Artful Mind Scott Barrow Interview

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SCOTT BARROW

SCOTT BARROW PHOTOGRAPHY INTERVIEW BY H. CANDEE Welcome back from Chicago, what a cold city it must have been! Vortex!

What have you brought back to the Berkshires?

Scott Barrow: Evidently, I brought the vortex back with me for a few days.

Fortunately we are now back to the Berkshire’s winter beauty, above zero temps and an abundance of ice. I had purchased a new pair of boots two weeks before I left and I noticed that they were rated at 40 below zero. I laughed when I read that knowing that I would never need that capability. Then I went to Chicago and shot in -45 and the boots were excellent. Never say “never”. Regardless of the conditions having a camera in hand makes the discomfort worthwhile. I love shooting in winter.

Your work allows you to escape any time of year?

Scott: Yes, absolutely. My schedule has always been my own though having a gallery requires my focused attention for the summer months. For eight weeks Scott Barrow the photographer becomes Scott Barrow “The Artist” and I enjoy hundreds of conversations with visitors and my returning clients (Many of whom are now friends). Summer is the time that I “escape” for sunrise on Stockbridge Bowl or for a midweek trip to Manhattan to photograph the city.

Can you recollect any experience that was life altering, or one that has 38 • MARCH 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

been a great learning curve for you?

Scott: I met and married Karen Beckwith.

How have you applied that learning curve lesson / experience to benefit you now with your photography work?

Scott: Well, there are a number of things.

First, when it comes to honing your photographic skills I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having a beautiful and extremely patient woman close by to photograph in any situation or location that you find yourself in. Whether on the beach, traveling the world, capturing a sunset or becoming a father there is just no substitute.

Second, all assignments are a team effort. My job is to understand the concept, to appreciate the art director’s personal creative needs and to be willing to compromise when necessary in order to achieve and surpass the client’s vision.

In general, listen carefully, plan ahead, see the opportunities that the unexpected provides and then act decisively. Most importantly, embrace serendipity.

Your gallery in Lenox houses a wealth of your artistic insights and visions.

How have you designed the gallery environment /space so it all unravels at a comfortable pace for visitors?

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Scott: My wife once described the gallery as the perfect Scott Barrow space. It really is like being invited into someone’s home to see his or her personal photography collection. Built in 1820 the building and my space are architectural gems.

When you enter, the first thing that you see is a freestanding white wall with a 44 x 66” print that sets the tone of the current exhibition. To the left is a glimpse through an arch into the main gallery where three to five prints draw you in to the show.

A comfortable pace is built in because my associate, Rebecca and I enjoy meeting our guests, sharing the art and telling the stories behind their creation. The shows are based on my current creative projects.

My extensive and eclectic archive serves as a valuable resource for art consultants and interior designers across the country.

I am fascinated by your antique car photos. Why these handsome in distress car shots, what interests you most?

Scott: Most would see a junkyard and a blemished landscape; I see fields of former powerhouses: well used, well loved icons of transportation, vehicles waiting patiently to have their acquired patina rediscovered. They are adorned in rust and peeling pain. Their metal takes on the colorful iridescence of a fine silk. Hood ornaments gleam even as their chrome plating fails. Visually, it’s as if they have been weathered to perfection and they are new again.

Tell me about the Dear Moshe series, they are so timeless and beautiful. It must have been intriguing for you to find the typewriter with Hebrew letters. And you mentioned that you wondered if the typist was still alive…are you a sentimental historian in some ways?

Scott: A bit sentimental sometimes but essentially, I just love typewriters. They are mechanical wonders that when used to their fullest potential seem as if they might fly apart at any moment. They

are Noisy, percussive yet elegant and responsive.

They are a tactile and immediate connection to our thoughts and feelings as we put them to paper. Our computer keyboards serve the same purpose, but they keep us at a distance. When your fingers dance across the keys of a Remington, a Royal or an Underwood you are one with the machine and that physical contact locks in the emotion of your words. Typewriters are collection points. They embrace your energy, your joy and your fears and become wiser with every correspondence. When I first saw this machine with the Hebrew keyboard I was smitten. It was foreign, yet familiar. The British Pound symbol “£ “ implies that it was in Palestine when the British were there. At least half of my visitors comment on “Dear Moshe” and interesting and informative discussions are a regular occurrence.

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OLDS UNIVERSE SCOTT BARROW

What part of photography is the most intriguing and satisfying for you?

Scott: Photography is an extension of who I am.

From the moment my eyes open in the morning until they close at night I am framing images. My environment is my canvas. When I add a camera and I experience the moment of capturing a memorable photo it’s a thrill. That I can now share it with others in the gallery and online is satisfying for sure, but the sensation is brief because in the blink of an eye I am already on to searching for the next image.

Can you tell us more about your process in the studio, the film you use, the cameras you enjoy working with, and why?

Scott: I am primarily a location photographer so my “studio” is wherever I happen to be at the moment.

I moved on from film to digital in 2005 and I have always worked in the 35mm format. My equipment is Canon and my lenses run from 14mm to 400mm.

I love zoom lenses for their versatility and for how 40 • MARCH 2019 THE ARTFUL MIND

quickly they allow me to react.

What specific work ethics and principles are on top of your list to follow?

Scott: I shoot to please myself because I am my harshest visual critic and if I’m happy with the results I know that my clients will be as well. I am tireless with a camera in my hands because it’s never “work” for me. Truth be told, I have been blessed with a lifetime of getting paid for having fun.

My photographer’s golden rule; if you see the shot, take it because magic is fleeting. It’s easier to say that you’re sorry than to ask permission. You never want to lose the moment while you are waiting for an answer.

Tell us about your first inspiration to work with a camera?

Scott: My father was an avid photographer his whole life as was my mother. Both sides of my family have been taking photographs since the 1860s. That said, spending time in dad’s darkroom

and watching an image appear in a developing tray was magic to my eight-year-old eyes. I received my first camera that Christmas.

Do you and your wife, Karen, collaborate on photography and design projects together on a professional or personal level?

Scott: Karen is an accomplished painter and interior designer. In a former career as a graphic designer she designed my promotional calendars and my book, “Private Moments, Impressions of Manhattan”. A ½ page in the Sunday New York Times Book Review honored the book and it won numerous international design competitions. Often, when I am editing she looks over my shoulder and says, “Oh, print that one large” and she is always right.

We also work together professionally when I photograph her extraordinary interior design projects.

Is there anything you haven’t photographed yet that is on your list of things to explore?

Scott: Egypt and India. Continued on next page...

HEBREW TYPEWRITER SCOTT BARROW

BOYS PLAYING IN THE IRRAWADDY RIVER, MYANMAR SCOTT BARROW

CRANWELL TREE

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AUTO STACK

Scott, are you planning to offer any upcoming photography workshops? Given your previous workshops, what angle / style, or new direction do you see fitting that may work for the next one coming up? Is it open to all levels?

Scott: Each workshop has the same premise and yet they are always different. It is geared toward advanced amateurs, but shooters that are confident with their equipment are welcome. I work with my student photographers to help them notice the subtle beauty that surrounds us everywhere, all of the time. I teach by example. Every group brings new and diverse energy to the workshop and I learn as much from our time together as they do. Along with my Berkshire Excursions we are planning trips to Block Island, RI this year. You should come!

You seem so upbeat and happy, like a child jumping into a rain puddle! Why do you not explore the world of the poor and distraught side of life? Or, have you?

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SCOTT BARROW

Scott: To be sure, not every day is upbeat and happy, but I am always grateful for this amazing life and the creative gifts that I have. I see rain puddles as opportunities for reflection (literally), not obstacles. I don't explore the world of the distraught because I'm not drawn to it. My work is about beauty and light and that is what I am here for. Even when I find myself in situations of industrial blight, storm damaged neighborhoods or tragic fires I can’t help but find gorgeous and dramatic imagery. I feel that an artful mind does not have to suffer or focus on deprivation in order to create. That said, you can always act outside of your art. When I lived in New York I renovated a raw loft space and I made my 2000 sq ft of 6th floor Manhattan into a light filled garden. My next-door neighbor and daily confidant, Betty was the homeless woman that lived in the doorway just outside mine. Every night she slept in a collection of boxes and every morning the furriers that owned the doorway would help her fold them up and bunji cord them to the light post nearby. I realized at some point that she knew more about my schedule and

current events than any one else in New York. Regardless of winter temperatures she would not take my offer to sleep in our lobby and she would never go to a shelter because she felt that they were too dangerous. When I asked her about money from welfare she told me that she could not qualify because she could not prove residency. I gathered affidavits from the furriers, my neighbors, and the FedEx and UPS guys. They all stated that they had known Betty for two years and that she did indeed live in the doorway of 214 West 30th Street. I went to the welfare office with her and the application was passed from agent to agent, eliciting smiles from them all. She received her first check soon after.

What have been some of your biggest challenges that were difficult, but managed to make it through, or still working towards that goal?

And, tell us about it, your thoughts.

Scott: Art and commerce have been equal partners throughout my career. I often say that the work of photography is getting the work. As a freelance

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photographer you are only as good as your last assignment and you are constantly working toward finding the next one. I once heard that “Something terrible happens without promotion… Nothing!”

Self-promotion is the order of the day and I do that best in person. I have thousands of cold calls behind me and yet it is still a struggle to pick up the phone and ask for someone’s time. Interestingly, once I have an appointment I love the meetings. I am a people person and I thrive on making new connections. Did I mention that I speak to strangers in elevators?

My greatest career challenge came when, as a young photographer I moved from a mountaintop in Virginia to Manhattan. I wanted to compete with the best photographers in the world and for me, they were in New York. I had one connection, an art director that I knew from Richmond. He was now working at a major ad agency so he was my first call. The receptionist (remember those?) told me two things. She just loved working with him and that he had moved to LA the week before. So, the cold calls to agencies began. I would see

SCOTT BARROW

anyone who would see me. Between appointments I would make more cold calls to see more agencies.

I felt like Clark Kent running into and out of phone booths (remember those?). One Friday I had a creative director say that he thought that I looked tired.

I just smiled and told him that he was my 27th appointment that week. I spent ten years working out of New York and eventually I won assignments over some of the best photographers there. Many of them became and still are good friends of mine.

After I finish this interview today I will be making calls to new art consultants in the city because the goal is a moving target. Advertising has made way for fine art, but the challenge and enjoyment of new relationships is a constant for me.

Where are you mentally headed in terms of your fine art work? You must have daily inspirations, some realistic, some not. Tell us!

Scott: That’s an interesting question because my personal photography does not involve a mental process; it’s more of a spiritual one. I may have a destination, but I try not to have any expectations

of what I may find once I get there. Serendipity plays a major role in my work and I am constantly amazed at what I discover that I could never have thought to plan. My job as an artist is to stay open to the possibilities that present themselves. What I am constantly working on is nudging beauty just over the edge into art. It is a totally subjective goal and it requires total immersion and connection to my subject in a split second. If I succeed you will be able to experience what I felt at the moment the shutter was released. If we are on the same wavelength you will love it like I do.

I always have several themed personal projects in process. They keep me fresh and engaged, especially in the Berkshire’s winter months. I will be having a show on one of them this spring. It involves a journey to a very small, enchanted island.

Thank you, Scott!

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