Photography Chat with Merlin

After taking a year off to regroup the chat is back and we are kicking it off with the awesome Lauren aka @coolperolike on the instagram. She is a rad photographer and human in the Bay Area, but I will let her speak for her self :) " hi i’m lo! i don’t know how to talk about myself so i guess i’ll start with i’m a photographer and i shoot everything from instant photos to large format to super...

Matthew s a wicked awesome cat, so much fun to chat it out with him. He shared how he got started with film photography and his connection to skateboarding with it. We talked about punk music and going to live shows. He shared how he get involved with Filmphotographic and his involvement with Our City which was a cool exhibition. Then we finished off with being old but still rocking skate style ha...

I am so glad to have finally connected with  @irisxsagitta  she is so rad to chat with. She shared with us how she got started with photography. Then we got into social media and the relationships that we have with different platforms. From there we got into the intention of shooting, the importance of the tangible, and creating images just for yourself. We got into film stocks and then Polaroid....

We’ve been talking about having Juan of  @beersandcameras  on the chat for a while now and we were finally able to make it happen. He talked to us about his recent trip to Germany to see the Leica HQ during the new M6 launch. We got into how Beers & Cameras got started and what the future looks like for the group. We talked about male domination in the photography world and about how we can br...

I have not laughed so much in a while, chatting with  @maxsprkplg  tonight was so rad. Mario is such a chill dude and his talent for camera-building is incredible. We talked a little bit about my trip down to the states for Polacon. We also got into what was fun about Polacon for both of us and some of the moments we shared there. We got into a bunch of silly movie remake ideas and then he schoole...

Oh boy did we ever have an animated chat tonight. We talked about the new Leica M6 release, shooting instant film, fav alcohols, Jesus, baby Hitler and time machines, why malt liquor is for kids, and cameras that fuck. It was nice to catch up with Abel after spending so much time in person with him over the last couple of months. Looking forward to more hangs and adventures in the future. ‘Instant...

What a rad time chatting with one of the sweetest boys from  @sweetboysuniversity  Ethan is a real mensch and a super interesting cat. A real renaissance man of the ’20s. We talked about stuff all over the map, from his work on ultra-large format cameras to his work on 3D printing all kinds of things. Check out his page for more cool things. "Ethan Moses is the stable genius behind Cameradacty...

Such a rad time chatting it out with Jason in his studio. We talked about his latest exhibition in San Diego ah  @plnu  that is running until November. We got into who inspires him and what kind of work he has planned. We got onto talking about making books and chatted about  @filmphotographic  and his upcoming Leica show in London in 2023. Alberta showed us some of her artwork and will be taking...

The state of the emulsion panel for Polacon 7 was dope. So nice to hang out with all these folks again in Denton. Some technical difficulties but we got through it all. I haven't seen some folks since 2019 so it was nice to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. Polacon is a yearly celebration of Instant Film that happens in a few cities across North America.

It took a while but it was incredible to have  @r.barbee  on the chat. Such rad energy and is a great storyteller. He talked about how he got into photography and shared some of his stories about going pro and his love of Ilford (and Kodak too). We got into his music and he shared some of his fav pedals and what musicians have inspired him. He talked to us about which photographers have inspired h...

It was a lot of fun to have  @ianazariah  in the studio today. He told us about his journey into photography and his adventures into tin type. Shared with us his stories about photography from his childhood and how it has influenced him and about his analog photo booths that he has peppered around Vancouver. Really looking forward to chatting more with him in the future and checking out his Tin Ty...

@studio.c41  was a real treat to have on the chat. It was super rad to hear his story of how he got started and his adventures with his podcast. We talked about the magic of the Kodak factory and then we got into the state of the film world. He educated me on Fuji Film and showed me how to show them a little bit more love. Talked about the film community and getting started with film and what thos...

@reit_angle  was so much fun to have on the chat. We got into some really deep interesting talks about social issues, and community. She told us about how she got started in photography and her love of Polaroid. We had a really great conversation about the way our world is and how we would like to see it improve. I am glad that people like Casey exist in the world, it gives some hope. I really loo...

Brisa is a real gem and it was so nice to chat it out with her for a while. We talked about her life as a veterinarian and got into why cats are better than dogs :p She shared with us how she ended up in San Francisco and how she got into photography. We chatted about all of the rad photography and instant film communities in the Bay Area, so much activity there and so many great photographers. Go...

I enjoyed getting to know  @nickcollingwoodvintage  more this evening. He talked about how he got started in school doing animation and through some adventures with Polaroid and 35mm he found his way into photography. Talked with us about his experiences falling down the rabbit hole of the film community in NYC and what that experience has been like getting to know different people and places like...

@czuckermann  is an interesting cat, I always appreciate sharing some time with him, and boy did we ever go on some tangents tonight. We talked about cults, grace, joy, and the human experience. Some chats around childhood trauma and some personal stories from both of us.  @zennawong  joined us and he talked about how they started  @zuckermannwong  and some of their experiences. It was so rad to h...

Rona brain be damned we had a fun episode tonight chatting it out with  @travis_cannady  the creator of  @betteroffzine  and all-around film wizard. He shared how he got started with film and his experiences being a living dip dunk machine processing films for lots of folks in Northern California. We got into aspects of social media, what's been going on with Instagram, and some thoughts aroun...

Chatting it out with  @jamieswick  was a lot of fun. She shared with us her immense love, of Polaroid, the medium, the cameras, and the community. Jamie is a fellow die hard believer of the Polaroid medium. She shared with us some of her aging tricks to get certain results from Polaroid film. She shared with us about some of her upcoming projects, one of them being a book. So give her a follow and...

Talking with  @thepolaroidjay  made me really miss the Bay Area. Such a rad dude that is part of so many great film communities in the Bay Area. He shared with us how he got into Polaroids and some of his more memorable moments. We talked about Polacon and the radness involved with that community and he shared his love of Pizza with us. Quality time with a quality human this evening, hope y’all ha...

It was pretty hilarious hanging out with  @zennawong  in the studio. Her better half  @czuckermann  of  @zuckermannwong  wasn’t able to make it today so we will have to do a follow-up episode with him later. Thanks to a couple of  @topochicohardseltzerca  things got a little weird today. We did talk about some photography stuff but also cartoons, how to pronounce words, and other random things. We...

It might be time to check out the mid-west again. Hanging with  @ryan_akerberg  this evening was a lot of fun. We talked about what got him started, turned out we have a common thread in our photographic inspirations. We got into some pretty deep stuff, it was nice getting to know Ryan more and hear about how he see’s the world. Hopefully this fall we will be able to catch up at PolaCon in Denton....

It was nice to finally chat with  @minwoo.films  we’ve been trying to get together since I moved down to the lower mainland in 2021. He’s freshly graduated and getting to work on his career in the film industry but he is still making time for film photography. We talked about road tripping, the amazing food options in Vancouver, aspects of Korea, and how awesome it is to drive a car in Langley. Lo...

Melissa was such a fun guest, she was born into photography as her father was a photographer and got her started early. She does rad street photography and is also an accomplished boudoir photographer. It was really cool to her about her practice and how she interacts with her clients. We went on a bit of a tangent on the amazing food to be had in Toronto and how many cool places there are to shoo...

A big thank you to Henri for inviting us into his space and sharing his stories. He talked about how he got started with photography and we dove into a few of his man books. He talked about Flapjacks & Photographs, Canada’s Gigantic, Big Stories, Babyland, and Eraser Street. He also showed us his postcard set for the Pancanadienne Gianthropological Survey which was 18 postcards from 1973 to 19...

Chatting with  @andyo7  tonight made me really miss Denton. Can’t wait to make it down this September for the next  @instantfilmsociety  PolaCon. Andy share with us his inception story into the photo world involving his father Minolta and he shared with us a few of his cameras. We got off into a tangent about microphones and then ride-sharing apps before we circled back into the realm of photo cha...