About Steven Hlavac (aka: Asylum Steve)

I grew up on the suburban south shore of Long Island, New York, US of A, the middle of five kids. My dad was a machinist at Grumman Aerospace, my mom a smartass housewife from Brooklyn. Needless to say, from a young age I received plenty of both left and right brain stimuli... :-)

I guess I took the usual amount of snapshots growing up, but I didn't begin to get serious about photography until I became a student at the University of Buffalo. I spent two years at UB, then transferred south to sunny Florida State University. It took a while, but eventually I convinced them to give me a BA degree in Art (with a concentration in Photography and Communications Design).

Sadly, my degree did not immediately lead to a career, so I spent some time working retail. They were fun jobs, though, first managing a record store, then a bookstore. My career break came when the company I worked for decided to move me to South Florida.

It was there that I began to get back into photography, eventually leaving retail and opening up my own studio on Miami Beach. Besides exhibiting my artwork in any space I could find, I worked for a while as a photojournalist as well as a South Beach nightclub/celebrity shooter. As most of you know, I eventually decided to concentrate on commercial fashion and portrait work. It's what I think I do best, and certainly what I enjoy the most.

When family matters forced me to leave Miami and move up to Central Florida in 1997, I had no choice but to reinvent myself. I learned computers, digital imaging, and web site design. It was then that I started my own Web site, The Photo Asylum (www.photoasylum.com), finding it to be the perfect outlet for promoting both my gallery and commercial work. My clients now are scattered all over the place.

Anything else you want to know? No, I'm not married, but have come close a few times (runaway groom???). Uh, no kids that I know of. When I'm not doing something of a photographic nature, I enjoy cycling, working with stained glass, and tending to my lovely Chinese garden. I'm also a big cartoon fan, with a large video collection of American animation from the 30's and 40's.

It is a real pleasure for me to be part of this Studio & Lighting Forum. We've assembled a great group of knowledgeable and helpful people here, so feel free to ask anything anytime. Believe me, there is no question too large or too small...

Visit Steve's Web site, the photo asylum:
www.photoasylum.com

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