thomas juenger of the university of texas by jim salzano
Jim Salzano was recently in Austin shooting for Lyrica with JWT Creative Director Gary Boyd and Art Producer Sara Levi when he nearly drove off the road one evening after noticing a greenhouse glowing a warm yellow from the inside. Jim shoots a lot of pharma which traditionally means long waiting periods before he can publish the images, so he is always on the lookout for personal projects he can share in the interim. (Especially ones that he can shoot not only with his iPhone, but with his ‘real’ camera).
After the shoot, Jim was on his way to visit his friend Pat Epstein, when he passed the aforementioned Brackenridge Field Laboratory. When asked, Pat not only knew that the greenhouse was a research facility run by the University of Texas, but also had an ‘in’ with Thomas Juenger, who runs the facility and the Juenger Laboratory. With Pat’s connections, Tom agreed to sit for a portrait. They all met at the greenhouse one late afternoon and tada, Jim had another beautiful image.
“It doesn’t always happen this easily but when it does it’s such fun,” added Jim. “I’m grateful that the stars were aligned in Austin that day and I must thank my friend Pat Epstein, professors Mark Kirkpatrick and Thomas Juenger and the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin.”