James Maher is most known for his street photography and photography talks at conferences, articles at industry sites like Digital Photography School and Photofocus, and of course, his ebooks. But James has been a commercial photographer for many years, working with clients including Daily News, Tiffany & Co, and many other New York businesses and businesses around the world.
In this episode, James shares the story behind one a project of his called Speedway and an interesting man named Mango.
- Find James at jamesmaherphotography.com
- See the photo from this episode here.
Thanks for Listening
You just listened to a breakdown of a specific photo from my guest. To hear and see more, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Podchaser | Email | Anchor | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Overcast | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox
Transcription was done by Descript or Rev’s automated transcription services which means it’s an AI-generated transcript. The transcript may contain spelling, grammar, and other errors, and is not a substitute for listening to the episode.
James Maher: My name is James Mayer, and this is the photo breakdown.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Photo breakdown is a podcast where I talk with photographers, sharing the story of a specific photograph technique or business win. I’m your host, Scott White and giveaway. And this is photo breakdown. Let’s break it down. Hello, my name is Scott Wyden.
Kivowitz your host of photo breakdown. And today I’m sitting down with James Mayer to talk about a real. Great photo that has a a really cool story behind it as well, actually. But before we dive in this episode is sponsored by my lead generation course for photographers called more leads more clients.
Yes. If you would like to increase the leads that you’re generating on your photography sites, you can use the strategies I teach in my course, access it at scottwiden.com/leads. Hey, James. Hey to those who are listening to this, they don’t know that we know each other, so we know. So we we’ve been we’ve been talking all day, even though it’s now what’s eight o’clock at night and we are recording this.
So this is a lot of fun episode three. A photo breakdown. Oh, big time. Yes. So I can’t wait to, so we get to to the 50 milestone, the a hundred milestone. It’s going to be cool. Yeah. Yeah. So I’ve got two questions for you. Sure. The F the first question what do you wish you had known 10 years ago?
James Maher: 10 years ago. I wish I had invested in Bitcoin. I wish I had, gotten a little earlier on the Twitter train and the, all that stuff. No, what I wish I it’s a good question. I wish I had. Carved out a little bit more time for personal photography 10 years ago.
Probably. Yeah, that was, I always did a decent amount of that, but it got lost for a few years and just trying to, make a living. And so I wish I had, forced myself a little bit extra time.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Awesome. Now this, the second question, and I think because of who your parents are, is going to make this even even better a question, how would your parents describe what you do for them?
James Maher: For the people who don’t know, my parents are both psychiatrists. So how would they describe it? I, I’ll say it from my mother’s perspective, my mother would say she understood, she understands it, but I don’t know if she actually does, she cause she’s a psychiatrist.
She just has to be now I think they would I think they would definitely, my mom said that she of all the careers she could have gotten. She would never have guessed this one, but it makes the most. Based on, my personality and I always said I would never be a psychiatrist because of how crazy my parents are.
When you’re doing photography, there is a lot of I think a little bit of the same. The thing that you do in psychiatry when you’re doing portraits, when you’re trying to diagnose things, when you’re trying to tell stories, I think there’s actually a lot more crossover than you might think.
Yeah, I didn’t get too far away, actually. I think from the psychiatry.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Especially with the type of photography that you do. I think you’re spot on that. That you’re you’re you’re writing. In that zone
James Maher: and it is my own form of therapy too yeah.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. All right, so let’s break down that photo.
We are looking at a photo right now. It’s a photo of a guy with a mask on his face. So we know
James Maher: that how can it help? It looks like, is it like a hello kitty mask or something like that? Yeah. I don’t know some pink. Yeah.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. We know, so we know the time period. We know that it’s during the pandemic, right?
It’s not pre pandemic. This is at least mid pandemic. Who is this guy?
James Maher: So his name’s mango or, yeah, he told me I yeah, the top of my head, his real name, but yeah, he goes by mango and I, do you want me to start for the whole story right now? What are you? Yeah. I had been. I live down the block from in Brooklyn, from this really crappy gas station called a Speedway.
And it’s funny. Cause one of the people I actually did a portrait for, from there, it was just like, I was just standing next to it. I was watching him on his bike trying to like, put the gas. And he was like, man, this is a crappy gas station. So you know I decided a few months ago to do a project on this place, because it’s It’s literally the most interesting subsection of people.
It’s like the real new Yorkers, the long-time people, it’s just a fast place where all these interesting people congregate at this gas station. So I decided, I’m going to go and I’m just, I it’s on my way to the subway. So when I go to work, I just take a camera and I leave a little bit early and I photograph and went out a little extra time.
Like I’ll sit there for 20 minutes and look for interesting. And so it’s just a mixture of candids and portraits and stuff. So it’s actually turning out pretty interesting. It’s a pretty fascinating place. And one of the things I started noticing on my ways to jobs is a few times I, I’d started to see like bird, just birds, eating food, like rice, or, bread or something.
And I saw that, like I started seeing that more and more often. And then a few times I saw the guy who was feeding them and I was like rushing to a job. I had my camera. So I took a couple of quick, like candid street photography shots as I was rushing off and I was wondering, who the guy was.
And after this happened a few more times, like one day I was like, I got to fi finally stop this guy and, get a portrait of him and talk to him. So I would. Walking there one day, at, around the time when he was usually there and I was like, all right, I’m going to, I’m going to stop him.
I want to talk to them. And I like get close. And he just looks at me and he just goes, Hey, take my picture, man. So I was like, sweet, awesome. That’s easy. So I was like, Hey, how’s it going, man? Yeah. And it turns out we started talking and this was the thing I love about photography is you just can have these really cool connections based on the camera that you just don’t expect.
And so he was just this really enthusiastic guy. He said he, came out every day to feed the pigeons as a form of therapy. Speaking of therapy, And he just found it really relaxing. And then it’s it turns out the guy in the back of him is this is the Glo hotel, which during the pandemic turned into a homeless shelter or to household homeless people.
And he had been living there. But they recently kicked them all out. And now they’re like advertising $89 a night hotel rooms. But so he said he had just been kicked out of the place and he’s been sleeping on friend’s couches and stuff like that. And yeah, so that, that was the story we talked for a while.
He was super nice. I took his picture. I helped him out a little bit. And he gave me a bunch of pictures and then this one is my favorite one. It just shows us, it’s pretty simple. It’s it’s not doing any flashy, but he’s, he’s got this look on his face.
Yes. And
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: natural.
James Maher: Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, so it very natural. And so the goal is now with this project is I hope he keeps coming because I plan to keep on photographing him and photographing the bird seed and having the story of the gas station, but then the story of him and just these shots throughout as well, and then end up with this portrait at the end.
So it’s like a reveal. It would be
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: really neat if you start to see. Progress of like, where’s he living next and, or exact, did he get a job as he now? Is he now working somewhere? Is he now have a new place to live? Like it would be cool to to see where.
It goes for him.
James Maher: Yeah. No you’re totally right. That’s part of, oh, I really hope he keeps coming, who knows if he will. Cause he’s not living there anymore, but he still has been, but yeah, no, I hope to keep asking questions, getting to know him better. If I’m lucky enough to do that.
Yeah, so that’s a, it’s a great point and something that I’m hoping to do
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and actually a book or a movie called speed. Which is about, about a guy named mango would be like a fantastic story.
James Maher: Definitely. The crazy thing is that two days after the shot, I was like heading to a job and I was like I think it was.
I was in like prince street, subway station or something like that, transferring over. And literally he like walked right by me and I was like, mango, let’s go down, man. It was raw. It was there. It was like that literally the most random encounter after two days after in the middle of the city.
Yeah. That’s
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: great. So it’s interesting because a lot of your work for anybody, anybody listening, you’re obviously going to be checking out this photo, so please browse James his other work, but. A lot of your work is black and white and you happen this whole series so far as color.
So it’s interesting. Why did you choose color for this? When a lot of the time you go a block away, is there a reason behind it?
James Maher: So it’s actually, it’s pretty interesting. Right now I’m like half black and white and half white. I tend to like I tend to, when I shoot in Manhattan, I tend to shoot in black and white.
And when I shoot in Brooklyn, I tend to shoot in color. So it’s very, it’s pretty interesting. I, the thing is when I like the pro I’m doing finishing a project in Manhattan called Luxe city, which is, about the changing nature of the city, of the gentrification, the luxury suffocation.
And it really feels right it to, if it feels like this luxury look and black and white, it gives it this kind of feeling. So that’s why I do all that work in black and white. And then when I’m in Brooklyn, I’m photographing the complete opposite of that, the real, more of the real New York, more, stuff like that.
And and just the colors really feel more natural for that. So I feel like, so I think in terms of projects and ideas and what I’m shooting and it’s more of an active switch. When I she had Manhattan, I shoot with the Fuji X 100, turn the screen into black and white.
When I shoot in Brooklyn and I do a little more portraits and things like that in addition to the candidates and environmental is I shoot with the GFX the medium format camera and I just, everything I shoot with that, I just know it’s going to be in. So yeah that’s the reason.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: And so when you’re doing the meaningful, so like in this, in for this project, for example, so this series, are you doing like you would do street photos and Manhattan as far as setting the lens on a fixed focal point and then just going, or are refocusing as you do, zone focus versus not, what’s your progress or
James Maher: system.
So I, I do in general, I do zone focusing. Like sometimes I half the time and half the time I don’t this project is interesting because usually when I shoot in Brooklyn now I always use the GFX, the medium format. But for this project, half the time when I’m heading to my Manhattan jobs and I had through this gas station, I have only the X 100 with me.
And so it’s and And this project is a mixture of I’m trying to I’m trying to figure out how to intertwine these candid quick shots, and I’m trying to make them look like I’m not putting too much effort into them. Like I’m trying to make them look like they’re found moments and maybe feeling a little bit haphazard on purpose.
And then mixing them with the more formal GFX portraits were like like the portrait of this guy. So when you look at the foot, when you look at the, I’m going to share some photos with this, one of, the bird seeds, the bird stuff. Even though there’s a lot of other photographs in this project that I need to put together, but those photographs are all pretty much with the excellent hundred.
They’re all. I try to take them a little quicker and make them feel like. Not perfectly composed and then they contrast with this portrait. So yeah this project is going to have a mixture of styles and I’m trying to figure out how to make that all work. Yup.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Look it, so we’re talking about the one specific photo, but when you do look at it overall, you can tell that there’s a mixture of cameras going on because of first of all, just the color, total quality is going to be different between cameras, but but also just the fact.
The one that the birds definitely look more candid. You can tell plus you can see yourself in it.
James Maher: Yeah, that was on purpose. Yeah. Very leaf.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Very Lee Freelander of you
James Maher: a little bit. Yeah.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: But the. I of the photo of mango, specifically the Boca in the back, like how smooth it is.
He definitely pops off that background, which is really good as well. And it is so colorful from top to bottom. It’s a very colorful photo, which is really nice to see as well.
James Maher: Yeah. And that camera just renders colors amazingly. So it’s interesting. It’s like tough to figure out how to mix when you’re talking about different qualities with cameras yeah.
To mix it together. So it all works together. They’re both Fuji, so it’s it’s not as stark as two completely different cameras, but it’s just something that I’m yeah. When I’m editing, I’m trying to get them to match up enough. So it feels consistent.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. So it’s funny.
Cause now, nowadays, when you talk about Fuji cameras and we want to talk about. What I’m going to ask you is your, what lens you were using, what the focal length was. It’s interesting because if you’re talking their typical mirrorless camera, you’re talking a crop sensor right now. Now when you’re talking to the GFX, it’s a medium format.
So there’s no tradition. You’re like you’re not using a traditional 35 millimeter full frame size sensor. You’re using a medium format sensor for this portrait. So if I, if you say you’re using a 50 millimeter lens, it’s not really 50 millimeters. What a full frame photographer would understand, or even a cropped sensor photographer.
Wouldn’t understand. If you could tell us what lens you were using for this photo, if you recall, and then what the focal is. Was that you were at in, in even if you can do the conversion between medium format and 35 so people can
James Maher: understand it more. Yeah, I can do that. Yeah. So it, the one that the lens that I use the most for this one is the 63 millimeter lens.
And did you have 63 millimeter? And that is the equivalent of 50 of a 50. And for the X 100, I use the telephoto attachment, the 33 millimeter attachment, which is also the equivalent of 50 millimeters. So I use 50 millimeter most often. And then I also use my second, like the other lens I use is the pancake lens, which I forgot the millimeter of it, but it’s the equivalent of about a 40 millimeter on the GFX.
Yeah.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Great. Yeah, that, I love this photograph when you shared with me the story behind it is just incredible. So I can’t wait to follow along with where you go with it. See more photos from it, with, and without mango in it. Yeah. And I’d be curious to see if other People start joining in with mango over time as well.
Cause you never know, right? Yeah.
James Maher: Yeah. It’ll be like a west side story thing that people feed the birds. Yeah. Just interesting about, just about this gas station is that it’s you think it’s a place where people wouldn’t say yes for photographs, they’re in a rush and stuff, but literally like everybody I ask and I’m asking some people that I’m thinking are going to say no, and they’re all.
Yeah, sure. Take my picture. And they’re like, what’s a four and I’m like, oh yeah, I’m just doing photos of the people in this crappy gas station and they’re like, oh, cool. Okay. I get it. It’s shot shockingly. Not what you would expect in this place. And it’s really fun. Yeah.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. For the record, I have a Speedway around the corner for me.
But it’s not, it’s on a highway, so I wouldn’t go and take pictures there, but in Brooklyn it might be a little different.
James Maher: Definitely. Yeah. We can compare speedways. We could do like the Jersey Speedway.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Thanks James. For breaking down this photo with me. I can’t wait for everybody to take a look at this.
We’re going to of course, link to where everybody can see this photo in the show notes for this episode. I have one more question for you. I really have to, but what should I have asked you? But didn’t
James Maher: That’s a good question. I don’t I can’t, let me think. What should you have asked me about the photo or just in general.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Is your son sleeping?
James Maher: He’s, he usually lays in bed for about half an hour. Yeah. My he’s good. He’s he’s three and a half years old and he’s just a ball of not, nutso nest right now. Yeah, I don’t know. What’s what should you ask me? I don’t I don’t know.
I think, yeah. I can’t think of a question to ask me, but I would say that, for something specifically for this project, it’s not I’ve been doing like portraits of people on the streets for a long time and you think, it’s interesting because the more you do it, the more comfortable you get with it and the kind of easier you get talking with people, but it’s it never changes.
It’s just I’ll get there. Do it like regimented and be like, I have to go, I have to go. And there’s days where I just don’t feel like it at all. And I don’t feel like being social and I know a lot of people do that as well, and they just kinda the turnaround and go back or But over the time have gotten good at just pushing myself when I really don’t feel like it.
And some of those, like today, I did not feel like it whatsoever. And I got two great portraits of guys who are like, I was like, oh, I was like, ah, that’s not a great guy. And I was like, damn it. Now I have to go talk to him. Cause I’ll kill myself. I’ll beat myself up and it turned out great.
I think that’s probably something that I struggle with. Even though I’ve been doing this for a long time and I know everyone else does.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. You and I are both on that Amber vert side of things, right in the middle of extroversion, introversion. Yeah. And, You have been doing street photography way longer than I have.
And you’ve figured out how to talk to people randomly and get the ports. That’s something that I just know myself I’m not comfortable doing. So it’s great that you keep doing it when I know it’s a struggle. Yeah, definitely.
James Maher: Yeah. Some days it’s okay. But yeah, no, it’s yeah. It’s I don’t know.
Yeah. It’s I love doing it, but it doesn’t feel comfortable. So it’s exactly what we’re talking about. Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So where can our listeners connect with you on.
James Maher: So they can go to my website. It’s my last name is mayor MHR. So it’s James Mayer, photography.com. If you just Google James Mayer you can find me there.
And yeah, check on my sites. I have a, if you’re ever traveling to New York I have a free New York photographers travel guide, which you can just go and find that on the site and download that. Yeah. And if you have any street photography questions, just send me an email anytime.
Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Awesome. Thank you so much for listening to photo breakdown or the show notes, and to see the photo that James and I talked about today, visit photobreakdown.com
Leave a Reply