Evans Caglage steering the Elissa in the Gulf of Mexico circa 1991
Please note: This is the second installment of a question-and-answer series for our Photography Blog, profiling the current staff photographers and photo editors at the Dallas Morning News. Our second profile is of another veteran photographer on the Morning News staff, Evans Caglage.
If you need a picture of a blitz…or a blintz…who you gonna call?
How about Dallas Morning News photographer Evans Caglage.
From Earl Campbell to Naomi Campbell, Caglage has done it all in his 35-year career as a photojournalist. He now makes the DMN studio his home mostly, photographing food and fashion with a tasteful, artistic eye. But his career has included all the usually photojournalistic endeavors, including pro sports and big spot news, including 911 in New York, as well as the fashion runways in Milan and Paris. His work has been critically acclaimed in many competitions, ranging from the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the World Food Media Awards.
Cooking School Directory cover photo of an artichoke. (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
St.Louis' Doug Marsh (80) is unable to make the catch due to Cowboys Dextor Clinkscales (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Q: How did you get started in photography?
Caglage: After graduating from high school in Fort Worth in 1974, I planned on attending an engineering school. A friend and I drove to Miami Beach during the summer just for fun. I had borrowed a Minolta SRT-101 (at the time one of the top of the line SLR cameras widely available) from my brother for the trip. I had so much fun taking pictures on the trip that when we came back I bought the camera from him, and took a summer class at the Fort Worth Museum of Natural History. Then in the fall I took a non-credit course at TCU, where my instructor Ron Heflin, a photojournalist himself, saw something in me and talked me into getting involved in the student publications at UTA.
Fashion model Denise Peatross wears a Pendleton blanket in the Grand Teton Mountains. (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Q: So you were hired right out of college at the Morning News?
Caglage: I started at the Morning News in June 1979 in the Fort Worth Bureau. After a couple of years, they moved me to the downtown Dallas office.
Q: I know for many years you worked as a “street shooter,” but gradually you have become the main man when it comes to studio photography. What is the attraction for you to that type of photographic work?
Caglage: I have come to enjoy the studio work a lot. The difference is that I’m not just documenting what happens, but rather creating a photo. Plus I love working with light.
Vespula Maculifrons, common name- yellow jacket. (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Jennifer Box, Page Parkes model. (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Herbs, rosemary and sage. (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Q: You seem to work as well with people as you do with light. Who are some of your favorite subjects that you have photographed over the years?
Caglage: The list of favorite subjects is big but if I narrow it down to just one it would have to be Erykah Badu. I have photographed her twice and she was a pleasure to work with. She even gave me the ultimate compliment, “I like the way you see.” I can’t imagine a better thing to say to a photographer.
Singer songwriter Erykah Badu. (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Q: So who has influenced you photographically over the years?
Caglage: I have had several influences I think because of the variety of work that I do. If I had to pick one it would have to be Henri Cartier-Bresson, because of the idea behind the decisive moment. There is always that moment, be it expression, movement or that instant of light that elevates the image. Other influences include Alfred Eisenstaedt, Russell Lee, Irving Penn, Sebastiao Salgado, Paolo Roversi and without a doubt, W. Eugene Smith.
Old man walks in a light rain in Normandy area of France. (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Q: Do you have a favorite photo you have taken?
Caglage: Picking a favorite photo is very difficult. If I have to say just one, it would be an image I made on the island of Mykonos. Greece is where my family is from and this was my first trip there. I saw an older woman walk into a small church. I thought it would be a good image but I was not in position to make it. I waited outside for just over an hour or so for her to walk out. When she finally emerged, I was ready.
Mykonos Church (Evans Caglage/The Dallas Morning News)
Q: I know you had quite an experience photographing September 11, 2001 in New York that you have blogged about. Was that the biggest event you have witnessed?
Caglage: It was the biggest assignment emotionally. It wasn’t an actual assignment, but I was in New York shooting Fashion Week and it happened. It was frustrating because we had just started using the new digital camera technology, and I was having all kinds of problems with my cameras as I tried to document what was going on.
Q: Please fill in the blanks with your responses to these sentences:
If I could have a ‘selfie’ taken with anyone in the world, it would be ______.
Caglage: Supermodel Christy Turlington
If I weren’t a photographer, I would be a ______.
Caglage: An engineer
If I could have one do-over in my career, it would be_______.
Caglage: When I bought my home here, I would have bought something that I could have built a studio in.
If I could photograph anything anywhere in the world, it would be ____________.
Caglage: The modern American West.
What is a little-known fact about you that would surprise people?
Caglage: I can’t sleep on an overseas flight, and I can’t stay awake on a domestic flight.
Italian fashion magnate Gianni Versace (EvansCaglage/The Dallas Morning News)