This month “ Photographer Spotlight “ is Jonathan Hawkins. A premier photographer in the scene. You will see him doing show coverage and features all over the southeast. Check out the 1 on 1 interview and see his favorite shots from his vast portfolio.
ST: Introduce yourself. Let people get to know the man/woman behind the lens
JH: My name is Jonathan Hawkins. I’ve been a photographer for over 24 year’s now. When I’m not covering shows or doing feature’s I work at a big Ford dealership doing pics for the website of the inventory.
ST: When did you get into photography?
I started out a little after high school doing Import car shows and evolved over into shooting any kind of car & truck show that was going on. Around the time of me getting into shooting truck shows Courtney”Tito” Halowell taught me the ins and outs of photography all around!
ST: Do you have any covers and if so, how many?
JH: I have not had any vehicle’s i’ve shot on the covers yet but I have a few in the works!
ST: Who are some of your influences?
JH: My list is crazy long but to name a few would be Courtney “Tito” Halowell, Johnny O’, John Jackson
ST: When you go do a shoot, what’s in the camera bag?
JH: 2 Canon rebel series camera’s with 70-200mm, 10-25mm(wide angle), 17-70mm, 25-100mm
ST: Describe your lighting when and if you decide to use it.
JH: I actually do not use any lighting for my shoots or show coverages.
ST: Describe somethings when you are at a show that makes a truck standout to you.
JH: Body mods, simple & clean work, something that has not been done before.
ST: Do you have a favorite shoot you have done? Describe it.
JH: That would have to be back some year’s ago when I shot a feature on a S10 and it was a father & son build out of their garage. The stories you hear from build’s like that hit’s your heart. I think it’s so cool to document their journey and hard work that pay’s off in the end result.
ST: What are your thoughts on the current and future state of the industry?
JH: It’s alway’s changing with the new stuff coming out. It’s cool to see all the new stuff at Sema that will be coming out.
ST:What advice would you give to new photographers?
JH: Get out there and keep shooting. You will evolve into a great photographer and be one of the elite people will notice and know who you are!
ST: Last minute thoughts you would like to give to the street trucks community.
JH: Keep good positivity in the scene! Remember all of the younger generation’s coming up in the scene are watching us and what we do! See everyone at a show near you!