Interview with Arizona Photographer, Tony Blei

Tony Blei of SmartAz Photography, Tempe, AZ spent over 20 years as a fixture in Arizona photojournalism and now as an entity unto himself. As SmartAz takes off, Blei looks back on his first photography experiences and explains how he made it where he is and where he hopes to go in the future.

"I always thought I was going to be a mechanic, so after high school, I joined the Air Force and became a jet engine mechanic," says Blei. "About three years into my "tour," I was walking out of the barracks at the same time as a guy who lived across the hall. He had a camera for sale and would not take no for an answer. He went on to say that I should take the camera, shoot the film and if I did not like the camera, I could give it back. Just to get him off my back, I took the camera."

Blei and a friend shot the film around the barracks, when the film came back a time-exposed shot of a car going by the gym reminded Blei of something he had seen in a National Geographic. He was hooked from that moment.

Spending the any free moment with the camera, Blei would process black and white pictures on the floor of the barracks at night, and then spend the next day cleaning fixer stains from the furniture.

"After the Air Force, I started dating a girl who worked for a newspaper. I showed my pictures to all of her friends and two years later I got a job at that newspaper," says Blei, who eventually married that girl and had a baby. "I photographed cars and houses. The images ran in the classified pages and were about an inch wide. I did that for ten months before a promotion to Lab Tech. Not only did I get to process and print everyone's work, but I also got to start shooting news."

After 10 years at that newspaper, Blei moved to the East Valley Tribune, Mesa, AZ, for eleven years. According to Blei, newspaper photojournalism is a job for 24-year olds. He accepted a position as page designer/copy editor, but he missed photography. With prompting from a coworker, Blei turned in his resignation and went back to college.

"My dear, sweet, amazing wife, Susan, came up with a plan. She said that I would go back to school," says Blei. "I had never been to college, but always wanted to go. An editor at the Arizona Republic said that she could give me enough freelance work so that I could make ends meet. Unfortunately, The Republic never called me."

"There are two things in life that you have: Your time and your talent. You can sell both," says Blei. "A couple of people that I had worked with at the newspaper were now in different jobs and somehow they got my phone number and started hiring me. So, in between algebra tests and research papers I began to build a business."

That business is SmartAz Photography. By December 2006, business was so great that it was interfering with Blei's school obligations. "Twice that year I dropped English 102, so I didn't sign up for the Spring Semester," says Blei.

"I work as often as I can and have been so busy that at times I have to turn down work. But there are slow times too," says Blei. "There have been times that I've considered going back to the day job. It is about that time that someone will remind me why I do what I do. They love my work and often there is a fat paycheck attached."

Blei shoots digitally with a Canon 5D body and a 20D body as a backup. The 5D is his favorite. It has a 13 megapixel, full-frame sensor, just like the old days of film.

"My favorite lens is an 85mm lens that opens up to f1.2. That means it lets in a lot of light, and it has incredibly narrow depth-of-field," he says. "I know this is geek-speak, but what this lens can do is amazing. I have shot models laying on a couch and only their eyes were in focus and the rest of their body faded out of focus adding to the sensual feel of the photograph."

According to Blei, there are two parts to the photography. There's the picture taking part, then there is post production

"I have a philosophy regarding photography," he says. "Not only should it show you something that you couldn't see even if you were there, but I think it should also make you feel something. The cameras, the lenses and the lighting equipment are simply the tools in which the photographer uses to communicate. We live in a great era. The technology we have at our fingertips is amazing. It's possible to shoot an image and send it around the world in less than an hour."

"Of all of the things in the world to photograph, I love to photograph people," says Blei. "I've photographed six US Presidents and countless celebrities."

Blei has also photographed a veritable who's who of rock bands. Among them are: Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, U2 and The Grateful Dead.

Blei, despite his years of experience in Arizona, remains an under-appreciated artist in Phoenix.

"I say I am the most underestimated photographer in Arizona, because of my past," he says. "Few people know who I am. For more than twenty years I was a photojournalist. I never had to market my work and I always had lots of work to do. Today my work is better than ever but nobody knows who I am. Recently I met an art director for a magazine in the Phoenix-metro area. I showed her my work and told her how much I enjoyed shooting people and she said, "But can ya shoot a margarita?"... You won't find my byline in her magazine anytime soon. I'm not saying that I'm God's gift to photography, but c'mon, margaritas?"

Smart Az Photography offers services for a wide range of needs. According to Blei, the goal for SmartAz is to be a problem solver.

"When people come to SmartAz Photography, I want them to have a great experience and I want them to be smiling as they write the check. I want them to look great," says Blei.