Iterations

A couple weeks ago, I spoke to a friend from college who I hadn’t spoken to in…well, longer than it should have been. It’s something I’m really trying to work on, but as you probably know, sometimes life gets in the way. Anyway, during the course of our conversation catching up on what was happening in each other’s lives, he told me that my design professor and the person who was really the cornerstone of the entire technical theatre department had passed away last year. I hadn’t spoken to him since 1989, but the news of his passing left me a little gutted. Herb Camburn was a scenic designer, a costume designer, a director, and an artist. He was one of the most talented people I had ever met, let alone had the pleasure of studying under. When explaining a particular concept, he would routinely grab a pen or pencil and begin to draw—sometimes a costume rendering, other times a scenic elevation—but regardless of what he was drawing, the execution was always impeccable. The real art, however, was that he would m

Earlier this week, we recorded the last episode of On Taking Pictures after more than six years of weekly episodes. While the show was ostensibly about photography, the legacy of the show is 325 episodes—about 600 hours, give or take—of conversations that ranged from why we make art to whether digital is better than film. I think we spent more time asking questions than answering them, and for me, that became the main point of being there week after week. One of my favorite quotes is by Rainer Maria Rilke and while I won’t share the whole thing with you now, the core of it is to “live the questions.” By living the questions, Rilke writes, “Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSSHere’s a link to the full episode of On Taking Pictures the clip was taken from: Episode 43 Artistic MonkhoodLA-based artist and photographer Natalja Kent makes incredible colorful geometric large format photographs with

“I did small roles in big films and big roles in small films, but I was working constantly for the first six years and then, you know, the bottom kind of dropped out.”Jude Gerard Prest is an actor, a writer, a director, and a producer with more than 700 hours of television under his belt. He’s also one of my oldest and dearest friends. In fact, I was the second person he met after moving to LA from the east coast to pursue a career in acting. Over the next 25-plus years, his hard work and dedication to his craft behind the camera has earned him the respect and friendship of some of the biggest names in Hollywood, but he’s still looking for that one great role. He’s got more integrity that just about anyone I’ve ever met, he’s taught me about perseverance, humility, and grace and I love him like a brother. LINKSWe Can Get Them For You WholesaleIMDb: Jude Gerard Prest CONNECT WITH JUDEWebsite: https://judegp.comFacebook: judegp MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Tomorrow would have been my mom’s 74th birthday and while not a day goes by that I don’t miss her, I am grateful for the life I was allowed to share with her. She was generous, compassionate, and the most unconditionally loving person I have ever met. She always encouraged me to embrace the quirky, creative side of myself and insisted that following my passion meant not holding back and always giving 100%. As a child, my mom was a dancer—she and her brother Jerry even appeared on The Jack Parr Show together. A few years later, Jerry decided that “dancing was for sissies,” then life ultimately got in the way and my mom eventually gave it up too. While a life as a professional dancer was not to be, music was still an important part of her life. Even after I came along, our house was always filled with music—mostly Motown. I grew up on a steady musical diet of artists like Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, and the Jackson 5. But when she wasn’t grooving to the sounds coming out of Hitsville

E3 was last week and for those of you who may not know what that is, it’s the Electronic Entertainment Expo and if you’re a gamer, it’s like Mecca. Every year, game studios and indie developers descend on the LA convention center for the chance to show the games the’ve been working on, sometimes for years. E3 is full sensory overload—a barrage of sight and sound from the minute you walk through the doors and I love it. Like many kids who grew up in the 70s, I’ve been hooked on video games from the moment I unwrapped my Atari 2600 on Christmas morning in 1977. With each new console, my addiction only grew—the NES, the N64, the Gamecube, the Wii, the Xbox, all of the Playstations. My favorite console was the Dreamcast, by a long shot. I remember being at E3 in 1999 when the Dreamcast launched against the announcement of the Playstation 2. Sony had the budget (and a DVD player), but Sega had the heart. In the end, the PS2 won the battle and became the best-selling console of all time but I think for many of us,

Kristopher Matheson is a photographer living in Tokyo after leaving Canada for a teaching position that was only supposed to last six months to a year. Twelve years later, he’s still there and has made Tokyo his home, at least for now. I was introduced to him through the terrific photos he began to post in the On Taking Pictures Google+ group. His images showed a side of Tokyo that I hadn’t really seen before – his composition and use of color made the photos somehow more personal and intimate, despite the fact that people are virtually absent from them. Kristopher and I have become friends over the past several years through calls and emails that are sometimes frequent, sometimes sporadic. But regardless of how often we talk, it seems like every exchange ends up being a slice of a larger ongoing discussion, where questions are raised and sometimes answered and rabbit holes are explored, often over the course of several interactions. CONNECT WITH KRISTOPHERWebsite: https://www.krismatheson.comInstagram: @kris

There’s a saying in photography that goes “pretty light plus a pretty subject equals a pretty picture.” And if you believe that, then you might be tempted to form an opinion about who Gareth Lewis is based solely on the provocative nature of his portfolio, but you’d be wrong. After booking a one-way flight from his native London to Australia, Gareth found himself a stranger in a strange land. Before settling in Melbourne, he spent the first year driving over 24,000 kilometers exploring Australia in a “Miami White” station wagon. Along the way, he picked tomatoes, clipped mandarins, and even did a brief stint as a jackaroo before eventually finding his way to a camera. CONNECT WITH GARETHWebsite: http://www.garethlewisphotography.comInstagram: @garethlewis MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Joshua K Jackson is a terrific street photographer from London. On paper he’s relatively new to the genre, but his already stunning body of work is every bit as compelling as those by some of his photographic heroes. Though Josh is quick to point out that he still has a lot to learn, his dedication to photography as both an art and a craft is immediately evident in his use of bold color and superb composition to communicate mood and narrative. While he often leaves the house with any sort of expectation or agenda, he says that the energy and buzz of the city is like fuel to keep shooting, especially since you never know what the scene could be just around the next corner. CONNECT WITH JOSHWebsite: https://www.joshkjack.com/Instagram: @joshkjackTwitter: @joshkjack MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Recently, I was talking to a friend of mine about Process Driven and he asked me why I did the show. Not from the standpoint of having the conversations, but rather why release them into the world. “What do you get out of it?” he asked. As I thought about it for a bit, I really couldn’t come up with an answer—no one that was coherent anyway. I’ve been thinking about it ever since—a lot—and I think I’ve come up with an answer—at least a partial answer and that it this. Throughout my life there have been a handful of people—and I’m talking about people other than family—who have taken an interest in me that went above and beyond what was expected and as a result of that interest, either subtly or dramatically altered the trajectory of my life.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSSIn addition to being an incredible film director, Stanley Kubrick was also a photographer. A new book called Through a Different Lens showcases around 300 of Kubrick’s images, many of which have never been seen publi

Simon Baxter is a fantastic landscape photographer from the north of England who I was introduced to by Sean Tucker. There’s something about Simon’s photographs that goes beyond light and composition and draws the viewer into the scene, rather than simply holding us at the periphery. Simon’s passion for photography and his connection to the local woodlands where he photographs are obvious from the moment you look at his body of work. What may not be obvious, however, is the amount of pain Simon often has to endure in order to produce them, and how none of it would be possible without a labradoodle named Meg. CONNECT WITH SIMONWebsite: https://baxter.photosYouTube: SimonBaxterPhotographyInstagram: @baxter.photos MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Kent Hall is tough to categorize. On one hand he’s a photographer who makes books. On the other, he’s a collage artist who makes books. But he’s also a poet—and yes, a poet who makes books. His fascination with the mundane and the detritus of modern life are the raw materials for much of what he creates and whether he’s being inspired by film or literature or simply watching the city move around him, his growing body of work gets more and more interesting with every new expression. CONNECT WITH KENTWebsite: https://www.kent.lyInstagram: @windsorknot MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Lately I’ve been seeing, or maybe just noticing, the word “iconic” as a means for makers to describe their own work—“my name is so and so and I make iconic portraits of whatever…,” and I’ve got to tell you, I’m having a hard time with how it’s being used.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSSThe Atlantic posted a terrific article on how the “Nifty 50” became the goto lens for many photographers.If you’ve ever thought about making your own photo book, you’ll want to check out this PDN article on the art and process of sequencing your images for photobooks.If you love model trains and miniatures, here’s a fascinating documentary about two brothers who quit their jobs to create Miniatur Wunderland a massive miniature city that has become the most popular tourist attraction in Germany.Music in this episode: The Wrong Way (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

One of the biggest struggles as a maker, regardless of what it is that you’re making, can be finding meaning in what you make. Whether you’re a painter, or a sculptor, or a writer, or a photographer, finding meaning in a particular project is often one of the obstacles that prevents us from starting, or can be one of the challenges to overcome in order to finish. As someone who spends a great deal of time talking to creative people, I often hear about projects at the poles, either early in the planning stages, or after the work has been completed, but rarely in the middle — which can be a challenge to talk about because there are often themes and ideas that haven’t quite come together yet. Oli Kellett is a street photographer from the UK who’s 18 months into a multi year project that brings him to America several times a year to photograph cities and the people who inhabit them.At its core, the project is about crossroads, but as you’ll hear in this conversation, Oli is still wrestling with the literal repres

Nick Mayo is a terrific street photographer from Grand Rapids, Michigan who is using YouTube and Instagram to build a platform centered around serving the photographic community and having an ongoing dialog discussing the challenges of making and sharing authentic work. His Two Minute Tuesdays for example are live weekly snapshots of some of the things he’s wrestling with not only as a visual artist, but also as a human being. In this conversation we discuss the value of revisiting a favorite location again and again and how being a little outside his comfort zone, is exactly where he likes to be. CONNECT WITH NICKYouTube: http://youtube.com/nickexposedInstagram: @NickExposedFacebook: @NickExposed MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

As much as I love artists like Rauschenberg, deKooning and even Boucher, the first artist I knew by name was Frank Frazetta. He painted worlds I had never seen before, filled with warriors being pulled by a team of polar bears, red eyed demons on horseback and beautiful scantily clad maidens. I poured over his books, meticulously copying my favorite characters. While it was great drawing practice, I wasn’t doing anything original. I had sketchbooks filled with Frazetta drawings, but not one that was a Saddoris.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSSI’m loving the work of Canadian illustrator Terry Edward Elkins. He has a terrific style that reminds me of vintage national parks posters and some of my favorite children’s book illustrators.Questlove is a monster. He’s the founder and drummer for the Roots, a DJ, a producer, a professor, and an author. As you’ll hear in this NPR conversation, he also has some really inspiring thoughts around creativity.Israeli photographer Natan Dvir was the win

Trying to make a living as a professional photographer is hard, really hard. You might get into it thinking that all you’re going to do is take pictures, but it doesn’t take long to realize that time with a camera in your hands is only a small part of a what’s required day to day. It’s even harder when you’re also working a full-time job. But Freddy Clark is doing the work. He’s taking his passion for photography, an encyclopedic knowledge of beer, and a background in IT and is steadily building a new career as a food and beverage photographer, and it all started at a small rock ’n’ roll radio station in the Poconos. CONNECT WITH FREDDYWebsite: http://santephoto.comInstagram: @santephotoTwitter: @santephoto MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Dutch street photographer Maarten Rots makes the kind of pictures that the graphic designer in me can’t get enough of. His purposeful compositions are made up of strong lines, bold colors, and subtle overlapping textures with just enough visual ambiguity to pull me in and ask myself, “what is that?” It’s the type of work that I seldom grow tired of and often find new details the more I look at it. In his self-published magazine March & Rock, Maarten’s work takes on a different dimension when it’s no longer confined to a phone or a browser and it’s exactly this project that I wanted to talk to him about. CONNECT WITH MAARTENWebsite: http://maartenrots.nlInstagram: @maartenrots MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

Earlier today, Bill and I recorded episode 312 of On Taking Pictures and while I wouldn’t say it was our best show—it was a good show. I think every show is a good show for one reason or another. It was one of the more significant shows because of the number—episode 312. If you do the math, 312 marks the end of six years of doing On Taking Pictures every week and while I’ve talked in the past about what doing OTP has meant to me and what I’ve learned from it, how it has changed my life and the new friends I have as a result of it, those things are really byproducts of doing the work.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSSChristopher Burkett is a landscape photographer who uses a large format 8×10 film camera and discontinued Cibacrome paper to make stunning photographs of the natural world. Unfortunately, when Christopher runs out of paper, he will put away his camera and turn out the lights in his darkroom for the last time.Sanderson to Brackettville is short documentary made by filmmaker P

Sean Tucker is a photographer in London who I was introduced to by an On Taking Pictures listener who emailed me and told me “you have to see this guy’s work. I think it’s right up your alley.” He was right. Sean’s work is terrific, but it was his YouTube channel—how he approaches and speaks about photography and creativity—that was even more up my alley. As you’ll hear, Sean is honest, insightful, and the dedication he has to the craft of photography really shines through. We begin this episode at a point in the conversation where we were talking about some of the challenges commercial photographers face working with clients, specifically when your ability as a photographer to simply shoot the brief seems more important than having the talent and creativity to go beyond it. CONNECT WITH SEANWebsite: http://seantucker.photography/YouTube: Sean TuckerInstagram: @seantuckTwitter: @seantuck MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) / CC BY-SA 4.0

I was introduced to Karl Taylor in 2010 when a friend gave me one of his photography training DVDs. Karl’s energy and enthusiasm for photography along with his incredible knowledge of how to make great pictures in virtually any situation really set him as my benchmark of what photographic training should be. He also has a brilliant way of bringing a fashion style and sensibility to commercial and product photography. Karl lives in the Channel Islands between England and France, and when he came to California in 2012 for a production, I got a chance to spend some time with him and his team in Long Beach and Joshua Tree and we’ve been friends ever since. In this conversation, Karl and I discuss the business side of creativity. I began by asking him to talk about how changes in the industry nearly forced him to close the doors of his studio earlier this year. CONNECT WITH KARLWebsite: karltaylorportfolio.comInstagram: @karltaylorphotographyFacebook: @karltaylorphotography MUSICPlease Listen Carefully (Jahzzar) /