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“This is a really good sandwich,” Kelly Fajack, 42, says at the French Market Café in Venice, as he pauses to think. He looks confident and relaxed in jeans, a button-up shirt and flip-flops. Behind his spectacled eyes is the ability to see beyond the obvious and to ceaselessly appreciate beauty.
Fajack, a photographer born in Santa Monica and raised in Manhattan Beach, published his first photograph in Surfing magazine at 13. He’s been to 40 countries on six continents, shooting everything from fashion to travel to reportage to abstract projects. He shot the image for an African nation’s currency, photographed Barack Obama and took the last portrait of the Jackson family before Michael Jackson died.
He told Santa Monica Patch he also attended a surprise private party for Jackson’s mother on her 79th birthday.
“I was blown away, man, it was gnarly,” he said. He picked up his iPhone and found the gallery of Jackson photos before handing it to the reporter to flip through. “After an hour, Michael was constantly tugging on my arm, saying, 'Take pictures of me with the kids!' It’s like, this is freaking Michael Jackson grabbing me!”
Fajack said every living member of Jackson’s family was there, the last time his family saw him one month before his death.
“I was in shock," Fajack said, “and I’ve photographed or been with every celebrity there is.”
With the exception of waiting tables in his early 20s and working at a studio for a short time, Fajack has been able to support himself as a full time photographer for the last 29 years.
One of his favorite quotes is “art takes discipline; any a--hole can chase a skirt,” by Charles Bukowski. “They’re really words to live by, because you can be an artist, but if you’re not disciplined, it means nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing more important in art than discipline.”
Despite his father telling him he would never make it as a photographer, Fajack committed early to his artistic career.
“As a kid, I was never able to listen to a teacher or sit still,” Fajack said. “That’s why I can’t have a boss. I can’t really listen to anybody else; I’m a really good boss of my own.”
At 18, he studied photography at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, but left after a year and a half for Milan with a one-way ticket and $600 in his pocket.
“The funny thing is, it took me two months to make one lira. So literally I had no money, and I was kind of starving to death,” he said.
Then, Fajack booked a job for Fiat, set up by his landlord. “They had hired Tibetan monks to do some stitching in the upholstery to make it look Tibetan, so I shot these six Tibetan monks cramped into a little Fiat. That was my first job then.”
He broke into fashion photography, moving on to live in San Francisco, Miami, New York, Sydney and Lisbon. Next, he picked up a backpack and continued travelling around the world, shooting reportage and travel photography. Currently, he lives with his wife Holli in an apartment on Abbot Kinney in Venice.
James Delio, print agent at NTA Life Models, has been working with Fajack for about a year. He said the photographer came highly recommended from Wilhelmina Models and that he was impressed by his work.
“He really captures the L.A. market,” Delio said. “He really captures the lifestyles, he really captures the personalities. Most of his stuff is just amazing. He does a great job with colors and everything like that, and his pictures seem to jump off the page.”
He said models have booked jobs quickly after shooting with Fajack, and clients have responded well to his photographs. On a personal level, Delio described Fajack as “extremely great to work with.”
“He always gets me the pictures right away, which, most photographers—trust me when I tell you, it takes months looking for a photographer, and just trying to get everything you can from them,” Delio said. “He’s always been extremely professional.”
Fajack, a photographer born in Santa Monica and raised in Manhattan Beach, published his first photograph in Surfing magazine at 13. He’s been to 40 countries on six continents, shooting everything from fashion to travel to reportage to abstract projects. He shot the image for an African nation’s currency, photographed Barack Obama and took the last portrait of the Jackson family before Michael Jackson died.
He told Santa Monica Patch he also attended a surprise private party for Jackson’s mother on her 79th birthday.
“I was blown away, man, it was gnarly,” he said. He picked up his iPhone and found the gallery of Jackson photos before handing it to the reporter to flip through. “After an hour, Michael was constantly tugging on my arm, saying, 'Take pictures of me with the kids!' It’s like, this is freaking Michael Jackson grabbing me!”
Fajack said every living member of Jackson’s family was there, the last time his family saw him one month before his death.
“I was in shock," Fajack said, “and I’ve photographed or been with every celebrity there is.”
With the exception of waiting tables in his early 20s and working at a studio for a short time, Fajack has been able to support himself as a full time photographer for the last 29 years.
One of his favorite quotes is “art takes discipline; any a--hole can chase a skirt,” by Charles Bukowski. “They’re really words to live by, because you can be an artist, but if you’re not disciplined, it means nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing more important in art than discipline.”
Despite his father telling him he would never make it as a photographer, Fajack committed early to his artistic career.
“As a kid, I was never able to listen to a teacher or sit still,” Fajack said. “That’s why I can’t have a boss. I can’t really listen to anybody else; I’m a really good boss of my own.”
At 18, he studied photography at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, but left after a year and a half for Milan with a one-way ticket and $600 in his pocket.
“The funny thing is, it took me two months to make one lira. So literally I had no money, and I was kind of starving to death,” he said.
Then, Fajack booked a job for Fiat, set up by his landlord. “They had hired Tibetan monks to do some stitching in the upholstery to make it look Tibetan, so I shot these six Tibetan monks cramped into a little Fiat. That was my first job then.”
He broke into fashion photography, moving on to live in San Francisco, Miami, New York, Sydney and Lisbon. Next, he picked up a backpack and continued travelling around the world, shooting reportage and travel photography. Currently, he lives with his wife Holli in an apartment on Abbot Kinney in Venice.
James Delio, print agent at NTA Life Models, has been working with Fajack for about a year. He said the photographer came highly recommended from Wilhelmina Models and that he was impressed by his work.
“He really captures the L.A. market,” Delio said. “He really captures the lifestyles, he really captures the personalities. Most of his stuff is just amazing. He does a great job with colors and everything like that, and his pictures seem to jump off the page.”
He said models have booked jobs quickly after shooting with Fajack, and clients have responded well to his photographs. On a personal level, Delio described Fajack as “extremely great to work with.”
“He always gets me the pictures right away, which, most photographers—trust me when I tell you, it takes months looking for a photographer, and just trying to get everything you can from them,” Delio said. “He’s always been extremely professional.”