On Taking Pictures

This week, we discuss authenticity - is the quest for authenticity real or just a hoax perpetuated by hipsters and organic farmers? Also, thoughts on Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art - realizing what you are and getting down to business. Could this book be a good candidate for a group discussion? Plus, Lee Friedlander is our PotW. Links for this episode: On Taking Pictures - Community - Google+...

Episode 100! Thank you so much for coming along with us each week. This week, we discuss how a place can (and should) get under your skin to help fuel creativity. Also, is technology killing creativity and prosperity? Would you pay real money to increase your social media reach? Facebook thinks so. Plus, fashion photographer Erwin Blumenfeld is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode:...

For this last double-digit episode, we talk about the entitlement of an artistic life. Should society reward creativity? Also, more on the seemingly endless question of whether social media works or is simply a distraction. Plus, we question whether photography has to be good to be important with our Photographer of the Week, Terry Richardson. Links for this episode: Capa In Color [Review] - Faded...

Big show this week as we take a look at some of the latest art and photography news and how the stories may affect making a living as a creative. Content may be the new black, but who really wins if all of it is free? With no roadmap to navigate, we raise more questions than answers. How do you find your way? Lewis Hine is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: The Metropolitan Muse...

This week, we talk about how technology is affecting branding and marketing. With so much noise and so many choices, how do you know what works? Also, can your future self be your present hero? Plus, transformation - how much is enough? Fantastic dance photographer Barbara Morgan is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: Twitter / TheEllenShow: If only Bradley's arm was longer....

Is your photography business your own? We discuss one interesting case where the answer was no. We also talk about image, not the one you’re making but the one you’re living, which helps set the stage for next week’s discussion on branding. Plus, surf photographer Mickey Smith on a present worth remembering and UK photographer Thurston Hopkins is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episod...

This week, when is enough really enough? How do you know when it’s time to make subtle corrections versus charting an entirely new course? We also discuss the potential of collaboration and how narrative is changing the way we view photography. Portrait photographer Brett Walker is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: 8x10 Experiment Results - All 25 — Bill Wadman, photographer [E...

This week is a Q&A show where we take a bunch of listener questions and try to answer them without sounding like idiots. But first, do you miss the good ol’ days of analog? We discuss Bill’s recent (and expensive) foray into large-format film on an 8x10 portrait shoot. Photographer, professor and MacArthur Fellow An-My Lê is our Photographer of the week. Links for this episode: One in 8 Millio...

This week, we discuss the little voice - the gnawing (knowing) inside all of us that pushes us forward. How do you choose what to listen to and what to dismiss? Where do you draw the line between what you can do and what you will do? Plus, where has the mystique around photography gone? Ormond Gigli is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: Apple - Thirty Years of Mac - “1.24.14” Fi...

This week, we chime in on a recent NY Times article that questions the new definition of photography. Should using a camera somewhere in the process be a prerequisite to calling something a photograph? Are curators simply throwing stuff at the wall and hoping that Art is the only thing that sticks? We also discuss a listener email that centers around the flood of tutorials and techniques available...

This week, a discussion about The Secret Life of Walter Mitty gets us talking about art, specifically whether or not we tend to romanticize the life and work of the artist (spoiler: Penn should have taken the shot!). Also, with so many resources available, how do we step away from the learning and get down to doing? Our photographer of the Week, Duane Michals make brilliant use of mixed media and...

This week, we go further down the rabbit hole of Mentorship and discuss our most important mentors as well as what type of mentor each of us could benefit from now. We also talk about how AI may affect or even remove the choices we make in the not-too-distant future via the film Her. Brilliant architectural photographer Julius Schulman is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: Why H...

For the first episode of 2014, we discuss how the tools that we use shape the way we use them. We also talk about the photographer/subject relationship and discuss how to better connect with the people you are photographing, which may even inspire Bill to take on a new project. Master vs. Mentor - one is about status while the other is about a relationship. Stephen Shore is our Photographer of the...

For the last episode of OTP in 2013, we discuss looking back to look forward. We look not at creating resolutions as much as mantras, concepts to drive us ahead and allow some wiggle room for the things that don’t work out exactly the way you think they will. Also, we look at ways to refine/expand the OTP G+ Group, which has now crossed 800! Iconic photojournalist Steve McCurry is our Photographer...

This week is all about you, the listeners, as we try to answer some of the questions you’ve asked via email, twitter and the Google+ group. We also talk through some camera and photo related news. Conceptual portrait slash fashion photographer, Miss Aniela is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: Yogaglo Patent Issued | Yoga International Vivian Maier Photographer | Official websit...

This week, Bill’s recent musical interlude inspires a discussion around how embarrassment and fear can paralyze us, more than just creatively. Also, the practice of practice and who owns your likeness and for how long? Iconic fashion shooter Mario Testino is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: TEN – Craft & Vision EPIC DRAGON "Instant: The Story of Polaroid" on Amaz...

This week, we talk about projects, specifically long-term projects and how the full value of them (on both sides) often isn’t fully realized until you’re well down the timeline. Also, who decides what art is important, or even good for that matter? Should “good art” (whatever that means) define the current culture or reflect it? Plus, 19th century French photographer Charles Marville is our Photog...

This week, we remember icon Saul Leiter and discuss not only legacy but intent and what it means to live and create with purpose. Who gets to decide what work (if any) is important? Plus, we talk a little about tools, including the new crop of 4K displays on the horizon. Ethnologist and photographer of the American West and of Native American peoples Edward Curtis is our PotW. Links for this episo...

This week, we gear out a little (just a little) and talk about light, specifically the subtleties and how much they may or may not affect your end product. Also, we talk about funding projects. Should you pony up the cash, or is crowd-funding a possible solution? Plus, user-suggested Photographer of the Week, portrait shooter Martin Schoeller. Links for this episode: At The World’s Margins: Paul S...

This week, should exceptional talent be a gift or a chore? Does what you do have to feed your soul to be important, or is just doing the work enough? Also, when are too many options not a good thing? Plus, we discuss the new documentary “Everybody Street” and Tim Flach is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: Bruce Springsteen - Wings For Wheels - The Making of Born To Run Born to...

This week, thank yous and follow up to last week’s episode. How do we decide what we do and don’t want creatively? Is a hard-coded trajectory helpful, or merely another distraction you need to adhere to? Also, we talk about an interesting article by Kirk Tuck and a really great interview with our Photographer of the Week, Walker Evans. Links for this episode: The Graying Of Traditional Photography...

This week, synchronicity and the beauty of moments. Bill recaps his whirlwind trip to Italy and we discuss why seeing art in person is better than seeing it through a viewfinder. Model turned photographer, Lee Miller is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: J.B. Camera Designs How the Fuji X-series made me feel inadequate | Tokyo Photographer Irwin Wong | Editorial, Corporate, Comm...

This week, the importance of heroes and how being inspired by one can make you feel like a kid again. Also, are you shooting for the present or for posterity? Plus, we talk about an interesting performance art piece and the intention behind it. Greg Heisler’s former boss, Arnold Newman, is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: New York City police arrest artist who created drone sa...

This week, we tackle some great questions from you, the listeners, about topics ranging from personal and professional goals to social media and where we find inspiration outside of photography. We also try to find the line between art and porn. Plus, National Geographic wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: My Portrait Subject Wish List Rise a...

This week, we talk about the creative work we do and why we do it. What draws you to the art you make: love or fear? Where does social media fit into the new “sharing” (read:free) economy? Plus, iconic photojournalist W. Eugene Smith is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: David Byrne: 'The internet will suck all creative content out of the world' | Music | The Guardian...