Our newest About A Photograph video features USA Today photographer Robert Hanashiro’s remembrances of shooting images of the late Robin Williams, as well as actor Dustin Hoffman. About A Photograph is located at http://blog.thinktankphoto.com/about-a-photograph/
“Telling Robin Williams to stay still was almost impossible,” said Hanashiro. “I always go into these celebrity shoots a little nervous, even though I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I always appreciated him making me feel relaxed. And when I’m relaxed I can make a whole lot better photography.”
Hanashiro continues, “I remember the first time I met him. I knocked on the door of the hotel room and he answered the door, which was very surprising. He just looked at me and asked, ‘Who might you be?’ And he just laughed. Robin Williams was the best of the best.
“It’s sad that he’s gone because he was such a great character, a person who made us all laugh and all cry. I got to admit that when I’d heard he’d passed away, I was, very, very sad. Not only because he was such a great subject, but a great person to be around.”
For over two decades, Hanashiro has been the West Coast staff photographer for USA TODAY, the country’s largest general interest daily newspaper. He has covered every major sports event imaginable from the Super Bowl to the Final Four to the World Series to the NBA Finals. He has also covered 12 Olympic Games. Hanashiro’s duties for “The Nation’s Newspaper” also include coverage of the entertainment industry, making portraits of many of the world’s leading actors, directors, and musicians. He also covers the major awards shows, including the Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. For the past four years Hanashiro has been one of just four photographers covering the Academy Awards from backstage.
Think Tank Photo’s “About a Photograph™ video series features some of the world’s leading photographers recounting the stories behind their images that captured global attention. Each short video focuses on the forces that led up to that perfect moment in time when subject, story, setting, equipment, and photographer converged.
About A Photograph is produced by Kurt Rogers and Deanne Fitzmaurice, Think Tank Photo’s co-founders and award-winning photojournalists. The video series features current as well as classic and historic photographs that span a range of styles, including documentary/photojournalistic, fine art, nature/environment, sports, and politics.