 My name is Nathan Johnson. I am the owner of Drift Studio also the creative director of the X magazine by today ticks So I first moved to the city about 10 years ago with my wife She got a job on Broadway and And I was an actor at that point So I was doing a lot of auditioning for shows and you know I was waiting in line at 6 7 a.m. Putting my name in on the list and these giant cattle calls and just Trying to get seen and I I quickly realized that wasn't necessarily the life that I wanted But I love the industry of Broadway and I love the entertainment industry and that sort of thing So I started thinking about other things that I love to do and one of the things was photography and I kind of got this idea to maybe open up a photography studio, which I did I ended up doing that like on 56th Street and 8th Avenue and that's where I kind of started to work with a lot of actors That's where I shot my first campaign was when I was over there. I shot for Bonnie and Clyde What I do right now is a really a great balance between The theater and and the entertainment industry and photography all coming together Honestly, it's a it's a great place for me to be I love supporting theater. I love photographing theater I love you know Getting my teams together to be able to create work that that really promotes theater and makes it look as glamorous And sexy as possible. I mean I just Whatever I can do to help support the industry That's kind of how I see myself as somebody that's able to support what they're doing on stage It's I'm able to you know garner more attention and and show them off. You know what I mean? So yeah, this is a this is a great place for me to be So I've really wanted Drift Studio to be a place where creatives can come They can feel like they're inspired in this space. They can feel like it's a little bit of a blank canvas I wanted it to feel comfortable for my clients and my friends and for the community and so Drift Studio to see a lot of the stuff we have is this wood or old iron This is kind of worn field We've really played off the high line because we're at we're right along the high line And now what they've done is they've made it a park for New Yorkers And it runs like from 34th Street down to like 14th Street, and I really wanted to kind of have that feel I think we've achieved that but it's been a really great space We've we've been able to have really amazing clients and be able to see some really incredible work That's been created here So it's been fascinating to be a part of yeah, we've had some great actors from Riverdale and other CW shows We've had vogue his shot here and and GQ and Harper's Bazaar and all those cats All the magazines basically have all been through there at some point and then on the other hand I've had people from Breaking Bad or I've had shows you know people from AmSea I've had you know Samuel Jackson and Robert Redford and all these great people that I really respect and so it's been a cool Place to have just people that you you know I don't get to necessarily Connect with those people outside of this environment when they come in here You know I'm able to talk to Daniel Radcliffe or something like that where if I saw him on the street I would never approach him or if we were at an event, you know He's crazy busy, but when he's here he's able to be you know It's just a set of 15 people and it's like it's a being on set. It's just a little bit It's it's a little different everybody's there for to get the best product possible Everybody's there to get the best outcome and create the best work possible It's a it's a fun space to be in so my favorite part of photo shoots and about creating is the collaborations I love having Different people that are really good at their jobs. I love partnering with them And I love because what I can do I I can create good work on my own But I can create much better work with other talented people So today like we've got a photo shoot this afternoon and you know It's like when you find a great model and a great makeup artist and a great hairstylist It's like now now we're all for working together trying to create something better or you know If we're shooting a Broadway campaign, you know We've got the art director and the and the creative director of the company And we're all putting our heads together to create something that is much better than what we could do Just one person on their own some people are lone wolves. I like collaborating And so honestly like photo shoots I think being on set is always just kind of it's exciting I think every set's a little bit different and you get to create the environment that you like when a client comes in here The set is what I want it to be and I set the tone for those for those shoots And so I'm I have a lot of fun doing that too. So some advice that I would have for aspiring Photographers and filmmakers. I just I think it's important to just you know get out there and shoot and find out What you're passionate about I I'm kind of somebody that comes with the school of thought of just shoot everything until you start to understand where what your niche is and I It took me a while. I was shooting weddings. I was shooting, you know What else was I doing senior portraits and that sort of thing back in Minnesota, you know 12 12 years ago? And I realized very quickly That's not what I wanted to do and it's not what the type of work that I wanted to be shooting So in fact, that's why I think I came into photography a little bit later because I didn't see that wasn't what I really Really enjoyed so I hadn't found it yet And it took me being an actor To actually kind of get me thinking in that sphere of like, oh, maybe there's something I can do here with my community this way But I think shoot everything until you start realizing what you're passionate about and what you want to kind of focus in on and then Do that but then also start just watching the other people that are sitting in the space that you want to be working in and See what they're doing and what you would want to change and all that sort of stuff So and then I think for that it's after there. It's just like doing as much as you can but also You know read as much as you can and look up as much Tutorials and behind-the-scenes as you can online as well. There's so many resources, you know Some people do college classes totally great for me I taught myself and I was I you know, it was a little bit of trial and error and Which I think can be a real, you know a real good teacher failure can be a good teacher You know and and finding what what you didn't do so great on a shoot and how can you fix it? How can you make it better the next time? I'm always working to make my work better. So this photoshoot this afternoon I'm literally thinking like what what can I try that? I haven't tried before like how can I push my boundaries and there's always a risk for failure, but I think That like that little the little butterflies. They just never leave me like they're always there when I'm trying something new and I think that's a good thing, you know So Princeton night. Thank you for joining us. You're on the set of Drift Studios and it's been fun having you