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Rodney Rascona

AUTO-Biography

Meet International Image maker Rodney Rascona

Early interests
When I was much younger than today, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career or what I would do beyond menial jobs for the rest of my life. A friend in school who was a photographer suggested that I think about it as well. I was about 17 at the time and had no idea how to become a photographer. I wrote to a cousin in England, who had a small graphic design firm in Windsor and asked him for guidance. He wrote back with various options from going to a specialty college to joining the Navy, none of which sounded very promising.

Then one afternoon, I received a phone call from England. I was told that if I could be there in two weeks time, I could have the chance, without any guarantees, to be an assistant to a photographer there. I remember the news was just overwhelming. Grabbing the opportunity, after a lot of tears and worries, I boarded a 747 for London and spent the next 5 years working in and around Windsor learning about photography and its many disciplines. I was an assistant for Peter Kingsford, a photographer who specialized in shooting cars for Renault UK and high-end real estate. My job included everything from loading, setting up, transparency processing, printing and of course making tea. All of which an independent photographer did those days and probably still do, in some parts of the world. We did very little studio work and primarily chased the weather all over the Southern parts of England, waiting for the sun to break thru the clouds and then waiting for it to go back in again.

Memories are still fresh, working as assistant, a feeling that made me very proud then. I look back on the ‘free-wheeling do what I want’ period of my life. No money, lots of time, and very few material desires, other than trying to make better photographs. I didn’t really know much but I worked hard and listened equally well, so soon after being an assistant for Peter, I was hired as full time photographer. Still not earning any money, lots of time on hand and still trying to understand how to make better images. Sleeping on the studio floor while trying to figure out how to be creative or how to make an image that others would like.

After an initial period of assisting, I ran a small studio for an equally small design firm. While I had absolutely no knowledge of shooting still life or people in the studio, I worked hard but managed to figure it all out through first hand experience, which was painful at times. My understanding of the advertising industry or what role photography played in it was limited and regional. I was short sighted, not focusing on the higher ideals of photography. I was simply happy to be able to pay the monthly rent! My creativity in or out of the studio came about by hard work and constant struggle in pursuing my goals. My understanding of photography today is completely different from what I understood it to be some 29 years ago.

So every year, my knowledge and experiences have grown to levels some would call ‘expert in capability’. However, at the same time, I would say that my frustration with the industry is deep. Like many of my professional colleagues, we see appreciation for our professional skills being made in to a commodity that has little value. Royalty Free Stock, where images are "Good Enough and Cheap", continues to errode the value we place on our images and our image making ability. To be a brand leader, an investment has to be made and youre not going to maintain or increase that identity in the marketplace by giving the designer a photographic budget of 500USD.

Intro
Early interests
Car Specialist
Commercial Imagery
Creative challenges
Social Causes
Africa Attracts
Digital Enhancements
Personal schedules

You can find out more about his work by visiting his website www.rascona.com  |  www.rasconastock.com


In advertising not to be different is virtually suicidal.
— Bill Bernbach