Gary Schatan Photographer

My name is Gary Schatan and I am a San Francisco Bay Area photographer. I have been observing and documenting the ‘Urban Landscape’ found in and around California and the world since the 1970s. I am part of a generation of young photographers who questioned and expanded two seemingly fixed categories, landscape and documentary photography into something new. Since that time, I have continued to draw my inspiration from the aesthetics of the everyday, turning the least monumental of subjects — automobiles, advertisements, and suburban environments — into a kind of personal poetry.

I consider myself a passive observer capturing compelling images as I find them. I would say my observations share the spontaneity and honesty of snapshots; all are usually inflected with my own personal style of wry humor.

My commercial photography style and intent is not to be bound to any set of stylistic borders. I hope my personal take on the world is what my clients admire about my work and are ultimately contracting me for. The world as viewed through my eyes, reflect a life time of photographing my world/environment, telling a story with intelligence, compassion, and a sophisticated style. Whether you are interested in fashion, editorial, portrait, documentary, or product photography, I will always deliver a group of images that you and I can be proud of.