Rod McLean

What did your 18 year old self see you becoming?

I was living in New Zealand at the time so I was going to hop on a boat and sail back to the US.

What reality show would you invent?

Oh, I wouldn’t.

When was the last time you watched the sun rise?

I catch the sunrise 100’s of times a year – but the last time I actually watched the sun rise was about 4 years ago, on vacation in Mexico. We had climbed to the top of a pyramid and I forgot my camera so all I could do was sit and watch.

What was one of the most interesting projects you worked on?

I would have to say shooting Rory near his home town in Ireland, 4 days after he won his 1st major with a record 16 under par.

Can you remember the first time you got paid to take a photograph?

The 1st time, no, I must have blocked that out. But the 1st time I got an assignment where I really felt like, this is what I want to do,  was shooting a campaign for the Oakland A’s. Not sure if that counts though because I think I lost money on that one.

What’s the most important thing you have ever lost?

It would probably be relationships. I do not have an attachment to material things

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you do?

My wife just had me take this personality test, it suggested social worker. I could see that.

What superpower would you want? Feel free to invent one.

Time traveler, but I would only go back in time. I like not knowing the future.

What celebrity (actor, writer, musician) would you most want to have dinner with?

Charles Bukowski.

When you need it, what inspires you?

Oh man, not sure. It used to be running but 10wks after knee surgery and the Doc just told me no more long runs.

How do you get your news?

Digg, Huffington Post, Vice, Aljazeera, and Google… so I can read Fox news with out downloading the app.

What are the top 2 things on your bucket list?

Well, it would have to be to visit Antarctica, and still want to climb Half Dome. I figure maybe my kids will drag me up for my 65th.

What is your dream assignment?

Funny, 3 years ago my dream assignment was to travel around the world and take pictures of amazing people in beautiful landscapes. Hasn’t changed much, except now I would want to be home every night to have dinner with my kids. OK, maybe every other night.

What do you know now, you wish you’d known when you first started out?

Ain’t nobody going to know about you unless “you” tell them.

What might surprise people about you?

That I lived for years w/o running water and electricity.

What were you like as a 10 year old?

When I mowed our lawn, I would tow the lawnmower behind my bike. Made it a bit more complicated because it was an old school, reel push mower. Only now do I understand why my father refused to let us use a gas powered one.