Photojournalism – Is it Still Viable? Episode 17

May 9, 2012 by Rob | 6 Comments

Another episode, another rant. But this time we decided to be different. Instead of three guys who have never practiced true photojournalism before, we brought in one of our regular listeners, Grammar Nazi! (a.k.a. Steven). Steven, or Mr. Nazi if you prefer to be formal like Tony, not only has been teaching photojournalism at the university level for a really long time (how long? listen to the damn show and find out!) but has also worked as a journalist and photojournalist.

Can you believe it? We actually got someone with real credentials to talk about it. And (to quote my current favorite show, Archer) “Holy shit balls!” This guy is good and knows what the hell he is talking about. So, yeah, maybe we turned the clock back a bit and the show is a bit NPR-ish but when you hear what Steven has to say, you’ll know why all three of us are super-excited about this episode.

Is Photojournalism Dead?

That’s the obvious question, isn’t it? All three of the guys were almost ready to declare professional photojournalism as a dead vocation. Grammar Nazi assures us that it isn’t. It’s just found in different places these days. He points out that, while large papers like New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are laying far more people off than they are hiring, they are also completely ignoring smaller towns and cities with their coverage. So, to answer Rob’s question about what career path awaits a graduating journalist, Steven paraphrases the famous line, “go small, young man!”

Our Featured Artists

photojournalism

Sumi-e requires patience and time; two things that are the antithesis of photojournalism

Again… holy shit balls! If you listened to episode 16 (you did listen, right?) you heard Rick go off like a Roman Candle about flower photography. Don’t worry, he still despises it in most incarnations (in-carnations… see what I did there?) but he also chose to pay homage to Nancy Rotenberg, a recently deceased photographer who worked with floral subjects a lot. And did so in a way that Rick found inspiring.

Rob has discovered the beautiful sumi-e work of Yolanda Mayhall. Ms. Mayhall is an American artist who learned the traditional sumi-e art when she lived in Japan with her husband, another artist who died in 2005 (welcome to the dead artists’ episode). As you’ve been listening to the show and learning about Rob’s affinity for simple design and aesthetics, you will immediately know why he is drawn to her work.

Again, a huge thank you to Steven the Grammar Nazi for his insight, humor, and time in sharing with us the past, present, and future of photojournalism. You can follow Steven on Twitter @thegrammarnazi or read his blog at http://www.stevenchappell.com/

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Professional Photographers Don’t Shoot Flowers – Just Ask Rick

April 25, 2012 by Rob | 5 Comments

What does it mean to be a professional photographer? A ninety minute show later, and we’re still not sure. Granted, we’ ve been drinking (again/still) and it’s possible that that has affected our judgment. Still, we go into a pretty animated conversation around the variety of factors that qualifies a person as a “professional”. Oh, and Rick really, really, really hates pictures of flowers!

A quick head’s up: due to some Skype issues, the first few moments are a bit rough with some short bursts of intermittent static. Give it five minutes or so and it goes away. Did we mention we’re on Stitcher?

How a Professional Behaves…

All three of us have opinions on what separates the professional from the amateur. Tony thinks it has to do with a person’s ability to tell a story. Rick and Rob believe it has to do with behavior. And not just the public behavior in front of clients or the public, but also keeping separate records and accounts, approach to clients, and the ability to consistently get the shot under virtually any condition.

We’re still not sure what constitutes being a professional photographer but, perhaps, we can define it by what it is not. It’s not about taking a half-assed approach. It’s not being a “wedding photographer” who shoots one or two weddings for a couple of hundred bucks. It’s not calling yourself a professional because you dropped ten bucks on a domain name. But are you a professional photographer just because others label you that way?

Maybe it’s a combination of all that – regardless of being full- or part-time, being a professional is about running your business as a business, maintaining and expanding your skills and abilities, learning that it’s okay to fail as long as you pick yourself up, and being able to consistently provide your target audience with what they expect, and knowing why it’s important – and how – to capture the image properly in-camera. It’s all that… and more.

Oh yea, there’s no such thing as a “semi professional”: get over it.

Rick, Rob, and Tony all agree - a professional photographer drinks absinthe.

Rick, Rob, and Tony all agree - a professional photographer drinks absinthe. Image by HSLD, licensed under Creative Commons.

Today’s Artists

Our photographer today is a personal favorite of Rob’s, John Shaw. Specifically, we look at his gallery from Ireland.  It’s a tough task to photograph a subject that has preconceived ideas for so many people. None of the guys have been to Ireland but we each have images in our mind’s eye about a land with a rich history in spirituality, mysticism, music, and ancient magic. As a photographer, it is a challenge to shoot something that so many people already have an opinion about but John is successful.

The artist today is Darwyne Cooke, author of graphic novels. We look specifically at his novel, The Hunter. (Click here to see a preview of the novel). As you leaf through the pages, look at the ability to convey emotion and story through light and shadow.

You Get the Last Word on Being a Professional

What do you guys think? Are we right? Are we wrong? Should we try the topic again when we’re sober (yeah, good luck with that). And is wedding photography like sex?

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Into the Looking Glass, Part II (Let’s Try This Again)

April 11, 2012 by Rob | 5 Comments

Wow, our first two-part series! Into the Looking Glass continues this week with a greater focus on the art and business of photography. In episode 14, we ended up being pretty technology-heavy which is never the intent of our podcasts. And, as time ran out on us (yet we continued to blather on and on), we didn’t have time to address the other areas of where we have seen the business and the art of photography come from and where we see it going.

Rick's absinthe fountain that we discuss in the opening.

Every episode, we start with what we are drinking. Into the Looking Glass is no different! Rick refers to his homemade absinthe fountain and here it is.

Today, we try to right that wrong.

Business & Art as Seen Through the Looking Glass

So many topics and rants in today’s episode. From Rob bitching (again) about the cavalier approach that people have toward intellectual property (and the unintentional theft) to the value we place on the art we hang on our walls. From the bad signal-to-noise today to a great quote (well, “great” according to Rob):

Many of the pix out there on the internet are such a no-frills, in-your-face slam dunk of plastic sexiness that the creator with his camera seems not to be an inquisitive, interested gentleman, but more like a drunk at a bar sidling up to a hot chick and blurting out, ‘Wanna boff? (Joe McNally)

Also, by listening to this episode, you’ll hear a for-realz disagreement between Tony and Rob as to the role of the traditional business model vs. the idea that maybe it’s okay to let your work get stolen. Spoiler alert: Rob thinks that Tony is fucked up!

Today’s Photographer and Artist

Into the Looking Glass - Arthur Frellig

When talking about the Looking Glass and where photography has come from, you can't skip over Arthur Fellig (aka Weegee)

When talking about the Looking Glass and where photography has come from, you can’t skip over Arthur Fellig (aka Weegee)

Tony’s choice for photographer today is the New York City street photographer, Arthur Fellig. Also know as Weegee, he was known for start black and white crime photography. Don’t know him? We’re willing to bet that you know his work!

Our artist is Anna Mary Robertson Moses, much better known as the renowned  American folk artist Grandma Moses. Want to know our opinions about her? Make sure you listen to the show and leave us your comments. We have some listeners who have been fantastic about leaving comments – even though sometimes they disagree with what we’ve said – and we could not appreciate that more!

A final thought… There is no “X” in espresso!

Thanks for listening to Part II of Into the Looking Glass - don’t forget to leave us your comments!

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Into the Looking Glass – What Does the Future Hold?

March 28, 2012 by Rob | 2 Comments

What does the future hold for photography? Can we tell by looking at the past? In today’s episode, Into the Looking Glass, we talk about what we think will be next in photography. More than just technology – although talk about that enough – but also about where we might be heading in terms of art, expectations, and legalities.

Bear with us, though, as Rob is still overcoming his bronchitis (6 *$^@ weeks, now) and due to some technical issues with Skype, the show sounds a bit rough in places. But, without the great editing skills of Tony, it would be far, far worse.

What Do We See in the Looking Glass?

Is the point and shoot dead (Tony sure as hell thinks so while Rick and Rob thinks the PnS is still dying)? How about the traditional model for the SLR? Are moving mirrors going to go out of existence? Rob’s been playing with his new A65 from Sony, which has a pellicle mirror,  thinks it will. Will high-end medium-format cameras come down in price so that Rick can finally get that Hassey he’s been drooling over for 20 years? Our predictions form that basis of Tony’s question, what can we see in the looking glass.

As we peer into the looking glass, Helvetica's place is secure

As we peer into the looking glass, the work of our artists for today seems secure - Helvetica is here to stay for quite a while yet.

Listen as Tony regales us with tales of his new iPad, while Rob’s jealousy causes him to tell Tony to go screw himself.

But, getting back to our topic, we talk about how we think technology will change, what the future holds for photojournalists vs the citizen journalist and will the amateur photographers feel confident enough to challenge egregious demands by law enforcement and, more commonly, overly zealous security guards who say photography is illegal?

If you find today’s topic interesting, you’re going to love this – they guys discover that this is just too damned big of a topic to cover in one episode. So our next episode, number 15, will be more like episode 14B – we’ll cover how art has changed over the past five years and how we think it might continue to evolve over the next five.

Our Artists

Our artists tonight are the team of Max Miedinger & Edüard Hoffmann: the creators of the Helvetica typeface. If you have more than just a passing interest in typography, check out the documentary on the typeface.

Tonight’s photographer is Sally Mann. We explore her work and look at the evolution she’s gone through starting with her early work. Word of warning, she did a lot of shooting at the Body Farm and you will see image of corpses in various stages of decomposition. A switch from looking at nudes like we did a few weeks ago!

Don’t forget to leave comments on the show and check back in two weeks as we finish up our topic, Into the Looking Glass.

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The Print – It Is Nowhere Near Dead (Episode 13)

March 14, 2012 by Rob | 4 Comments

Alright, Brian, it’s a new episode and the deal with Jameson has expired, so you get mentioned again (a lot). So bear with us for the first few minutes of showing the love to some friends before we finally get around to talking about tonight’s topic: the death of the print. Yup, we’re rehashing a topic from just 10 episodes ago but, so what? This is such an important issue for all of us as artists that we’ll likely explore the print and its importance every so often. The impetus for tonight? Rick’s purchase of a Peter Lik print.

The Print: Still Relevant?

Tonight’s topic includes discussing the difference between an art print and a photographic print, the death of the cheap print from the big box stores, the stages of art collection as we move through life, and (thankfully) the death of the cheap poster industry. Then there’s the whole income-range of our potential clients and who has the money to buy a $3000 portrait for their home? No, seriously, how? We all want to know.

During the show, we discover that we’re at a point where we realize that art isn’t going away, there’s just a lot more noise in the marketplace. And this leads Rob to one the biggest pieces of insight he’s had in the past couple of years; ask yourself if the shot you’re going for is gallery quality. And just what the hell does that even mean?

Oh yeah, PHOTOSHOP IS NOT A VERB!

To make a physical print that shows a physical impossibility illustrates the joy of art

Tonight’s Artists:

Our photographer tonight is Erik Johansson: a visual illusionist who is at the peak of his craft. Tony calls him a magician and does so with the greatest respect. Rob is struck by the paradox of creating something physical (like a print) that shows something that cannot actually exist in nature. Rick has a hard time thinking of him as a photographer.

Interestingly, last time we talked about the print (episode #3, by the way), we featured another photographer whose work begins with the photograph and uses it to create digital art. What is it about this topic that causes Rob to find inspiration in digital artists?

The artists for tonight are one of the most famous unknown couples: Charles and Ray Eames. You may not know them by name, but you probably know one of their most famous pieces of furniture, the Eames Lounge. A very prolific pair of artists, they were successful in designing interiors, creating furniture, photography, art, and more. They demonstrate how everyday items can be art.

Signing, off, fucking step it up, buddy!

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The Nude and Shooting Fine Art – Episode 12

February 29, 2012 by Rob | Leave a comment

After months of Rob talking about nudes, we finally get around to dedicating a show to the fine art nude. And of all times for Rob to have bronchitis. But, for the sake of the show, he powers through it with a lot of help from Rick and Tony!

Topics today include the difference between a fine art nude and a glamour nude, the kind of subjects Rob likes to work with, what’s it like to have a nude model in front of your lens, trust and vulnerability for both the photographer and the model, and whether or not arousal is the intent in fine art. There’s more… a lot more. After all, these are three guys talking about nudity in art.

Finding Inspiration for the Nude from Other Artists

Does the Open Clam Shell reflect the nude?

What do you think? Was Georgia O'Keefe invoking the nude form in this painting?

Today’s artist is Georgia O’Keefe and we discuss her floral paintings and whether or not there is an inherent eroticism in the painting. We spent a little more time today actually looking at the difference between overt sexuality/nudity and images where the nude has obviously been an inspiration. O’Keefe’s work is the perfect catalyst for this kind of topic.

Our photographer for this topic is Mary Ellen Mark. We focused primarily on her portraiture and celebrity work. She has an ability to connect with her subject and pull from them a real reaction, even when the subject isn’t paying attention to the camera. Check out her shot of John Belushi from the set of Blues Brothers.

We have questions for you! Would you pose for a fine art nude? Why or why not? Would you be interested in learning to shoot nudes? Do you have a moral or ethical aversion to fine art nude photography (remember, we are talking about fine art and not glamour)? Is there a difference for you between glamour and art? How would you describe that difference?

Let us know here on www.PolarizingImages.com or send us a tweet @PolarizingImage.

As always, thanks for listening!

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Vision – Photographers, What Do You See?

February 15, 2012 by Rob | Leave a comment

The Photographer’s Vision? Yeah, that’s right, today’s topic is all about what we see as photographers. Rob, Rick, and Tony spend a lot of time (yeah, a lot… sorry about that) talking about what it means to each of us to have a vision. Whether we try to preconceive an outcome, have the ability to see a picture unfold in front of you, or simply live in the moment, vision is a critical aspect of being an artist. Otherwise, aren’t we just shooting for the sake of shooting and hoping for the best?

We think so.

Still, having vision can mean different things. As a fine art photographer, Rob tries to create the image in his head first, so that he knows what pieces he needs to bring together to bring life to the vision. Tony, on the other hand, limits his preconception to the scene and environment as it unfolds around him. Rick manages to take a hybrid approach.

What Vision Means to Us:

Vision and evolution of art isn’t something that comes from a single influencing source, but rather we evolve on our own by using the building blocks created by the vision of other artists. We don’t steal ideas but we certainly do allow ourselves to be inspired by others. But you already knew that because you’ve been listening to our show for a while and you know we love being inspired by others.

Vision is instrumental for all artists, regardless of the medium that they use. Federation Square in Melbourne is such an example of forward thinking vision by an architect. Image (c) by Robyn Flett, licensed under Creative Commons

Now you folks really need to tell us what you think! How important a role, if any, does vision play in your photography or art? Is it important? Do you conceptualize the picture before you try to shoot it?

Today’s Artists:

Art Wolfe – nature and landscape photographer, tv host, and amazing artist (in Rob’s humble opinion). Even Tony comes around when he see’s Art’s black and white photos.

The Melbourne Federation Square building – not an artist this week but a piece of functional art!

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Why Do We Shoot? Episode 10 Tries to Answer That

February 1, 2012 by Rob | Leave a comment
Why

Never stop asking why or questioning yourself. Don't let it be a barricade to making art but let it be an inspiration and a drive to keep going.

Why do we shoot? There are so many reasons: from helping to overcome tough times to being inspired by others to ‘just because’. In today’s episode (#10 – yay us!!) we share what has brought each of us to this point in our photographic and artistic lives.

We’ll be honest, at times we may ramble a bit and, quite frankly, today’s episode probably raises more questions for us than it answers so we’ve decided that this is our “lost episode.” Have you been wondering why Rob is drawn to his exploration of figure studies and minimalism? Why does Tony focus so much on alternative print processes? Great questions and this is the episode where you get to start learning about us.

Thanks to everyone who has already become a loyal listener of our show – we really appreciate.

Oh, and a note to our listeners, don’t forget to join our Flickr group, follow Rob, Tony, and the show on Twitter, and if you are a woman with a background in dance or yoga and would like to work with Rob on some of his work in the studio, drop us a line.

Oh, and we finally start to show TAI some love.

Tonight’s featured photographer is Abelardo Morell
Our featured artist is Richard MacDonald (site auto-plays music)

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Like it? But I Don’t Like It!

January 18, 2012 by Rob | 2 Comments

Finally, Tony and Rob disagree on a topic. And we like it!

Like or Dislike?

Are you one of those people that hits “Like” on a regular basis? Actually, it doesn’t matter if the button says “Like” or subscribe or list or add or… could you possibly be contributing to the dilution of photography’s impact? In today’s topic Tony, Rick, and Rob talk about the Like button and how we see it as being a problem for photography.

The questions we (try) to cover today are:

  • Are people just hitting the like button with out thinking?
  • How does this impact photographers?
  • Has it killed personal tastes?
  • How do we stop from falling into the trap of just hitting the like button?
  • Are there any upsides to this?
  • Is there anyway/need to solve the problems it causes?
  • Is it possible that, when we require standards, we can make art less accessible? Art needs to be accessible but where is the line between being available and just being inundated with 500 crappy pictures of a person’s vacation?
We get on a pretty good bent about whether we need to have people adhere to standards, should we go to smaller, more personal communities, or even look back about 10 years on the internet when Web Rings were all the rage? The one thing that becomes clear in this episode is that we don’t have an answer (just a bunch of opinions).

Please leave a comment on the post to let us know if you agree or disagree. Better yet, let us know what you think is a viable solution to the problem.

—————————————-

Today’s artist is Norman Lindsay.

Today’s photographer is Joe McNally. Oh, and here’s the link to the YouTube video of Joe that Rob refers to in the episode. This guy goes places that none of us three would ever dare! Well, maybe Rick.

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Stagnating as an Artist and a Photographer

January 4, 2012 by Rob | 4 Comments

Have you found yourself in a period of stagnation? Whether it’s a short and temporary “artist’s block” or a longer-term period of not producing your art, at some point in time, all of us experience a period where we just don’t produce any art.

Listen to today’s episode where Tony & Rob are joined by Rick, Rob’s long-time photography partner and friend. We discuss the reasons behind falling into a slump, how to recognize the fact that we are stagnating, and possible ways to break out of it. This is a longer episode but easy flowing and it goes by quickly. Does being accountable to another artist help or hinder? This is a show full of questions, but short on answer – and that’s a good thing, I think.

Today’s showcased photographer is Jeff Wall and our artist is Bob Kingsmill.

Don’t forget to sign up for our Flickr group and follow us @PolarizingImage (yeah, one too many letters in our name).

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