Parish Kohanim: Paradise on Earth
Persian culture is richly veined with artistic accomplishment. It’s difficult to imagine architecture, painting, literature, music, dance, and, not least, Oriental carpets, without the finely-wrought aesthetic contributions of ancient Persia. In fact, the traditional Persian garden — an enclosed space known in Farsi as pairidaeza and intended to offer a protected spiritual and social retreat — is the origin of the “paradise on earth” known as the Garden of Eden.
So you could say that Parish Kohanim’s love of beauty is in his blood. Born in Shiraz, he was raised on classical music, books, literature, art, and a deep appreciation for the gardens, the mountains, and the light of his native land. He learned early from his mother that the limitations on where he could venture — as a Jew in a Muslim country — should never apply to his imagination.
A Single Urge
Kohanim came to the U.S. by himself at just 17, with $300 and one contact in his pocket. Today he’s one of the country’s preeminent photographers, widely sought for his fine art and commercial images. Over the past 30 years, Kohanim has shot still lifes, fashion, portraits, travel, and lifestyle assignments for leading ad agencies, design firms, and Fortune 500 clients.
Every image he shoots is animated by a single urge. “My obsession is to capture the beauty life offers,” says Kohanim. And despite the way contemporary critics often measure artistic significance on a scale that ranges from the merely controversial to the outright disturbing, Kohanim staunchly defends the pursuit of the beautiful.
“For me,” he muses, “focusing on beauty is an escape from all the negative and destructive media we’re exposed to — and what the media fails to show us, which is that beauty is all around us. We just have to open our eyes and pay attention.”
Flowers, Still Lifes, Portraits
Kohanim is ever widening his gaze. “There’s so much out there to explore,” he says. He creates painterly images of luminescent flowers and elegant sculptural nudes. He has made powerfully expressive still lifes, but having earned the luxury of choosing, he now prefers portraits, fashion, and beauty assignments.
“I started my career as a still life photographer because it paid well,” he admits. “And it taught me so much: I learned about lighting, I learned patience, and I learned the discipline of bringing the most out of an object that wasn’t necessarily glamorous.
So I’m very glad I did it, because those are valuable lessons I still draw on today.”
As an industry insider, Kohanim is aware of the seductive power of commercial images. “In advertising we’re so used to perfection,” he suggests. “But it’s an illusion. None of the models look like that in real life. They get the best lighting, the best makeup, the retouchers. And it’s only that combination of skills that makes those perfect images — which can give the false message that everyone should look perfect in real life.
“There’s something beautiful about everyone, whether exterior or interior,” continues Kohanim. “What I love to do is draw out the beauty that is there.”
Kudos for Aperture
Kohanim’s studio has always been Mac-based. “We love Apple products — both for their beautiful aesthetic design and for everything we can do with them,” he says. Now he’s using Aperture to speed production, from shot selection and editing to creating the web galleries and presentation books on which his marketing and client communications depend.
“I absolutely love Aperture,” he says. “It’s one of the greatest things that have happened in photography, and we’re using it to its full extent.” Continues Kohanim, “People think digital photography is easy. But when you’re shooting hundreds of images, and each is 50MB or more, and you have to worry about things like file management, it’s not that easy. That’s what Aperture has simplified so much. You can be more organized and more efficient with Aperture — it’s such a well thought-out program.”
Easy Marketing Tools
One of his favorite features is Web Galleries, which allows him to quickly edit his selects and create a collection. Clients review the images in their offices or at his studio, using Aperture tools to easily enlarge areas for close inspection. “Web Galleries is excellent, just perfect,” he says. “I click a few buttons, send it off, and it’s gone.”
Before, preparing and reviewing images was cumbersome and time-consuming. An assistant would copy his chosen jpegs onto a CD and FedEx them to clients, who had to wait for each image to load before viewing and comparing them. “Of course it’s faster than what we did with film,” notes Kohanim, “but when you have to load those images over and over, it takes time and can be frustrating.”
Aperture books are Kohanim’s new favorite marketing pieces. “Now that’s really beautiful,” he says. “When I give lectures, I’ll put a few of the small ones in my pocket to give to people I meet before or after. I’ve given out the minis and the large ones, in softcover and hardcover — they’re the perfect little gift or promotional item.”
