John Madere Photography

It’s amazing that it looks intimate with the photographer on the east side of town and the subject on the west. — Michael Bierut

One day last winter I went out to photograph the streets of Manhattan, freshly covered with a thick blanket of snow. Instead, I accidentally spotted the perfect setting for my upcoming portrait of Michael Bierut as I walked past Pentagram’s Fifth Avenue building glowing warmly in the blue light of dusk.

Pentagram has been a very familiar place for me since the 1980’s. I’ve shot for a number of their designers in the United States and overseas and had the honor of collaborating on some of my favorite projects with Peter Harrison, Woody Pirtle, Michael Gericke, David Hillman, and Michael Bierut.

Having Michael stand in Pentagram’s window above his firm’s renowned name seemed like the perfect setting for his portrait. He agreed to the concept perhaps because he liked the fact that he only had to step away from his desk for a few minutes.

The best viewpoint required that I shoot from a twelve foot ladder on Fifth Avenue at rush hour, across the street from Pentagram.  I unsuccessfully attempted to get a permission from the city of New York and then just decided to wing it, hoping that any passing police would assume that I must have a permit.  To decrease my chances of getting run over by a bus, I persuaded a NYC garbage truck driver to park on Fifth Avenue in just the right spot to protect me and my ladder from traffic.

My assistants and I set up one light for Michael inside Pentagram’s window.  We clamped a tripod head to the top of the ladder and began doing test shots as the sun set.  Just as it started to get dark enough to have the indoor lighting balance against the twilight, I asked Michael to step in.  One of my assistants stayed indoors with Michael and relayed my directions by cell phone.  We were both using our iPhones on the AT&T network and, miraculously, our calls only dropped a few times during that critical period.

The scene, with our huge strobe going off in the window and me obstructing traffic on Fifth Avenue, did catch the attention of more than a few passersby. One of them stopped to take it all in and then asked my assistants, “Isn’t that Michael Bierut?”.