Street Shots Photography Podcast

Mish Mosh

This is the show's 80th episode!!
I had a scheduled discussion planned with a buddy but that got bumped due to some technical issues I had regarding my camera equipment. But guess what? I explain all of that to you in this end-of-summer episode. Just going over some stuff regarding photography like what shows I've been on lately and what new photo books I'm reading. Also, a plug for a photo walk in Brooklyn on October 6th. Nothing too revolutionary, just me catching you up on what's going on. Hope Y'all had a great summer.
 
Show Links:
ShutterTime Show with me filling in for Sid
Kelby's World Wide Photo Walk 2018
 

Colorful Language

This episode I'm joined by my buddy and color grader, Reed Means again to continue our discussion about color, both in movies and stills, and just what the language of color means for the way we express ourselves with our art. 
Colorful language can really be observed in movies (and I'm not talking four-letter words here) because color helps a story along by setting an emotional tone to a scene. So how does that translate to still images? Does it translate to still images?
Stills have a slight disadvantage when it comes to this because they have to package everything into one still frame. Your eye needs to be caught and your emotions grabbed immediately. There are no preceding scenes to get you prepared for what you're about to see.
Expect more episodes with Reed in the future as we continue this great discussion about color.
 
Show Links:
Palm Tree Shoe Productions: https://www.palmtreeshoeproductions.com/
 
Miesner Media: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_4HXushRwS_9b1JdRFYVgw
 
Color Grading Central: https://www.youtube.com/user/colorgradingcentral
 
Mixing Light https://mixinglight.com/
 
Casey Faris https://www.youtube.com/user/CaseyFaris777
 
Reed's mushroom shots:
 
David LaChapelle's Shot:

A Walk Among The Tombstones

 
No, not the Liam Neeson film but an experimental episode where I talk and walk while shooting in my local historical landmark, Green-Wood Cemetery (and, yes, the Liam Neeson movie WAS filmed there). In this episode, I give you a little update about how it's going for me now that I no longer submit images to Instagram. Yes, another social media update but a couple of surprising consequences I've discovered. Then, an experiment. I decided to mic myself up and take a walk thru Green-Wood with my camera and have a chat about what's going on while I do; sort of a "inside the mind" dialogue, which I decided to share on this show. Let me know if you dig this self-introspection or not. I figured it's summer and why not try something new.

Who Am I?

In this special episode, I continue a conversation started on episode 203 of Shuttertime with Sid and Mac. A mashup of sorts, Sid and Mac invited me onto their show and rather than make it one long show, we decided to record it in two parts, the second part here on Street Shots.
 
The question we ponder is what kind of photographer do you want to be? We chat about all the different paths we can take when we decided to make photography our expressive medium of choice. We also take some inspiration from this video of photographer Jay Maisel talking about how to be a better photographer.
 
Before you listen to this episode, please go here and listen to part one on Shuttertime with Sid and Mac. Please give me some feedback if you enjoyed this mashup or not. We may do it again in the future to promote cross-border podcasting goodness.

Aftermath

 
Yes, I did say I wouldn’t be talking about social media again, but I thought it might be important to start exploring the aftermath of reducing my presence. What is it like not to be “beholden” to social media. Well, the results are interesting. I spend this episode giving you an update of what it's like to be on a social media “fast.” It's been just over a month since I quit uploading images to Instagram and all sorts of things are happening but I’ll just talk about a couple. Who am I now that I don’t immediately share my images with the rest of the world? I’m sure this is a question we all wrestle with. Hang out with me for an hour or so and hear what I’m doing about that.

Seeing

 
"Contrast by Hornbeck" is an iPhone camera app recommended to me by my friend, Mark Reierson, when I recently told him I was stuck in a visual rut. The app has the ability to distill a scene into an almost truly black and white image with very reduced grey tones. Mark's idea was to get me to look at the world with this app and to see things differently and maybe jar me out of the rut. 
On this episode, I bring Mark in to discuss just what made him latch onto this app and how it changed the way he saw the world he wanted to photograph. 
Photographers use apps and cameras and film and filters to alter the way they see the world and thus alter how a photograph ultimately looks. This is not new to the digital world; it's been happening since the invention of the craft. Join me and Mark in what I hope is a fascinating exploration around how we record what we see.
 
Show Links:
Contrast by Hornbeck
Mark Reierson's Site

Nineteen Eighty Six

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
After finding and reading an entry from an old journal of mine from 1986, I decided to no longer add any more images to my personal Instagram account. How did this journal from 32 years affect my decision? Was it only the words from my past, or was there something else that led me to pull the plug on my Instagram account? Taking this trip into my photographic past has shaken me up a little and surprised me in a way I didn’t think it would. Let’s hang out for the next hour or so and let me tell you a couple of stories.
I know I’ve been talking a lot about quitting social media these days, on this show and other podcasts. I’ll try to make this one of the last times (if not *the* last times) I spend a good chunk of my energy on it. We need to move on.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Stopped In Our Tracks

Sparked by a topic suggestion from a listener, Antonio called up his longtime friend Sean Justice to talk about what are the not-so-technical aspects that make a photo “great.” Sean’s an educator and visual artist living in Texas, and was the perfect fit to discuss the question of “what makes a photograph stop us in our tracks?” Spoilers: there’s no (simple) answer. Sean and Antonio aren’t after an answer; it’s the question that drives their discussion. What moves us to take a photo? Can we be stopped in our tracks by our own photography? Why is a photo great to our eyes but not to someone else? Tune in and hang out with Sean and Antonio as they pose more questions about what makes a photo “great” than they can answer. There will be a Part 2.
 
Links:
SeanJustice.com
Sean Justice at Texas State University

Social Character

Episode 72 - "Social Character"
Antonio is pondering the wisdom of social media (yes, again) and whether or not it makes sense to give it all up or to use it that benefits being a photographer. The current trend now has a lot of people shutting down their Instagram accounts and Facebook pages, but does that make sense if all you want to do it share your imagery? Also, he talks about our ever-changing and evolving photographic personalities and how that is reflected in the cameras we choose to use.
 
Show Links:
Olaf Sztaba: Seeing Simplified - HD eBook 
Eric Kim: Why You Should Delete Your Instagram

The Write Stuff

On this episode, Antonio speaks with Minnesota-based photographer and podcaster, Dave Szweduik. He’s been a friend of the show for a while now and this chat has been a long time in coming. Lately, Dave’s been putting pen to screen, as it were, writing some incredibly thoughtful (and perhaps a little provocative) blog posts on his photography website. Three recent posts delve into what it means to be a successful photographer, how social media plays a role in that, and the idea that the pressure of creating art may be killing our passion. Dave and Antonio talk about these posts in particular and also about the tasks of maintaining a blog as a photographer. For Dave, writing about his thoughts and feelings about the photographic journey is almost as important as taking the photos themselves.
Show Links:
Dave's website
"Is the pressure of creating art killing our passion?"
"Photography Success, Chasing The Wrong Dream?"
"The Photographic Long Game : A classic approach to photography"
Digital Soup Podcast
 

The Why

In this 70th episode, Antonio ponders the "why" in photography. Why do we care about taking pictures? Why do we want to share our photos in social media? Why do we care? Why, why, why? We all would like to know the "why" when we take pictures and why we want to show them and why we keep them. and why we photograph what we photograph. This is more a stream of consciousness than any really defined subject of photography.  Join Antonio on this wondering journey, as he begins this discussion which is sure to continue well past the end of this show. 
 
Show Links:
Why do we take pictures? – Sushicam
Overexposed? Camera Phones Could Be Washing Out Our Memories : NPR
“Mirrors With Memories”: Why Did Victorians Take Pictures of Dead People? | Mental Floss
 
This Photographer Deleted His Social Media with 1.5 Million Followers

All Good Things

Well, the time has come to say adios to Tom as a regular host on Street Shots. In this episode, Antonio and Tom talk about what it's been like to have created such a fun team with Switch to Manual and this podcast. Not a whole lot of practical photography tips spoken about but more about what it's been like for the two of them to have worked together to create STM and what the future will be like with just Antonio hosting the podcast. So grab your favorite beverage and chill with the STM guys on this bittersweet episode. Oh, and it's not all bad news. :)  

Opinions are like...

This week, Antonio scours the photography news site called PetaPixel and adds his two cents about some the recent stories published there. 
 
Show Links:
500px gets acquired
Odd pricing at 500px
Lensbaby Burnside Lens
New Fuji X-H1
Canon’s AI Flash
Lightroom Update
Stupid Photography Terms
The B-Word
Peter Lik “Faked” Moon Image
NYC Street Coincidences

Technicolor

In this episode, Antonio is joined by his friend and co-worker Reed Means to discuss the technical and emotional impact of adjusting colors in both film/video and still photography. Tapping into Reed’s extensive experience as a film/video colorist, they talk about how color editing (also called color “grading”) affects our feelings about a visual scene and the information conveyed to a viewer. Color editing in film and still photography share a lot of similar ideas and Antonio and Reed discuss those commonalities and how they can be used to help an artist express themself.
 
Show Links:
 
Palm Tree Shoe Productions
Reed’s color grading sample video
Color Grading Central
Alexis Van Hurkman
Film LUTs
Color Harmony
DaVinci Resolve Software
Behind the scenes of the Hobbit
The Psychology of Color

Ruminations

In this episode, Antonio ponders other podcasts (and shoutouts), new lenses, and image processing. Also, he starts to pave the way for a future episode where he'll discuss the films and TV shows that shape his visual DNA. All this from a late night recording from the STM studios. 
 
Links:
ShutterTime with Sid and Mac
Let's Talk Photography
 

Machine Nation

In this episode, Antonio follows up on his newest birthday toy, the Polaroid OneStep2. A recent trip with the instant camera changed the way to have fun with a camera, or maybe he rediscovered how to have fun. Also, he discusses a new and perhaps disturbing trend in automated photo editing and processing: machines that learn what a "good" photograph is and tell you how to fix your flawed images. Something to fear or embrace? Antonio is sure to share his opinion about that. The machinations of the algorithm.
Show Links:
Petapixel: Google’s New AI Can Score Photos on Technical and Aesthetic Quality
Google Nima: Neural Image Assessment
PhotoLemur
 

Show and Tell

In this episode, Antonio shares his latest experience with printing and hanging a show of his street photography at a Brooklyn brewery/gallery. Some tips and lessons learned. Also, after receiving a Polaroid OneStep camera for his birthday, Antonio chats about his new, or we should say renewed, foray into the world of instant photography. 
 
Show Links:
 
Island to Island Brewery
Digital Soup Podcast
ShutterTime with Sid & Mac
Polaroid Originals
 

2017 Photo Expo

It's October and that means Antonio is walking the floor of the PDN Photoplus Expo again. On this episode, Antonio chats with a few of the vendors at the show and a photographer who shares his opinion about cameras as status symbols. Tune in and take a virtual tour of the Expo with one of the STM guys.
 
Show Links:
Ken Shung Photographer
Polaroid Pop
Polaroid Originals
Lomography & Lomo'Instant Square
Macphun/Skylum Software
My Case Builder

Photography as Therapy

In this episode, Antonio is joined by longtime STM friend, Mac Sokulski of the Shuttertime with Sid and Mac podcast. First we get an update about Mac's foray into shooting film for an entire year. Also, Mac and Antonio discuss several Kickstarter projects featuring unique takes on digital cameras. Finally, they chat about whether or not picture taking can be considered a form of therapy. Can you tame some of your inner struggles by just going on a photo walk or testing a new camera? Hear how Antonio and Mac find some inner peace when taking out their gear and taking some pictures.
 
Show Links:
MiKSMedia Photography
Shuttertime with Sid and Mac
Let's Talk Photography Podcast
The Lomo'Instant Square Camera
Jollylook - The First Cardboard Vintage Instant Camera!
I'm Back - Digital back attachment for analog cameras
Yashica digiFilm Camera
Miroslav Tichý
 
 
  
 
 

Turner, Learning and Walking

Episode 61 and Antonio is on his own again. This show he speaks about Pete Turner, a commercial and fine art photographer who recenty passed away and had a big influence on Antonio's color work. Also, Antonio talks a bit about his street photography class and asks the Street Shots audience for some help. Finally, next week is the Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk and Antonio talks about leading a walk in Green-Wood Cemetery.
 
Links:
Pete Turner
Worldwide Photo Walk

Diamond Episode

The Switch to Manual guys celebrate their 60th episode; their "Diamond Episode." Antonio and Tom chat about all sorts of stuff: how Switch to Manual started, how the podcast began, what it really means to shoot in manual, some awesome photo book Tom found, and previews of what's to come on the podcast. So grab your favorite beverage and join the STM guys for a great chat between good friends.

Artifact of Light

Not a real episode, per se; just a filler until Antonio & Tom record their 60th episode in the next week. Until then, Antonio wanted to close out the summer with a short update show talking about an interesting photographic expericence he had this past weekend: getting his and his wife's portrait made in an old fashioned method called a "tintype." 

Hold the Phone!

We’re sure you’ve heard this before: which is better, an iPhone camera or a DSLR? There are endless debates about this question. Pixel peeping, increasing megapixels, accessibility, portability, the list goes on.  The STM guys don’t plan to rehash this ongoing discussion.
In this episode, Antonio and Tom try to tackle this question from a slightly different perspective; what is it like to actively choose to take photographs using your phone instead of a traditional camera and why would you choose to do so? Because we’re so quick these days to take photos with our phone and not think twice about it, are we handing off our real world experiences to our digital devices? By choosing to photograph the world using a device which you keep with you constantly are you forgetting what you capture and relegating your visual memories to a digital shoebox? 
 
Links for the show:
World Wide Photo Walk
Photovoice
Shuttertime with Sid and Mac
The Candid Frame Podcast
 

Processed Feelings

In this episode, Antonio talks about two great art exhibits he went to this past weekend: photographer Irving Penn at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and painter Georgia O'Keeffe at the Brooklyn Museum. Then, in the meaty part of the show, Antonio speaks about what he's really trying to depict when he photographs: reality or feelings? Showing a friend how he processed his photos made him wonder whether he was revealing too much about how he interprets what he sees and photographs. If he's not showing reality then maybe he's showing how he felt.