People We've Met: James Mansour

I received an e-mail notice from Getty Images today informing me that my royalties statement for March 2008 was available on-line and I should log-in to the Getty Images Contributors web site and see if it was: a) a normal month; b) a so-so month; or, c) an I Hit The Lottery month. Well, they don't put it to you quite that way, but it can really be only one of the three. Turned out to be a fairly normal month, but there was an interesting item in there.

One of my New York City images was licensed by Sephora... you know Sephora... the mall cosmetics store, as decor. That's cool. Next time I'm buying myself some perfume or lipstick I'll cruise around and see exactly how..... okay, okay, I'm just kidding. I do not wear lipstick or perfume.

And I don't have to go into the store to find out how the image was used, either. I know the guy who likely designed the interior of those stores. And The Limited, and Express, and Victoria's Secret, and Movado, and others too numerous to mention.

James Mansour is an interior designer extraordinaire and works on high-end retail accounts. His client list is impressive and I'm not going to bore your with those details, but I have to admit to being slightly excited when the gentleman at the other end of my telephone asked me to photograph one of the hottest interior designers in the country. As a photographer, it's a real turn-on to work in an artfully designed space as opposed to, say, a run-of-the-mill office. You just know you're going to make a great picture. James Mansour, photographed for Retail Interiors magazine (UK).
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Above: Canon EOS-1N, 70~200/2.8 Canon EF L Ultrasonic lens, Fujichrome Velvia 50 film