Renaissance man, happy husband, proud father and emerging art photographer: Ira Fox
I met Ira at Desmond’s Tavern this afternoon for a beer, a little reminiscing and a look forward into what promises the future holds for him.
Ira Fox was featured this morning in an article about entrepreneurs who are making it work from the home office, so I contacted him and asked him if he’d be willing to meet for an impromptu interview. Our conversation follows:
Who are your favorite subjects?
I love characters. Children in particular are great because they are full of curiosity. I have a four year old daughter and she has provided me with endless opportunities to practice and refine my portrait work.
When did you know you wanted to be a photographer?
I first started taking pictures 35 years ago. I was only seventeen carrying out mains and sides at the Shady Nook at Loch Sheldrake in the Catskills. There were a lot of old Jewish folk and families who went there for their summer vacations, so there were a lot of characters to take pictures of. I had a 35mm Konika TC and I fondly remember that the old “prune juice brigade” loved to pose for me. That’s when I fell in love with photography.
When did you become a photographer?
That said, it wasn’t until I was 42, in 1999, that I began working as a professional photographer in earnest.
Before then, I had entered the CIA when I was 21…that is the Culinary Institute of America, the “world’s premier culinary college,” where my favorite pastime was taking pictures and drinking lots of wine, because my favorite class was Mixology 101.
After graduating, I worked in the food industry for a while, but being as restless as I’ve always been, I decided to try my hand at a few other things including—going to broadcasting school and working as a DJ in Sussex NJ and being a limousine driver for celebrities like Madonna and Sean Penn. I also had my acting phase where I was cast as a “heavy” quite often because I had dark hair and a deep voice, playing the bad guy in everything from TV soaps to summer stock, and even a bit part in a reenactment for America’s Most Wanted.
But it wasn’t until I injured myself and was laid up for three months that I was inspired to take up taking pictures for a living.
An old girlfriend of mine knew that I loved photography and in order to get me out of my rut she encouraged me to pick up the camera again. She had a contact at NYU who needed some photos and that’s how it all started. I did a piece for Theater Week and then started taking head shots for actors. This led to shooting events and wedding photography for the last ten years.
Besides paying the rent and letting me do something I love, wedding photography is also how I ended up meeting my wife.
We were at a mutual friend’s wedding where I was taking pictures and I met her. Our friend still gives me a hard time because I ended up taking a lot more photos of Sally, my eventual-bride-to-be, than of the bride-who-had-just-become (a bride).
You maintain two websites—one for your wedding and events work, and the other for your fine art and street photography—please explain.
Well it is not only because of my work at weddings that I had the great fortune of meeting my wife, but it is also because of my work at weddings that I am finally pursuing work in fine art. You see, Sally was getting tired of me having to work every weekend, as was I, and so she encouraged me to follow my bliss, to get out on the streets of Manhattan and take pictures of the city I love and create the art I’ve long yearned to make.
Since then, I’ve created a portfolio of work I’m proud of and that I recently took with me to a photo review in Houston TX. I’ve already sold a few pieces and I also recently participated in a group show, Aesthetics 2009, which was curated by Armando Arorizo at the perfect exposure gallery in Los Angeles in January.
What does the future look like for you?
Well, the New York Kids Club recently asked me to partner with them because they liked my work. They’ve even asked me to shoot for a calendar for a spring benefit they’re having.
Moreover, I’ve been happily married for seven years to a wonderful woman who encourages my passion for photography, and together we have a beautiful 4-year-old daughter who inspires me just as much as her mother.
So, I’m quite excited about the future and I feel like 2009 is going to be a boom year for me.
For more info:
www.irafox.com
www.gramercyparkphoto.com
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