OUR STUDIO

OUR STUDIO IN NEW YORK

 

From 1965 through 1979 my business partner Jim Houghton and I operated a commercial photography studio in the heart of New York City, specializing in fashion and cosmetic advertising, catalogs, editorial illustrations, and record album covers. Before this, we had both worked as assistants to the famous photographer Richard Avedon. Our story is told in the post links below. Just click and read.

Part I: Our Very Own Photo Studio. How, with little money and a few contacts, Jim and I took the plunge and went out on our own.

Part II: Business Begins in Our Studio. Those first clients and how they got us off the ground.

Part III: We Move to Fifth Avenue. Now profitable, Steinbicker/Houghton Inc. moves to new quarters on New York's Fifth Avenue.

Part IV: On Assignment For Time-Life Books. We travel to Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C. to photograph all sorts of people, including some in the Capitol and the White House.

Part V: Touring the Pacific for Pan Am. A month-long assignment in 1971 that took us to Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti.

Part VI: Working on the Railroad. We do assignments for Amtrak, and I get to ride up front with the engineer.

Part VII: Shooting Fashions in Jamaica. We spend a week with a famous designer away from the tourist haunts.

Part VIII: What's a Go-See? How both photographers and their models develop skills and build portfolios.

Part IX: Los Angeles on Pocket Change. An unexpected assignment for Esquire Magazine leaves us in L.A. with hardly any cash.

Part X: Rockin' in the Bahamas. We're off to Nassau to do an album cover for the rock group ELP.

Part XI: To Specialize or not to Specialize? — That is the Question.

Part XII: Highway to Hell. We do the cover photos for rockers AC/DC's first really great album.

Part XIII: Hard Times in the Photo Business — An attempt to unionize New York's commercial photographers fails.

Part XIV: Working on a Movie Set for TWA — We do advertising pictures inside a plane mockup in Los Angeles.

Part XV: Why we HAD to be in New York — and why no other place would do.

Part XVI: Our first photo assignment in Europe. Capturing the spirit of three operas on film.

Part XVII: The Cameras We Used. These were our tools back in the days of film.

Part XVIII: Location Vans. This is how we got around on location assignments.

Part XIX: Photographing Chicago (The Band, not the City).

Part XX: A Chance Meeting With A King. Our encounter with the King of Afghanistan.

Part XXI: Photographic Studio Lighting for Hair and Cosmetics. How we did it.

Part XXII: Cat Scratch Fever. Creating a promotional photo of hard rock icon Ted Nugent was a little adventure in itself.

Part XXIII. Washington Power Brokers. We travel to D.C. to take portraits of the nation's most powerful individuals. 

PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANTS: An article I wrote back in 1965 for a trade journal about the hiring of assistant photographers, and what to look for.

 

Interested in photography? Check out my "Assisting Avedon" blog.

SO, just what Little Adventure am I up to now in 2013? Why, just the most challenging one of them all! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.

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Comments

[Simon Smit]

Hello mister steinbicker. Please can you help me? Iám looking for the cover foto from the AC/DC album highway to hell. And now I wood ask you,iff you had a clear and sharp looking picture of it for me. Because the album picture is not so sharp and clear. I do want to juice it for a tattoo on my back,and the tattoo artist wants the have a clear and sharp picture. So please can you help me! And I will pay you for the picture. Best regards Simon Smit from the netherlands. P.S Please wood you send your answer to this E-mail adress [email protected] Thanks a lot!!!!

[James Stone]

I do not know if you remember me but I was a young guy who just moved to NY and would hang aroung Jim and when he went away I would sleep in the loft and take care of the 2 fat cats.I remember you and abbey and Myron. I was there when he shot Nugent. I lost track of jim but ran into some pictures of him and his girlfriend who was a stewardess and friend of my girlfriend.I lost track of him when he moved to Philly. wpould you know how I could get a hold of him?

[Earl Steinbicker]

Jim simply vanished back in the late 1980s; even his own family were unable to locate him and apparently still can't.

[james Stone]

Earl
Are you serious?
Was he living in Philly the last time anyone saw him?
Has anyone seen abbey or Myron
What is your phone #

[Lisa Corcoran]

Hi Earl, I was the flight attendant girlfriend, Lisa, of Jim's in the 70s. I remember you well. My friend, Kathy Dutler, was married to his assistant Bob Kudelski at the time. She and I have just reconnected on Facebook and her sister is the one who found your blog. I have often wondered what happened to Jim and have tried to locate him on google but never had any luck. I'm sad to hear that he disappeared and no one knows what happened to him but not surprised. I ran into Dario Sacramone about 25 years ago and even he, at the time, didn't know what happened to him. I remember you wanted to write travel books and hope you've had some success. If you ever hear of Jim would you let me know?

[Earl]

Hi Lisa!
Yes, I remember you well and should a miracle happen and Jim comes back, I'll let you know. This Facebook thingy sure does get people back together!
Earl 

[Javier Martinez]

Hello,

Is there an email address that I can contact Mr. Steinbicker at?. Thank You.

[Earl Steinbicker]

Yes, Javier. It's [email protected].