In Memoriam: Photographer Robert Zuckerman
Editor’s Note: Robert Zuckerman passed away at 5:00 AM on June 23, 2022.
I first met Robert in 2015 because we had neighboring offices in an alcove at FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios on Lincoln Road, an area that was set aside by Dean Brian Schriner for five “Dean’s Distinguished Fellows” – myself, Robert Zuckerman, Richard Florida, Alastair Gordon, and Bruce Carter. Robert, who had been a considerable athlete, was already in a motorized wheelchair because a rare progressive disease had robbed him of his mobility. And he was living in Miami instead of Hollywood, California because the movie industry would not hire a disabled photographer.
Robert’s disease got worse, and by 2018 he was permanently bedridden. I call Robert a saint because in the seven years I knew him, he never complained about his situation. Instead, he was always looking for ways to help other people. May Robert’s life and photographs be an inspiration for all.
Will Smith calls him ‘Picasso.’ Jerry Bruckheimer, Denzel Washington and Michael Bay vie to have him on their film sets. Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced him to President Bill Clinton by saying, “This is Robert Zuckerman, the best photographer I have ever worked with.”
As a photographer in the motion picture industry, Robert Zuckerman’s images have become the advertising and publicity campaigns for such films as “The Crow,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Any Given Sunday,” “Training Day,” “Terminator 3,” “Bad Boys 2”, “National Treasure,” “Transformers,” “Pursuit of Happyness” and “The Great Debaters,” among others, as well as television series including “The Shield,” “Rescue Me” and “Nip/Tuck.” He has done an album cover and movie poster photography for Will Smith and was invited to be the personal photographer for the family of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz.
Whether on or off the set, his connection is to emotional content, to feeling present in the subject and in the moment.
His book Kindsight (Kindsight Press, LLC) is a collection of photographs and accompanying texts by Zuckerman illuminating the richness of everyday life encounters and experiences. From taxi and bus drivers to waitresses to plumbers to kids at a playground. Kindsight shows the extraordinary within the ordinary. James Crump, renowned fine art publisher and curator, says “Zuckerman’s portraits are infused with an uncanny sense of hope and spirit in the post 9/11 era.” The book includes forewords by, among others, Will Smith, Debra Winger, poet Michael Lally and novelist Elaine Kagan. It was on the PEN American Center’s “Best Book Read This Year” list.
Since the publication of Kindsight, Zuckerman has spoken to student and youth groups across the country, initiating workshops in which students use photography and writing together – as in the book – to connect with the richness of life around them. He has spoken at Authors at Google, been featured in a PBS story, and was a panelist at the KidsRisk Symposium at the Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, speaking on empowering youth through positive media modalities. He is sought as a mentor by aspiring artists worldwide.
Among other credits, Zuckerman has photographed campaigns for United Way and City of Hope. He co-produced the ground breaking, award-winning documentary “Video From Russia: The People Speak” (1984, directed by Dimitri Devyatkin) which ran on ABC TV and then on A&E for three years. He directed and produced the New York City portion of the official “Hands Across America” video in 1986. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the American Film Institute.
“For me, photography has become an integration of life and craft. Through photography I am able to give value to people’s lives and derive value in my own life, beyond making a living.”
— Robert Zuckerman
The videos below are organized by success factor and run between 30 seconds and 8 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 3:13 min.
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 0:40 sec.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 2:40 min.
CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY: 2:01 min.
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:55 min.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 8:00 min.
CRITICAL THINKING: 0:24 sec.
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 4:05 min.
SERENDIPITY: 2:40 min.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 0:59 sec.
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 0:25 sec.
CRITICAL THINKING: 2:15 min.
COLLABORATION: 1:11 min.
CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY: 1:13 min.
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 2:02 min.
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 1:49 min.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 4:45 min.
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 3:41 min.
VALUES LEARNING DISCIPLINE: 1:57 min.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 4:17 min.
SERENDIPITY: 5:02 min.
COMMUNITY VALUES: 2:08 min.
CRITICAL THINKING: 1:54 min.
CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY: 1:05 min.
COMMUNITY VALUES: 3:14 min.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 2:12 min.
EMPATHY: 1:42 min.
