Suckarepellent

In a city like New York, filled with thousands of artists of every kind, talent alone will not lead you to success or exposure. For the lucky honest ones, it takes drive, determination, persistence beyond belief, and complete brilliance to get you really noticed. For others, lie, steal, cheat, and when all else fails, sell your self to the highest bidder. Once you’ve made it, staying up is always the hard part.
For some artists,in the Disposable City of the Big Apple, your In, then Out, like some trend on the Style List.
But in the case of Image Maker Mike Schreiber, talent and fame is lasting longer than “A New York minute”.

Mike is a humble guy, down to earth,honest speaking ,real,and a dog lover. I have never met him, but he seems really cool. I’d like to meet him for coffee, pick through his brain, and find out how he does it so well. It’s almost as if he comes across not knowing how much talent he has, that’s real. He has to know, but I like the fact that he seems to not. Everyone has game, especially in New York. His tear sheets are ridiculous,all his images speak for themselves. I’m really honored to be able to feature him on this website. Here is an Interview via email.

ANH:State your name, and where your from
mike schreiber, nyc (originally from L.I.)

ANH: Educational background?
BA in anthropology from the University of Connecticut.

ANH: How did you get started in photography?
i’ve always loved taking pictures, but i started shooting professionally by getting photo passes to shows (it was a lot easier then- in ‘97) and taking the pictures to the Source and Vibe the next day to try and get them in the party pages sections of the magazines. from there, i got little assignments here and there, shooting shows or parties for publicists and just always plugging away and never settling. i always wanted to do more. i didn’t want to be a thirty year old party photographer (no offense to anyone who is, i just knew it wasn’t for me).

ANH: When did you know you wanted to be a photographer, and whats your first memory of shooting first photo?
i don’t know. when i was little, i used to hide in the shower with my little camera, waiting for my mom to come in so i could scare her AND take a candid photo. i loved the show candid camera.

ANH: What’s the first assignment you did?
i shot a hare krisha hardcore group called shelter for swing magazine.

ANH: You have worked with lots of different artists, who are a few who stand out?
that’s hard. dmx was very genuine. mums (from oz) and i have actually become good friends. there are so many, and, for the most part, everyone’s been cool. i don’t know. is that ok?

ANH: What camera do you shoot with?
contax 645, leica r5, pentax k1000

ANH: What inspires you when taking photos?
trying to find truth. to get to the core of things. that’s why i like kids and dogs… there’s very little standing between you and their truth. hip hop artists are a little different… sometimes. sometimes it comes right through. i like traveling and seeing new things and trying to show it for what it is, from my perspective.

ANH: How did you get involved with the book project -Hip Hop Immortals?
They called me up, and asked me if they could use some photos

ANH: What other artists do you like?
sebastiao salgado, malick sidibe, elliott erwitt, shepard fairey, dr. suess, keith haring

ANH:When you aren’t taking photos ,what can you be found doing?
picking up dog doody.

ANH: Favorite food?
fruit; grapes, pears, blueberries. i like salmon a lot

ANH: If elected president, what’s one of the first things you would change?
nothing. i think our president has done everything perfectly!!! (just kidding) i’d probably try to overhaul the entire school system and make it more open to creativity. instead of sedating kids who might have behavioral problems, i’d probably try to find what interests them, and what they’re good at and try to nurture those things instead of negatively labeling them for their “weaknesses.” i’m getting deep now! i’d also make sure that EVERYONE had health insurance!
ANH: What’s the last album you bought?
si*se

ANH: What are you currently listening to?
my ipod .

ANH: In your opinion whats the current state of Hip Hop ,in America?
i don’t know, i don’t really spend much time worrying about the state of
hip hop. it’s just not something that i spend much time on.

ANH: What do you like about living in NYC?
everything! i love the diversity of the people. the friendliness (that’s not a joke- people here are super friendly. it’s the out-of-towners who are on edge and scared and wearing their backpack in the front who are unfriendly). the energy, opportunity. it’s a true mix of people and cultures unlike anything i’ve seen anywhere else. i love the kids here. they grow up quick and they’re really smart. you can’t fool little new yorkers very easily.

ANH: Where were you on September 11th?
walking my dog, then up on my roof watching the buildings smolder and fall down. then watching cnn like everybody else.

ANH: Where do you see yourself in 5yrs time?
i don’t know. i think about that a lot. hopefully with kids (my own). maybe in south america somewhere. professionally, i’d like to be doing more photo essay work. hopefully to benefit more people. maybe teaching. i don’t really see myself shooting music people in five years. who knows though? maybe. i’d like to do humanitarian work. i’d like to be like sebastiao salgado.
.

ANH: What else should I be asking you?
i’m a taurus. i smile a lot. i know it’s bad, but i turn to look at girl’s asses when i’m walking down the street (i can’t help it). sorry.

ANH: Anything else you want to add?
just that i feel really blessed to make a living doing what i love. i just need to figure out how to do it for the next fifty sixty years. i don’t know.

ANH: Any advice for other photographers out there?
just do what you feel, not what you think other people want to see. and when you’re first starting, don’t worry so much about selling work, worry more about getting better at what you do..

Interview ::::::::Alexa Hernandez

Mike Schreiber’s website.