Published in German Photo Magazine

A few months ago I was contacted by a German Photo magazine via e mail asking for an interview. I had a hard time understanding what they were looking for but here is the final results. You can see the full two page spread below, click the image below to see it full res.

Thanks to everyone who helped translate the article. Also if you are in germany and get a copy of the mag please drop me a line.

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In photography Jared Polin has a good nose. He knows that the new Nikon D7000 smells like a factory in China and that the lenses that go with it emit the “Odeur” (french word for “smell”) of locker rooms. Whether camera bags, packing boxes or plastic bags: almost all of them photo expert Polin has already put his nose on: sniff test he calls the method with which he, day after day, analyzes innovations in the camera- and photo-market. Certainly: Such tests are a rather unconventional method to efficiently analyze products. But everything about the photo expert Jared Polin is unusual: his tousled hair, his funny t-shirts, his skewed humor. Polin is what is commonly known as a freak. As a photographer he shoots the stars and newcomers of the American rock business since seven years, and as an expert for photography, he runs one of the unusual video blogs throughout the Internet. In froknowsphoto.com he explains everything that you should know in terms of image processing, camera technology or ego-marketing.

One time he gives a tutorial in portrait photography, the other time he explains how an ambitious beginner can create a portfolio by simple means. On the subject of photography, Polin knows what he’s talking about. After all, he has already had stars like Cold-play, the Pixies or Perry Farrell in front of his camera. His music photos are found in all relevant scene-magazines. But as a blogger Polin is still a novice. Since May 2010 he has his video messages online. And yet: “The Fro”, as Jared Polin calls himself in allusion to his eye-catching Afro-hair has already reached cult status.

“The Canon 60D smells like a garbage truck”

Up to 5,000 users per day are checking his video-blog at the time. And every day there are more. “The feedback is great,” raves Polin who knows exactly what really makes a photo expert nowadays: “There are dozens of photo blogs on the internet, but none is as far out as mine.” At froknowsphoto.com, analysis meets anarchy.
If Polin does not feel like reviewing a new camera model or praise the “Flickr photo of the week”, he shows photos of his own home or meets for a tea with his grandma. The series “The Fro and His Grandma Lil” has become one of the highlights of Polins webpage.
However, not everything “The Fro” talks about in his everyday updates should be taken too seriously. Recently, for instance, he says, he got a letter from an American GI who had described how “Fro Knows Photo” helped him dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. For Jared Polin such stories are not the primary reason to deal with his photo web log six hours a day. But they are important to him. At least as important as the light sensitivity of a Nikon Coolpix or the smell of the Canon 60D. Which by the way, says Polin, smells like a passing garbage truck.

Feel free to put it up on the webpage.