philip seymour hoffman

I only met Philip Seymour Hoffman twice, both of which we in a hurried photo shoot sort of way, but he was instantly likable. 

I liked that he was from Rochester, but lived in my neighborhood and that no matter the character or role he was guaranteed to be excellent. I do not like that I will no longer see him getting coffee around the corner and lament not watching all of the great performances he would have no doubt played in the future. 

www.joshuakessler.com V4

Things are changing quickly in the world of photography and I like it. Over the Past few years I have been incorporating more and more video into my work. I have always photographed people like a director would direct an actor in a film; it is a conversation between two people with a script. Being a photographer and a director has made it hard to answer the inevitable party question, “So what do you do?” then the other day I just blurted it out, “I am a portraitist, a visual handyman” and it sounded perfect. I still make portraits I just use different tools from time to time. This leads me to the launch of www.joshukessler.com V4 which makes it easier to see all sides of my visual handy work. 

Discovering Columbus

Recently I was fortunate to see the new piece by Tatzu Nishi, “Discovering Columbus”. I really loved it for so many reasons, the scale, the whimsy, the attention to detail and just the fact that it exists. It reminded me of a photo I took in Paris over the summer where contractors went to great lengths not to disturb a statue while renovating a building on Quai de Montbello – Quai de Tournelle.

Detroit

I got to spend two weeks in Detroit this summer finishing up the Ford Motors  job and it was a gift. There are a lot of negative things said about the Motor City, but I can only offer positive thoughts. The people I met, the improv I watched, the food I ate, the art I saw, the glorious car culture I bathed in all left me completely inspired. Detroit is like a delicious chili dog from the city's famous landmark, Lafayette Coney Island—it is the sum of the parts that make  it a glorious, wonderful mess. 

Ford, Spain and two great weeks.

Every day that I get to make images is a great day and I always feel like the luckiest person in the world. Being hired by Team Detroit to direct a series of one minute portraits of 10 engineers for Ford Motors was the exception to the rule, lucky does not even begin to describe it, it was just plain perfect. Sure, Barcelona is one of the great cities of the world, Calatrava a genius among architects, the food excellent, the local beer delicious, the mountain scenery of Solsona stunning and the work itself a pleasure. Beyond that, being in Spain and talking about cars all day was a dream come true. I could go on but the best part of the trip was working with my my crack team, Ken Robinson and Cole Slutzky. Ken, Cole and I will forever have a bond that could only be formed living and working in a Volkswagen van for fourteen days together. Make an appointment to have drinks with the three of us and we will tell you inside jokes for hours. 

Dancing In Florence

Words are hard to use to describe Italy, it is just so. It is the things you see, taste, hear and smell. This is just one of those moments in Florence.

Lior Sercarz

Meeting Lior is something one never forgets—how many spice blenders do you know? Lior is an artist, scientist, historian, story teller and collector, but his passion in what he does is what you notice most when sharing a conversation over strong coffee.

www.laboiteny.com

Stephanie Von Watzdorf

Stephanie is the mastermind behind the new fashion line Figue. The genius of her clothing is that she truly exemplifies all of the qualities of her brand—she's worldly, colorful and so much fun.

Los Angeles

I always have a great time in Los Angeles, great friends, Philippe’s French dipped sandwiches and perfect skies. Besides where else can the window of your hotel room remind you to party? 

Richard Serra

Often to recharge I'll head off for a drive north of the city. One of my favorite routes takes me past the DEA Beacon. There is something so special about wandering through a canyon of steel built by Richard Serra.