My View Finder - How Photographers Approach Photography

The continuation of our last chat. Recorded at the Calgary Central Library podcast recording studio. Edited with help from the AI Transcribe function of Adobe Premiere Pro. Brought to you by Alvin and my disdain for any rules, planning, or structure. We'll be sure to ask Chat GPT to give us a script for the next episode.

Another long break and another catch up episode. This time Alvin and I find ourselves in the recording booth at the Calgary Central Library. The summer's been busy. And we have put together two conversations for you. This first is just a reflection on... well... a summer of actually making photographs... Imagine that.

What happens when 2 guests can't make it and Alvin and I are left on the mics with no direction? What happens when life prevents a quick post-process turn around? This. This is what happens. We're going to talk about Diane Arbus and Contemporary Calgary. We're going to talk exploitation and purer pursuits. We're going to explore what about Calgary is preventing Dave from taking out his camera. And...

We are joined by Danny Luong award-winning photographer here in Calgary. Just because we can, we focus on what we know about fine art commerce and inevitably about our communist-leaning sense that there's just something off about capitalist speculation in art. And in general. Did we solve free market capitalism? You're f'ing right we did! We have a slow and uneven publishing schedule but we're wor...

David went to Toronto for his grandmother's funeral. As a photographer. Alvin was a photographer for his uncle's funeral a few years back. How does one separate themselves as a process and as a family member. And when our family isn't doing well, are we one or the other first? Or both? This week's episode is the two of us trying to figure that out. If you're interested in becoming part of the conv...

So after a long break we're back. This season's goal: bring on co-host Alvin Paringit, build a Discord channel, and just riff on Photography in general. Where do we start? How about the realization that both of us aren't sure we actually LIKE photography in the first place. No sponsors (for now) so let's get into it! If you're still on this channel - thanks for your patience and reach out. We're l...

Here's a 52 episode conclusion. We'll call this Season 1. With it I'm going to take a hiatus to reassess how to continue this project. I've learned a great deal from all my guests. The main take away here is that I probably think too much and that I need to get out more. It's a meandering final 15 minutes but if you're still out there this is the end! For now. You can find my work at www.davidyoun...

This week's guest is Soloman Chiniquay documentarian photographer, film maker, and as I'm about to learn, a very wise young man. He lets me into his experiences growing up in a reserve in Morley and how hard it was to get out and build himself as an artist. He had great role models in his mother and grandfather which is reflected in his work to bring his experiences and successes back to his peopl...

This week's guest is Soloman Chiniquay documentarian photographer, film maker, and as I'm about to learn, a very wise young man. He lets me into his experiences growing up in a reserve in Morley and how hard it was to get out and build himself as an artist. He had great role models in his mother and grandfather which is reflected in his work to bring his experiences and successes back to his peopl...

This week I sit down with Ashley Nixon . We close out our chat with some final insights from Ashley. His approach is not about taking pictures. It’s about putting together stories and narratives that reflect his social principals. Heritage and community. Across cultures. Across generations. Here’s the conclusion of my chat with Ashely Nixon.  *** My View Finder is proud member of the Alberta Podca...

This week I sit down with Ashley Nixon . Ashley holds a PhD in Ecology and has worked in education, research, as well as in the private sector.  More relevant to us, he has been working a camera since his youth - primarily focusing on building narratives about the environment, culture and social change. His work brought him around the world where he ultimately connected with the native cultures in...

Last week we met Stefan Strangman and learned about how his focus and work in photo journalism comes with awareness of both the positive and negative impacts images have on the public discourse. This week we wrap up our talk with some musings of his personal projects and staying passionate in a field that can be pretty draining. Frankly I don’t think this is restricted to journalism or photography...

This week I sit down with Stefan Strangman, writer and freelance photojournalist . I wanted to find out how journalism is taught and practiced, You know, to challenge my own cynical bias that it’s twisted in its nature. Stefan shares with me his own journey becoming a journalist and how his own practice centres around a strong sense of ethics and personal beliefs. He explains that both through his...

Here in the second part of my talk with Jennifer Sanford we talk about art’s role in politics and directing the public’s attention to important issues. I also yell a lot about Meaghan Markle. But I think it’s an interesting juxtaposition. The media has the power to make any story a focal point. Add on the wide reaching power of social media without any research or citation and we have a recipe for...

This week I’ve asked Jennifer Sanford to join me. While not a professional photographer, Jennifer is a political and PR consultant with her own podcast called Conservative Like Me . I asked her to talk to me because a) she’s been a guest and collaborator on my other podcast Kyle and Dave vs The Machine and she’s smart and well read; and b) because she “quote unquote” leans to the right politically...

This week we meet Angela Boehm . Angela is a documentarian photographer based here in Calgary who started with building a photography project at home with her teenage kids which then evolved into projects documenting different cultures and most recently a project documenting the forests around us . How do we know if we’re building images that show our subjects in their best light? There is, of cou...

This week we meet Angela Boehm . Angela is a documentarian photographer based here in Calgary who started with building a photography project at home with her teenage kids which then evolved into projects documenting different cultures and most recently a project documenting the forests around us . How did she start her journey? Has she been taking pictures her whole life? If you looked at her por...

Art is often associated with mental health. Usually in some dramatic and brutal way. Think of the phrase: suffering for one’s art. Part 2 of my talk with Kristofer Schofield focuses on his relationship with the prairies; how his photographs become self portraits of his mental health; how seeking help through art, therapy, or medication is not a cure all. Rather, they are ways to hold off the extre...

Art is often associated with mental health. Usually in some dramatic and brutal way. Think of the phrase: suffering for one’s art. But sometimes it’s related in a sense of therapy, coping, self discovery. Today I sit down with Kristofer Schofield to talk about the latter. And perhaps the first one too. We discuss how his struggles with his mental health line up with his approach to photography. An...

Rocio Graham is a Mexican /Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Mohkinstsis/Calgary. Her work is influenced by her cultural heritage, personal experience with trauma and reflections on life cycles. She explores the landscape from a body engagement perspective where labour, mysticism, and temporality merge. She is currently a peer residency coordinator for the Alberta University of the Arts S...

Rocio Graham is a Mexican /Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Mohkinstsis/Calgary. Her work is influenced by her cultural heritage, personal experience with trauma and reflections on life cycles. She explores the landscape from a body engagement perspective where labour, mysticism, and temporality merge. She is currently a peer residency coordinator for the Alberta University of the Arts S...

This week I had the pleasure of talking to Greg Gerla . In this episode Greg explains what he believes is a crucial relationship for a photographer. There are three pieces. The photographer themselves. The subject. And the viewer. He explains that once art is put into a public place, the artist bears the responsibility to hear and be open to it's affect on others - whether they like what they hear...

This week I had the pleasure of talking to Greg Gerla . Greg is a commercial and fine art photographer here in Calgary. I met Greg a few times over the last few years at several of his shows but this is the first time we’ve been able to sit down and actually meet. And what a conversation we had! In this, the first part of our conversation, I learn of his balanced approach to the craft. How commerc...

Today’s guest is Eric Donovan - Professor of Astrophysics at University of Calgary and photographer! In today’s episode I continue my chat with Eric Donovan. As a scientist, Eric’s had a variety of life experiences that have framed a pretty interesting relationship with the world. We’ll discuss how humans interact with each other through social fictions; we’ll get his thoughts on the aurora - Eric...

Today’s guest is Eric Donovan - Professor of Astrophysics at University of Calgary and photographer! In this, the first part of 2 talks, we’re going to talk about the intersection between art and science and how creativity is required. There’s a thought that science and math are cold, calculating, and robotic. Eric believes the opposite is true - that living emotionally is key to our success. Poly...