Photography: Amazing People and Their Craft: Jimmie Johnson, Led Zeppelin, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin

In this collection of Amazing People and Their Craft I started with an image that dates back to the mid 1970’s when I was shooting a rock concert performed by Aerosmith. They were just making it to the big time and I happened to be there to witness the performance by Steven Tyler and his bandmates.

This was in their crazy days of drugs and alcohol when they would let the audience form around the stage just to watch the wild and amazing singer strut his stuff as he ‘walked this way’.

How about Mark Farner Praising the American troops overseas, or Greg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, Peter Frampton waving to everyone yelling “Thank You!” And let’s not forget one of the biggest groups Led Zeppelin.

These are the musicians that perfected their craft and made it to the big time– we now look at them as the idols of rock and roll.

Steven Tyler – Aerosmith Rock Band

Then there are the guys who race cars for a living and give us the performances at the local tracks or on TV. Some of them make it to the big time and others just wither away, but they still leave an impression with a lot of fans.

To go 200 miles per hour in a race car determined to win a race against 40 other cars could be a problem if they happen to touch each other or the driver coming up from behind wants to move you to get by.

It’s all in a day’s work and each one of them has his or her story to tell, especially if they are a champion like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, and of course 7 time Champion Jimmie Johnson.

Mark Martin Nascar Winner

They all have the same commitment, to win! In the car or out of the car they are still just people, but people that the cameras follow around to see what they will do next. Some of them hang back and keep to themselves while others are showmen for the media and the cameras.

For instance Tony Stewart making faces to the camera, Kyle Busch complaining about another driver and then winning the race, Kevin Harvick yelling at his crew and holding up the trophy. Or there is the intense stares waiting for the race to begin while sitting in the seat of your Andretti Indy car.

Tony Stewart Nascar Champion

On another tangent, I once worked with the number 3 paddle boarding woman in the world and she was a very interesting person to be with. She wanted to shoot some interesting shots of her and her paddleboard in different places. We started in the ocean off of Ft. Lauderdale Beach where we shot generic shots of her and her board in the ocean. Then we went to a place where there was a large group of paddle boarding people to get the human feeling of many.

The big shot was in the Everglades where the alligators live and will come after you. I did explain to her about this but she wanted a few shots for the look and then we would leave. First I shot some very impressive shots of her carrying her paddle board down a sandy road to the Everglades water over her head. This shot was extremely nice and it gave the viewer a look at the body and muscles of an athlete.

The main shot that got the most recognition was in the Everglades off of Loxahatchee where she was paddling in the wild of the Glades with the water, swamp grass, and the beauty of the skies in the background.

Fortunately for her there were no alligators around that day, but the park ranger stopped by wondering what was going on and he insisted we never go in the water because they are very aggressive and will take you down. He even made sure we left without going back into the water for any more photos.

Helga International Paddleboard champion

How about the 6 year old boy who wanted to be like his mentors in the skateboard world. He would watch the X games and see the amazing show of the professionals on skateboards. From an early age he was jumping and grinding everything in his way and as time went on he became better and better.

Now being able to jump over large objects and down flights of stairs. There happens to be a few skateboarding parks in the area and you will always find him there looking for a new challenge. Kids that were twice his age were impressed and wondering how this little kid does so well. If you ask him he will say it just takes a lot of practice.

Photography: Skateboard Kid

The 4 year old model who started acting at the age of 5 and today at the age of 8, she is in many of the TV commercials that everyone views on the telly. She started modeling because she enjoyed being in front of the camera and wearing new and different clothes.

Her first job was to play musical instruments for a web company called Thank Heaven for Little Girls, then went onto RC-Oils website selling Essential Oils, and then she was the host for a weekly video series called tips. She told me her goal for 2020 was to audition and get a part in a movie or TV series, and join SAG, the Screen Actors Guild.

How many kids can you associate with that already know their career path?

Photography: Young Model

Working with models for years and years there are always a few that go over the edge and be creative with whatever challenge you give them. One of my clients always wanted women to sell his products that were for racing. He figured it would attract their attention to the custom racing products and he would sell more.

I’m sure he did sell more because he would come back year after year to create new advertising campaigns. How about an ad with two women shaving a man in the barber shop to sell his custom motorcycle products, or in a locomotive train yard with a custom motorcycle for a grunge background.

One year we shot at the Miami Homestead raceway with a special custom Corvette that had his custom made products on the car with a professional model to endorse the event.

Photography: Professional Model

These are just a few of the Amazing people and their Crafts that I have had the chance to spend some time with and photograph their craft. As you can see everyone has a craft or special talent that has or will come to life, all you have to do is look for it.

As a photographer I look for that talent as a visual medium. Someone else may find a special talent by their writing, cooking, and teaching, or maybe even the way they speak? Next time you meet a new friend take a few minutes to observe what they have that might interest you or how they help others.

I will continue my collection with new additions of amazing people and their craft in future articles. Until then don’t count anyone out of being special or having a talent that will save the world.