Profile:
Jim McCrary
Covering all the Angles
by Cynni Murphy
| Products 1954-1990 © Jim McCrary All Rights Reserved |
McCrary's interest in advertising still life developed because of the technical challenges involved and the opportunity to create images entirely of his own design. The self-taught photographer initially began his career shooting album covers for A&M Records during the 1960's. A successful roster of recording artists included Herb Alpert, Phil Ochs, Burt Bacharach and Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen. The photography required more ingenuity than the imagination of the art direction, but problem solving was an enjoyable part of the process. Personalities, however, could be frustrating and with the record industry's changing fortunes in the 1980's, McCrary decided advertising would provide a better career opportunity and began shooting still lifes. The Eighties certainly was a decade for consumers. The economy was healthy and so were advertising budgets. Creatives were being paid to attract buying power. McCrary's first clients came from the medical industry. His lighting style was well-suited to this photography. The images were clean, sharp and precise. Both efficiency and humanity were effectively communicated. His work included corporate clients such as Rockwell International, GTE, Sprint, Getty Oil and Litton Industries among others.
Portraiture was approached with the same care as his product photography. McCrary photographed people by establishing a relationship. He was interested in faces and preferred the simplicity of "one light and no props." Often he found photography involved "too many complexities" - simplifying the photograph created a stronger image whether the photograph be portrait or still life. His still life images exhibit a purist approach similar to Edward Weston's studies of peppers and shellsÑthe photograph is concerned with the object rather than its surroundings - but, unlike Weston's straightforward observations, McCrary gives the objects a personality. A sense of humor is apparent in a pair of scissors dancing a ballet. The lighting is appropriate for a stage and the scissors execute an arabesque with graceful form. The object is not inanimate, it loses its traditional static quality when the 'action' of the scissors is highlighted. Conversely, an image of pinking shears resting against the edges of cut cloth only implies the scissors' capabilities. Celebrity is given to a perfume bottle by photographing it against the searchlights of coming attractions. The low camera angle lends the bottle an importance beyond itself. The setting, reminiscent of the dawning of time or the obelisk in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey contributes to this impression.
McCrary has also created images for motion pictures. Walt Disney Studios and Universal Pictures have been among his clients. The challenge of problem-solving is very apparent in the time frames given by the film industry. McCrary was once notified of a shoot which required a complex shower set at 3:00 in the afternoon with a request for the finished photography within 3 hours! The "Porky's" poster was the result. The variety of McCrary's assignments require the photographer to have a great deal of equipment available, sometimes on very short notice. Time frames sometimes preclude the possibility or convenience of renting equipment. Frequently, it seemed that Los Angeles was not really prepared to serve the "twenty-four hour photographer". As advertising budgets became squeezed in the nineties, McCrary changed focus again.
With his diverse background of shooting for the entertainment industry, corporate photography, portraiture and advertising, McCrary decided to establish a twenty-four hour, seven day a week camera service for photography equipment and supplies so that photographers attempting to coordinate the needs of their commercial clients could find what they needed at any hour. With partner, Chris Ford, he opened PIX (Photo Items Xpress) at his studio location on South La Brea in October 1990. The change from photographer to supplier seemed logical. His own experience in the field as a photographer and his involvement both in the education and promotion of his profession as a teacher at Art Center and President of the Los Angeles Chapter of APA gave him a knowledge of what photographers might need in any situation. In all aspects of photography, it seems Jim McCrary has covered all the angles. ~
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Contact Jim via Phone, Fax, or e-mail for information on archival pigment prints signed by the photographer up to 24" x 36" available without reproduction rights. Reproduction rights are also available and are quoted based on the parameters of each use.
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