A Cape Cod Photog's Multi-Skilled Multimedia
Plus, another CNN veteran is leaving, and a "Grease" prequel is set to stream
THE LEDE
Christopher Seufert is a multimedia photographer who lives on Cape Cod. The depth of his work is impressive. He has made documentaries, worked in TV news and has created stunning still pictures. We’re honored to have our first Q&A of the new year with Christopher.
Christopher Seufert
First, give us the lowdown on what you’ve been up to recently.
I just recently did the cinematography for a Boston Globe short documentary about climate change on Cape Cod, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and won two Emmys, and I’m currently shooting drone footage of Cape Cod for an upcoming HBO feature film about the increase of the great white shark population in the waters here. I’m currently also in advanced post-production with a feature film that I’m directing about the late Cape Cod illustrator Edward Gorey.
You’ve worked in both video and still photography. Do you have a preference? Does it depend on the story?
I came to still photography mid-career, after specializing in video, TV news, and documentaries. In the crash of 2008, my income zeroed and I was recently married with a baby on the way. So, in a panic, I hung my shingle out as a photographer to shoot weddings and family portraits. Oddly enough, I started as a photographer to make money when many of my photographer friends were leaving the field for more lucrative endeavors.
I go where and when the money is for each job, so I’m shooting portraits and fine art in the summer and, in the winter, when all that goes away, I’m shooting and editing films for hire and of my own. Being on the Cape, my film work has taken a big focus on the fishing industry, climate change, water quality, and environmental issues.
You have developed a distinctive style in your photography. How would you describe it?
My business is now firmly multimedia, video, photography, and audio. (I have 95 natural soundscape albums streaming online.) I’m often shooting video and photos, and recording sound wherever I go here on Cape Cod, so I look like one of those crazy one-man-band characters. However, my style, no matter the media, tends to be heavily documentary and raw. If I use filters or devices, I’m looking for you to suspend disbelief and buy into the story. As soon as an effect or filter pulls you out of that story, I’ve failed.
A lot of your best work comes from your backyard - Cape Cod. What makes the Cape such a good subject?
Cape Cod is a great place to be a photographer and media maker because the value of the media here travels so well. Case in point:
Photograph courtesy of Christopher Seufert
This was one of my first photographs when I was starting out shooting photos as a pro with a cheap, seven-megapixel Nikon Coolpix. It’s 15 years old but I make money with it year after year. It’s in steak houses and hotels all over the country and currently is on the cover of an international best seller called “Paper Palace” by Miranda Cowley Heller. If I had a choice, my best-selling image would not be a lighthouse or a row boat, but it’s the power of Cape Cod that has really sold this image. There are many things about the image that are not great professionally but it does communicate something about Cape Cod, and a “something-about-it” that sells.
Almost everyone has a camera in their pocket these days. Give us some advice for shooting better pictures.
I have a mentor named Jack Hollingsworth who is the guru for iPhone photography. He’s a top lifestyle and travel photographer and, for the last ten years, he’s shot his jobs armed only with his phone.
So, I’ve become a convert. Large camera rigs are not the way of the future. Phone cameras have made the equipment and technical aspects of photography secondary. However, my advice would be this: pay attention to where you can make money with your photography and go about capturing photos that are useful to people beyond your own eye. Perhaps it’s a type of stock photography or shooting a photography book on a particular topic.
Shooting for a purpose with focus, being open to criticism, shooting to achieve a vision (someone else’s or your own), and in a way that brings in a dollar is a great way to start the process of learning and then improving your photography. This is in contrast to just shooting whatever your eye likes without a focus. Developing your eye is important but not the starting part in my opinion.
Would you recommend young people go into your field?
Yes. The field has democratized with the entry-level lowering both technically and financially. There are fewer people at the very top making lots of money but more people in the field in general. It can be a lucrative side hustle, too.
Anything else we should know?
When I started out in media in the ’90s the conventional wisdom was to specialize and narrow down. The idea was that you would become good at a very specific thing like being a boom operator or Steadicam operator or pet photographer. That didn’t work for me when I moved for good to Cape Cod, where you have to generalize to make a living. Now the media industries, in general, are all going multimedia. Radio journalists are shooting video and photos and media makers are often asked to cross-capture photos and video on jobs.
So, I would say, realize that pursuing photography just may lead you into becoming good at recording video and audio as well. After all, what’s a good Instagram story without compelling audio?
We thank Christopher for his thoughtful insight. Check out his audio work on Spotify.
NEWS AND NOTES
CNN’s MALVEAUX LEAVES NETWORK: Suzanne Malveaux, the longtime CNN White House correspondent, is stepping down after 20 years at the network. In a memo shared by many outlets, CNN CEO Chris Licht wrote that Malveaux is leaving to focus on her family and pursue new opportunities.
Suzanne Malveaux, courtesy of CNN
Malveaux, 56, has an eight-year-old daughter with her longtime partner, Katherine Jean-Pierre, who is the current White House press secretary. Although CNN has shed some top talent in the last year, Malveaux says the choice to leave CNN was hers.
Side Note: Suzanne and I worked together in the early ‘90s at New England Cable News (NECN). As a reporter, she helped launch the 24-hour regional news channel.
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES NEWS SERVICE: This is very cool. Boston’s Northeastern University is launching its own news brand. Northeastern Global News (NGN) is a relaunch of sorts of an existing program, but will be more focused on news beyond the campus, and will be reporting on national and international affairs. According to the school:
NGN will continue to serve as the primary source of information for news happening across Northeastern’s global university system of 14 campuses across North America and the United Kingdom.
NGN will also tell the important global news stories of the day, including the latest developments in global epidemiology, public health, the technology space and artificial intelligence, economic issues that affect pocketbooks, political insights on elections, sports and popular culture.
Interestingly, the program is not part of Northeastern’s journalism department. It will employ former newspaper professionals.
DELTA TO OFFER PARAMOUNT+: Delta SkyMiles members will soon have a new perk: access to the Paramount+ channel. It’s part of an overall upgrade for Delta’s in-flight entertainment for its frequent flyers, which will also see free WiFi for SkyMiles members. While in flight, users will have access to the full Paramount+ library including such titles as the “Star Trek” series and “1923,” as well as movies such as “Top Gun: Maverick” (which should be interesting to watch while flying). There will be a kind-of upsell: After the flight, Delta will hand out an offer for a free trial to the Paramount+ premium tier.
LINKS AND LIKES
“GREASE” SPINS OFF PREQUEL AS A SERIES: Are you hopelessly devoted to “Grease?” Then you may be interested that the famous musical play/movie is going to be a TV series. “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” premieres on Paramount+ on April 6th.
“Grease” has seen several sequels, reunion shows, and other attempts to duplicate the success of the original. Yet, I think this stands a chance. I like that they’re flipping the show on its head by focusing on women and race issues in the ‘50s in contrast to the very male-centric original. No, no “Grease” spinoff will ever be nearly as good as the original, but this is certainly an interesting take. And shows like “The Karate Kid” spinoff “Cobra Kai” have shown there is an audience for revisiting older stories in a new way.
30 ALBUMS TURNING 30 THIS YEAR: The great music website, Ultimate Classic Rock, has a list of albums that turn 30 years old in 2023. Ready to feel old? Here are three:
Aerosmith’s “Get a Grip,” a monster for the group that turned out the singles “Livin’ on the Edge,” “Cryin’” and “Crazy.” Remember the famous videos starring Liv Tyler and Alicia Silverstone for those songs? They’re 30.
Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams” came out in 1993 as well, and is the last rock album Joel has released to date. Fun note: Christie Brinkley designed the cover.
Everyone along with me: “In the middle of the niiiiiiiiight…”
U2’s “Zooropa” is 30 this year, too. It was controversial at the time of its release, as it represented a change in musical style for the band. More experimental and electronic than U2’s previous outings, “Zooropa” has become a classic, spinning off such eventual fan favorites as “Numb” and “Lemon.”
BEYOND THE REMOTE
I have to show off for a moment. On New Year’s Day, I did the “Polar Plunge” in East Boston with my friend Chris and my kid, Simon. Chris thought it would be funny to do the plunge in tuxedos, and we found used ones online for just $30. We jumped in the frigid water, and the Boston Globe took our picture. Chris is on the left with his arms in the air, and I’m the one in the hat.
This was our third time taking the plunge. The new year is a time of reconnecting and rebirth, and a cold dunk is energizing and fun. I recommend everyone try this once.
Newsletter #37
Founder/Writer: Steve Safran
Editor: John Cockrell
Copyright 2023
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