Frame & Sequence Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

The Marlboro Man campaign, conceived by Leo Burnett and photographed by Norm Clasen, is arguably the most iconic ad campaign every photographed. 

Norm's stunning iconic photography was some of my first impressions of the American West when I was young, as it was seen in just about every magazine published in the 1980’s and billboards across the US.

His incredible sense of story, combined with his acute eye for finding great light even in the harshest of conditions, is truly inspiring.

Norm was kind enough to sit down with me to share his stories and techniques.  I hope you enjoy this episode!

Norm Clasen (b.1939) was born and raised in Southern California. An avid outdoorsman from an early age, Clasen's passion for photography grew from his love of the natural world. After attending the University of Colorado, Norm moved to Aspen in 1962, where he founded and ran an independent advertising agency. 

In 1978, a series of coincidences led to Clasen being invited to shoot for Marlboro.  The campaign was a natural fit, drawing on his intrinsic understanding of horses and the cowboy way of life. Clasen would go on to spend the next thirteen years of his life as a principal photographer for the campaign. 

Clasen’s authentic point of view helped guide the campaign to its zenith, with his work appearing in newspapers, magazines, and billboards across the world; helping shape a visual lexicon integral to the iconography of the American West.

Norm Clasen lives and works in Carbondale, Colorado.

Find Norm's work at his website:  https://normclasen.com/

And his Instagram @normclasenarchive

Find me on Instagram @toddritondaro

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Frame & Sequence Ep. 25 - Dewey Nicks 

Dewey Nicks is one of the great fashion photographers from the glory days of legacy publishing and the height of the super model age.  He has photographed some of the biggest names in fashion and in Hollywood.  He is also an accomplished commercial and film director.

In this episode we talk about his education and early influences in photography.  His career in fashion and editorial photography.  And he shares some great stories about working with some of the top models in the 1990’s as well as some of the incredible art directors and stylists. We also talk a bit about his personal style and aesthetics and much more.  Enjoy!

Find Dewey on Instagram @deweynicks

And his book, Polaroids of Women on Amazon

Dewey Nicks was born in St. Louis, the gateway to the West, as the son of an advertising man. During family vacations to Hollywood as a child, he became intoxicated with its glamour and eccentricity. His love of fine arts finally drew him to California to study photography at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

Since 1986, he has been working as a professional fashion and commercial photographer. His talent, combined with a deep well of enthusiasm, has landed his work in magazines such as Vogue, W, and GQ among many others. He has also created classic advertising images for clients including Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, and Polo.

In 1995, Nicks added Commercial Direction to his resume. An Ameritrade spot in 1999 garnered him the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Award for “The World’s Funniest Commercial.” That same year he became a Director’s Guild nominee for outstanding directorial achievement in television commercials.

His reputation as a top fashion photographer and skilled commercial director have made him uniquely qualified to shoot both print and television spots for clients such as Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Quiksilver, and Unionbay.

In 2000 Greybull Press published Kustom, Nicks’ first book of photographs inspired by the very ideals and unique expression that originally attracted him to California.

Constantly looking to broaden his horizons, Nicks moved into filmmaking. His documentary short Hell House premiered at Slamdance and had its New York debut at the Museum of Modern Art. In 2002 he directed his first feature film, Slackers starring Jason Schwartzman, James King, Devon Sawa, and Laura Prepon.

Versatile and talented, Dewey Nicks will be shaping popular culture for years to come. Grounded by his mid-western roots, Nicks’ body of work combines an authentic visual sense with a great knowledge of the arts to convey his pragmatic understanding of the zeitgeist of contemporary America.

Find me on Instagram @toddritondaro

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Matt Hranek is a man of many talents and many interests.  He is a photographer, director, and as he says, an accidental author and accidental TV host.  And now he is also the Editor in Chief of his own magazine, WM Brown. which just released their third issue for fall. 

He’s also the author of the book, A Man and His Watch, and he’s the former style editor of Conde Naste Traveler among many other things.

But at the core of it all, he is a storyteller, and quite a great one at that.  Matt’s energy and passion for the things he loves is contagious and I was really excited to sit down with him to and ask him about his  photography, how he approaches storytelling, what excites him personally, and some of his upcoming projects, and of course Italy and his love of negronis.  It was a real thrill to talk to Matt and I hope you enjoy!  

Find Matt on Instagram @wmbrownproject

And WM Brown Magazine

Yolanda Edwards is the editor in chief of Yolo Journal, her gorgeous new travel magazine which I highly recommend you get your hands on.  She is also the creative director of WM Brown Magazine, and she’s the former creative director of Conde Naste Traveler.

In this episode, she shares her experience in legacy publishing and what makes Yolo Journal a different kind of travel magazine.   She shares her thoughts on what makes a good travel story and what make compelling travel photography, and much, much, more. Enjoy!

Find Yolanda on Instagram:  @yolandaedwards

And Yolo Journal: @yolo.journal

And to subscribe to Yolo Journal Magazine

https://www.yolojournal.com/

Nathan Fowkes is a veteran entertainment industry concept artist with credits on 12 animated feature films including DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt, Spirit, several projects within the Shrek Universe, How to Train Your Dragon, and many others.

Additionally, Nathan has been sought after as a consultant for game studios to enhance the quality of their theatrical presentation. He has worked with numerous clients including Blizzard Entertainment, King, Disney Interactive, Riot Games, Ubisoft, Rovio and Supercell. 

Nathan is also well known as a teacher of color, light and design; he is a regular guest lecturer at Art Center College of Design and has taught at The Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art and the Laguna College of Art and Design. He's the author of the bestselling book How to Draw Portraits in Charcoal and How to Paint Landscapes in Watercolor and Gouache. Nathan teaches online at Schoolism.com when his film production schedule allows.   

Schoolism.com is offering you loyal listeners of the podcast a discount, with the promo code RITONDARO. Get $5.00 off (15% discount) for the first 6 months. (This is not a sponsored podcast and I have no affiliation with them, I just love what they do!).

Follow Nathan on his Instagram: @nathanfowkesart

And on his website: https://www.nathanfowkes.com

And his courses on Schoolism.com

His books on Amazon

Stephanie Draime and Eduardo Cerruti are a New York City based photography team, as well as life partners. 

Coming from greatly distinct backgrounds, Eduardo is originally from Florence, Italy and Stephanie is a Mexican American who grew up in Hawaii, the two met in Florence in 2010. 

They moved to New York City in 2014 and began to pursue photography together.  The two photographers quickly noticed how perfectly they synced as a team and have been fully dedicated to their work since, traveling the world shooting for such clients as Cereal Magazine, Mr. Porter,  Condè Nast Traveler,  Suitcase Magazine and many, many more.

Find them on Instagram 

@stephdraime

@edocerruti

and their website:

http://www.cerrutidraime.com

James Michalopoulos is a painter and sculptor, probably best known for his singular style, painting portraits of New Orleans shotgun houses and Creole cottages.  James captures the spirit and essence of his subject in layer upon layer of thick impasto paint, brimming with color and energy.

Today he divides his time between New Orleans and Burgundy.

During a trip to France in 1990, he fell in love with Provence and the Burgundy region and bought a home near Cluny.  The French countryside–with its Roman era stone buildings and verdant fields–has become a large focus of his work, grappling with notions of elemental biological life and the evidence of cohabitation with nature.

His artwork continues to be shown extensively in the U.S. and abroad, in museums, galleries, and private collections.

And if you visit New Orleans, definitely pop by his gallery in the French Quarter, as his large scale works need to be experienced in person.

In this episode, James shares a lot of his thought process and approach to art. We talk about some technique, finding one's style, and probably most importantly, finding your truth through your work.  I got a lot out of this conversation and I hope you do as well.

His website

https://www.michalopoulos.com

and his Instagram page

@jamesmichalopoulos

David Zheng is a New York City based photographer. After eight years working in finance, he decided to leave his career to pursue a career in photography.  

Shooting mostly black and white film, and being largely self taught, he sought further education at the International Center of Photography and studied under a Darkroom Master Printer.

In 2018, he traveled to Guangzhou, China to photograph his first series, which he then self published as his first book, titled Reveries.

David shares some great insights into his process and thinking in this episode and I hope you enjoy!

Find David on Instagram @iamdavidz

And on his website: http://davidzhengstudio.com

His book “Reveries” can be found here: http://davidzhengstudio.com/store/reveries

Originally from Georgia, Katie is a New York City based artist where she lives and works.  She created Paper Fashion in 2009 as an outlet to share her artwork with the world.

Katie works on personal commissions and often collaborates with commercial clients, many in the fashion and beauty space. 

In this episode she shares some great insights and advice on work habits, how she developed her style,  navigating social media and client work, and much, much more.

Katie also recently released her own brand of art supplies which can be found here:

www.paperfashionstore.com

Follow her on lnstagram @paperfashion

and at her website www.paperkatie.com

Will Weston is an Associate Professor at Art Center College of Design where he teaches in the Entertainment Arts and Entertainment Design Departments.

He has an MFA in fine art and worked as an advertising illustrator before moving into animation. He’s worked in animation for Disney, Nickelodeon and Sony. He’s also taught at Dreamwork’s TV and Feature Animation and lectured in their lunchtime lecture program.

Will has a incredibly unique way of breaking down the complexity of drawing and his Instagram feed is a gold mine of information. He can be found @willwestonstudio  

In this episode he shares some great insights, advice, and a few assignments that he gives his Art Center students that are relevant for anyone in the visual arts. 

Find Will on Instagram @willwestonstudio