Space for Arts together with American Photographic Artists’ LA chapter hosted Frank Okenfels 3 and Carol LeFlufy on Wednesday evening November 7th at Edge Studios in LA. Carol and Frank have worked together for 30 years and this event was the very first time they had appeared on stage together to discuss their long-standing partnership. The standing room only audience was captivated and entertained by Frank’s stories and Carol’s sometimes snarky color commentary, often triggering great laughter.
Frank and Carol’s collaboration began in the late ‘80’s in NYC when, as Frank described it, he found his way around town on a bicycle and had a pet rabbit named “Fish”.
The arc of Frank’s career progression was illustrated with his work and antidotes starting with his break through shooting Tracy Chapman for Rolling Stone, his longstanding rapport shooting David Bowie and his having Bruce Springsteen sing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. Many of the stories and reflections were culled from Frank’s journals and scrapbooks which he started keeping while on the road for shoots and when “you could still bring scissors onto airplanes.”
Carol described Frank as a “photographer’s photographer” dedicated to “finding new ways to see”. Frank expressed his appreciation for Carol always asking for and pushing “what’s next”.
Frank’s advice to aspiring photographers was to be dedicated to hard work, be passionate about the work in order to grow and to “learn light.”
