assing through security at Los Angel-
les International Airport, Martin Won-
nacott opened his shiny Zero Hallibur-
ton camera case to give the TSA agent a
glimpse at the two Leica SLR bodies and
assorted lenses he was carrying. “OK,” she
said as Wonnacott snapped shut the case.
Pointing at the other identical Zero Hallibur-
ton case, she asked, “And what’s in that one?”
Because he’d been through this many times
before, Wonnacott paused, cracked a wry
smile, and answered, “Tea.”
“Tea?” she asked him. “Whaddya’ mean,
‘tea’?”
“It’s tea,” the New York-based commer-
cial photographer repeated before opening
the case. Snugly stowed inside was a small
green box of Fortnum & Mason Earl Grey
tea, a half-liter Bonavita mini travel kettle,
four fine china teacups and four matching
saucers. As with the Leicas and lenses, each
of the 10 objects in the case was cradled in
its own precisely cut compartment in the
four-inch deep foam padding.
“Well, I never!” said the agent before let-
ting out a loud laugh. “I have never seen any-
thing like that!” She laughed again. “Oh my
God! It is tea! Honey, you just made my day!”ZEN WORK
Wonnacott loves telling this story. First, be-
cause it makes him laugh. Second, it offers
a peek into his approach to work. “Work
is important,” explains the internationally
acclaimed photographer. “But so is tea,” he
says from a plush leather couch in his two-
story mid-Manhattan studio.
“Taking time for tea, no matter how stress-
ful or busy a workday one is having, is one
of the first lessons I learned while working
as a photographer’s assistant in England at
age 17,” he explains. “To me it’s not about
being fancy; it’s just normal. And best of all,47