B&H Photography Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In today’s podcast, we’ll be talking with Long Island-based pediatrician and self-taught photographer Dr. Greg Gulbransen, whose newly released book Say Less documents the three years Gulbransen spent embedded with Malik, the paralyzed leader of a Crips’ set in the Bronx.
Gulbransen details his journey from wildlife and fashion photography to documenting the lives of at-risk members of the Bikes Up Guns Down club to his most recent (and most daunting) project: photographing members of a violent street gang.
Gulbransen also touches on his years-long campaign to require auto makers to install rear-view cameras in all American-made cars, a personal crusade born of the tragic car accident involving his infant son.
Guest: Dr. Greg Gulbransen
Top shot © Dr. Greg Gulbransen

Episode Timeline:

3:45: Dr. Greg’s early medical training in the Bronx, and his experiences photographing at-risk kids from the Bikes Up Guns Down bike club. 

13:26: The start of Dr. Greg’s 3-year project photographing Malik, a gunshot victim and paralyzed leader of a Bronx Crips’ set.

14:55: The complex relationship between Dr. Greg, Malik and his mother, which allowed him to operate in such a potentially dangerous environment.  

19:23: Christmas with Malik and his family.

30:57: Dr. Greg talks best practices for administering Narcan, using informants to keep himself safe, and helping Malik stay out of prison.

44:48: Episode Break

45:46: Working with former LIFE magazine editor in chief Bill Shapiro to edit and plan his photo book.

49:22: Obtaining two sets of releases from Malik and other set members for all photos and text to appear in the book.

51:40: Dr. Greg discusses his copious notes while embedded, and details about capturing candid photos of set members and other neighborhood subjects.

54:50: Dr. Greg’s traumatic yet successful campaign requiring the auto industry to install of rear-view cameras in all American cars.

Guest Bio: Dr. Greg Gulbransen is a Long Island-based pediatric doctor, who has been making photographs since 2014. Following a tragic car accident involving his son in 2002, Gulbransen successfully campaigned to get the auto industry to install rear-view cameras in American cars. As a result, all new cars in the US must have rear-view cameras, leading to an immeasurable impact on the lives of Americans. 

After starting out with wildlife pictures and editorial fashion work, Gulbransen transitioned to documenting the lives of unique individuals with interesting stories in an aim to preserve their legacies through photography. This work is often informed by a drive to highlight issues impacting American society, with a focus on young people. 

Over the course of three years, Gulbransen photographed Malik, a set leader of the violent street gang, the Crips. In 2018, Malik was shot and paralyzed by a bullet from a rival gang. As a result, his world now centers around the small Bronx apartment where he’s cared for by family and fellow gang members. This project was recently released by Gost Books as the monograph Say Less, Gulbransen’s first book. 

Stay Connected:
Dr. Greg Gulbransen’s Website: https://www.gulbransenphoto.com/
Dr. Greg Gulbransen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greggulbransenpeds
Word on the Street YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@superwariobro
Dr. Greg Gulbransen’s book Say Less: https://gostbooks.com/en-us/products/say-less

How would you feel if all the coverage you saw about your culture was a superficial view from the outside, rather than a narrative steeped in details of lived experience?

Above photograph © Tailyr Irvine

This is the motivating force that led today’s guest to pick up a camera, enter the newsroom, and cultivate an insider’s perspective on contemporary Native American life, to expand the scope and enhance the accuracy of stories being told.

From exploring quiet moments at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to a revealing photo project on Blood Quantum, you’ll gain fresh insight into the traumatic history and complex issues affecting Native American people today.

Make sure and stay to the end for details about valuable resources like the Indigenous Photograph database and Illuminative’s Guide to Native Representation, as well as to learn about Tailyr’s ongoing work with businesses and organizations, to foster native representation in their projects.

 All told, you’ll walk away with a new appreciation for the idea that “Learning your culture is a privilege, and it's not a privilege that everyone gets.”

For more information on our guest and the gear she uses, click here.

 If you haven’t already listened, check out all the episodes of our Picturing World Cultures podcast series here.

Episode Timeline:

2:04: Tailyr’s early documentation at Standing Rock, and the value of her insider perspective as a Native journalist.

8:19: Distinctions between stereotypical views and a more authentic and diverse representation of Native culture. 

12:42: Tailyr’s Reservation Mathematics project and the controversial issue of blood quantum. 

21:05: The role of reservations as a center for Native culture and history, and the recent push to revitalize Native traditions.

24:11: The dark history of Native boarding schools and Tailyr’s work in telling stories about past abuses.

29:25: The public response to Tailyr’s Reservation Mathematics story and the challenges to changing this system.

32:30: Episode Break

34:25: Tailyr Irvine’s go-to gear and photojournalistic techniques.

38:21: Documenting tribal powwows to feature individual style rather than reinforce Native stereotypes.

42:56: Rules of etiquette at a powwow, the importance of consent, and questions of picture use. 

47:17: Tailyr’s first assignment on the Blackfeet Boxing Club and an ESPN editor’s help to overcome economic barriers to entry. 

54:28: Tailyr’s consulting work and building partnerships with businesses and organizations to foster native representation in projects.

1:04:06: Tailyr Irvine answers our PWC Visual Questionnaire.

Guest Bio: Tailyr Irvine is a Salish and Kootenai photographer and journalist born and raised on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. Her work focuses on providing in-depth representations of the lives and complex issues within the diverse communities that make up Native America.

Tailyr is also a co-founder of Indigenous Photograph, a global database dedicated to support the media industry in hiring more Indigenous photographers to tell the stories of their communities and to reflect on how we tell these stories. She is a National Geographic Explorer and frequently contributes to the New York Times and other national outlets. 

Stay Connected:

Tailyr Irvine Website: https://www.tailyrirvine.com/

Tailyr Irvine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TailyrIrvine/

Tailyr Irvine Twitter: https://x.com/tailyrirvine

Tailyr Irvine Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TailyrIrvine/

Tailyr Irvine on National Geographic: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/storytelling-through-photography-tailyr-irvine/

Tailyr Irvine’s Blackfeet Boxing Story: https://indigenousfutures.illuminatives.org/ending-violence/tailyr-irvine

Illuminative’s Guide to Native Representation for Entertainment Industry Professionals: https://illuminative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IllumiNative_industry-guide_June-2022.pdf

Native American Journalists Association Website: https://najanewsroom.com/

Tailyr Irvine’s Vital Impacts Grant: https://vitalimpacts.org/pages/grant-winner-2023-tailyr-irvine

Indigenous Photograph Website: https://indigenousphotograph.com/

Senior Creative Producer & Host: Jill Waterman
Senior Technical Producer: Mike Weinstein
Executive Producer: Richard Stevens
Theme Music: Gabriel Richards

For anyone familiar with the photo industry, the mammoth lawsuit between The Andy Warhol Foundation and renowned music photographer Lynn Goldsmith should be no secret. This complex battle over the rights to her 1981 portrait of the artist formerly known as Prince lasted seven years and went all the way to the Supreme Court.

But do you know the circumstances behind her original portrait session with the famously reserved musician, and were you aware of all the misinformation about this case that was disseminated in both legal documents and the press?

Lynn is a longtime friend of the show, and our 2017 episode about her extensive, long-term work with the band Kiss, among other crazy stories, was a fan favorite. We invited her back to discuss this case in 2022, when the Supreme Court first agreed to hear it, but heeding the advice of her legal counsel she wisely declined our offer at that time. 

In May 2023, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in Lynn’s favor in a 7-2 decision, which has already been shown to benefit others seeking remedies for the misuse of their creative works.

Yet, while this landmark decision happened last year, the case itself was not officially resolved until very recently—Friday, March 15, 2024, to be exact—a day some might recognize as the Ides of March.

Now that the final resolution has been signed, sealed, and delivered, we felt it was a perfect opportunity for Lynn to give us a recap of this David vs Goliath battle, with all its complexities and underlying bias.

From details about the Fair Use doctrine, to the matter of copyright registration, to her thoughts about the current photographer community, to the importance of standing up for one’s rights, Lynn provides a clear and insightful assessment of one of the most traumatic and threatening experiences that any independent artist can face, as only she can.

To her very core, Lynn believes creativity can make anything possible, an ideology she sums up aptly at the end of our chat.

“I felt like some higher power picked me for this,” she says. “And that I had to make myself feel like a 1940s film with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, where there was going to be a happy ending, that everything would work out just fine, and that I was going to prevail.”

Guest: Lynn Goldsmith

Top shot © Lynn Goldsmith

Episode Timeline:

2:50: The backstory to Lynn Goldsmith’s 1981 photo session with Prince.

7:17: Shooting both color and black-and-white in the days of film, a separate camera for each option.

11:15: Vanity Fair’s 1984 use of Lynn’s black and white portrait for artist reference.  

13:47: Lynn’s discovery of the original image use after Prince died in 2016. 

19:50: The value of saving detailed records of licensing agreements for future reference.

23:14: The preemptive lawsuit the Andy Warhol Foundation filed against Lynn, and the misinformation contained in the Federal court filing.

32:15: Lynn discusses the Fair Use doctrine and the matter of copyright registration in relation to her case.

36:43: Episode Break

38:04: Meeting with the Andy Warhol Foundation and the deal on offer to resolve the lawsuit.

44:40: Lynn’s thoughts about the current photographer community and the importance of standing up for your rights.

48:09: The multiple rounds of the Prince portrait lawsuit, from the first Federal case to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court.

56:29: Uneven reporting about the lawsuit in the press, with the photo press being fearful to write anything, and the art press releasing misinformation without fact checks.

1:00:27: Behind the scenes at the Supreme Court hearing, the effects of the 7 – 2 decision, as well as Justice Kagan’s written opinion.

1:08:48: Lynn’s thoughts about generative AI.

Guest Bio: Lynn Goldsmith is a multi-awarded portrait photographer whose work has appeared on and in between the covers of top magazines worldwide. Her subjects have varied from entertainment to sports, film directors to authors, and from top celebrities to the ordinary man on the street. Her forty years of photography are both an investigation into the nature of the human spirit, as well as the natural wonders of our planet.

As the author of 12 major photo books, Lynn’s images are also featured in numerous museum collections, yet her professional achievements are in no way limited to the world of photography. She is the youngest member ever accepted into the Director's Guild of America (DGA), where she achieved several firsts—from the first rock show on network television to the first music documentary released as a theatrical short, and more. In the mid-seventies, Lynn stopped directing to concentrate fully on photography.

By the early 80s, she departed from both photography and film, to become the first ‘optic-music’ artist. Using the a.k.a. Will Powers, she produced the album "Dancing for Mental Health" on Island Records. Her debut album won critical acclaim and her single, Kissing with Confidence, reached #3 on the British charts.

The wide range of Lynn's talents, skills and achievements are products of a belief she holds constant: Creativity is based on breaking limiting thought patterns, thus making anything possible.

Stay Connected:

Lynn Goldsmith’s Website: https://lynngoldsmith.com/menu.html

Rock and Roll Photo Gallery Website: https://rockandrollphotogallery.com/

Lynn Goldsmith’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynngoldsmith/

Lynn Goldsmith’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/goldsmithphoto

Lynn Goldsmith’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynngoldsmithartist/

Lynn Goldsmith’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lynn-goldsmith/

Lynn Goldsmith’s GoFundMe Campaign

Lynn Goldsmith’s Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Goldsmith

Pelican 1510TP Carry-On Case: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1241003-REG/pelican_015100_0050_110_1510tp_carry_on_case_with.html

We want to celebrate our guest Alexis Cuarezma in this encore presentation and also note what great info this episode offers for those interested in portrait lighting, especially for dance and sports photography.  Alexis' career has been growing steadily  since he joined us in 2019, he recently presented at the Eddie Adams Workshop and will be speaking at ImagingUSA in January 2022 and at the very interesting Pas de Deux Dance Photography Conference in Austin, Texas in February, 2022. Enjoy.

On today’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast, we welcome California-based advertising, sports, dance, and fashion photographer (and director), Alexis Cuarezma, who packs a considerable amount of practical and creative insight into our hour-long conversation. Ostensibly, Cuarezma was joining us to talk about his lighting techniques and, while he does dive deep into lighting schemes, we discuss so much more. Cuarezma is generous with is thoughts on production, composition, models, gear, self-promotion, and marketing really anything that he understands to help him in his burgeoning photo business.

Just a glance at his work, and one will realize why Cuarezma is here to discuss lighting techniques, he has shot for Sports Illustrated (including six covers),Fortune magazine, Ring magazine, the New York Times, and his clients include Nike. Cuarezma emphasizes his belief that getting it right “in-camera” is the key to his success, not just for the sake of the final image, but for his creative process. Researching, planning, arriving early, being hands-on in every phase of the work, and understanding that your vision, when properly executed, will win over a client, is the other key to his success.

With Cuarezma we discuss his decision-making process when creating a portrait; each of the small problems that needs to be solved to create the desired look that works best for his particular subject. While comfortable renting the needed gear to fulfill each project, he also discusses the gear he owns and uses, including Profoto B1 lights, Rosco Gels, and his Canon 5DS R. Join us for this insightful and very educational episode.

Guest: Alexis Cuarezma

Photograph © Alexis Cuarezma

Today’s episode is an encore presentation of the show originally published on March 19, 2020. If you were otherwise preoccupied that week, we recommend you take a listen to this conversation about photographer Jim Marshall and the film “Show Me the Picture”, a documentary on his life and work as a rock-n-roll photographer.

The film is now streaming on AppleTV/iTunes and if you are in Boston, MA on November 13, The Leica Store Boston is hosting a special screening of the film, followed by a conversation with author and the film’s producer Amelia Davis and editor Bill Shapiro (coincidentally our guest on next week’s new episode). There will also be a book signing of the companion book, “Jim Marshall: Show Me the Picture”. The event is free but its necessary to sign up on eventbrite.

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Today we discuss some of the most recognized images of rock-n-roll history.

Our first guest is photographer Amelia Davis who is the owner of Jim Marshall LLC, the living archive of the prolific photographer Jim Marshall, most known for his images of jazz and rock musicians of the 1950’s through the 1970s.  If you are familiar with photos of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, or the Allman Brothers Band, then you are certain to know his work. Marshall not only covered the Monterrey and Altamont festivals, but was the only photographer invited by the Beatles to cover their final concert. Marshall also documented the Civil Rights movement and the Haight-Ashbury scene in San Francisco.

With Davis, we discuss how she came to be the proprietor of the archive and how she protects and manages the collection. We also talk about Marshall, the man, and why he was seemingly able to photograph “everyone” in that era.  Davis is also part of the production team behind the new film "Show Me the Picture: The Story of Jim Marshall”, which is well worth seeing to get a better understanding of Marshall’s motley personality and his incredible body of work.

After our chat with Davis, we welcome photographer Elliott Landy, who is producing a book of his images on the seminal rock group, The Band. Landy was the official photographer of the famed 1969 Woodstock music festival and responsible for unforgettable images of Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and others.  

Guests: Amelia Davis and Elliott Landy

Photograph: Courtesy Jim Marshall Photography LLC

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exclusive-jim-marshall-film-screening-leica-gallery-boston-tickets-191284486047

We were expecting this episode to be a great one and it did not disappoint.  The B&H Photography Podcast team welcomes photographer Lester Sloan and his daughter, author Aisha Sabatini Sloan, to discuss their new book, Captioning the Archive: A Conversation in Photographs and Text.  The book is a conversation about photography and photojournalism, but more a conversation between father and daughter, one that had been taking place for years, for a lifetime, and finally put to print.  

Selecting images from his long career as a Newsweek staff photographer, as well as his personal projects dating back to 1960’s Detroit, Sloan and Sabatini Sloan provide extensive “captions” to these images, offering not only details about past events but personal reflections from both of their perspectives. The book is also an intensive contextualization of the images with the benefit of hindsight and of insight. Backstories from a life in photojournalism, of photos of Nelson Mandela, of David Hockney, of Steven Spielberg, of political turmoil and day-to-day assignments, and the right questions posed to fill in the deeper meaning around a photo taken.

“I took pictures of everything that happened.” – Lester Sloan

Unfortunately, in the weeks before we recorded this episode, Sloan’s archive of original slides and negatives was damaged in a flood.  The damage to some of his most important originals is extensive and a Kickstarter campaign has been established in an attempt to repair, restore, and digitize the collection. Please consider donating.

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Lester Sloan began his photography career as a cameraman for the CBS affiliate in Detroit, then worked as a staff photographer in Newsweek magazine for twenty-five years, documenting the 1967 uprising in Detroit, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the OJ Simpson trial. Lester was a contributing essayist with NPR’s “Weekend Edition” the recipient of the prestigious Neiman Fellowship and was the on-set photographer for Spike Lee’s 1996 film, Get on the Bus.

Aisha Sabatini Sloan is a writer whose work has appeared in anthologies such as Dear America, Truth to Power, and The Paris Review. Her 2017 book, Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit, was chosen as the winner of the “1913 Open Prose Contest”, she is the recipient of a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Award and this year she received the National Magazine Award for her essays in the Paris Review.

Guests: Lester Sloan and Aisha Sabatini Sloan

Photograph © Lester Sloan

A listicle is an article comprising a list.

A listicle is any piece of digital content that’s formatted as a list.

A listicle is an article comprising a list, usually with some kind of extra detail added to each item.

What we have here, then, is a podsticle.

Today on the B&H Photography Podcast, we catch up with the new photography gear that has been announced over the past few months. Attention goes to the Canon EOS R3 and Nikon Z 9 as big deal mirrorless reveals, the Nikon still scant on details, but what’s clear from these releases is the continued shift away from the DSLR format for these manufacturers. FUJIFILM, Pentax, Olympus, and Sigma added mostly updates to existing cameras over recent months, while Panasonic and Sony offered new models aimed at vloggers and streamers. An odd couple of Sony a7R series updates also made our list of new cameras, a list that will surely have many additions by the time we host our “cameras of the year” episode, in December.

The second half of the show is dedicated to lenses and accessories. Canon’s funky new RF 5.2mm f/2.8L Dual Fisheye 3D VR lens is highlighted and we mention several new Canon RF lenses, including the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. FUJIFILM introduced two new fast aperture lenses to go with the X-T30 II camera announcement and a beautiful 18mm f/1.4 R WR lens. Nikon put out several lenses for the Z system, including the affordable NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens. Of the other manufacturers, all of whom released new lenses recently, Tamron was the busiest, with five entries. Also of note is Sigma’s new “Sports” designated 150-600mm f/5.6-6.3 DG DN OS telephoto zoom lens available in Leica L, Canon EF, Nikon F and Sony E mounts and the Venus Optics Laowa Argus 35mm f/0.95 lens.

We conclude the gear update with new light systems from Profoto, Godox, and Aputure, and we also mention webcams, drones, and new tabletop tripods from Joby.

To create a “collective portrait” of any set of people is difficult, but to do so with twenty-five world-renown women artists is a monumental challenge―one that our guests have undertaken and, based on their wonderful book, Portrait of an Artist: Conversations with Trailblazing Creative Women, have accomplished. Equally as impressive is that the book’s author, Hugo Huerta Marin, weaved a personal narrative into this series of interviews and photographs he made of artists he admired, such as Yoko Ono, Cate Blanchett, Inez Van Lamsweerde, and Orlan.

On today’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast, we speak with Marin about this seven-year project and we also welcome the book’s editor, Anna Godfrey, of Prestel Publishing. The two discuss the selection of subjects, interview techniques, and innovative book design. We also discuss the Polaroid portraits Marin made for the book and the role photography plays in the work of several of the artists profiled. Join us for this insightful conversation on the influence of groundbreaking women artists and on the persistence and collaboration needed to build this collective portrait.

If you are in New York on October 28, 2021, Marina Abramović and Hugo Huerta Marin will host an intimate conversation about creativity, identity, success, and legacy at the global launch of Portrait of an Artist: Conversations with Trailblazing Creative Women, at Fotografiska New York. Tickets are available here.

Guests: Hugo Huerta Marin and Anna Godfrey

Photograph: FKA twigs © Hugo Huerta Marin

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts

This week’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast provides a lesson we all can use: how to be better businesspeople while we are being better photographers. Much of this advice comes from our intriguing guest, photographer and educator Todd Bigelow.

A longtime pro, Bigelow has freelanced for the likes of Sports Illustrated and The Los Angeles Times, among many other editorial and commercial clients, and he is a contributing photographer to the prestigious agency Contact Press Images. He is also the founder of the Business of Photography Workshop, an adjunct professor of photography and photojournalism, and the author of The Freelance Photographer's Guide To Success: Business Essentials, which is the basis for our conversation today.

With Bigelow, we discuss growing a client base, the ratio of time and labor between the business and the craft of photography, and how to let your archive work for you. We also talk about negotiating rates, contracts, and handling copyright infringements. Bigelow uses many examples from his own career to highlight his points, and Allan adds some examples of his own.

Join us for this enjoyable, motivating, and helpful conversation about photography business essentials.

Guest: Todd Bigelow

Photograph © Todd Bigelow

This week’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast is a wonderful way to usher in autumn and we hope it inspires our listeners to get out into the forests, fields, and streams to photograph what they love. It is also an episode that hits all the marks, as we talk about the gear, technique, science, ethics, and passion of photography―in this case, centered on fly fishing photography. Our guests, Jess McGlothlin and Toby Nolan bring all of the above, and a ton of experience, as we flow like a river through this hour-long conversation.

Jess McGlothlin is based in Missoula, Montana, but has photographed from the Arctic Circle to the Peruvian Amazon. Her story-telling approach, often coupled with her own writing, has found a home in a range of genres and formats, from commercial to documentary. Her credit list includes brands like Patagonia and YETI Coolers and publications such as Field & Stream, The New York Times, Men's Journal, and Southern Culture on the Fly.

Toby Nolan was born in Dublin, Ireland, bases his fishing and outdoor sports photography in Bend, Oregon and travels the globe for assignments. His editorial work can be found in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The FlyFish Journal, and The Drake Magazine. His commercial clients include Under Armor, Ironman Triathlons, and Travel Nevada.

Did you know that Billingham camera bags developed from bags made for anglers? And today’s talk runs the gamut, discussing the unique aspects of fly-fishing photography, and a diverse set of tools from brands like Canon, Aquatech, and DJI.

Guests: Toby Nolan and Jess McGlothlin

Photograph © Toby Nolan