Grove Pashley Biography

"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of form which give that event its proper expression".
Henri Cartier-Bresson --1952

Grove Pashley is a Los Angeles based photographer whose work has been seen everywhere over the past decade - from the Focus On Aids Auctions in Los Angeles to the one sheet movie posters and video covers you have seen promoting countless popular films.

Grove has worked directly with many leading design firms as well as a number of major motion pictures studios including Paramount, Universal, Disney, Columbia, Miramax, MGM, Warner Bros, Fox, ABC and HBO. Grove worked on such films as Spiderman, Tomb Raider, Minority Report, Vanilla Sky, Fight Club, Run Away Bride, Mr. Deeds, October Sky, 13th Floor, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Man on the Moon to name a few as well as several Prime Time Television shows as X- Files and Temptation island.

Grove has photographed a variety of notable actors and musicians including Ozzy Osbourne and family, Thora Birch, Randy Travis, Tom Sizemore, Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg, Jennifer Tilly, Bill Paxton, Lucas Haas, Luke Perry, Billy Barty, Henry Winkler, Linda Cardellini, Laurie Holden, Anthony LaPaglia, Rob Marrow, Doug Hutchison, Steven Bauer and Train. Many of these photos and many other celebrites can be found here on this web site.

"My black & white work is very personal to me," Grove says, "I've spent many years developing my technique in the darkroom. I use my intuition during the developing process and I try to use a unique
approach for each job or portrait."

"Some of my photographs have been described as 'elegant' and even 'vintage traditional,' but I prefer to let the subject guide me. I don't like to be locked into anything. My inspiration often times comes from the subject matter, and although much of my work appears to have a dark side I'm very aware of the beauty that can be found in things that most people might dismiss - things that people might not immediately consider beautiful. I try to find this beauty and capture it on film."

"My main interest is portraiture. Usually I have the photographic setting planned and tested before shooting, but I've also found that some of my more successful portraits have been the result of not knowing how a subject will be in front of the camera. It's these spontaneous moments during the shoot that reveal the real charter of the person," Grove says.
"There's nothing more effective in a portrait than when the true essence of a person is revealed.

This is a difficult thing to achieve in a strict environment. That's why some of my favorite portraits have been completely unplanned or with very little time in the schedule. It's during these times that I'm forced to react instinctively to the situation."

In the past , Grove has photographed his pet rats. "I learned a lot about spontaneity from the rats. They rarely pose, and when they do you have to really take advantage of the moment," he says. "I've also learned to love these rats. They have very diverse and gentle personalities and my goal was to show them as they truly are and to avoid the stereotypes that people associate with rats.

Another stereotype that Grove is interested in dispelling has resulted in one of the most profound experiences of his life. Several years ago he became interested in a murder case which occurred in Arkansas. His interest began after having photographed Damien Echols who is now on Death Row...

Through his research, Grove has come to realize that the three young men who were imprisoned for the murders were falsely convicted.
More information about this case can be found on Grove's other web site: www.wm3.org.

"Photographing these betrayed young men in prison has taken me into a place that I never expected to be. The photographs that I took on death row at Tucker Maximum Security Prison in Arkansas are definitely the most moving and disturbing work I've ever done."

My friends, the Rats...click here!