Sunday April 25 The New York Times Magazine published an assignment I recently shot for their Q&A page, a portrait of Craig Robinson, head coach of men’s basketball at Oregon State University and perhaps more famous as the brother to First Lady, Michele Obama.

This is the most recent of many of these shoots I’ve done for the Magazine’s long running feature and I always enjoy them. For one the people are always fascinating, intelligent and sometimes controversial, which makes for an interesting sitting.

But I also enjoy the simplicity of isolating a subject on white. Of course this is the technique that Avedon made famous. He said “It isolates people from their environment. They become in a sense . . .symbolic of themselves.” For most of my work incorporating the subject’s environment or location is often as important as the subject themselves, but when shooting on white it becomes totally about the sitter.

I also like the challenge of creating a studio on location and I’ve done these shoots in parking lots, basements, hallways, hotel rooms and more weird places than I can remember.

Here’s a few more samples of my past New York Times Magazine, Q&A shoots.

Architect Brad Cloepfil

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire

(Former) Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin

Author Chuck Palahniuk