A career spent at the intersection of art and commerce has provided me countless opportunities to see and photograph a wide variety of subjects , but my “inspiration triangle” has always been the Cape and Nantucket Island – The Adirondack Mountains – and the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean where My camera always seems to find something that interests me.
I began my professional career at 21 as an apprentice photographer at Town and Country Magazine surrounded by such creative luminaries as Slim Aarons, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Victor Skrebneski, Norman Parkinson, Henry Wolf, and Frank Zachary among others. At 24, I was hired as Picture Editor at The Image Bank, then the leading commercial photo agency in the world. I was the first staffer to be offered and signed to a contributing photographer contract and within a year I was named Managing Editor. I credit the unique experiences I lived in this environment for fostering and refining my aesthetic for natural perfection and design.
The Image Bank would eventually be acquired by the London-based Getty Communications Which would later evolve into Getty Images. I served as a Director of photography at Getty in new york until I was offered the chance to serve as VP of Creative for the Tokyo-based photo agency Amana Images. my mission there was to curate and rebrand the avant-garde Photonica collection while developing a new commercial collection I branded as Iconica.
Both Photonica and Iconica would quickly become acquisition targets of the now mega-agency Getty Images. I again joined Getty this time serving as Collection Director until leaving to concentrate on my own commercial and fine art photography.
In addition to private collectors, Air France, Allianz, American Express, Apple, Barclays, British Airways, Capital One Coastal Living Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, Discovery Channel, LG Electronics, Microsoft, National Geographic Traveler Magazine, NBC Universal, Real Simple Magazine, Samsung, Town and Country Magazine, and Virgin Atlantic Airlines are just a few who have commissioned or licensed my work.
Additionally, I have guest lectured at a number of academic institutions including the University of Delaware, School of Visual Arts in New York City Savannah College of Art and Design and NYU at the Tisch School of Film and Television and also served as a contest judge for Photo District News.
Thanks for stopping by.
Chuck
CHUCKPLANTE@MAC.COM
(615) 917-0970
NY + NASHVILLE + NANTUCKET + Lake Placid + CHARLESTON + ST JOHN, USVI