Photography duo spotlight: Pony & Brett
Xina Giatas interviews her friends and photography duo, Pony & Brett.
How did you first become interested in photography?
[Pony:] Long story short, I have always loved imagery that relate to my love of stories.
Growing up, both my mother and grandmother really encouraged creativity in both the mind - in the form of a ‘limitless, you-can-be-anything type of thinking’- and also in physical practice, exposing me to multiple artistic platforms.
My grandmother was a painter and art teacher with an incredible eye for color. My mom is the most gifted sewer I have ever met with an immense appreciation and knowledge of mid-century fashion. We could never go anywhere without one of them telling me to look, in depth, at visuals surrounding us that most people wouldn’t notice or think about. My grandmother would always pause when she saw light hitting a person or object in a unique way. She taught me that if you couldn’t see it, then you couldn’t create it.
My mom and I would spend hours in bookstores together - devouring books and magazines. She would critique imagery as she interpreted shapes, color relations, and how fabric and light reacted with each other. The book obsession started when I was a kid and my mom made sure we read every children’s book out there. I always loved the stories, just as much as I loved the pictures. When I realized that author and the illustrator were almost always 2 different people, I vividly remember thinking, “Well that’s silly. If I had a story, I would want to create the visuals myself. How else will people see what’s in my head?”
As I got older, I started taking photos with my Mom’s point and shoot camera. I would do these big photo shoots with my (very tolerant) friends, mapping out every detail, generally going so far as making most of clothing or props myself.
For me, it was never about picking up a camera and just “shooting”. I don’t think I ever would have been interested in photography if I thought that’s all there was to it. I love the creative process, just as much the images themselves.
[Brett:] Similar to Pony, photography was never my initial plan. For me, I always thought I would do something with film. Growing up, I loved watching movies with my family and started making my own shorts and sketches with our family’s old VHS camcorder.
Fast forwarding, I got accepted into the Cleveland Institute of Art and was chomping at the bit to go, hoping to major in film. Unfortunately, this was not in the cards. The college was so expensive, even with a job while attending, I would never be able to get out of debt.
I ended up attending a community college in Syracuse. Since they only had a broadcasting major when it came to video, I chose to enter their photography program. I figured I could go for 2 years, learn some basics about lighting and equipment, and then transfer schools and go back into video.
It wasn’t long before I realized how much I enjoyed the picture taking process. With the help of some amazing teachers, I stayed on the path of predominately stills instead of going back to filmmaking.
How did the two of you meet?
We met at college at RIT while we were both photo majors.
[Brett:] Pony and I are both strong willed and independent people - even more so when we first met 10 years ago. That’s what made us working together odd at first.
Pony was a freshman and I had just transferred in as a junior, so our paths rarely crossed. There is one required class that everyone who attends the photo program has to take. Since I had transferred, I was required to still take it and that how I first came to know of Pony. She later got hired at 'the cage', a place where you could check out any equipment and that’s where we first interacted.
Our shared class easily had a couple hundred kids in it and took place in a giant auditorium. With her red hair and the unique way she dressed, she just stood out. I’m not saying that in a Joey from Friends “How you doin” type of way. I had just never seen anyone with a retro style or who was consistency that put together. Shortly after this recognition though, she started wearing these huge cataract style sunglasses inside, like all the time. I remember thinking, “Who the hell does this chick think she is? It’s dark as hell in here and I know she can barely see.” Until I got to know her, I definitely thought she was super pretentious - totally because of those stupid glasses.
But those weird sunglasses were also what made me look up her work – Haha!
I wasn’t expecting what I saw and remember saying to myself ‘Wow, she really has a talent!’ Her work was extremely ambitious, not just for a freshman, but even for seniors at that school. She was shooting on location, with production, and she was trying a lot of different things.
[Pony:] They WERE cataract sunglasses! Haha! I remember hearing Brett’s interpretation about a year after we started working together and laughing so hard. The reason I had those glasses was because I had severely scratched my cornea. I was wearing cataract glasses over my regular glasses and it was because my eyes were so sensitive to light that any light caused blinding pain.
Funny enough, I initially didn’t like Brett too much either. He was always late to a class we had together and returning equipment to ‘the cage’. When you returned equipment late, there were generally penalties, since the rules were meant to make sure there was always enough EQ for everyone. Somehow though, Brett would always sweet talk his way out of the situation with my boss.
As someone who was 15 minutes early to everything and a stickler for respecting rules, I was always so annoyed by him.
Later on, I would learn that the reason he was usually late was because he lived way off campus in a space he converted to live/work studio so he could do larger scale shoots with no time limits, and worked an almost full time job in order to pay for the studio. Learning how hard he worked definitely changed my opinion of him.
Also his tight dress shirts were the equivalent to my cataract glasses. I had never met anyone who, I swear, purposely bought their shirts 2 sizes too small!
[Brett:] Eventually we saw how much we both were sacrificing for our work and a mutual respect was formed. Acknowledging each other’s thermal detonators, we gave each other the ‘ol Boba nod, in our respective button poppin’ shirts and Grandma glasses.
I offered to let her use my studio, so she could further her shooting more.
[Pony:] I’ll finish with the last piece of the P&B Puzzle. Every December our school had a holiday auction where they sell off old equipment. We both went and decided to buy an old power pack together to share. Well...this turned into way more than we thought. We did share it, but not how we originally intended. We decided to collaborate on an idea and shoot together. For being such insanely independent people, the ease in which we worked together was uncanny. We did one shoot together with that one power pack and have never looked.
Where and how do you find inspiration?
We mostly draw our inspiration from history and old cinema. The jumping off point for an idea can come from anywhere though.
Last fall, we wanted to create a Halloween related video. We really loved the idea of The Vampira Show, but did not want to rip off something so iconic. We were struggling to find a starting point when we found ourselves in an antique store while we were home visiting family.
Pony picked up this uniquely colored vintage percolator. Brett noticed the model of the percolator was ‘Poly Perk’. Somehow this was the spark that we needed. We created an imaginary TV Show set in the 1950’s about a coffee loving witch named “Polly Perk”, that was accompanied by “fake” promotional material and a network special about the character. Sometimes it’s as simple as that!
If you weren’t photographers, what do you think you’d be doing?
[Brett:] I think my skillset would probably land and naturally fit somewhere in the advertising world.
Often times our shoot ideas tend to grow beyond just the images. We’re always thinking about how that image would stand alone, fit with others, how it could interact with graphics or motion elements, etc. There is something I love about the heritage of a brand or selling of an idea and often this entails more than just the stills.
[Pony:] I’ll second that – If I couldn’t be behind the camera, I would want to be involved with the creation of the branding. Even for our personal shoots, we really try and scope our ideas beyond just image creation.
Or I would runaway and be a cowgirl.
How do you spend your free time, if ever you have any?
Gym, Family, Day trips, and Ponies for Pony
As alluded to in the question, free time is a rare thing in our lives. We know we are not alone in that boat! There are many people out there who wear the same badge.
That being said, we do always try and make time to go to the gym. This is partly out of our passion for fitness and partly out of necessity. We’re not going to downplay it –we often use a lot of equipment that is neither small nor lightweight. We never want to be limited in what we are able or willing to do if we can help it, and it certainly won’t be because we couldn’t carry something.
Aside from the gym, on the rare occasion we have some free time, we will either be visiting family or on the road looking for a hike and food. Family is very important to us, so we do our best to make several trips home throughout the year. We know there will come a time where there will be less people to visit, so we do our best to keep crossing those bridges while they are still standing.
Our favorite fun thing is our day trips. They really are nothing extraordinary, but we like ‘em all the same. We wake up around 2-3 AM, get on the road and drive somewhere, racing only with the sun. Appropriately named, these trips are usually done in a day, so we go anywhere within a 4 hour radius. We generally try to visit places where you can walk the town, the coast, or hike. Most importantly, these places always have good food spots. We are not fancy in nature nor are we any kind of culinary experts, but do feel free to asking us about our ongoing lists of favorite burgers, breakfasts, greasy spoons, donuts, or ice cream spots!
It is rare but worth mentioning that about once a year, Pony is able to link up with some old friends and get on a horse. She grew up working in a barn in order to be able to ride every single day, so any chance she can get to ride now, is a happy moment.
What sets you apart from other photographers?
[Pony:] I think the things that makes you different as a photographer, are the same things that sets you apart as a person. This is the combination of what inspires you, the amount of importance you place on things, and the standards to which you hold yourself accountable.
We love pulling from the past - both in vision and technique - to see what we can present to a unique future.
We believe in being a good person, treating everyone we work around with respect, approaching life with empathy, and staying true to our word.
We always put forward as much effort as we can, devoting our time and energy, so to not let the team or ourselves down.
[Brett:] Between the two of us, there are 3 eyes and two points of view working towards one final idea, so I guess that’s a unique thing. I agree with what Pony said. I’d also add that we are both pretty funny and pretty Margaritaville in most situations.
One thing I can say for sure is no one can wear a Baby Gap tee like I can.
{Pony:] Fun Fact: Brett’s right eye slowly started to deteriorate 8 years ago. Bet that 3 eyed reference makes a bit more sense now, eh?
What are some challenges of being a duo?
Having 2 different brains!
We are both equally stubborn when we believe we’re right and it is something we’re passionate about. Plus, we have 2 different backgrounds so naturally, there are going to be things we see differently – just like every other individual in this world.
We’ve been working together for so long, we really don’t butt heads too often. On the few occasions that we do have a dispute, we are pretty quick to evaluate the situation, establish each other’s points of views, take the ego out and figure out a solution.
If we can’t understand or communicate with each other, how on earth would we ever communicate with a client or team member?
What are some of the benefits of being a duo?
Having 2 different brains! The exact same answer applies!
We work incredibly well together and are generally on the same page as a whole. At the same time, we are 2 unique individuals. Having different brains allows us to approach work, hopefully from a widened scope – especially from a male and female perspective.
One thing we are asked a surprising amount is “which one of us shoots”. Well, we both do, just not at the same exact time. We often pass the camera back and forth on set and even if it’s the same ‘look’ and nothing has changed, we will see something slightly different than the other.
We also have more specific “roles” we have given to ourselves, knowing our own personal strengths and weaknesses, so that we can maximize time, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Plus, at the end of the day, we’re best buds. That alone, just makes for a more positive environment. This is exactly what we want to be doing with our lives, so there’s nowhere else we need to ever be.
Is it a crazy stressful day on set?
We’re together. It’s fine.
Is it a super shitty job?
We’re in the shit together. It’s fine.
Is it another all nighter with the retouching?
We’re together. It’s fine.
Is it an incredible shoot?
We’re together. It’s even more awesome.
When it’s good, it’s great. When it’s bad, it’s still good.
What is a project you are most proud of?
One shoot that stands out is a Western Editorial we did several years ago during our first year in NYC
When moved to NY, we had a very small savings and not much else. We used that to secure our first apartment, a 1 story walk down. When we say this, we mean that we lived in a >400 square foot basement (like, open up the steel gate in the sidewalk and walk down type-of-basement). We had no warm water, no kitchen, and there were no windows unless you count a small one in the back leading to the start of a brick wall. We slept on military cots until we could “upgrade” to a futon.
We were doing some simple testing but we were determined to push towards something more complicated every time we shot until we hit the upper limit of what was doable, given our experience & resources.
We decided to do a shoot based on the Wild West and we dove into research (which ended up taking over a month) in preparation. We started reading about sheriffs and outlaws of the time. We read biographies about female sharpshooters. We looked through old cowboy comic books while listening to Western radio shows like ‘Wild Bill Hickcok’ and ‘Have Gun, Will Travel’. We watched classic films like Rio Bravo and Cat Ballou, as well as modern films like The Quick & The Dead and Cowboys & Aliens.
We traveled to 3 different states to find and borrow the correct props, and certain staples of western attire. We looked into some of the techniques they used in the old western films to get some those sweeping landscapes. Some of this we had to learn while doing it the day of the shoot (because we had no time or money to get the studio for an additional day/prelight).
This may have been a bit of overkill for a shoot that had no real home yet, but we really wanted to make some strong, beautiful images that could tell a story, while also showcasing modern western clothing.
We had no photo assistants or help with us on our end, but the entire crew (mu, hair, styling, & talent) was there for the shoot. They stayed the whole time and everyone really stepped up for us. Maybe everyone was young and ambitious, maybe they felt strongly about our idea, maybe they really believed in us, or maybe they were all just to kind to tell us to back to the hole we crawled walked out of. Regardless, this shoot would not have been as successful without their non-stop effort and drive.
While there were some hiccups and curve balls, despite all our planning, it remains one of our favorite shoot. Regardless of the images themselves, we were proud. No matter how stressful that shoot was, we knew this was the level of research, diligence and commitment to an idea we wanted to strive for going forward.
