Chris Buck Takes My Picture

This blog post is guest written by my friend and fellow photographer Sarah Wilmer (who I first profiled in this space four years ago).

I was super excited when Lou Noble, the editor-in-chief of The Photographic Journal, told me that Chris Buck would make the portrait to accompany their interview. But when we came to discuss the plans for the shoot I was surprised how nervous he was. He said, “I take my photography very seriously but our friendship is more important.”

We’ve been friends for over a decade, and I assisted him before that, so we’d been on set together many times and he had photographed me a lot, as a stand in before the subject arrived, or in snapshots socially. I soon realize that being officially photographed by him is an entirely different enterprise.

The day of the shoot was hectic. I was preparing for a move and trying to make order of the chaos my home had become. Chris and his assistant Sonny arrived and we began going over ideas, clothing options, locations, etc. He was still nervous, and I worried that it would start to make me anxious because I didn’t understand where it was coming from.

At one point he tried to get me to put more make-up on and he said, “Maybe I’m thinking of you the way you were when we met,” and I secretly felt sad about not being that fierce girl with all the dark eye make-up anymore.  

We started shooting with me on the couch. He had me in a strange pose on my stomach and I instantly thought, “This will not be flattering”, but wanting to be a good subject I followed his direction and cooperated. He had to adjust my hair and dress (pull it down, smooth it out) and made some comment about how it was probably the most he’d ever touched me. I disagreed, mentioning all of the hello/goodbye hugs over the years. But, yeah, he was right, this was different; photographing someone, and being photographed, is intimate. All parties have to be open, vulnerable and present. We wrapped up the sofa shoot and moved to Prospect Park.

We raced to get to a good spot with the quickly setting sun. At one point we were running uphill carrying the gear and I said something like, “Hey, we’re combining two of our favorite things! Photography and running!” To which he responded, “Somehow it seems less than ideal.”

He saw something he liked and we started. I was impressed by his way of thinking and working; super thoughtful, professional, analytical, strategic, fast, and risky.

At one point during the last set up when the sun was nearly gone, there was a long exposure and he was seriously yelling at me, “HOLD STILL!” I remember thinking, am I too nice to people? Do I spend too much time making them feel comfortable and ok? I noticed a big difference between the way we interact with our subjects. (Note from Chris: I love how Sarah brings out something magical and strange from her subjects that I’m not sure that I could do. Different is good.)

Once the light was gone we left the park and went to my house and had a quick look at the images. I was relieved that we liked the same ones. My only (minor) regrets were not wearing bug spray (so many bites) and not asking a make-up artist friend to do my make-up (damn, his focus is sharp).

The Photogods must have been smiling down on us because ultimately, we were all pleased with the final photographs and lived happily after.

Bottom Images: Left - Chris with Sonny Thakur, by Sarah Wilmer; Right - Chris and Sarah Wilmer, by Sonny Thakur.