We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Harry Zimmerman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Harry, thanks for joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
I was a Camera Assistant on A-list feature films for nearly 30 years after graduating from film school at USC. Among my credits are: THE BIRDCAGE, THE PATRIOT, THE NEW WORLD, BRIDESMAIDS, AVENGERS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, & THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the best Directors, Actors, and Cinematographers in the business over the course of my career. I’ve learned many things from all of them. But among the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is to be organized, show up on time, always treat co-workers with kindness and respect, and learn the rules of filmmaking before you experiment with breaking them.
That last rule particularly has helped me once I retired from Camera Assisting and set out on my “2nd Act” of still photography and producing.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My first job was given to me by Thaine Morris, the pyrotechnical expert that Richard Edlund had recruited from ILM as he moved south to establish his own visual effects house: Boss Film Corporation in Marina Del Rey, CA. Thaine knew my Mom, and I met him through her, and he got me a summer job answering phones on the miniature shooting stages on “2010,” the sequel to “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the film that first got me interested in filmmaking as a possible career goal when I was a kid.
I then attended film school in the mid 80’s at USC, and began working as a Camera Assistant right after graduating with contacts I met by going there.
Now, many years later I have my own still photography business, in which I primarily shoot what I want and sell fine art prints to clients who find me via my website or other online avenues. I’ve worked on many projects including concert photography, travel photography, and some jobs for clients shooting food for restaurants. I also have a passion project called FANATIC PROJECT which is a photographic love-letter of sorts to sports fans of different sports all over the globe. This was inspired by my love of the then, Oakland Raiders, who were my childhood team, (thanks to my late Dad), and their unique fan base inspired me to explore other fan bases as sort of an anthropological study of sports fans.
FANATIC PROJECT has taken me everywhere from Sumo Wrestling fans in Japan, to Thai Boxing Fans in Thailand, to Rugby fans in England and I even created a self-published book for sale on Amazon dedicated to the fans who attended the last ever Raiders game in Oakland.
I feel my background in film has allowed my still photography work to flourish through a cinematic approach to the still frame, attempting to use strong composition combined with dramatic light and foreground to help set my work apart. I look at every still frame as the many cinematographers I worked with looked through the viewfinder of a Panaflex.
I am proud I’ve slowly built a following online on Instagram for my work, and on Facebook as well. I’ve been honored to have my work exhibited at a gallery in Hollywood, and on permanent display at a popular restaurant in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I had worked for nearly 30 years as a Camera Assistant on feature films and commercials. But it’s a very tough career leading to a difficult lifestyle due to the demands of long hours on set and often being out of town on location and filming in tax-incentive states. Also, physically it began to take a toll on my body after years of lifting heavy cameras and moving tons of equipment around film sets.
I’ve now had 2 complete shoulder replacement surgeries, and after the first one I fully intended to go back to work on movies but I realized it wasn’t just the shoulder, but mentally I was burned out on the work, the career, the business and I had to find something else. That something else was still photography, which got me back to my creative roots and I started having fun again, creating images myself instead of helping others to do so…
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
By far the most rewarding aspect of doing still photography is reading and hearing responses from fans online who I have touched in some way with my work, an image I created, or a photo I’ve captured. It is like a high getting positive feedback from one of my images that has really clicked with a large group of people, or an image that touched one person in a special way. That is one of the main things that keeps me going and wanting to improve my photography…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zimmagery.com
- Instagram: @harryzim
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harry.zimmerman.144
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-zimmerman/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarryRaidersUSC
- Youtube: Fanatic Project
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=M4Z391D8tN8jqWmjPLkiqQ
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/countdownproductionsllc/ https://www.facebook.com/fanaticproject https://www.facebook.com/ZimmermanImages/ @fanatic_project
Image Credits
I own all rights and permissions of the uploaded photos, additionally they are all copyrighted by me.