Influences: William Anthony

William Anthony. © Ryan Schierling

I came across his music photography when he was donating time to local radio station KEXP, and we sent a few emails to and fro before meeting for stiff drinks at Moon Temple back in 2004. Since then, we've collaborated (along with Bradley Hanson) on "3 Punks," a project documenting one night in the all-ages punk scene at The Vera Project, which was followed by a commission from Bumbershoot organizer One Reel to shoot the festival's 35th anniversary in the same style. The result was "End of Summer," a gallery show with more than 8,000 viewers over three days of Bumbershoot the following year.

Bill's honest portraiture and subtle lighting have certainly been an influence, pushing me from an old-school photojournalist's detached observational style to one more personal and refined. Too many portrait photographers rely primarily on location and equipment to make images, forgetting that the most important part of the equation is their connection to the subject. And if they can't, or won't, give enough of themselves to make that connection, it's not a portrait. It's just one more technically accurate, sterile representation of what that person looked like at that given point in time. Bill makes connections, and his photographs are testament.

Check out his newest project, 90021, which is a fresh look at his new neighborhood in L.A.

I am glad to have crossed his path, proud to call him a friend and I am truly honored to be the best man in his upcoming wedding to Finnish supermodel and professional tennis player Pamela "Bjorn" Sunnarborg.