Eric Meola is an incredibly talented commercial photographer out of New York City. He has spent his career attempting to make his work distinctive, photographing things like the incredible weather of The Great Plains and Bruce Springsteen on the rise. Eric began his commercial photography career after he graduated from Syracuse University, going from his first job as a photography assistant to Time Magazine. Throughout his career, Eric has been able to balance doing commercial work, which brings in money, and his personal work, which is much more important in the long run.

In this episode, Tom Kennedy, ASMP’s Executive Director, and photographer Eric Meola talk about…

How Eric began his commercial career from Syracuse University
Keeping a balance between commercial and editorial
Forces that drive photographers to make their work distinctive
Things learned from outside assignments and making mistakes
Different sources of inspiration that have helped open Eric’s eyes
Approaching the challenge of filming the weather of The Great Plains
Achieving clarity and precision in the moment during all the chaos of the storms
Preparation for chasing storms across such a massive land area
Physical and mental challenges when chasing storms for long periods of time
Staying careful and aware of the environment when photographing a storm
How the process of editing and publishing changes between books
Importance of being on press during the publishing process for the photographer
The positives and negatives that can be taken from The Great Plains
Making a statement about yourself with your portfolio
Ways that the photography market has changed since Eric started his career
Getting outside of your comfort zone to realize what you might be good at

Links to resources:

Eric Meola’s Website: http://www.ericmeola.photography/

Books by Eric Meola:

Fierce Beauty

The Last Place on Earth: India

Streets of Fire: Bruce Springsteen in Photographs and Lyrics 1977-1979

Born to Run The Unseen Photos

Last Places on Earth

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