For WIRED’s 25th anniversary issue, I wanted the portraits to be lively and fun and real. We were going to shoot 50 photographs—25 WIRED icons and the 25 people they think will shape the next 25 years, and I had my heart set on hiring a street photographer to shoot all 50. I first encountered Michelle Groskopf’s work at a photo event in Los Angeles in April. I found myself in a gallery with gigantic street photographs on the wall. They were big and bright and colorful—and kind of made me feel uncomfortable. It was beautiful voyeurism. I immediately knew she was the one. Turns out, Groskopf is a huge fan of WIRED and was actually a science researcher in a previous life, so she’s a super nerd at heart. Little did she know that I would soon take over her entire summer.
I booked her from Independence Day to Labor Day weekend, without knowing what subjects were confirmed or where they were located. Once I got a confirmed list (OK, maybe 78 percent of a list), I started slicing up July and August geographically. It would be 25 days of shooting in 20 cities and five states. Most of the subjects were on the West Coast—awesome! I booked two sessions per day according to their distance from each other and told these billionaires when they had to be photographed, rarely giving more than one option. The part that really hooked them? Me saying, “it literally takes 15 minutes—no equipment, no setup, no groomer, no stylist.”
Groskopf’s technique is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Formal portraits are not her thing, but she does photograph people in the wild—typically, without them knowing. It’s just her, her camera—a Sony A7R III with a 50mm 1.4 G lens—and a handheld flash. Pow! and she’s gone. So, it was a bit of a gamble; I didn’t even know if she got along well with people since that’s not essential for a street photographer who’s constantly on the move. They just go for the frame, whatever composition they need. Bright colors and interesting textures are what attracts Groskopf. If you walk on set with her, you’ll see, she’s freaking out at everything colorful, “LOOK AT HER PURSE AND THOSE COWBOY BOOTS AND THAT BELT!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!!” So, I knew to ask each subject to wear colors since it makes Groskopf happy. Happy photographer = successful photographs.
Bill Gates was her very first shoot. We went together to his office in Seattle. Both of us were shaking. The shoot took about 7 minutes, which turned out to be the average length of all of her portrait sessions for this project. When she starts shooting, she almost drives her camera all over the subject’s body. It sounds very invasive, but it’s very quick. Groskopf peers through the viewfinder until she sees exactly what she wants to fill the frame and clicks. And clicks. And clicks. Because she travels the entire body, she got into this pattern to shoot everyone’s hands and feet. We weren’t sure what we would do with them, but seeing them all together, it’s so elegant. These people really take care of their feet: At least 10 of them were either barefoot (Palmer Luckey) or in flip-flops (Jack Dorsey).
Initially, I promised Groskopf she would not have anyone scheduled on her birthday so she could spend it at home in LA. That just didn’t happen. But I made it fun for her by sending her up in a helicopter over Cupertino to photograph Apple’s HQ. Best birthday ever—except for the barfing.
Anna Goldwater Alexander (@annagoldwater) is WIRED's director of photography.
This article appears in the October issue. Subscribe now.
- Editor's Letter: Tech has turned the world upside down. Who will shake up the next 25 years?
- Stewart Brand on how to make the whole Earth better
- A look back at 25 years of WIRED predictions
Join us for a four-day celebration of our anniversary in San Francisco, October 12–15. From a robot petting zoo to provocative onstage conversations, you won't want to miss it. More information at www.Wired.com/25.
