Episódios
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This episode and Photomuse is on the importance of the work of Magnum's longest serving photographer, Ian Berry and, in particular, his 1978 book, The English.
I also outline my hope for a review of English documentary photography about the English. Ian Berry's work has inspired me to attempt to start a conversation about the need for a new look at the value and unique properties of the work of English documentary photography.
Recording note - I taped this monologue on my phone. I think the quality is ok. I'd be very pleased to hear what you think about this as it certainly speeds up the process!
As ever I welcome your thoughts and comments. Please contact me at [email protected].
I hope you enjoy this episode.
Alex
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Luke Archer is the editor of Loupe Magazine, a printed photography zine which "showcases outstanding images and engaging projects" and is distributed free through various stockists of which Flow Photographic is proudly one.
I was fascinated to understand how such a high quality and free magazine could come into being in a world dominated by commercialism and the cult of celebrity. Here is a magazine that offers a quiet discourse on photography in a way that is missing from many of the mainstream offerings in print and online.
Luke goes into his background and generously offers up factors that have driven him and the other people dedicated to the Loupe project to produce a magazine that punches way above its class in the plethora of photographic publications available.
Loupe also engages with Instagram in an innovative way, using it to bring submitted work to a wider audience.
Issue 6 is just out - at the time of posting - and you can find copies at any of the stockists listed on their site or check out their Instagram.
Loupemage.com
Insta @loupemage
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes – and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of Photographica podcasts or printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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This conversation between me, Alex Schneideman, and Professor Greg Currie is a discussion about the edges of reality and how that concerns photography and image making.
Greg Currie is Professor of Philosophy and Head of Research at York University. The conversation was inspired by another podcast (Philosophy Bites) in which Greg talked about the nature of film, addressing questions about perception and time in relation to the movies.
I was thrilled that Greg agreed to the recording. I write about ideas and the philosophy of photography every month in B+W Photography Magazine so it was a chance to present some ideas to a man who is ideally suited to engage with them.
Greg’s patience with me is awesome and his authority is underlined by the way he engaged calmly with me in what must have been a trying hour for him!
Please listen and let me know if anything occurs to you as a result.
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes – and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of Photographica podcasts or printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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This episode is a conversation between me, Alex Schneideman, and Jonathan Teplitzky, the director of many movies including, Better than Sex, Gettin' Square, Burning Man, The Railway Man and 2017 released Churchill. His TV work includes Broadchurch, Marcello and the upcoming Shakspeare series, Will. Jonathan has directed actors including Timothy Spall, Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Brian Cox, Olivia Coleman and David Tennant.
We discuss how a love of photography led Teplitzky to make movies. Our discussions are wide ranging and involve quite a lot of swearing.
Jonathan is Australian but has lived on and off in the UK for over thirty years.
You can follow Jonathan on Instagram @jteplitzky
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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This episode takes offers a new view of the relevance of the so-called 'decisive moment' to contemporary photography.
Ever since Henri Cartier Bresson coined the term to mean that there is moment when all things come together to capture the essence of a particular situation photographers have been drawn, like moths to a naked bulb, to the beauty of the images that HCB printed as proof of his assertion.
Documentary (or street) photography has come a long way since then and in this episode I seek to update the 'master' famous epithet, drawing us away from that light and on to others that shed more light on the time in which we live.
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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In this new Photomuse I walk down Portobello ruminating on the issues of the day; I talk about
The unsettling effect of Trump The risk to the area world in Britain's exit from Europe The Cambrian explosion of photographic practise Against pigeonholing The importance of joy to the creation of art A new way to exhibit photography designed to affect the viewer viscerallyPlease get in touch with alex at [email protected] or @schneideman331 on twitter.
Please forgive occasionally poor delivery - I've got a lot on my mind...
Thanks for listening...
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This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 194
This piece is all about the over emphasis on the benefits of perfection in photography.
Photography is a medium that lends itself to perfectionism - ever better options and technology mean that aberrations and imperfections will be 'optional' in the not so distant future. But what effect does this have on the medium's ability to convey the kernel of our humanity? Do ever sharper pictures with perfectly rendered tones lead us to a sense of truth or away from that and into a world where 'values' have moral supremacy?
If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 193.
This article is all about the importance of a sense of purpose to photographic projects. I argue that it is not enough just put out a few pictures and hope that people 'connect'. Rather that the photographer must nail his or her reputation to each project and dig deep to provide an urgent reason why anyone else should spend time in the company of their photographs.
If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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Another stroll down Portobello Road on a Friday afternoon with Alex Schneideman. On his mind this week are:
The role of photographers and artists in the new hard-right mainstream political landscape.
The problems of engaging with the Turner Prize. A minor road rage incident. Buddhism and self sticks.Please get in touch with alex at [email protected] or @schneideman331 on twitter.
Please forgive occasionally poor delivery - I've got a lot on my mind...
Thanks for listening...
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This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 192.
It questions the value of sharpness as a goal in photography and offers new ways to view photography in a world that values 'high definition' above many other qualities.
If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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In which your host muses and rambles (simultaneously) down Portobello Road with a hangover draped around his shoulders. Still, between waves of nausea some interesting raw material is mined from the sodden peat of Alex's exhausted brain.
Have a listen...
Oh and don't forget to rate us at iTunes...
Thanks,
Alex
flowphotographic.com
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This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 191.
It concerns the relationship between photographers and their cameras.
You can see a fully illustrated transcript of this article on my blog. Click here.
If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.
Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.
If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at [email protected] or visit the Flow Photographic website.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!
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THIS IS AN EDITED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL PODCAST - MUCH REDUCED IN LENGTH BY CUTTING OUT ALL THE EXTRANEOUS CONTENT. NOW ITS JUST THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION...
On July 8th 2016 I travelled to Oxford to meet Paddy Summerfield in the house he has lived in since he was 18 months old and, more particularly, the house that served as backdrop to his 2014 masterpiece 'Mother and Father' (published by Dewi Lewis).
Paddy and his partner Patricia Baker-Cassidy live in an Edwardian villa in Oxford's Summertown where they work together to bring a lifetime of photography to the surface.
This year Dewi Lewis has published another collection of Paddy's work, 'The Oxford Pictures 1968-1978' which are a languorous and sexually charged examination of loneliness and self discovery. Paddy has always shot on 35mm and the images in this book are exquisitely reproduced from scans and printed at the legendary EBS printers in Italy which were also the printers of my book, 'Want More' in 2015.
This conversation is easily the longest I have published but it is necessarily so because Paddy is engaging on the subject of photography and candid when he talks about life in general. He is a true photographer in that his life is defined by the images he makes. His energy and ambition to keep publishing his extensive work comes from a desire to represent his world and not, as is often the case, from the ego.
Please take time to listen to the piece; listen to it win tranches if necessary, as it really is worth the effort.
Alex Schneideman July 2016
All images © Alex Schneideman, 2016
Links
New York Times T Magazine
Photomonitor
CPM Conscientious Photography Magazine
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Listen in stereo as I take a second walk down a very sunny Portobello Road. This time I was thinking about:
Chimping and the new screenless Leica MD, affectation and self imposed perfectionism. Harry Gruyaert. Jolyon Fenwick and his pictures of WW1 battlefields, 'ZERO HOUR'and an amazing busker...
Don't forget to get in touch with me at [email protected] or checkout flowphotographic.com to learn about our work printing photography at FLOW.
Thanks,
Alex
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This piece appears in the June edition of Black and White Photography magazine. The magazine have very kindly allowed me to record my monthly column, Thinking Photography, for the PHOTOGRAPHICA podcast.
Please checkout more info at the podcast page on my new website, flowphotographic.com.
TRANSCRIPT B+W190 THINKING PHOTOGRAPHY
ON CONTEXT
ˈkɒntɛkst/
noun
the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood.
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To give your work context is to give it meaning to the wider world. Without context our work may seem irrelevant. With context our images connect to the intricate dynamic of human experience enabling people to form a bond with it. The purpose of this piece is to focus on a consideration that we all know to be true, is not often discussed and can have a great impact on our photographic legacy.
In my last article I spoke of the creation of art as being the act of bringing attention to the abstract. This is a good way to start looking at the concept of context; in observing something and making an exposure you have effectively placed your subject in its own context – one that has meaning for you. This initial personal contextualisation gives the impetus required for the photographer to capture the image and give him or her the reason to commit to it. Let's say this is called 'primary context'. At this stage all sorts of nuances, details and fluctuations of meaning are either consciously or subconsciously known by its originator.
Now a selection of images is made perhaps for an exhibition, a book or entering into a competition. At this stage ‘secondary contextualisation’ is required. As your images transfer from the private world of their inception and selection to the public world of arbitrary engagement those qualities and ideas in your work will be lost unless you can elicit some control over how they are viewed.
The viewing public do not have the visual acuity, time or inclination to engage with your images as you would wish so you must help them by controlling the environment in which your work is seen. The key here is to concentrate the viewer’s gaze on your work without distraction. This needs to be done both practically and conceptually. A frame is a ‘practical’ conxtextualising tool Here the border allows the elements of the image to live in their own world – a world defined and delineated as something different but the wooden surround. A secondary or ‘conceptual’ context can be described by imagining the power of a solo show at the Tate versus the display of some work in a village hall. The same pictures may be exhibited but to different effect by leveraging gravity by association.
These suggestions are all vital aspects of placing your work in the right ‘light’, perspective or context. This is a report from the front line of working with photographers over many years but it is not exhaustive. The craft of placing your work in the right context might come to you instinctively or not. It doesn’t matter – context is essential when it comes to generating the most effect from showing your work. Context is relevance. It can’t be put simpler than that. Ignore it at your peril.
Here are some observations made during my time printing for photographers all over the world. I’ve had a chance to examine success and failure at close hand and these notes reflect some of the lessons I’ve learned.
ONLINE
It is too easy to show your images to many people. Flickr, Facebook, Instagram and the like all make the exposition of your work almost automatic. But, unless your pictures are connected to an event or cause, these media are disastrous for preserving the gap between the metaphysic truth of your images and the prosaic mess of the world around them. Your work needs space – space to make its own case. It is much better to use these media to bring people to your own website.
WEBSITES
Picture editors and curators have told my so many times that websites need to fulfill only two functions; clear visibility of images and ease of navigation. That’s it. A website does not need to be pretty – simply functional allowing the work to ‘speak’.
GROUP VERSUS SOLO SHOWS
When showing prints avoid group shows – they do nobody’s work any favours. Instead commit to your images and find a space where they can be shown on their own. Group exhibitions have the benefit of bringing more people in to view your work and they can be effective for people starting out but they are messy, prone to compromise and have the effect of degrading the power of your work especially when your work is adjacent to a weaker display. The aforementioned ‘village hall’ is a better environment to display your work than risking contamination by acquaintance with poor images.
PRESENTATION
Framing is over considered. You cannot reinvent photography with a stunning frame. Keep it simple and make all your pictures the same size so that the viewer can ‘tune out’ the ancillary details and concentrate on the actual images.
iPads are great for casually showing your work but we automatically devalue the work on show because screen images are so pervasive in our visual lives.
Hanging pictures is crucial to their impact. Poor hanging will reduce the power of your exhibition by a huge amount. Make sure that frames are neat and clean and hung so that they are dead straight. Failure to do this makes you look like an amateur (I mean this in the pejorative sense!). Neat hanging is more important than correct exposure for the purposes of connecting with viewers.
PORTFOLIOS
A set of prints in a clamshell portfolio box is endures as a good way to show your work. Allow wide borders (go up a paper size to incorporate this) and you get the double benefit of being able to handle prints (matte paper cleans up very well – direct message me and I’ll tell you how) and the separation from the environment that every good shot deserves.
CURATING A SELECTION
Loose a third. Some of my clients refer to the process of selection as ‘drowning your babies’ – a horrific term but one that sums up the process well. Your final selection should hurt. There will be loved pictures left behind because they weaken the ‘whole’.
Agree or disagree? Let me know at @schneideman331 or email me at [email protected]
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WHY PHOTOGRAPHY AT ALL? 1st column from BLACK + WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE
This is the first of of a regular series which are audio versions of my new monthly column, 'Thinking Photography' which appears in BLACK + WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.
Every month I take apart, unpack and dissect various ideas about the nature of photography. My column is fairly short and straight to the point.
Each article is illustrated by some of my photographs.
This article is from May's edition of B+WP and it is looks at the drive to create and therefore to photograph.
As ever, please let me know what you think.
Alex
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Aileen O'Sullivan represents a double first for Photographica. She is the first woman to feature and she is NOT a stills photographer. Rather Aileen is a veteran director and producer from New Zealand who has worked both sides of the truth line, i.e. she has directed drama as well as hard factual documentaries as well as other work that lands somewhere in between.
I really wanted to make a recording with Aileen because, although, she isn't strictly speaking, a photographer her desire to tell a story using a camera is relevant to the work of stills photographers and I thought I might learn something from this alternative perspective. I was right - Aileen talks intelligently and with great experience about what to takes to develop and follow a story. She is an artist first foremost and our conversation touched on every aspect of what it takes to go to the heart of a story.
Aileen directed the highly acclaimed 'Black Grace' which follows a contemporary indigenous New Zealand dance company on its way to glory in America. Please take a look also at seannachie.com which is Aileen's own website.
And please remember to rate Photographica and visit the website at ASPrinting.net
Thanks for listening,
Alex
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Form London to New York, LA and Manchester plus points in-between James Mooney connects with marginal youth groups to discover the story behind the prejudice.
NOTE - I used the word 'gangs' before and James very quickly asked me to change that pejorative word because it causes so much harm to young people. The term we came up with together is 'marginal' or 'marginalised youth' as this better describes these young people's relationship to society.
James comes from a tough district of Dublin where he grew up with a choice; too join or not to join, that was the question. Now James lives between NYC and London and has made connections with gangs all over the world into which he has gained unprecedented access.
Trust is crucial to Mooney's work and when you listen to him taking about his photography it won't surprise you that he breeds trust wherever he goes. Indeed, when he came into my studio I was immediately intrigued by this softly spoken Irishman and wanted to know more. A big ego would not get you very far in the world of young men who live beyond the normal.
Another facet of Mooney's relationship to his work is that he is incredibly modest about it. The only way you can see his images (at the moment) is through his Instagram, 'pointshootthink'.
Please listen in full to this fascinating discourse on a man's quest to make sense of young people, their alienation and culture.
Thanks,
Alex
AS PRINTING
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This episode of Photographica Podcast is about a recent visit to the refugee camp in Calais known as 'The Jungle'.
I went there with the writer, Tom Blass, and our objective was to discover more for ourselves about the crisis that is unfolding just a few miles from our shores.
This podcast is a description of the trip and the problems facing photographers getting access when restrictive regimes are in place. It is also about the way that the way you, as a photographer, connect to the environment in which you find yourself, defines that kind of work you do.
Lastly, something I didn't mention in the podcast; the role of colour in describing a scene. When I started to look at the pictures that I had shot in the camp I converted some to black and white. Doing this seemed a travesty against the telling of the story of what I had witnessed. I learned the lesson that colour is necessary when trying to depict a scene where the details matter. It is if lesser importance that colour rendition is subjective than to show as much detail as possible of a space that requires serious human contemplation.
You can see more of the pictures at www.alexschneideman.net
If you are affected by the crisis and would like to help please contact Help for Refugees who are supporting people in Calais and other migrant centres.
Thanks for listening,
Alex
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I'VE LIVED A THOUSAND LIVES
One bright September morning in 2001 Heathcliff O'Malley was preparing to spend another day among the catwalks of New York Fashion Week for the Daily Telegraph. His phone rang. It was his editor in London saying that reports were coming in about a plane strike on one of the Twin Towers. This call changed the course Heathcliff's life was to take for the next 5 years. From that moment he was engaged in a story which lead from Ground Zero to Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.
Heathcliff O'Malley has been a contract photographer at the Daily Telegraph for 19 years. He has covered everything from fashion shows to conflict. He has won numerous press awards and given talks at London's Frontline Club.
In this Photographica Podcast Heathcliff talks movingly and fascinatingly about his work. He describes in details the life of a photographer covering conflicts, the highs and the deep lows. With almost two decades of time spent photographing the world's conflict zones as well as royal weddings, catwalks and sporting events he offers many wonderful insights into the life of a photojournalist.
ABOUT HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY - Heathcliff O'Malley is a photojournalist based in the United Kingdom where he lives with his family and has a long standing contract with the Daily Telegraph . He has travelled worldwide throughout the Americas, Middle East, Europe and Asia, covering Reportage, Portraiture, Fashion and Corporate assignments
Prior to this Heathcliff assisted a number of photographers including the catwalk photographer Chris Moore before moving on to a London based news agency.
Heathcliff's Editorial work has been published in publications as diverse as National Geographic, Nouvel Observateur, Le Monde and the Guardian to name a few . He received an Award in the Photographer of the Year category of the Picture Editor's Guild Awards in 2001 for his work covering the Genoa G8 Summit, 911 and the subsequent War in Afghanistan.
In 2007 Heathcliff gave a talk and slideshow presentation of his work at the Frontline Club in London focusing on the aftermath of 911 and the War on Terror which he has covered from it's beginning until the present day.
He also appeared with a panel of war reporters during a "Talkback" session with an audience after the showing of Hollywood actor Tim Robbins "Embedded" play at the Riverside Studio's in 2004.
In 2010 Heathcliff won a Press Photographer's Year award for a video he shot in Helmand province whilst embedded with the Coldstream Guards.
info taken from Heathcliff's site heathcliffomalley.photoshelter.com
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