Hi. I’m Frank Stiefel.
I’m not sure what’s brought you here but I am thankful for your interest.
I was an executive in the TV commercial industry for 35 years. At the beginning of my career I noticed that if you graphed the direction of my professional life and emotional life they were the same line. My solution was to find something big, something difficult to do in my off hours that would broaden my interests and challenge my perceived limitations. The easy stuff was training to run marathons or ride Centuries, the challenging work is what you’ll find on this site.
In the 1970’s I began shooting somewhat formal color portraits of friends. After a few years I ran out of subjects and decided that the next trick would be to shoot people who I didn’t know. “The Townspeople of Bridgehampton” eventually became a one-man show at the Guild Hall Museum. I returned to photography in the 2000’s now concentrating in B&W studio portraits. For those wondering what happened between the 1980’s and 2000’s their names are Hannah and Sofie, the wonderful young women my wife and I raised.
A few years ago I joined writers group where each member is responsible for a weekly 100 word post. While my participation has become sporadic Ive included some of my favorites.
In 2007 I listened to a lecture given by my mother, a deaf Holocaust survivor. That lecture became my first documentary, INGELORE. That film was followed by MARGO, a portrait of a long-time hospice nurse who was dying of cancer. In 2012 I began shooting the artist Mindy Alper as she completed an epic sculpture of her psychiatrist. HEAVEN IS A TRFFIC JAM ON THE 405 went on to win the Jury and Audience prizes at the Austin Film Festival and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. It was a nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject film at the International Documentary Association and won the Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards.
Once again, thank you for visiting I hope you feel that your time is well spent.