Behind the Shot

By: Steve Brazill
  • Summary

  • Get inside the minds of great photographers by taking a look Behind the Shot.
    @2016-2023 Steve Brazill / Behind the Shot, All Rights Reserved
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Episodes
  • Music & Tour Photography
    Apr 17 2025
    To say I’m excited for today’s show is a huge understatement. I first met today’s guest 6 years ago, when our mutual friend Adam Elmakias asked us both to help him with his Live Music Photography Workshop. I’m sure you know that feeling of “if this is their friend, then they must be a good human” - that’s what I felt that whole day in San Diego. Looking back, I don’t think I knew at that first meeting just how good this person is at what she does. I’d suggest that she is one of the absolute best photographers working today, both in the live music & touring world, and in the commercial & editorial world. Anna Lee is someone I have wanted to get on the show for a long time. Anna is a Los Angeles-based music and portrait photographer, with a specialty in touring, and she has done a lot of touring! She has been touring since 2013 with artists in the alt, rock, and pop categories - from small clubs to stadiums. As the current tour photographer for Coldplay, I think she has been creating some of the best work out there, and in both her live music and commercial work, like the campaigns she's shot for Tom Delonge's To The Stars, I think her eye for composition and angle is second to none. Anna did mention to me a project she is working on for a possible fall date in LA, and while I can't get into it here yet, trust me, you'll want to follow her so you'll hear about it as soon as the details are locked in. Please join me in welcoming tour photographer Anna Lee to the show to break down what she told me is her personal favorite Coldplay image from tour, and as we dive into her style of shooting both live music and commercial images, on this Behind the Shot. Connect with Anna Lee Portfolio: annaleemedia.com Instagram: @annaleemedia Anna's Best of Series Best of 37: annaleemedia.com Anna's Photographer Pick Skyler Barberio: skylerbarberio.com | @skylerbarberio Anna's Other Work
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Light Up Your Adventure Photos
    Apr 3 2025
    Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to have the agency Wonderful Machine suggest a few photographers for the show, and every single time I've been blown away by the level of artists that they represent. Today is one of those times. Today's guest is Ben Girardi, and his work, across all areas from active lifestyle to landscapes, and portraits to sports, is stunningly good. On Ben's website, he refers to himself as a professional commercial and editorial outdoor photographer who tells stories in the outdoor world. Yeah, that's a spot-on description of his body of work, yet... it's so much more than that. His images seem to jump off the page. I've actually spent a good deal of time going through every image on his site, trying to figure out what that magic sauce is, what the common thread is, and I think it's a combination of things. He clearly has a passion for his subjects, and his love of the outdoors allows him to present each image in a way that tells such a concise story. There is also a wonderful, subtle processing that brings emotion to his images. His passion has elevated his craft to a level where he is working with elite athletes, and top global brands. Ben found photography back in high school, and he was instantly hooked. That love for photography, combined with his passion for snowboarding as he started capturing riding with his friends. For a lot of kids that age, that interest would fall off after awhile, being replaced by the next dream, but not for Ben. He graduated from RIT with a degree in photography, and then was off to Utah, looking for bigger mountains. After meeting his Canadian wife in the Argentine Andes he moved to Pemberton, BC. Splitting his time between British Columbia and Utah allows him to work on projects in both of those spots, and anywhere in between. His client list is a Who's Who of outdoor life and sport, working with companies like: Pelican Sport Whistler Resort GORE-TEX Head Skies Vail Resort and Talisker Whisky Join commercial and editorial outdoor photographer Ben Girardi and me as we discuss dive into how you can up your game with your nighttime outdoor adventure images. Connect with Ben Portfolio: bengirardi.com Instagram: @bengirardi Ben's Photographer Pick Isami Kiyooka: ikiyooka133.myportfolio.com | @isami_kiyooka Ben's Other Work
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    54 mins
  • Light Painting Abandoned Places
    Mar 21 2025
    For this show, we have a returning guest, night photographer Ken Lee. I've known Ken for awhile, and the way he ended up as a guest for the show Capturing the Slowing of Time is one of my fave Behind the Shot stories. Ken Lee, along with being an accomplished photographer, is also a regular watcher, or listener, of Behind the Shot. Years ago, when I was giving away Red River Paper Sample Packs, Ken was one of the winners. He also won the How to Build Real Influence e-course from Trey Ratcliff and Lauren Bath. As I did with every winner, I checked out Ken's work at that time and made a mental note I wanted to get him on the show, but I got sidetracked. One of the downsides of only doing a show on your own is that potential guests back up quickly. Then, when I was at The NAMM Show in Anaheim CA back in 2020, I met up with another Behind the Shot watcher (or listener - I really need to find an easier way to get through that variable), Mike Martin of Casio. Mike is great guy, and we had fun chatting in-between him actually working. Next thing I knew, Mike tagged me in a tweet to tell me about a friend of his that he thought would be a good guest on the show. This friend had just released a new book, and the cover image was awesome. When I saw the name on the cover I had to do a double take, it was Ken's book! Well, Ken has another new book out, Abandoned Roadside Attractions: Under a Southwest Moon (Abandoned Union), and once again we need to chat about the cover shot. I introduced Ken above as a "night photographer", which isn't a genre you hear often, so let me let him explain: "I drive long hours in a dusty car listening to weird music, stay out all night creating photos, get dirty, hang out with other creative sleep-deprived weirdos, see the stars drift across the sky, and always find the best taco stands." Let me interrupt Ken for a second. I need to know the names of some those taco stands Ken. You need to write that up somewhere. Sorry for the break... back to Ken... "I have been exploring the Southwestern United States as well as parts of the East Coast for over nine years, brandishing a camera, tripod, and colored flashlight. I especially love creating night photos of abandoned historical places, unique features, and beautiful landscapes. These are experiences that I absolutely cherish." I mentioned Ken is an accomplished photographer, and I meant it. His images have appeared in outlets like NatGeo.com, National Geographic Books, Omni Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Westways Magazine, and numerous other publications. He's also won numerous awards. Join Light Painting, Long Exposure, Night Sky, and Abandoned Site photographer and author Ken Lee to discuss the cover image from his new book, on this episode of Behind the Shot. Connect with Ken Website: kenleephotography.com BlueSky: @kenleephotography Instagram: @kenleephotography Facebook: @kenleephotography Flickr: @kenleephotography Twitter: @blueberrybuddha Ken's Books Abandoned Roadside Attractions: Under a Southwest Moon (Abandoned Union): amazon.com Route 66 Abandoned: Under a Western Moon (America Through Time): amazon.com Abandoned Planes, Trains and Automobiles: California Revealed (America Through Time): amazon.com Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time (America Through Time): amazon.com Ken's Photographer Pick Lance Keimig: Flickr.com Troy Paiva: lostamerica.com | @troypaiva Charles Peterson: charlespeterson.net | @charles.peterson.photographer Herman Leonard: hermanleonard.com | @hermanleonardphotography Sebastiao Salgado: @sebastiaosalgadooficial
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    52 mins
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