On Taking Pictures

This week, what is the purpose of your work? What does it mean to live with purpose? Is purpose a necessary component to making good work? Also, the web is filled with reviews of everything you can imagine, but how do you know the unbiased ones from the affiliates and who do you trust? Gus Peterson is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment:...

This week, we discuss the work of photographer Chris Killip, whose photographs of Northern England from the 1970s and 1980s manage to embody the spirit of the people as well as the landscape. Who are some of your favorite photographers who perfectly capture the feel or the energy of a particular time and place? We also talk about David Hockney, from the perspective of his ability to constantly exp...

We begin this week with a little tech talk around monitors. Is 4K the way to go, or is an ultrawide 1080 the better play? In the end it’s just pixels, but most photographers want as many as they can get. We also talk about elevating photography into an art form, exemplified by the career of John Szarkowski, an iconic photo curator who recently passed away. Plus, what makes a portrait? Robert Freem...

This week, a listener asks for advice on how to fund a print project, which leads us on a discussion around potential solutions as well as options for compromise on what the end product looks like — something anyone who has made anything will likely be able to relate to. Also, a few stories that re-open the discussion around copyright and what a slippery slope it can be to navigate on both sides o...

This week, we discuss the possibilities of stepping outside our comfort zones. Sometimes, the beginning of a project seems too far out of reach — maybe even more than we can handle — but we find that the sweet spot in the Venn diagram between challenge and uncertainty is exactly what we need to take the work somewhere it couldn’t have gotten to any other way. Also, where have all the Renaissance m...

This week, for all of the “improvements” in the creative tools we use — specifically around software — have they really gotten noticeably better? Faster, yes. But are we more productive and is the work we produce better because of the tools or is it something else? Also, nepotism might get you in the door, but it doesn’t keep you in the game. Plus, should an artist be allowed to destroy his or her...

This week, we’re talking about inherited meaning, specifically related to last week’s discussion around using tintype to capture older blues musicians and how that process seemed to “fit” the subject matter. Does the process give the photographs more meaning? Is the fact that they are actual tintypes “better” than if a similar effect had been achieved with a preset or a filter? Also, a terrific st...

This week, a discussion around long term projects, inspired by the work and career of Ed Gold, a photographer who often spends years on a single body of work. Also, art and politics have had a long shared history, but has the current political climate allowed art to cross the line? Plus, choosing the right medium for the job and advice on printing your images. Khadia Saye is our Photographer of th...

This week, we discuss what happens when the results of a project just don’t seem to match the effort we put into making it. Is “giving your best shot” really good enough? Also, a follow up on a previous discussion on how certain places seem to enable or at least play a part in what we make in them. Wolfgang Suschitzky is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: On Taking Pictures - Go...

This week, what happens when machines learn enough to not only sort pictures, but make them? Is creativity just an algorithm after all? Also, a discussion around self-publishing using a cookbook as an example as well as a reader who’s life was changed by it. Michael Wolf is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #RandomDoubleExposure macOS...

This week, we begin with a talk about the idea of obsolescence, from the perspective of tools and hardware that for seemingly arbitrary reasons are no longer able to be used. Also, a discussion around being on (or off) a roll creatively and how sometimes you can’t see the crest from the dip. Plus, does Instagram have a secret hashtag #blacklist? Ty Cole is our Photographer of the Week. Links for t...

This week, a brief discussion around depression after the tragic loss of Chris Cornell leads us into a discussion of Basquiat and the recent sale that put him at the top of the heap of American artists (at least in terms of dollars paid for a single piece). Also, do your tools or creative spaces imbue you with superpowers? Should we expect them to? Plus, Greg Heisler of light and color. Photojourn...

This week, a discussion around music producers leads to wondering if the same producer-artist relationship to be productive for photographers. Would bringing in an outside - yet trusted - set of eyes help newer, better work emerge? Also, where does criticism come into play? Do you post wanting unsolicited feedback or do you look for honest critique from only a select few. Plus, a couple listener e...

This week, we discuss the value of surrounding yourself with different types of creative people and how happy accidents can end up sending you in a new direction. Also, stop trying to be different — find your tennis ball and just get to work. Plus, a terrific story about a group of young people embracing documentary photography. Norman Parkinson is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this epis...

This week, how do you know when you’ve found your voice and aren’t simply emulating someone else? Also, have cameras become less like creative tools and more like computers that take pictures? Plus, a major museum clashes with Instagram over what is and isn’t art. Louise Lawler is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #collection Rabbit ra...

Welcome to OTP year six! This week, are better and better cameras taking the craft out of photography, or does not having to worry about the technical free us to concentrate on the artistic? Is there more long term value in keeping your kit simple? Also, a listener question has us discussing how to figure out what comes next after a large or long-term project. Plus, sometimes we lose sight of our...

This week, we’re doing our best to answer your photo questions, which range from the technical to the obscure, from dream camera setup to whether or not you need an agent (spoiler: it depends). This episode marks the end of five years of OTP and we couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you for continuing to take an hour and a half or so out of your week to join us. We love doing the show and are lookin...

This week, tutorials, gear reviews, benchmarks and ratings. If everyone is an Expert, who do you trust? Ultimately, you need to use the tools and advice that works for you, regardless of what They say. Also, we geek out a little over video cards and the importance of being able to upgrade your rig. Plus, our Photographer of the Week, Joel-Peter Witkin, inspires a discussion that wonderfully illust...

This week, what’s the most iconic nude photo you’ve ever seen? Now, think about what makes it iconic. The human form is a blank canvas, but depending on how it’s lit, posed or seen by the artist, the resulting representation can be either beautiful or disturbing, art or porn. What’s takes it one way or the other? Also, we talk about when “official” portraits are just bad portraits. Plus, would you...

This week, a followup to our depression discussion from a couple episodes ago and a letter from a listener. Despite how it sometimes feels, you’re not alone. It’s dark sometimes - really dark - but it’s not empty. We, along with countless listeners, have been there. Call us, email us, post in the group or talk to a family member or a friend. Make things. Share work. Every day, every picture is a c...

This week, prompted by a listener email, we talk about taking “those” photos that have been taken a million times before and why you should or shouldn't take your version. Also, a discussion around being open to the process and giving yourself permission to play, regardless of whether or not all the pieces are in place. Paul Outerbridge is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this episode: Thre...

This week, we discuss the paralyzing power of depression via a story of a Chinese photographer called Ren Hang, who recently took his own life. Also, a quick roundup of some of our current favorite photo apps. Plus, we tease a couple articles to discuss next week around the creative process of artists like Beck, Tom Waits and Kendrick Lamar as well as the value of immersion via Chrissie Hynde. Lau...

This week, we’re starting out with a discussion around craft, inspired in part by the terrific Netflix series, Abstract. Also, we talk about two extremes of making work - at one end, we cite John Free and his 10 year photo essay project talking to people in the train yards in Los Angeles. On the other end, is the recent pop-up display of images and contact sheets from Robert Frank’s The Americans...

This week, we respond to a couple listener emails — one involves questions around valuing work and the other is a followup to last week’s discussion around barriers. Also, what do you expect when you post your work online? Are you looking for constructive criticism, likes or is it just a vehicle for sharing what you make? Magnum photographer Eli Reed is our Photographer of the Week. Links for this...

This week, an email from a listener sparks a discussion about shipping - specifically around our own expectations over what comes next. This leads us into a broader discussion around self image, privilege and fears - both real and imagined. Also, is an MFA in photography a good idea? Plus, we got lots of terrific phone calls from you and want more. Keep them coming! Herbert Randall is our Photogra...