Armed with a degree in Scandinavian Philology (Yes, that’s a real thing) from the University of Wisconsin, Hopper Stone started his career as a photojournalist in 1988. He lived in Helsinki, Rome and Mexico City while being a photographer for the Black Star photographic agency. After covering world events on 5 continents, he transitioned to shooting on film sets as a unit still photographer in 1997.
“I got tired of getting shot at” is the one sentence answer as to why he made the switch.“I’m more of a story teller than an artist. My job is lay low, be quiet and just be amongst all of the chaos going on in front of me. Through all of that, I need to filter out what isn’t necessary and include what is necessary to tell the story of what’s going on. It’s like diet photojournalism. I shoot the story, as I see it, of the film being made in front of me. I just see through the noise”.
Hopper speaks 5 languages, has been bitten by sharks so many times he has lost count, and will talk to anyone who is willing to buy him a cup of coffee.
As a member of IATSE Local 600 since 2000, he was awarded the prestigious Publicists Guild Award for Achievement in Television Unit Still Photography in 2012 and nominated for the same award for Motion Picture Still Photography in 2019 and 2020.
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