Everyday Photography, Every Day

Jerry Uelsmann has taught thousands of students about photography; he's in the collections worldwide, but his unusual creative styles were key influences for the Rubin's collection and photography. Even if you don't want to make photographic collages, Uelsmann's approach can be instructive. Listen. (And Happy Thanksgiving!! )

Being an "amateur" doesn't mean your photography is lousy, it means you're doing it for the love of it. Maybe you have a regular job, or just enjoy taking pictures, in this episode we discuss what it means to be a hobbyist and dig into a few photos to discuss the flow. And we finally have our audio recording under control!

His rare photo of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs together could very well fund his vision of a photographic camp for kids -- come meet Asa Mathat, the consummate pro. He's shot hundreds of the most accomplished humans in the world--at TED, EG, D-Conf and other exclusive conferences, and brings distinctive creativity and deep humanity, to every unique shot. (Audio issues are ours, and have since been solved.)

Every photographer wants to be collected, and we all look at photos every day, perhaps never fully thinking about the process we use to judge what we see. In this special episode we dig into how we look and judge and also how we might begin to collect. Get inside the head of a gallery owner.

Photographer, and subject of her own introspective and sensual photographs, Sophie Dimond seems to roam the landscape wrestling with her past. Her beautiful work is created with traditional methods, on medium format film as well as with Polaroids, and is both spooky and alluring. (Apologies for poor audio this episode).

Photographer and teacher Jerry Downs has been taking pictures for more than 50 years, and inspiring other picture takers along the way. His spiritual approach is delightful; and anyone would benefit from engaging with him. We sat down to get to know Jerry better and understand more about his philosophy and background. Listen in!

Rick's career spans amazing gigs at Time, LIFE and National Geographic; he's been played on the silver screen by Adam Driver, and his creative Day in the Life projects have touched millions. He's also the guy who convinced me to move into digital from film (and get a Fujifilm camera --even though he talks about his Sony today...).

As Neomodern gets ready for a gallery show this week, we debate issues in pricing photos, collecting photos and, actually, whether we can call them "art".

Citret has studied with so many historic icons: Ansel Adams, Pirkle Jones, Willy Ronis... and has taught students, and has influenced my own photography for years. It's a treat to get to sit with him for a bit and talk about pictures. "The world is an endlessly fascinating place..."

Jason Langer's photography is poetic, but the photographer has a lot he articulates beautifully about why we take pictures and how we look at them. I've long been a fan of his moody and noirish images of cities and strangers. But beyond those specifics, Langer describes his process and as expected, it was inspiring. Truly one of the best conversations about photography I've had in ages. A must for any new photography fan.

There's something about Burning Man... maybe its ephemerality (like a sand mandala) that is created with love and then wiped away without a trace, that not only feels like an interesting metaphor for all living, but how it highlights the nature of photography to grasp at the transient and make it permanent. Anyway, its a dusty nightmare that is a photographic dream. My experience:

We met Brooks Fletcher when we started working with Peak Design. But not everyone you bump into in the workworld is as interesting a photographer and artist. Introducing Brooks!

Where Suzanne and Rubin explore the painful conflict between processing grief and the desire to take photos. Pulling a camera out at a funeral or in a hospital room is almost taboo, yet we cannot argue that birth and death are all part of our human experience and the act of photography can be an important part of these natural moments.

Hawk is the quintessential photographic hobbiest, with a goal on publishing a million images over the course of his life. With a busy day job, a large young family, Hawk squeezes his passion into the nooks of his world. [NB: there is some bg audio noise in the first minute that clears up]

Morning meandering thoughts on life with a camera and the lessons of using film, even if you've never used film. Lessons for beginners. And a message from "Sundays are for lovers" - There's a difference between how you look, and how I see you.

When Suzanne and Rubin take a break from guests and dig into some of their favorite quotations about photography, and other meandering photographic thoughts.

Pritchard's new award-winning documentary (Risk: Women on the Frontline) shines light on three remarkable photojournalists.

Burnett's images have long been synonymous with Time magazine — his images of the Iranian Revolution, presidents, historical moments worldwide. Who is this real-life Sean O'Connell (the mysterious globe-trotting photographer in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty")?

Rachael Dunville manages to mix her work with physical intimacy with her photographic portraits, producing wonderfully personal stories of her subjects.

Why can something LOOK cool, and you take a pic of it, but the picture is flat and dull?? What is that? Shouldn't the photo look as good as the way you see it -- and if not, what to do about it.

Photographer-models are a special group, bringing a unique perspective to the ideas of seeing and being seen. Ellian begins our ongoing series of chatting with photographers who are also models.

Jefferson Hayman's photography was already haunting, with images in the pictorialist style... but a few years ago he began finding antique frames and pairing them with his images to create beautiful and unique creations.

Great pictures are just part of the art of photography; selecting a few to tell a story is a totally different skill and critically important, particularly for journalists (but really: for everyone). Meet The New Republic magazine's photo director Stephanie Heimann as we discuss telling stories.

Neomodern isn't the only company with a passion for getting images off your phone and onto your wall: Fracture is a growing company that has tapped into the challenges of printing on glass, in the tradition of Ansel Adams and even back to the original daguerreotypes, all photographic processes on glass.

Why does every wall-sign in the Neomodern gallery include the photographer's age? The answer was a long time in the making...

Photo manipulator Frederick Barnes mesmerizes his 100K followers on Instagram with his complex still-image animations, and his work begs the question whether a non-moving image is enough to capture the interest in the public.

Chris Lunt and I discuss the zen arts and it's application in photography.

Where we talk about scale, and the power in size to communicate, in addition to an image. Bryant uses his photographs to connect, with nature and himself. I want to say this once: a LIFE SIZE PHOTOGRAPH of a whale. Think about that. And think about the power of an image. To connect us to the things around us, and our place in the world, from our tiny vantage point. I wanted to talk to someone about the importance of SCALE for an image, whether it's small or giant, in communicating about the subject. It's not just an abstract attribute of a photograph, the size itself confers meanings. My guest is a photographic artist who feels deeply about the world, and uses scale to contribute to his thoughtful and powerful photographs.

Part Two of our chatting before the next guest arrives. I road-tripped to LA and had a number of photographic moments... I think this is my favorite episode. Is that nuts?

Suzanne and I look at themes running through our last four episodes in the conversations with four very different photographers: Russell Brown, Doug Menuez, Kris Sanford and Nigel Barker.

After 17 seasons co-hosting America's Next Top Model, Nigel Barker is one of the most famous and recognizable photographers today. He has a wealth of great stories, inspiration, and experience to share!

Kris describes her work as exploring "intimate relationships, specifically queer desire, through the use of appropriated images, video, and text." But she's also a teacher of young photographers and her insights there are fascinating!

Doug Menuez is perhaps best known as the key documentarian of the '80s Silicon Valley, and particularly his work with Steve Jobs. His work is empathic and beautiful; he's balanced a career in both commercial and fine art.

Our first guest is the ever-wacky Russell Brown, a super senior creative person at Adobe, and perhaps more interestingly, one of the founding team of Photoshop along with the Knoll Brothers. His observations about photography, Instagram, photo manipulation are fantastic. A joy!

In which we take a walk through the now-archaic process of silver printing, traditional darkroom work, and what can be gleaned from this background.

There are a lot of important reasons to print your pictures, it being Ansel Adams' birthday isn't one of them...

You'd think that an exhibit of Monet's paintings wouldn't have too much to say to a photographer, but you'd be wrong...

You're not a journalist covering your vacation, so you might want to relax a little when you're taking pictures on your trip. Pick a few moments to "cover". We also discuss the pros and cons of anonymous subjects in your pictures.

You do not need to learn any stupid rules of composition. You need to look at these 50 images, really look, and you will learn composition -- your photos will be better immediately.

Starting from the "document" side of photography, and moving into the poetic.

It's all about your composition. It's the only thing you have to practice. And it's free and easy.

More explorations of ways to play with your pictures and explore the power in juxtaposition -- whether in collage, book layouts, or wall displays.

Professionals can deliver the goods. So when are those moments when it's worth getting a pro versus just handling a picture yourself? And how do you even hire a pro?

Seems like it would be easy: everyone has lots of pictures and all you have to do is select one and get it enlarged and framed. So what's the problem? Clearly there's more to it than this. We dig in.

It's hard not to want to make your photos "perfect" whatever that might mean -- skin with no blemishes, compositions elegant, no reflections... but embracing the imperfect is part of improving your pictures. Learn about the philosophy of wabi-sabi...

We're back and looking at moody lighting opportunities and how the think about them. Also, we dig into some reasons to limit how much you shoot, and how to organize the things you keep. But mostly it's about the light.

One of the most fun and challenging subjects for photographers is nude figures; but how do you start? what do you say? In this episode Rubin reflects on his process in ways that are applicable to all sorts of every day photography.

Pros have great gear. But what do you need when you aren't a pro?