the whole world drinking great coffees and as a result honoring everyone who made it possible.
Sadly, that hasn’t happened but my efforts to that end continue. I havee high hopes for the OCC. Quality sometimes takes time to rise to the top. We’re on our way. Certainly Nite Owl Dark Roast is a nice entre for folks to learn about what we’re doing. A link would be hugely appreciated http://www.organiccoffee.com/Nite-Owl-Dark-Roast/M/B001O2KSZA.htm
WARREN: In conjunction with WATCHMEN‘s release, the Cartel unveiled Veidt Enterprise’s “Nite Owl Dark Roast.” Are you prepared to announce any other tie-ins? Might we drink Derf de-caf someday?
CLAY: No, this is a one-time opportunity. The timing of my coffee seems to have rubbed some folks the wrong way, and still others think it’s a joke. Regardless, I move with good intentions and creativity as my guide. That’s what motivated Nite Owl Coffee, if something similar strikes me, who knows what may come of it. Until then, I have no plans.
Someone joked about Rorsnacks! That’s funny.
WARREN: Your photographs are stunning; their potency correlates directly with how deeply you submerse yourself in others’ lives. How can you achieve the same authenticity when “documenting” a film’s fictional characters?
CLAY: Thank you. That kind of perceived depth is something that’s emerged over years of making portraits. I believe that if one moves not as a photographer on a mission but more as an artist serving the muses, then that energy will be present in the moments that the shutter releases. Without sounding overly poetic or mysterious, I just think my subjects, whether they are acting the part or simply actors in costume engage me as an equal. We’re all playing our roles and that mutual respect and admiration must somehow show up in my portraits.
WARREN: How often were you on-set? Did you ever pester Zack Snyder to make a cameo appearance? Or, do you prefer remaining behind the camera at all times?
CLAY: I got to work three weeks before shooting began and I was on set every day all day (and/or night). I never pestered Zack for a cameo, he chose me and a few of his mates for a scene in Vietnam. I was more than honored to be part of that scene, especially one where we get guns to shoot. No one really can see in the film but my acting instructions were to take a picture, put my camera down, lift my gun and continue walking through the rice patty. I like that I got to be a photographer warrior. It was background acting at its finest! ;-
WARREN: Were you ever tempted to adjust dp Larry Fong‘s camera placement or lighting? Do you have any interest in cinematography or is there a greater beauty in the still photograph?
CLAY: Absolutely not. His work is the stuff of genius. I am much more of a solo-flyer. Filmmaking is a hugely collaborative art form and I feel I am better off working on a smaller scale. It’s not to say I don’t work well with others, it’s just that I like the flexibility and spontaneity of being a one-man band. The kinds of pictures I make are more intimate and don’t require so much gear.
There is beauty in both mediums. I wouldn’t compare them. Larry is too good. It was great to watch him work. I had no idea how subtle his art-form is. He is attentive to the tiniest details of light in shadow no matter how huge the set. That’s impressive.
WARREN: Recently, you photographed Jane Goodall, who strikes me as as the highest of primates. It must be tough, but who is the most remarkable subject you have ever shot? Has anyone ever gotten you to reconsider your career choice?
CLAY: I don’t rank the folks I shoot. It’d be unfair. Just as you may have a favorite song in your head for a while and think it’s your favorite, only to hear it years later and wonder what in the world you were smoking?! The same is true for my pictures. I have an old Colombian man on my wall. It’s a lovely shot. But a favorite?
No one has ever gotten me to reconsider. I am often reminded how lucky I am to be a photographer. I’m not meant for cubicle work.
WARREN: You have won many honors for your work including the PDN Pix Digital and PDN Design Awards. Is this reward enough? How do you define your success?
CLAY: Rewards are funny things. Those things get listed but mean little as I move forward. I value simple pleasures and unexpected turns. If I can keep moving forward with a camera in hand, sharing my work and by extension inspiring others to do the same or simply see the world anew I will be beyond successful. I’ll be happy.
WARREN: Aspiring shutterbugs are clay in your hands… Clay. How would you advise fledgling photographers best learn to shoot like you?
CLAY: Shoot all the time, be critical of your work, share it and invite critique from others. As a result, you will refine your vision and be a better photographer for it. That doesn’t mean being good at only one thing. Your vision can range across genres, but be sure of your vision and your process because your art will and must inhabit the world of commerce. And that world eats artists for breakfast.
WARREN: What did you think of WATCHMEN? Surely, you’ve seen it. (Trust me, I won’t tell Zack.)
CLAY: I’ve seen it twice. The first time was devastating. I was unexpectedly moved and disturbed by the whole thing. The second time was more of the romp I expected to have the first time. The title sequence is the finest title sequence I’ve ever seen In a movie (a title previously held by SE7EN
Thank you for your questions. If you could add a link to my site and the coffee site, I’d love ya for it.
WARREN: Well, who am I to argue with a photographer warrior. Click away, folks!