When a huge fire storm started roaring through the Oakland Hills one blustery Sunday morning, Schmidt knew he had a major story on his hands. He also knew he needed extra photographers in a hurry. He took a chance on his friend from the camera store, hired him as a stringer, and John Popplewell's professional career was launched.
After working as an assistant with several of the Bay Area's best known photographers, Popplewell went out on his own in 1996. Since then, his editorial work has appeared in leading magazines including Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Spin, Rolling Stone, Money, and Guitar Player. He has also shot advertising assignments for a large number of major clients, including Nike, e-Trade, and Fox Sports.
Popplewell's photography continues to show the energy and passion of his days in the rock scene. Although he prefers to work on location using ambient light with strobe, his mastery of studio technique, developed back in his days as a photographer's assistant, is clearly evident in his finely drawn portraits and tabletop beauty shots. Popplewell shoots both digitally (for nearly all his color work) and on film (for nearly all his black and white).
