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Threads magazine
Capturing a Story for Threads: the "Author Visit"
Follow editor Jennifer Sauer as she photographs Anna Mazur's appliqué technique
by Carol Fresia
Regular readers of Threads who like to scour the margins of our pages may have noticed that the pictures in many of the technique stories are credited, not to professional photographers, but rather to our editors. As much as we love our staff and freelance photographers (and face it, couldn't manage without them), we can't send them everywhere, nor can we expect them to know what shots we'll need most and how they should be taken. So, to ensure that we get detailed and accurate process photos, we send the person who's most familiar with the article: the editor.
We editors travel to the author's studio or workshop, armed with our digital cameras, lighting equipment, lots of batteries, tripods and stands, and a variety of other useful items to help us set up the perfect shot -- or as close as we can get to it. Sometimes we move the furniture, climb on chairs, rig up temporary backdrops and window coverings, reposition the author's equipment, and request wardrobe changes. But our goal is that the readers never be aware of any of our shenanigans when they see the finished article.
This past spring, associate editor Jennifer Sauer paid a call on Anna Mazur to photograph an appliqué technique that results in a rich, textured effect by using washed velvets and hand beading on luxurious background fabrics. I tagged along with my own camera to document the day. It must be said that Jen displayed remarkably good sportsmanship about my being underfoot the whole time, and that Anna displayed tremendous courage under twin Canon-fire. To read Anna's article and see how the pictures came out, look for the December 2003/January 2004 issue of Threads (#110), available on newsstands this November.
Carol Fresia is associate editor of Threads.
Photos, except where noted: Carol Fresia
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