He captures the scene of the scene

Dale Robinette

Still photographer

Current assignment: “Thank You for Smoking”

Previous credits: “The Good Girl,” “Donnie Darko,” “My First Mister”

Set nickname: Uncle Dale

Behind the lens: “The union description [of my job] is that I take still images of what is going on in front of the camera and try to capture the essence of a particular character in a particular moment in a particular scene in a particular film. I try to keep in mind what the movie is about.”

The approach: “I have two different ways. No. 1, I like to go into it blind and be surprised, and 2, I like to read the script, make notes in terms of what I think are usable, sellable scene images. If it is an action piece, you want to look for big action things that have the stars in it somewhere within the same 100-yard scope, so hopefully they are in focus. If it is a romantic comedy, you look for things that are funny.

“In the old days, when we used to shoot film, I would mark the night scenes and the day scenes so I’d know what film I should bring. But now, with the transition to digital, that particular thing has been eliminated.”

Work space: “I try to be ... like a little spider on the side of the camera. It’s important I work closely with the camera crew. I have to be right next to the camera operator, ideally, and right next to the focus puller, ideally, and if a focus puller is nice, he’ll leave a 6-inch spot where I can actually see the people in question without interfering with their acting. Meanwhile, there may be a lovely moment between the producer and some other actor in a chair that is on my side, so being a fly, I have multifaceted views and different cameras for different situations.

“One of my favorite things about shooting a film is the last day. I have compiled images of all the cast and all of the crew doing what they do. I call them ‘Uncle Dale’s Fun Family Photos,’ and I come and distribute those to the people, from me to them.”

Set requests: “On ‘Thank You for Smoking,’ I had a strange request from [director] Jason Reitman, who is a class act all the way in. The first day he said, ‘Hello,’ and introduced himself and said: ‘I wear Roots T-shirts, and every day I wear a different Roots T-shirt, so I would love to have an image of myself in the Roots T-shirt every day.’

“On other films I have had people who are overweight say, ‘You can be anywhere you want, but just make me look skinny’ -- so that’s a special duty.

“Then I did a film with Jennifer Aniston a few years ago called ‘The Good Girl.’ I have skilled hands when it comes to massage, and she came over and said, ‘Uncle Dale, I have a headache. Can you get rid of it for me?’ So I gave her a little massage, and the next day her assistant says, ‘Uncle Dale, your picture is in the Enquirer.’ There had been a paparazzi somewhere -- so there I was with my hands on her head and shoulders.”

Independent versus studio assignments: “There is less tension on the set of [an indie film], and it usually moves quicker. Sometimes if you are on a big movie, just getting the first shot every day is like pulling a dinosaur out of the tar pits. I love films that are about something other than just making money. That usually tends to be more of an independent genre. I have shot maybe four or five films for studios, but there is a different feeling about them.”

Location, location: “I was on a film recently for Miramax in New Orleans. This was a thriller that they did about snakes. It was called ‘Venom’ -- about a bunch of kids in the swamp. Of course, the crew was in the swamp too, so that was quite difficult in itself. My mosquito bites had mosquito bites. I am sure some people love swamps, but not me. I was up to my armpits walking around in 5 feet of muck and mire with a camera into the better part of many nights. I was always terrified I would slip and fall. At least in preproduction they got rid of alligators.”

Previous life: “I had made my living as an actor for maybe 10 or 15 years when I lived in New York City -- in theater -- and they would fly me here occasionally and I would do TV shows and stuff. I did enjoy that. I felt spoiled, of course. I think I just got burned out on that after a while. I was just shooting [pictures] for fun. I would go on holidays and shoot and I used to like street photography. There is something gratifying about looking through this little peephole and seeing a moment that needs to be captured. I would go out as a stringer here and there for newspapers.”

First gig: A friend, producer Harry Sherman, saw some of his pictures in a magazine and asked him to take the photos for a 1988 TV pilot, “The Big Five.” “I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the surrogate family and the feeling of everybody working together.”

Age: 63

Resides: Topanga

Union or Guild: Local 600 of the International Cinematographers Guild.

-- Susan King