Miami Photographer Joshua Prezant

Growing up I had the opportunity to go a a bunch of boxing events throughout Florida.  This was in a time when Miami Beach was still a fight center in the boxing world. Through my father’s Uncle I was able to not only see some of the great match ups that came through Florida, but to also meet the boxers and promoters.  As a young kid I thought that this world was amazing ( much to my mother’s dismay). So anytime the opportunity arrises to photograph something boxing related I jump at it.

When Joshua Prezant Photography got the call to photograph legendary boxer and Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard I made sure to clear the schedule to make it work.  Right away my mind started to go wild with all amazing things I wanted to try to do photographically.  But then I soon learned that I would be photographing him for a story not necessarily about boxing, but for a different fight that he took on.  He was helping to shed light on a dark time in his life as a teen when he was sexually abused by two people very close to him.

With more details about the story I learned that I would be photographing him in his hotel room in Miami Beach late at night as he was preparing to give a motivational speech the next day to a thousand or so corporate folks from Burger King.  Out when anything overly related to boxing in the photograph.  No gloves, no trucks, no wardrobe changes,  no boxing ring, no sweat!  Just an intimate portrait of Sugar Ray in his “lounge around the house comfy clothing.”

I had to work with what I had.  Plus, how much into a photo shoot would he be after being interviewed about his abuse for an hour or so.  As I was setting up the lighting I carefully listened to his story as writer Wayne Coffey interviewed him.  After they were done, it was nearly 10:30 pm or so.  To my amazement Sugar Ray was truly hospital and easy going when we started shooting.  Although we did not have much time and after what had to be an emotionally draining interview he patiently sat for my photo session…. Even allowing me to get a more upbeat idea in before we ended.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/zone-sugar-ray-finds-new-arena-sexual-abuse-victim-helping-article-1.1483655

Sugar Ray Leonard © Joshua Prezant 2013

Sugar Ray Leonard © Joshua Prezant 2013

I was honored to have one of my images from the Middle East chosen to be part of a wonderful gallery show, called THE BIG PICTURE,  put together by friend and photojouralist Carl Juste.  The images are being displayed at about 10 feet wide by 8 feet high. The opening night was a huge succsess and gave me a chance to catch up with a lot of old photojournalist friends.

Image by Joshua Prezant: Left

If you are in the Miami area I highly recomend checking out the exhibit and seeing these incrediable images brought to life in a giagantic way.  The images will be up through October.

The exhibition displays sixteen colossal images by sixteen extraordinary photojournalists. The work is featured in high- resolution quality and size that will make viewers feel like they are part of the scene, allowing them to experience the event first hand.  Each image is a physical manifestation of the expansion of meaning.  The truth and relativity of the facts are the ingredients that expand the comprehension of the image.  The viewer sees the larger context because they are drawn into the expanding frame, hence made to see the Big Picture.

Big Picture will opened August 17, 2012, 7pm at The Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami, Florida.  It will be open until October.  The gallery is approximately 2,100 square feet with high vaulted ceilings—a perfect venue with ample space for an exhibition of this magnitude.

My image, along with the others are available for purchase in sizes of 30×40, 40×60, and 20×30 through Lena Sendik, Iris PhotoCollective, Director of Sales and Marketing, Phone: 504-756-1492, lena@irisphotocollective.com

A packed gallery!

Click here to see some of the other images and here audio from the photographers about their images

One of my favorite clients to work for is the Washington Post Magazine. I always know when the call comes in for an assignment that it will be enjoyable. This assignment did not disappoint. I was sent out to document the “Miami Bohemian ” art scene down in Miami. The images were going along with a first person account/ travel piece that writer Sandra Beasley was doing.

SLIDE SHOW

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Today I got a e-mail letting me know that a child I photographed for the Heart Gallery was recently permanently adopted.

The e-mail:

Dear Joshua, last September you too a Heart Gallery picture of Trenton, one of our children who is so medically complex the only placement we had for him was a nursing home a thousand miles from his home.  You took a beautiful picture and thanks to your help, Trenton was placed with his forever family last week.  Below are some pictures his new mom sent.  The pictures are not as good as yours but I am sure you will agree, the quality of his life has certainly improved!!!!   Thank you again for your help. Peggy

For several year now I have photographed children for the Heart Gallery in Miami and around South Florida.  It is something I look forward to every year.  Most of the time the children I photograph are older children that are normally harder to adopt.  But with Trenton, he was what many consider to be the “unadoptable” because of his severe medical conditions.

Having a photo make it to the cover of a magzine or seeing your advertising photo on a bus bench or billboard is great…. But nothing beats hearing the great news that one of the kids you photographed for the heart gallery has been placed with a loving family!  G-d bless the family that adopted Trenton.

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Forbes Magazine jumps for Miami photographer Joshua Prezant

The call comes in from the Forbes Magazine photo editor that they need a high energy photo of four very young entrepreneurs that created and run Summit Series.  They are creating offbeat, successful, business conferences that have  attracted thousands of influential attendees and a star panels of billionaires, philanthropists and disruptors that would make the older, better connected organizers of Davos and Ted jealous.   As it happens I knew exactly who these guys were as I photographed them a year before for the Washington Post Magazine.  Having got to know the guy on the last shoot ( a documentary  behind the scene shoot of one of there conferences in South Beach), I knew they would be up for most anything.

My team and I began the process of scouting locations and brainstorming for ideas.  We only had about a day to plan before the shoot and a small window to photograph the guys as they were a few days away from the start of there new conference Summit at Sea.  The location became a moving target that was changing every hour because we needed to make sure we had all four people together. With this in mind we planned for everything and brought enough lighting equipment to be ready for anything and any turns in the weather that happened.  We also secured a large trampoline for one location ( where we ended up shooting). It ended up that we only had about 15 minutes to do two setups ( the primary one and then a more straight forward tight picture of the 4). All the planning paid off and we had a great shoot and the client was thrilled.

Elliott Bisnow - Founder ( white T shirt) Brett Leve - Cofounder ( button down plaid shirt) Jeffery Rosenthal - Cofounder ( peace love t shirt) Jeremy Schwartz- Cofounder ( White pants)

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Over the year Joshua Prezant Photography has done many assignments for publications based in Britian.  And the one thing that can always be counted on from these shoot is that I will meet intersting people from all walks of life and all walks of careers.  This shoot in Palm Beach, Florida for The Guardian was no exception.

Author Diane Ackerman, who most recetly wrote, ONE HUNDRED NAMES FOR LOVE , was a real delight to spend time with.  The book deals with Ackerman’s struggles after her husband, Author Paul West,  suffered a massive stroke and her story of helping her husband relearn language.

Author Diane Ackerman by Miami Photographer Joshua Prezant