max s. gerber(the latest shot)

a few months back i had a shoot that took place at wally’s barbershop in alta dena, california. ricky, above, is wally’s son, and helps to manage the shop. he wasn’t supposed to be our subject. we were actually there to photograph a doctor. it was a story about community health outreach being done in [...]

losing a child is an unimaginable grief. when it happens it seems to be against the very rules of the game. we are supposed to be survived by our children. that’s just the way the world works, isn’t it? the things that parents do to come to terms with such a loss are as varied [...]

some photo shoots happen so quickly i don’t have time to figure out much about the people in front of the camera. very often a shoot occurs when the story is not quite finalized, and i rarely get to see a draft of anything before the subject and i share our sparse few minutes together. [...]

sometimes i get pegged for the tough jobs. i have a handful of clients for whom i fall into a certain niche; i’m the go-to guy for stories that require sensitivity in handling, stories that involve advocacy for patients or those in some distress. i’ve even been referred to as “humanistic” by some editors. frankly, [...]

i’m afraid i’ve been living in somewhat of a state of disarray the past couple days. there’s been an overhaul of the plumbing at my house, and i wasn’t fully prepared for the amount of destruction it would entail. or, rather, the amount of dust and dirt that would be kicked up as a result. [...]