Dean J. Birinyi of LemonStPhotography
September 26, 2009 | By
Name: Dean J. Birinyi
Location: Mountain View, CA
Shop Name: Lemon St Photography
How did you come up with the name of your shop?
My wife thought it was a good idea. It doesn't really mean anything in particular. (I think she liked the idea of using a lemon as an avatar.)
Tell us a bit about your craft/medium and why you chose it?
Back in 1986 my family furniture manufacturing business dissolved. I saw an ad in the classifieds for a photographer with no experience required. I decided to apply to try to hone my interviewing skills and, despite never having picked up a camera before, I was hired to shoot baby pictures in K-mart. I soon realized that I loved photography but hated the job . . . twenty-three years later, here I am.
Did someone teach you?
I apprenticed with an experienced photographer for a few months, but one day on the job he told me I was better at it than he was. So, I went out on my own and twenty years later, here I am.
Tell us about your workspace-
Where do you create or work?
I actually shoot out on location. It's a wonderful benefit of the career, knowing that each day you will be going new places and seeing new things.
Do you have your own space or has it taken over the entire house?
My office is in the spare bedroom. I work on my computers and keep my equipment there.
Has it evolved since you started your craft?
The changes are all in the tools, since digital photography has gained prominence. Instead of a darkroom, I have a rather large computer; several actually.
What are your most productive times?
Mornings are best for me really, although since I stopped drinking coffee this is no longer quite as well defined.
Do you have a favorite item that you have made?
"Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Baker - Dawn." I love doing dawn shots. No other time of the day gives you quite the same quality of light. I'd scrambled down some rocks to the water's edge and waited for 45 minutes on a rather precarious perch to get just the right shot. It was well worth the time and effort!
What is the most difficult part of your craft?
Selecting the best of a series of shots. Culling out the second-best calls for my most skilled and ruthless critical eye.
What has been your most successful marketing technique?
Until now the most effective marketing technique for my photography business has been direct mail and personal contact.
Where can we find your work? In addition to my Etsy shop, LemonStPhotography.etsy.com, there's my website: http://www.djbphoto.com/ I have also had a one man show at the Lojart Gallery in Morgan Hill, CA. My ArtFire shop will be stocked sometime soon.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose? And why?
San Diego, CA... it has the best weather I've ever seen but there's no work.
How about some of your favorites?
Food? Mustard-almond butter sauce on anything including cardboard and glass shards. It's that good.
Quote? The only people who don't make mistakes are the ones who don't do anything.
Holiday? Fourth of July, because it's closest to the summer solstice
Who is your hero - artistic or otherwise? and why?
Salvador Dali, because I've always been drawn to surrealism, and I think he's the best of the surrealist painters. I always find something new no matter how often I look at his work.
Have you made anything that you just can't bear to part with?
I had some prints on canvas done of a landscape series at Grant Lake, near Mt. Hamilton in California. Because of the texture of the canvas they look like a hybrid between a photographic print and a painting, a most unusual effect. They are now hanging in the bedroom.
What’s your supply addiction; is there a specific color or type of supply you just can’t pass up?
All the amazing image-processing software! Let's put it this way: if you gave me $10,000 tonight, I'd be broke by mid-afternoon tomorrow. But I'd have everything I ever wanted for post-production (happy sigh).
What is the best thing and the worst thing about being your own boss?
The best thing is that I can set my own work schedule; the worst thing is that I am a slave driver of a boss.
Photos courtesy of Dean J.Birinyi
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