Vann Thomas Powell, Lisa Beard, and Micah McCoy remotely joined Michael Chovan-Dalton and Dani Paglione at the JKC Gallery at Mercer County College to talk about their newly formed photography collective, Disparate Projects. We will also discuss the process of publishing their first book, Fractured by Christiaan Lopez-Miro.

Vann Thomas Powell is a photographer, curator, and researcher. Vann received his MFA in Experimental and Documentary Art at Duke University (2023) and has been featured in solo exhibitions, books, and periodicals in the United States and abroad including The Independent (UK), Glitterati Editions (New York, NY). His books and works can be found in private and public collections including the Rubenstein Rare Books and Manuscripts Library (Duke University) and the Museum of Fine Art Special Collections (Tufts University). Vann is a Photolucida Critical Mass 2023 Top 200 Finalist.

Lisa Beard is a photo-based artist, writer, teacher, and curator. Featured in national and international exhibitions, her work has appeared in group and solo shows, recently as a featured exhibitor for Head On Photo Festival in Sydney, AU. She has also been included in publications for The International Center of Photography, The Hand Magazine, Float Magazine, and Broad Magazine. She is a 2024 Klompching Fresh Finalist and Photolucida Critical Mass 2024 Top 200 Finalist. Lisa received her MFA in Media Arts from Maine Media College (2022).

Micah McCoy is a photographer, curator, and poet based in Northwest Arkansas. He received his MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago (2022) and has exhibited work in solo and group exhibitions both in the United States and abroad. His work explores issues of religiosity, anxiety, and social detachment. Micah’s editorial photography has been featured in publications including NBC News, The New York Post, and others.

https://disparateprojects.com

Disparate Projects is an evolving collective and platform dedicated to the exploration of contemporary photography. Founded by Lisa Beard, Micah McCoy, and Vann Thomas Powell, we are committed to thoughtful photographic curation, engaging critical discussions in photographic theory, and nurturing collaborations with photographers of disparate approaches.

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club

Begin Building your dream photobook library today at

https://charcoalbookclub.com

The Real Photo Show is hosted and produced by Michael Chovan-Dalton

The JKC Gallery Artist Talks are hosted and produced by:

Real Photo Show/Michael Chovan-Dalton, Julia Colonna, and Dani Paglione.

Amani Willett is a Boston-based photographer whose practice is driven by conceptual ideas surrounding family, history, memory, and the social environment. Working primarily with the book form, his three monographs have been published to widespread critical acclaim. Disquiet (Damiani, 2013), The Disappearance of Joseph Plummer (Overlapse, 2017) and “A Parallel Road (Overlapse 2020)” were selected by Photo-Eye as “best books” of the year and have been highlighted in over 70 publications including ​Photograph Magazine, PDN,​ ​Hyperallergic, Lensculture, New York Magazine, The New York Times, 1000 Words, NPR, The British Journal of Photography, Collector Daily and Buzzfeed and recommended by ​Todd Hido,​ ​Elisabeth Biondi (former Visuals Editor of The New Yorker), Vince Aletti and Joerg Colberg (Conscientious), among others.

https://www.amaniwillett.com/invisiblesunbook

https://www.instagram.com/amaniwillett/

INVISIBLE SUN is a visual meditation on survival, transformation, and fragility by artist Amani Willett. The project traces the impact of childhood medical traumas and the ways they continue to reverberate through the present.

Slideshow from book:

https://youtu.be/dl5-nDcpfoc

Confronting these early challenges amid new chronic health challenges, Willett turned to intensive therapies. Within this process he encountered vivid, unsettling memories, often of his younger self, that became a generative source for the work.

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book ClubBegin Building your dream photobook library today athttps://charcoalbookclub.com

Amani’s photographs are also featured in the books​ American Geography (SF Moma/Radius Books, 2021), Bystander: A History of Street Photography (2017 edition, Laurence King Publishing), ​Street Photography Now​ (Thames and Hudson), ​New York: In Color​ (Abrams), and have been published widely in places including The Atlantic, A​merican Photography,​ Newsweek​,​ Harper’s,​ ​The Huffington Post, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books​.​ His work resides in the collections of the Tate Modern, The Library of the Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Sir Elton John Photography Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Oxford University, and Harvard University, among others.

More wonderful attendee recordings from the 2025 Chico Review with those who came to Chico to share their work and their stories with incredible reviewers. This year I recorded with over 40 attendees! I’ve also linked to the guest’s Instagram and Websites so you can see the work. And again this year, I was recording in a variety of spaces at the beautiful Chico Hot Springs resort so there may be a number of different ambient sounds across the recordings.

The Chico Review is the country’s premier Photobook Retreat. Organized by Charcoal Book Club, The Chico Review takes place over six nights at Chico Hot Springs Resort, near Livingston Montana. Sixty-four applicants will spend the week with over twenty of the most influential and creative photographers, book makers, gallerists, museum curators, and photobook publishers in the industry.

https://chicoreview.com

https://www.charcoalworkshops.com

03:00 - Caitlyn Kingery

https://www.instagram.com/cat.kingery

13:00 - Oliver Stegmann

https://www.instagram.com/oliverstegmann

https://www.oliverstegmann.com/

20:50 - Sasha Williams

https://www.instagram.com/sashacastawilliams

https://sashacasta.com/

28:35 - Eric McCollum

https://www.instagram.com/eemccollum

http://www.eemccollum.com

36:35 - Mischa Lluch

https://www.instagram.com/mischalluchphoto

https://mischalluchphoto.com/

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com

"I'll go and hold their hand with my hand by following their cursor with my cursor."   David Alpert is an artist and curator living and working in Kansas City. His curatorial work involves interaction, connection, and collaboration with others. His work is performative and driven by a desire to bring people together. The pandemic has been a unique challenge to David who is currently in the Curatorial Practice program at MICA. We talk about how he has continued to create collaborative work during the Covid shutdown. David was the finalist selection for the What is Your Reality in the Pandemic Era show created and hosted by friend of the show, Ajuan Song of the Orange Art Foundation and the finalist was awarded a spot on the Real Photo Show.   https://www.alpert.online   This episode is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club, a monthly subscription service for photobook enthusiasts. Working with the most respected names in contemporary photography, Charcoal selects and delivers essential photobooks to a worldwide community of collectors. Each month, members receive a signed, first-edition monograph and an exclusive print to add to their collections.

www.charcoalbookclub.com

"Like shooting in black and white it really is just trying to find a way to see all these tones of gray and to not see things so stark as good and bad or life and death…"   Jesse Lenz and I talk about his first monograph, The Locusts. It is a gorgeous book that explores childhood wonder and discovery, beauty and terror, and memory and imagination, as well as the notions of what is family and home. As you will hear in our conversation, the process of making this work was part of a turning point in Jesse's life about what home means to him.   Jesse Lenz is a self-taught photographer and multidisciplinary artist. As an illustrator he has created images for the most well-respected publications around the world, including TIME, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many others. He is the founder and director of Charcoal Book Club, Charcoal Press, and the Chico Hot Springs Portfolio Review. From 2011-2018 he also co-founded and published The Collective Quarterly and The Coyote Journal. He lives on a farm in rural Ohio.    https://www.jesselenz.com   This episode is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club, a monthly subscription service for photobook enthusiasts. Working with the most respected names in contemporary photography, Charcoal selects and delivers essential photobooks to a worldwide community of collectors. Each month, members receive a signed, first-edition monograph and an exclusive print to add to their collections. www.charcoalbookclub.com   Call for Entries to the fifth annual Chico Hot Springs Portfolio Review and Publishing Prize are open until December 20th.

The Chico Review is typically a seven day, photography retreat at Chico Hot Springs Resort, near Livingston Montana. Hosted by Charcoal Book Club to spark relationships between artists and industry professionals in an environment that fosters community and conversation. Due to uncertainty for travel and gatherings in March, the 2021 Chico Review has been restructured into a 2-week online masterclass and portfolio review.   Submit your work now for a chance to be one of 64 artists invited to participate with Sian Davey, Alejandro Cartagena, Tania Franco Klein, Ron Jude, Susan Lipper, Christian Patterson and 20 other respected photobook publishers and contemporary photography institutions. Participating artists receive ten formal reviews by speakers and reviewers over a two week period and take part in artist lectures, panel discussions, and peer reviews. At the end of the event, one grand prize winner will be announced and their project will be published and distributed as a monograph by Charcoal Book Club.    Additionally, this year, all participating attendees will have a selection of their work published and distributed in an opus catalog by Charcoal Book Club.   For more information and to apply, visit chicoreview.com

Episode Notes

"What this project looks to do is go well beyond that with more nuance and more authentic voices from the community that is being reported on." -Finbarr O'Reilly   I have two amazing guests for today's show Finbarr O'Reilly and Bernadette Vivuya. This show coincides with the release of the book and multimedia online collaboration, Congo in Conversation by Finbarr O'Reilly. Finnbarr and, journalist and filmmaker, Bernadette talk about the work, the messages they wanted to convey, and the importance of representative and varied voices when trying to tell complex stories.   Congo in Conversation is a collaborative online chronicle through close cooperation with Congolese journalists and photographers. The project addresses the human, social and ecological challenges that Congo faces today, within the context of this new health crisis. Relaying information via a dedicated website and social networks, “Congo in Conversation” provides an uninterrupted and unprecedented stream of articles, photo reportages and videos, which visitors can consult by theme or by contributor. With “Congo in Conversation”, the Fondation Carmignac provides an outlet for Congolese voices to contribute to the global discourse, communally attest to the on-the-ground situation within this immense country, and raise public awareness. “Congo In Conversation” is presented in a bilingual French-English monograph, co-published by Reliefs Editions and the Carmignac Foundation, with two covers illustrating different aspects of this collaborative reportage   https://congoinconversation.fondationcarmignac.com   Finbarr O’Reilly is an independent photographer and multimedia journalist, and the author of the nonfiction memoir, Shooting Ghosts, A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War (Penguin Random House 2017). Finbarr lived for 12 years in West and Central Africa and has spent two decades covering conflicts in Congo, Chad, Sudan, Afghanistan, Libya, and Gaza. He is the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize exhibition photographer (exhibition « Crossroads Ethiopia » around the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Abiy Ahmed Ali) and a frequent contributor to The New York Times. His photography and multimedia work has earned numerous industry honors, including First Place in the Portraits category at the 2019 World Press Photo Awards. He was also winner of the World Press Photo of the Year in 2006.   http://www.finbarr-oreilly.com   Bernadette Vivuya is a journalist and filmmaker based in Goma in Eastern DRC. She reports on issues related to human rights, the environment and the exploitation of raw materials, bearing witness to the resilience of the people in this conflict-affected region.   https://www.instagram.com/bernadettevivuya

Michael Kamber and Cynthia Rivera of the Bronx Documentary Center call in to talk about several events coming up at the BDC for this short series pre-election episode. Here are the events you should support or attend if you can.

https://www.bronxdoc.org

6TH ANNUAL PHOTO AUCTION BENEFIT VIRTUAL CELEBRATION THURSDAY OCT 22, 2020 | 7PM

The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) is proud to present our 6th Annual Photo Auction Benefit.

To give back to the many Bronx photographers who work with us, we're sharing 50% of proceeds with Bronx photographers in need of financial support due to COVID-19. This means that every print sold will directly benefit our program participants and the Bronx photographers who inspire them the most.

This year's 6th Annual Photo Auction will include beautifully printed photographs by artists including Stephanie Foden, Johis Alarcón, Daniella Zalcman, Inbal Abergil, and Mauricio Palos. Each of these photographs depict the vibrant landscapes and narratives of the world, and have been part of projects featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, and more.

Auction prints and photobooks will be available to bid on from 8:00 AM EST October 8th through 8:00 PM EST on October 22nd.

ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY WOMEN'S FILM SERIES

SATURDAY OCT 24, 2020 | 6:30PM

All In: The Fight for Democracy examines the issue of voter suppression in the US. The film interweaves personal experiences with activism and historical insight to expose a problem that has corrupted our country from the beginning. With the expertise of Stacey Abrams, the film offers an insider’s look into the barriers to voting. The film can be screened on Amazon Prime with a subscription.

Please join us on Saturday, October 24th, at 6PM EST for a short virtual Q&A discussion with co-director Lisa Cortes.

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION WEBSITE LAUNCH TRUMP REVOLUTION: THE END OF TRUTH THURSDAY OCT 29, 2020 | 7PM

In America today, the very notion of truth is under assault. Citizens vigorously disagree about matters of scientific evidence; about the very existence of widely reported news events; about basic facts. The Bronx Documentary Center's upcoming exhibition, The End of Truth, documents our country's shift toward conspiratorial thinking by examining the rapidly changing roles of traditional and social media over the past 25 years.

This is the third and final segment of Trump Revolution, a series of exhibitions examining America's societal and political transformation over the past four years, one whose speed, reach and consequences are unmatched in our country's history.

On October 29th, the exhibition will available to view online at www.trumprevolutionbdc.org

Eric Kunsman and I talk about his work, Fake News Archive Project: A Historical Archive of the Donald J. Trump Presidency. Eric is looking for people interested in the next election, and any archive enthusiasts, to search through his screen captured collection of news headlines from the past almost four years and to highlight, through your own social media, the stories that were impactful to you but, because of the overwhelming news cycle, may now be lost to history.

Here is his description of the work: This is my approach at recording history in the tumultuous times we live in and a historical approach to looking at the Presidency of Donald J. Trump and his claim of “Fake News.” These images are to serve in a historical context and not as a political statement. This project started the day after Election Day and will continue until (TBD.)

I started by imaging only CNN due to the President’s verbiage and quickly realized I needed other major news sources as a comparative measure. The use of multiple news sources serves as a barometer and allows the viewers to view this in its historical context.

You can learn more about this work at: https://www.fakenewsarchiveproject.com Share the Fake News: UnGlued Re-Broacast News Event here: https://fb.me/e/1DTe7wR2b

Eric's Website: https://www.erickunsman.com Eric's Email: eric@erickunsman.com

Eric T. Kunsman (b. 1975) was born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While in high school, he was heavily influenced by the death of the steel industry and its place in American history. The exposure to the work of Walker Evans during this time hooked Eric onto photography. Eric had the privilege to study under Lou Draper, who became Eric’s most formative mentor. He credits Lou with influencing his approach as an educator, photographer, and contributing human being.

Eric holds his MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and holds an MS in Electronic Publishing/Graphic Arts Media, BS in Biomedical Photography, BFA in Fine Art photography all from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Currently, he is a photographer and book artist based out of Rochester, New York. Eric works at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as a Lecturer for the Visual Communications Studies Department at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and is an adjunct professor for the School of Photographic Arts & Sciences.

In addition to lectures, he provides workshops on topics including his artistic practice, digital printing, and digital workflow processes. He also provides industry seminars for the highly regarded Printing Applications Lab at RIT. His photographs and books are exhibited internationally and are in several collections. He currently owns Booksmart Studio, which is a fine art digital printing studio, specializing in numerous techniques and services for photographers and book artists on a collaborative basis.

Eric’s work has been exhibited in over 35 solo exhibitions at such venues as Nicolaysen Art Museum, Hoyt Institute of Fine Art, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, and numerous university galleries. His work has also been a part of over 150 group exhibitions over the past 4 four years including exhibitions at the Center for Photography, A. Smith Gallery, SPIVA, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, Spartanburg Museum of Art, Atlanta Photography Group, CEPA Gallery, Site:Brooklyn, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, and many more.

Eric was named one of 10 B&W photographers to watch of 2018 by BWGallerist, B&W Best Photographers of the Year 2019 by Dodho Magazine, and won the Association of Photography (UK) Gold Award for Open Series in 2019, Finalist, Top 200 Critical Mass 2019, Top 15 Photographers for the Rust Belt Biennial. His Project Felicific Calculus was also awarded a Warhol Foundations Grant through CEPA Gallery in Buffalo, NY. Eric’s work has also been published in magazines such as; LensWork, Dodho, B&W Photography, All About Photo, Dek Unu along with online articles by Analog Forever Magazine, Catalyst: Interview, Texas Photo Society, and others. He is currently represented by HOTE Gallery in Los Angeles, CA and Malamegi in San Daniele del Friuli (Udine), Italy.

"Really my favorite thing about photography is walking around with my camera…If I could do only one kind of work for the rest of my life, I think that would unquestionably be what I would want to do."   Sasha Rudensky is an artist and an educator. She is currently the Program Director and an Associate Professor of Art at Weslyan University. She studied Studio Art and Russian Literature at Weslyan University and received her MFA from Yale University. When Sasha was young her family left Russia, just as the Soviet Union was breaking apart. We talk about the duality and tension of her insider/outsider approach to photographing in Russia and Ukraine as well as her description of people and place through fact and fiction. We also talk about teaching in-person during the pandemic and we talk about a book that Sasha has been working on that combines multiple projects into one body work. Sasha also reveals the new title of this book which we expand upon at the end of the episode. I should also note that Sasha is represented by my podcast partner, Sasha Wolf.   Sasha Rudensky is a Russian-born artist whose work has been exhibited widely including Musee de l’Elysee in Lausanne, Switzerland; Fries Museum in Leewarden, Netherlands; Macro Testaccio Museum in Rome, Italy; ArtScience Museum in Singapore, and Danziger Projects in New York. In 2010 Sasha’s work was included in “reGeneration 2: Photographers of Tomorrow Today”, an international survey of emerging photographers. Her work is held in a number of public collections including Musee de l’Elysee, Yale Art Gallery, and Center of Creative Photography in Tuscon amongst others.   Sasha received her MFA from Yale University School of Art in 2008 and BA from Wesleyan University in 2001. She was the recipient of the Ward Cheney Memorial Award from Yale University, Mortimer-Hays Brandeis Traveling Fellowship, Leica/Jim Marshall Award, and Jessup Prize from Wesleyan University. In 2013 Sasha was awarded the Aaron Siskind Individual Fellowship grant. Her work has appeared in New York Times Magazine, Der Spiegel, Cicero Magazine, American Photo, PDN and others. She is an Assistant Professor of Art at Wesleyan University, where she is the head of the photography program.   http://www.sasharudensky.com/index.html https://sashawolf.com/artist/sasha-rudensky/

"I was thinking about that lately…as far as black photographers in general, will it always be a counter-narrative…"

Duquann Sweeney is a photographer and a community organizer in Jersey City, NJ. He is a founder of The Royal Men Foundation which provides mentoring services, health and educational workshops, and works with the county courts to provide alternative sentencing for people accused of minor crimes. I've posted a link to The Royal Men Foundation in the show notes. Duquann and I talk about a series he is working on following a Doula and her client, an expecting mother in Jersey City. He started this work after looking into the disparity in healthcare and lower health outcomes for pregnant women of color and their babies. We also talk about his mother surviving Covid-19 and the work he makes in his neighborhood where he was born and raised.

https://www.duquannsweeney.com/ https://www.instagram.com/duquann_sweeney/ https://www.facebook.com/The-Royal-Men-Foundation-218661284952655

"When the green comes in, the grass comes back first, and then the smaller shrubs. It's always this sort of hopeful space…I always feel that nature reminds us that after trauma there's regeneration."

Deborah Jack is a multimedia artist. Her current work deals with trans-cultural existence, memory, the effects of colonialism and mythology through re-memory. Deborah was born in the Netherlands and grew up in the Netherlands/Saint Martin. She went to grad school at SUNY Buffalo, NY and currently resides in Jersey City where she coordinates the photography program at New Jersey City University. We talk about how growing up on a small island with colonial heritage and landscapes altered by the patterns of water and severe weather influence her work and we talk a little about teaching in the time of corona and the limits of how much we can prepare for it.

You can see the work that we discuss at Deborah's website: https://www.deborahjack.com

"There's a small neighborhood that's called Wilbur Section…It's known for crime, gang activity, drug usage, murders, unsolved homicide, and this is where I am from and this is what formed and shaped me…I want to give something back to my community. I want people to acknowledge themselves and know that they are beautiful."

Habiyb Ali Shu'Aib is a Trenton, NJ based photographer who has been photographing life in Trenton since he was 9. His work is a mix of portraits of neighborhoods and portraits of people. The Covid shutdown and the Black Lives Matters marches and protests have impacted the Trenton landscape and Habiyb is processing his role as a black photographer whose work speaks both universally and journalistically about his home city. Habiyb has shown at Artworks, Roebling Wire Works, and the JKC Gallery in Trenton, and he has taught photography to young adults at Mercer County College and Artworks. Recently he was featured on a panel of photographers at the BH Photo Event Space for a discussion about Photojournalism in 2020.

https://beloved1photo.com/ https://www.instagram.com/beloved1___/

Here's an introduction and a short clip from PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf, a new show that I am producing for Sasha about some of the more existential questions that artists think about but don't always talk about. Subscribe to it on your favorite podcast service or listen to it at photowork.podbean.com.

More wonderful attendee recordings from the 2025 Chico Review with those who came to Chico to share their work and their stories with incredible reviewers. This year I recorded with over 40 attendees! I’ve also linked to the guest’s Instagram and Websites so you can see the work. And again this year, I was recording in a variety of spaces at the beautiful Chico Hot Springs resort so there may be a number of different ambient sounds across the recordings.

The Chico Review is the country’s premier Photobook Retreat. Organized by Charcoal Book Club, The Chico Review takes place over six nights at Chico Hot Springs Resort, near Livingston Montana. Sixty-four applicants will spend the week with over twenty of the most influential and creative photographers, book makers, gallerists, museum curators, and photobook publishers in the industry.

https://chicoreview.com

https://www.charcoalworkshops.com

04:25 - Sharday Swanepoel

https://www.instagram.com/shardayswanepoel

12:25 - Theo Zeal

https://www.instagram.com/theo_zeal/

19:25 - Anna Leigh Clem

http://www.annaleighclem.com

https://www.instagram.com/aapertura/

26:04 - Walter Morataya Ramirez

https://www.instagram.com/walterrr/

33:35 - Christopher Jarvis

https://www.christopherjarvis.net

https://www.instagram.com/christopher_jarvis_/

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com

"You really have to understand the times we live in and…the things that you push against are the things that make you who you are." Martin Bough is a photographer, a teacher, and a Jazz musician. He has been photographing since 1962 but that is not where this story begins. Martin is 92 years old and he was already an accomplished saxophone player and a highly skilled printing press operator before he took up the camera. Martin is a storyteller and you will not hear me very much in this episode because he has a unique way of talking about his life and how he had to live with and overcome the obstacles of neglect, racism, and exploitation for most of his life. It is a story filled with pain and anger and you will hear some of that life-long pain when Martin speaks. We also talk about Martin's connection to Fundamental Photographs, the science stock photo agency I worked at for 15 years with Kip Peticolas and Richard Megna. Martin's sons, Quavin Evans and Bonin Bough, are currently cataloging his work and you can see the start of that effort on Instagram, linked below. Special thanks go to Bonin Ventures and Executive Assistant, Vanessa Ekin for helping me with the logistics of this recording with Martin Bough. Photo ©1968 Martin Bough | Ralph Abernathy speaking at Poor People's Campaign rally in Central Park shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. https://www.instagram.com/martin_bough/ https://www.instagram.com/martinboughproject/

"I can't take that (art) with me when I am gone, but I can certainly pass the message and leave behind how important art is as a tool to get better from trauma in life and just move forward." Tamara Torres is an Afro-Latina feminist artist and community activist based in Trenton, NJ. Tamara and I were going to record last year when her work was in the JKC Gallery, but she had to jet off to two more shows, one in Chicago and another in London before we had the chance. We recorded with, guest co-host and former guest, Ryann Casey in Trenton Hall, where the gallery is located, just days before the pandemic shut-down. Tamara, Ryann, and I talk a lot about who art belongs to and the class and race structure embedded in the art world including the academic art world. We also talk about the function of art as a form of expression to deal with injustice, trauma, and grief Tamara Torres is a Afro-Latina feminist international artist and community activist based out of Trenton, N.J. Growing up in Trenton, Torres survived obstacles such as homelessness, abuse, and discrimination. Her artwork has taken up the cause of social justice for abused, disadvantage, and disenfranchised women around the globe. Torres’ artwork has been exhibited in London, Edinburgh, Rome, Milan, New York City, and throughout New Jersey. Torres’ belief is, if she can change one person’s thinking through her artwork then she has done her job as an artist.. Trigger Warning: We don't get into the specifics of the abuse that Tamara faced growing up, but we do talk a little about her father's substance abuse and about Tamara moving forward from her trauma. https://www.tamaratorresart.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tamaratorresart/ This link will make sense after you listen to the show: https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/women-in-abstract-expressionism-636611

"I can tell you stories upon stories about endless amounts of people who have come through from Roy DeCarava, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Frank, Larry Clark…all the icons of the fine art photo community…everybody…Helen Levitt and Mary Ellen Mark. Just amazing artists…my father's been in it from the beginning." Ross Kasovitz grew up around some of the most well known photographers and artists for all of his life. He is the son of Peter "Itzik" Kasovitz of K&M Camera. Ross and I talk about how he came to take over the business, how he helped transform it, and how he is working to get the business back up and running after the shut-down. Ross has some great insight into how the shut-down and social distancing will effect the downstream art businesses such as retailers, printers, and framers. We also talk about the impact on photo education and what happens with analog photography and the darkroom. Ross tells a few amazing stories from his family's relationships with some of K&M's legendary customers, including one very funny story about Joel Sternfeld. https://kmcamera.com/ Be sure to also checkout a new show by my friend and former co-host Kai McBride: Kai's Photo Topic with Ross Kasovitz and Jeff Hirsch https://lunacornua.com/camera-stores/

"My grandmother's family were all incarcerated at Minidoka, one of the WWII Japanese-American camps, and I just felt like there were few communities that stood up for them at that time and with the privilege that I have now, with being fourth generation American, I certainly can speak out on those issues that were pivotal to my own family." Emily Hanako Momohara was part of a panel talk at this year's SPE Conference titled 21st Century Family. She spoke about her work, Fruits of Labor: A Legacy of Immigration and Agriculture, which draws a connection from her own great-grandparent's history on the pineapple plantations in Hawaii to the plight of today's immigrants and migrant workers. Emily also connects her work and activism to her grandmother's incarceration at Minidoka and, as Emily will say in the show, she went from being a quiet activist to a more vocal activist because of the direction this country has taken and that she is in a position to stand up and speak for others in a way that she would have wanted communities to stand up for her grandparents and great-grandparents in their time. Emily Hanako Momohara was born in Seattle, Washington where she grew up in a mixed race family. Her work centers around issues of heritage, multiculturalism, immigration and social justice. Emily has exhibited nationally, most notably at the Japanese American National Museum in a two-person show titled Sugar|Islands. She has been a visiting artist at several residency programs including the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Headlands Center for the Arts, Fine Arts Work Center and Red Gate Gallery Beijing. In 2015, her work was included in the Chongqing Photography and Video Biennial. Emily has created socially driven billboards for For Freedoms and United Photo Industries. She lives and works in Cincinnati where she is an Associate Professor of Art at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and heads the photography major. https://ehmomohara.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ehmomohara/

"There is suddenly, in some ways, a whole new branch, a whole new subject for photography…How will notions of isolation, loneliness, communication…be addressed photographically and are those photographic subjects? " Roula Seikaly and I recorded at the SPE Conference in Houston just before everything began to be cancelled and public places were shut down. I called Roula to start the show because of all of the changes since we recorded, so there is a phone conversation at the start to check-in and then the original recording follows. Roula has been involved as a writer and curator with so many great organizations that you know and love such as Humble Arts Foundation, Hyperallergic, and Saint Lucy. We talk about her show, Portraits Without People at Axis Gallery, which was cut short by the pandemic and we talk a lot about teaching, photo history, the exhibition on cliché, Tropes Gone Wild, up now on the Humble Arts site, the community at SPE, and many more things. Roula Seikaly is the Senior Editor at Humble Arts Foundation and a writer and independent curator based in Berkley California. Her writing is featured on platforms including Aperture, Saint Lucy, Strange Fire Collective, Temporary Art Review, and SF Camerawork. She has curated exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, Triple Base Gallery, and SOMArts. Her curatorial practice addresses contemporary photography and new media, social justice efforts in contemporary art and exhibition making. She regularly contributes to print and online platforms including Hyperallergic, Photograph, BOMB, and KQED Arts. Cover Photo Credit: Preston Gannaway - Watermelons 2013 included in Portraits Without People show at Axis Gallery. https://www.prestongannaway.com/ https://www.instagram.com/redcurlsriot/ https://www.facebook.com/roula.seikaly http://axisgallery.org/home/exhibitions/portraits-without-people-juried-by-roula-seikaly/ https://www.artpractical.com/event/the-future-of-ap-art-practical-art-publishing/ http://hafny.org/ https://linktr.ee/humble

"I say that as a person who shifted from being an artist/activist to someone who has really taken the activism part of my practice and my life and put it front and center." John Freyer is an artist, activist, and Professor of Cross Disciplinary Media at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts. We met up at the Society of Photographic Education conference in Houston shortly after his panel talk titled, We Want Our Pictures Back, with Arthur Fields, Graham MacIndoe, and John. They discussed their journeys through recovery and how that impacted their photographic practices, including the depiction of people with substance use disorder and the issues of consent. John Freyer is an artist, author and educator based in Richmond Virginia. His projects include All My Life for Sale, Big Boy, Live IKEA, Free Ice Water, and Free Hot Coffee Freyer is an Associate Professor of Cross Disciplinary Media at Virginia Commonwealth University. Freyer’s practice engages accidental audiences in galleries, museums, and public spaces. He explores the role of everyday, personal objects in our lives – as commodities, fetishes, and totems and investigates how the circulation of objects and stories enrich social ties between individuals and groups. He earned his B.A. from Hamilton College and M.A. & M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. His work has been reviewed in The New Yorker, The Sunday London Times, Artforum, Print Magazine and NBC’s The Today Show. Freyer is a Fulbright Scholar, a Macdowell Colony Fellow and was an Artist in Residence at Light Work and the Fannon Center, Doha, Qatar. Freyer has brought his social practice projects – Free Ice Water and Free Hot Coffee to the TEDx stage, has exhibited at Mixed Greens Gallery in New York, the Liverpool Biennial Fringe in Liverpool, UK and was a 2018 Tate Exchange Associate at Tate Modern, London. https://www.johnfreyer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/john.d.freyer/ https://www.instagram.com/recoveryroast/ https://www.instagram.com/fotofika2020/

Matthew Leifheit | Ocean Meets the Bay "I think people are increasingly asked to choose many paths at once, so my professional practice class has been retitled, How to Become a Self-Cleaning Oven. " Matt Leifheit is a photographer, magazine editor, book editor, and publisher. He is the founder of Matte Editions which produces Matte Magazine and a growing number photo books, including Slow Morpheus by my guest co-host and friend of the show, Rachel Stern. Matt, Rachel, and I talk about Matt's latest work and future book about Fire Island which is deeply connected to gay history and culture in the United States. Matt describes this place as one in transition both physically, due to tidal changes, and culturally, because a geographically dedicated location for sexual expression is not as needed as it once was. We also talk about Matt's ideas about commitment to work and what it take to be an artist and Rachel and Matt talk about creating their new artist manifesto. https://www.matthewleifheit.com/ http://matteeditions.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mattelife/ https://www.instagram.com/matte.editions/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"When I would come up from Virginia I would go there and I would take pictures and I would be like, okay if I take a picture then he'll live until next time." Paolo Morales and I met to record at SVA during his short break from teaching at Hollins University in Roanoke Virginia. We talk about what it has been like for a New York City kid to relocate to Virginia to keep working and talk about his most recently exhibited work, The Blind Leading the Blind and Memphis Tulips, which deal with dislocation, isolation, and gentrification. We also discuss Paolo's take on his identity as an Asian American and a photographer as revealed through his work. Paolo Morales is a photographer who was born and raised in New York City and currently lives in Virginia. Exhibitions include Hamiltonian Gallery, The George Washington University, New York Asian Film Festival, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, and Capital One Bank Headquarters, among others. Residencies include Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Blue Mountain Center, and Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. He received an MFA in photography from Rhode Island School of Design and is Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Hollins University. https://www.paolomorales.com/ https://www.instagram.com/paolojmorales/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I saw the sun coming over the east, over the landscape and the farmlands and I saw this hot air balloon that was coming up, this bright red…extremely saturated red hot air balloon…and behind it was sun lighting it up from behind…I looked over at my dad and he just kept driving… " John Sanderson is a large format film photographer based in New York City. He is probably best known for his portrait-like series of mid-century diesel locomotives and his series entitled Railroad Landscapes. I met John at the reception for the Rust Belt Biennial at the Sordoni Gallery in PA. That is where I became aware of his latest work, Carbon County and the beautiful portfolio box that he published with Zatara Press. We talk a lot about this work and how it started with a residency at a ranch and finished with John going back to be the ranch photographer with his wife and their new twin boys. https://www.john-sanderson.com/ https://www.instagram.com/johnsandersonphotographer/ https://www.facebook.com/john.sanderson.nyc https://twitter.com/Largeformateer This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"Photography has been a really healing practice for me and a spiritual practice in terms of just going out and making work." Andrew Cenci is a photographer based in Louisville Kentucky. He was visiting New York last year to see the Winogrand show. Andrew works full time in marketing but he has immersed himself in and has become part of the photo community of Louisville. He is mostly self-taught and I wanted to talk to him about creating his life in photography in a smaller community of artists. We talk about the opportunities he has found in foundations and grants and the work he published in Huck Magazine on the Kentucky Derby. Andrew started out in college sports radio and then came to Louisville to study Theology, both of which still influence his work today. https://www.andrewcenci.com/ https://www.instagram.com/andrew_cenci/ https://twitter.com/Andrew_Cenci This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

Alejandro Cartagena | Ground Rules

Photographer, publisher, and curator Alejandro Cartagena joined me at the 2025 Chico Review. We talk about the many different ways in which Alejandro practices photography and how much he has embraced being and editor and curator for others. Alejandro also discusses his upcoming retrospective, Ground Rules, at SFMOMA, curated by Shana Lopes along with the accompanying book published by Aperture. The show opens in September and the book is scheduled for November.

https://alejandrocartagena.com — https://www.instagram.com/alexcartagenamex/

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com

Alejandro Cartagena, Mexican (b. 1977, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico. His projects employ landscape and portraiture as a means to examine social, urban, and environmental issues. Cartagena’s work has been exhibited internationally in more than 50 group and individual exhibitions in spaces including the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris and the CCCB in Barcelona, and his work is in the collections of several museums including the San Francisco MOMA, The J. Paul Getty Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, The MFAH in Houston, the Portland Museum of Art, The West Collection, the Coppel collection, the FEMSA Collection, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the George Eastman House and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and among others.

Cartagena has received several awards including the international Photolucida Critical Mass Book Award, the Street Photography Award in London Photo Festival, the Lente Latino Award in Chile, the Premio IILA-FotoGrafia Award in Rome and the Salon de la Fotografia of Fototeca de Nuevo Leon in Mexico among others. He has been named an International Discoveries of the FotoFest festival, a FOAM magazine TALENT and an Emerging photographer of PDN magazine. He has also been a finalist for the Aperture Portfolio Award and has been nominated for the Santa Fe Photography Prize, the Prix Pictet Prize, the Photoespaña Descubrimientos Award and the FOAM Paul Huff Award. His work has been published internationally in magazines and newspapers such as Newsweek, Nowness, Domus, the Financial Times, The New York Times, Le Monde, Stern, PDN, The New Yorker, and Wallpaper among others.

"I think we are going to need these pictures in 10 years because everybody's talking about what happened in Egypt, but no one is talking to us about what happened to us after we were kicked out of our own country." Amr Alfiky is an Egyptian award-winning documentary photographer and filmmaker based in New York City. He was studying medicine when the Egyptian revolution began. Working as a medic during the uprising, Amr was accused of aiding the enemy and served time in prison on several occasions. He was not allowed to complete his degree in medicine and had to flee Egypt and leave his family in order to avoid more prison time. During this transition from Egypt to the United States, Amr began using his phone to document his life and that work became a visual diary that was published by the New York Times Lens Blog in 2016. Since then Amr has participated in many workshops and internships in the photojournalism world and has done work for many of the major news outlets. Amr’s work documenting the Muslim American experience in the U.S. has been featured in The New York Times, Reuters, TIME, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Huffington Post and other major international publications. He is currently a frequent contributor to The New York Times and Reuters. Photo © Amr Alfiky https://www.amralfiky.com/ https://www.facebook.com/amr.alfiky https://twitter.com/alfiky_amr This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"That's the pleasure of photography, it's really just kind of daydreaming with these borders around the world and what's in and what's out." Mark Steinmetz was in town to talk about his new book Carnival, published by Stanley/Barker. In-between a talk at The Bronx Documentary Center, another one at The Penumbra Foundation, and a book signing at Dashwood Books, Mark sat down with Anna Roma and I in his tiny hotel room in Manhattan. We talk about everything from Mark's origins to photographing with Garry Winogrand, to creating a workshop with renowned photographer and his wife, Irina Rozovsky. There is a short phone conversation at the end of this episode with Mark about his fashion work and his workshop, The Humid, that he hosts with Irina. https://www.marksteinmetz.net/ https://www.thehumid.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the_humid/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I do think it's really important to help people out with as much information sharing as possible, especially when you get to a certain point in your career and you have information to share." Sasha Wolf is a curator, editor, art dealer, and most recently, the creator and editor of PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice. Sasha is also one of the most generous people in the photo world with her time and her advice, and that is a big reason for her wanting to create this book, to help photographers who feel adrift. We have an amazing conversation about putting this book together from creating the questions, to picking the photographers, and of course, to the experience of reading the responses. Sasha just also happens to represent some of the most important photographers working today, many of whom are included in this book. https://sashawolf.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sashawolfprojects/ https://aperture.org/shop/photowork-forty-photographers-on-process-and-practice Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I looked at these images and I thought, what's this about? I had very faint memories about it and so in order to sort of fill in the gaps, I wrote to people and asked them what they remembered about evacuating Beirut…I thought how am I going to make sense of this, what am I going to do with this text…" Madeline Djerejian is a fascinating artist whose work brings together photography, literature, and writing in a very unique way. Sometimes the work is the writing and sometimes the writings inform the work. The arc of Madeline's life and career has roots in the Armenian Genocide and her family's immigrant story is complicated and inspiring. We discuss two of her pieces in-depth, Letters to Simon and PRIMER (Jungle Battles) so you should click on the links attached to this episode to see the work. https://www.madelinedjerejian.com/ https://www.madelinedjerejian.com/primer-1-1 https://hoosacinstitute.com/Madeline-Djerejian https://www.instagram.com/madsmadsworld/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I had to mature to a place where I was interested in the stories…It's not just about pretty photographs…I think you need to come to a point where you have a genuine interest in what you are photographing and the stories you are trying to tell and that takes time." Matthew Abbott is a documentary photographer based in Australia. He covers social and political issues around the world but, most recently, he has been working on projects that raise awareness about Indigenous Australians. He has been on assignment and has published his work with The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Der Spiegel, just to name a few. His series, "Land Where the Crow Fly Backwards" explores the impact of global climate change and the decline of communities along the Murray Darling Basin, including the impact on the lives of the indigenous population. He was also the 1st place prize winner in the Rust Belt Biennial which included a spot on this show, although I think I would have had him on eventually anyway. https://www.matthewabbott.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/mattabbottphoto/ https://twitter.com/mattabbottphoto Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I think it's wonderland, It's a positive little bit melancholy land located nowhere. It's not political or psychological, it's more about some far, far away world in which you don't have the keys to open it easily." Ajuan Song and Kuzma Vostrikov stopped by SVA to talk about their series "Absolutely Augmented Reality." It is a continually evolving series of portraits and multimedia work that explores our how our connection to the world and each other is increasingly a digital experience driven by commercial forces. Kuzma, Ajuan, and I discuss their collaboration, how they got started, and how the project will evolve over time. We also discuss their plans for a book and a film. http://ajuansong.com/ https://www.instagram.com/songajuan/ http://www.kuzmavostrikov.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kuzmacinema/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

Liz Zito | Mueller Report Fan Fiction "I felt the way to share it with adding the redactions in, it gives you at least a beat to laugh and to kind of take a break and also think about the absurdity…of the political world that we are living in." Liz Zito is a multimedia artist and the Coordinator of Curriculum & Special Projects at the School of Visual Arts MFA Photo, Video, and Related Media. When we recorded Liz was in the middle of doing live performance readings of her piece: Mueller Report Fan Fiction with Liz Zito. It's a fantastic performance that injects humor and entertainment into a noir-style reading of the Mueller Report and it is in keeping with Liz's goal of making art that is accessible to audiences beyond the art world. https://www.instagram.com/otiz.zil/ http://lizzito.com/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

Friend and former co-host Kai McBride calls in from New Mexico to talk about the big changes in his life and to help celebrate the 100th episode of the show. Kai was the manager of the photo facilities and taught photography at Columbia University. His move is related to the passing of his father and we talk about the adjustments he is making with work, planning his future, developing a new community, and acclimating to his new 7,000 foot elevation so he can get back to his full cycling capabilities. http://www.kaimcbride.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kaimcfoto/ This episode was not recorded at the School of Visual Arts but I wanted to give the SVA MFA Photo, Video, and Related Media Program, Chaired by Charles Traub, a special mention because their sponsorship has helped me make this a much better show and having a recording home has allowed me to bring in a greater variety of guests from outside of New York City. Thank you Charles Traub, Liz Zito, Brenda Hung, and Seth Lambert.

"My work is very much about physical places and landscapes but it's' maybe more about communities and social markers that you can see in landscapes. So I was like, what's something social or community related that you could put in one of those capsules?" Ann Lepore is a multimedia artist in the in the most expansive definition of that term. She has made everything from lithographs to holograms, 3D printed amulets to animated sound experiments, she has made objects from street-interview requests and most recently, performed stand-up storytelling at a comedy club. Then there is her side hustle of consulting people and organizations on how to use tools and technology to their advantage which she presented to the hosts of Shark Tank. Ann is a great storyteller and we cover many of her fascinating projects and experiences in this episode, including acquiring lantern slides from the Metropolitan which lead to an interesting find and an entire project. From Ann's Bio: Ann LePore was raised in the garage under her father’s car and continued tinkering with analog video and kinetics in Western New York and later with computer driven electronics and animation in New York City. A New Leonardo artist and Geraldine R Dodge Foundation grant recipient, Ann has exhibited at events such as Digital Salon, the Free Biennial, and La Superette, in New York City and Internationally. She has completed residencies at Engine 27 Sound Space, the Taliesin Artist Residency Program, and was awarded a year-long studio residency at Gallery Aferro in Newark. The images and installations she creates as a result of her tinkering are heavily influenced by her experiences not just as an artist, but as a member of several communities that are defined by the physical assertions and limitations of a very specific environment. Ann received her BFA from Alfred University and her MFA from the School of Visual Arts. She is currently Associate Professor of 3D Design and Animation at Ramapo College of New Jersey. http://www.annlepore.com/ https://www.instagram.com/leporeann/ Seton Hall Show September 2019: https://library.shu.edu/walshgallery/future-exhibitions Moscow Show October 2019: The International Association of Synaesthetes, Artists, and Scientists has invited me to screen two of my animations at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory October 17th. I will be delivering a talk on transcribing synesthesia to animation October 20th at Moscow State University of Psychology and Education. With me will be neurologist Dr. Svetlana Rudenko, Ben Neil and alumna Geri Hahn.

"Rodeo is sort of this universal expression of rural culture and everybody owns it…Native Americans own it, Mexicans own it, Black folks own it, White people own it…these are American Cowboys." Ivan McClellan grew up with adversity both from outside his family and inside his family. He speaks openly about the trauma and the healing in his life, and the choices he made that took him from acting, to UX design, and to photography. His best known work is a project he calls Eight Seconds, A tribute to the American Cowboy, of which he has an expansive definition. We have a fantastic conversation about mental health, race, and life in Portland. http://eightsecs.com/ https://www.instagram.com/eightsecs/ https://theundefeated.com/features/from-navajo-nation-to-rookie-of-the-year/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

More wonderful attendee recordings from the 2025 Chico Review with those who came to Chico to share their work and their stories with incredible reviewers. This year I recorded with over 40 attendees! I’ve also linked to the guest’s Instagram and Websites so you can see the work. And again this year, I was recording in a variety of spaces at the beautiful Chico Hot Springs resort so there may be a number of different ambient sounds across the recordings.

The Chico Review is the country’s premier Photobook Retreat. Organized by Charcoal Book Club, The Chico Review takes place over six nights at Chico Hot Springs Resort, near Livingston Montana. Sixty-four applicants will spend the week with over twenty of the most influential and creative photographers, book makers, gallerists, museum curators, and photobook publishers in the industry.

https://chicoreview.com

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03:10 - Ryder Collins

https://rydercollins.com

https://www.instagram.com/streetphotographyisdead/

11:35 - Carey MacArthur

https://www.careymacarthurstudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/careymacarthur

19:30 - Richard Dachtera

https://www.richdachtera.com

https://www.instagram.com/richdachtera

26:50 - David Bowman

https://www.bowmanstudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/bowman.studio/

37:24 - Andrew Owen

https://andrewowen.tv

https://www.instagram.com/andrewowen/

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com

"I wasn't really a big fan of government when I was working as a freelancer, I was very skeptical, but when I stepped in I saw the incredible amount of work…and it was insane, and it was overwhelming…these people are doing so much work and sacrificing everything." Edwin Torres is the Deputy Digital Director for Governor Murphy's Office in New Jersey. Before that he was a staff photographer for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and before that, Edwin was a freelance photojournalist. In 2016, he was the lead photographer and contributed reporting in a Pulitzer Prize winning story with ProPublica and the New York Daily News for public service, honoring their joint investigation on abuses in the New York City Police Department’s enforcement of the nuisance abatement law.He is a member of the Bronx Photo League which is part of The Bronx Documentary Center (BDC) and is published in book titled the Jerome Avenue Worker's Project by the Bronx Documentary Center. We talk about his past and his newfound love of New Jersey and more specifically, Trenton. https://www.edwintorrespf.com/ https://www.instagram.com/edwintorresphoto/ https://www.facebook.com/edwin.torres.79827

"Our job is to keep making work that speaks both to the conflicts as they unfold and also what they are going to mean…our job is to hold our political and military leaders accountable for the decisions they make and the people they affect." Victor Blue is a documentary photographer interested in the aftermath of conflict. He believes it is not enough to just cover the conflict, but that we also need to document the consequences of the decisions and actions of our political leaders. His recent show at the Bronx Documentary Center, Cities in Dust, consisted of a series of panoramic images of the aftermath of the US led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, which Victor referred to as "broken domesticity" in the show. Victor also understands that the work he produces has to be rewarding to the reader in terms of interest and making people better informed because he is competing for your time with your job, your family and all kinds of distractions. http://www.victorblue.com/ https://www.instagram.com/victorblue/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

MFA Photography, Video, and Related Media, in collaboration with El Museo del Barrio, presents the final program in the Scheimpflug Lecture Series of the spring 2019 semester entitled The Culture of Community: A Latinx Photo Symposium. This episode is from a recording of the Latinx Photo Symposium event. The Real Photo Show was part of the early planning for the show. The show was organized by Liz Zito with discussions led by MFA grads Jordan Cruz and Carla Maldonado. The discussion was moderated by El Museo del Barrio Curator, Susanna V. Temkin and the guests were artists Veronica Sanchis Bencomo, founder of Foto-Feminas, and acclaimed artist Perla De Leon. The Culture of Community: a Latinx Photo Symposium could not be possible without the generous support of ADORAMA and GramArt, as well as the collaborative efforts of Charles Traub, Michael Chovan-Dalton, Liz Zito, Jordan Cruz, Carla Maldonado, Susanna V. Temkin and El Museo del Barrio. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Links: http://www.veronicasanchis.com/ https://foto-feminas.com/ http://www.jordancorinecruz.com/ http://www.carlamaldonado.com/ http://lizzito.com/ https://www.elmuseo.org/

"I think that the early interest in infrastructure came from riding the subway to high school everyday and standing in the front car with my friends and watching the tunnel." Stanley Greenberg stopped by to talk about his new book CODEX NEW YORK - TYPOLOGIES OF THE CITY. It's a fascinating view of New York City organized by infrastructure, topography, carved out spaces, and architectural history. Stanley walked every block of Manhattan as part of this urban catalog of New York. We talk about how the work started and the discoveries along the way and we will talk about how Stanley got started and how his politics influence his work. https://www.stanleygreenberg.org/ https://www.instagram.com/stanleygreenberg/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I think they see themselves as a second family, a found family, a supportive family and they're young in a way where they are exploring the world and seeing things for the first time, it's very exciting, it's intoxicating…" Michael Joseph was in town for his solo exhibition "Lost and Found" at Daniel Cooney Fine Art Gallery. Michael has some amazing stories about how the "Travelers" work took shape and about the connections he made along the way. We spend a good amount of time talking about one of the more well known Travelers, Knuckles, and how Knuckles' journey gave Michael a deeper understanding of who the Travelers are. Michael’s work “Lost and Found” has been featured on Vice.com and CNN.com. He has been exhibited nationally, most recently at Daniel Cooney Fine Art, (New York, NY) and the Aperture Gallery (New York, NY). He has lectured for Amy Arbus at the International Center of Photography (New York, NY) in portraiture classes at the New England School of Photography (Boston, MA) and taught at the Light Factory (Charlotte, NC). http://www.michaeljosephphotographics.com/ https://www.instagram.com/michaeljosephphoto/ https://www.instagram.com/wildwestoftheeast/ https://www.facebook.com/michaeljphotographics/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

Sasha Waters-Freyer is a documentary filmmaker and Chair of the Department of Photography and Film at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her film, Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable, has been getting a lot of press and great reviews and it just aired on PBS American Masters. Sasha and I catch up on the success of the film, her awards, and what it took to get it made and the decisions that went into how it was edited and cut. We also talk about her Special Jury Prize for best feminist reconsideration of a male artist from SXSW and what that means. https://www.pieshake.com/ https://www.winograndthefilm.com/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"…I'm able to share a story in a small part of American on a large scale and that's not me, per say, that's the story of this culture that's been so overlooked and I feel really thankful that…I've been accepted and I've been able to photograph it…" Rory Doyle, Nicole Craine (Everyday Rural America, Ep.74) and I talk about his award winning Delta Hill Riders photo essay. Rory was in town for portfolio reviews and we talk about the difficulty of getting work outside of the major media parts of the country, which is a large part of the mission of Nicole's Everyday Rural America. We also talk about the responsibility of representing communities that you are not inherently a part of and how you work in those communities with respect. After this recording, Rory was awarded the 2019 Zeiss Photography Award and the 2019 Smithsonian Photo Contest Grand Prize. https://www.rorydoylephoto.com/ https://www.instagram.com/rorydoylephoto/ https://www.facebook.com/rorydvt https://twitter.com/rorydoylephoto This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I feed off of other people, that's really how I teach, I love teaching this way. I like to improvise, I like to go by what is needed." Anja Hitzenberger and I talk about photography, food, Mozart balls, and her new online venture, StrudelmediaLive, where she sometimes teaches from a mountaintop. Anja Hitzenberger is a photographer and video artist whose work focuses on the body and its relationship to architecture and space, as well as themes relating to food and how people eat. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows, as well as at film festivals and on theater stages throughout Europe, the United States, South America and Asia, and published internationally in magazines and books. She is the founder of StrudelmediaLIVE, which offers live online interactive photography courses for students participating from locations around the world. She has received numerous art grants and has completed residencies in Rome, Paris, Warsaw and Beijing. She is on the faculty at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, where she teaches personal vision classes. Originally from Salzburg, Austria, she divides her time between New York and Vienna, Austria. http://anjahitzenberger.com/ https://strudelmedialive.com/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

Aaron Turner started @photogsofcolor on Twitter to promote Photographers of Color and we talk about that back on episode 50, but now this social media idea is becoming an actual Center for Photographers of Color at the University of Arkansas. We talk about all of the amazing changes and successes for Aaron in this half-frame episode of Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton. https://www.aaronturnerphotography.com/ https://www.instagram.com/aturn_arkdelta/ https://twitter.com/AaronRTurner_ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"We spent a lot of time visiting architectural sites when I was a kid…I really grew up with a kind of 6th sense about buildings, about architecture, and about how architectural space creates a kind of narrative and I've been able to take that and translate that into my photographic practice." Andrew L. Moore took some time after teaching his graduate class at the School of Visual Arts to talk about his work. He is probably best known for his books, Detroit Disassembled and Dirt Meridian and we have a pretty intense discussion about what was wrong with the critique of photographing ruins, known as "Ruin Porn." We have a lovely conversation about Andrew's first mentor, Emmet Gowin, and we will also talk about the influence of architecture and the importance of writing which is all very connected to Andrew's work. Andrew will be the juror for the upcoming Rust Belt Biennial. Check the link below to find out more. https://andrewlmoore.com/ https://www.rustbeltbiennial.com/ This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

Photographer Daniel Arnold joined me at the 2025 Chico Review. We discussed how photography became a compulsion and a means of connection, transforming his life and leading him to leave his writing job at Nickelodeon. Additionally, we talk about Daniel’s approach to assignment work and how his photo addiction has evolved over the years.

https://www.secondname.agency/photographers/daniel-arnold/portfolio_/ |||
https://www.instagram.com/arnold_daniel

This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photo-book library today at: https://charcoalbookclub.com |||
https://www.chicoreview.com

Daniel Arnold's work is deeply human, with a sense of intrigue and humor that breathes fresh air into an age of extreme curation and editing. With a dynamic and versatile voice, he has covered everything from home births to high fashion, from the Met Gala to the 2016 campaign trail and multiple inaugurations. Arnold began his career documenting the streets of New York City with an innate curiosity and a wry smile that quickly gained him a cult following and frequent collaborations with the New York Times and Vogue. In 2022, he was profiled by the New Yorker in conjunction with the release of "Pickpocket," a collaborative monograph compiled by the Safdie Brothers' Elara Press. His odd, enduring photos can also be found in art galleries around the world. Arnold is based in New York.

Yoav Friedlander and Niko J. Kallianiotis call in to talk about their open call exhibition, Rust Belt Biennial. We talk about the logistics of putting together this ambitious exhibition and the leaps of faith you have to make when doing something like this for the first time. We also talk about their desire to change the narrative or the perceptions people have of the rust belt because of the politicization of the media coverage. On a more personal note, the top prize winner chosen by photographer Andrew L. Moore will also be a guest on the Real Photo Show. Find out more about how to apply for the show at: https://www.rustbeltbiennial.com/

In this half frame episode I catch up with Lissa Rivera and BJ Lillis (ep.51) to talk about their successes with the Beautiful Boy exhibition and how there is more work to come, but there was so much more to talk about as well. Lissa has just organized the first U.S. museum exhibition of Leonor Fini, the Argentinine-Italian surrealist artist, at the Museum of Sex and BJ is busy learning Dutch to help him translate his doctoral work on cultural and interethnic contact in the colonial Hudson valley. Lissa also makes a correction to something we spoke about in episode 51. Links: http://www.lissarivera.com/ https://www.museumofsex.com/ https://www.instagram.com/orkinpod/ https://www.instagram.com/lissa_rivera_/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"Ended up going on a six month road trip from Toronto to Los Angeles…all through the south…living in a van…lived in that total for a year, but six months on the road for a photo trip" Katie Sadie started out as a fashion photographer but quickly realized she wanted more out of the work she was making. She sold off her studio equipment to pay for a 6 month road trip through the American South ending in Los Angeles. She traded studio backdrops for rolls of 120 film, bought a Pentax 6x7 off of Craigslist and purchased a van that she lived and traveled in for about a year. We also have a pretty intense conversation about a photo project she started with her mother who lives with schizophrenia. In just 3 years after restarting her photo career, Katie was a winner of the 2017 Magenta Foundation Emerging Photographer Competition, did a residency at a naturists colony, had that work published in True North Photo Journal, and more work published in Float Magazine, and Aint-Bad, and she was hired to document the production of holiday films for A&E/Lifetime. Katie was visiting New York to meet with photo editors when we recorded this show. Links https://www.katiesadie.com/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB