Robert Redford

You read correctly. Robert. Fucking. Redford.

Hold on. Man. I'm still excited about it, two days later.

Redford was in town promoting the movie Unforeseen, which he produced and a UT grad alum directed. It's about Austin real-estate development and the ecological implications on Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer.

I got a chance to talk with him after the press conference was over, told him that he's one of my heroes, and his work is a constant inspiration to me. He just thanked me and said, "How sweet of you to say!" and cracked that great, craggy smile that made him a star. Even at 71, he's one of the most handsome people on earth. It was like meeting Zeus.

I had 26 seconds of time from start to finish to make this portrait.

Why only 26 seconds? Two television stations got short clips recorded with Mr. Redford (complete with cute improvs from Redford, like "I'm Robert Redford, or at least I was this morning.") and I finally managed to grab him on his way out, and asked if I could take his portrait for the paper, that it'd only take 2 minutes of his time (I actually meant 2 minutes, too. I don't need a ton of time, just more than 26 seconds.) He obliged me, very kindly and humbly, and I made my dozen exposures or so, before he was whisked away.

Lens flare fucked me, but that was me being dense and using my zoom rather than my prime, and not putting the spotlight behind his head. A little photoshop made it look a bit better, at the cost of some shadow detail. If I'd had another 26 seconds, I would've had something quite a bit better, heh.

It basically made my year.