#107: Backwards To Go Forwards

This week, a big discussion about creativity – sometimes you need to put down the todo list and just focus on making the work that makes you happy and let the chips fall where they may. Also, some thoughts from Picasso on why you shouldn’t compromise in your art. Diane Arbus is our Photographer of the Week. Please help us grow the show by sharing this with your friends.

This week’s assignment on the On Taking Pictures Google+ Community: #magichour
How the Father of Claymation Lost His Company
John Mayer: Someday I’ll Fly – YouTube
Picasso on Success and Why You Should Never Compromise in Your Art | Brain Pickings
The Paradox of Art as Work – NYTimes.com
the show: 02-05-07 – zefrank
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story (2009) – IMDb
The Crooked Path – The Art of Jeff Wall | Ideas with Paul Kennedy | CBC Radio
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Photographer of the Week

Diane Arbus – Wikipedia
DIANE ARBUS – THE PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK
Masters of Photography – Diane Arbus (Documentary, 1972) – YouTube
Don’t Look Away: Diane Arbus

Books We Recommend

Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph: Fortieth-Anniversary Edition
Diane Arbus Revelations

#106: The Story Is In The Risk

This week, a new book from photographer Danny Lyon sparks a great discussion about intent and we unpack the idea of creating a body of work versus living your way through it. We also ask the question: “Is art a part of our lives or are our lives a part of some greater art?” Jeff Wall is our Photographer of the Week. Please help us grow the show by sharing it with your friends via Twitter or Facebook.

Review of The Seventh Dog by Danny Lyon on Faded + Blurred
Spec Sheet: the wildest ideas about smartphone cameras | The Verge
Magic Lantern
Was It Worth Getting Arrested for National Geographic Cover Story Photos?
Amazon Technologies Granted a Patent in Lighting Techniques
In Defense of Insanely Expensive Pencils
Drone ban at Yosemite appears legally questionable | Ars Technica
In pictures: The 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest – Telegraph
The Perfect Exposure Gallery | Rinzi Ruiz
Rinzi Ruiz Photography
Artist’s Statements of the Old Masters

Photographer of the Week

Jeff Wall – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeff Wall: “I begin by not photographing” – YouTube
The Crooked Path – The Art of Jeff Wall | Ideas with Paul Kennedy | CBC Radio

#105: More of the Crazy Juice

On the heels of Paris Photo, this week we’re talking about inspiration and how art is too often priced for collectors, rather than fans. Is taking great pictures enough to be a great photographer? Also, making art doesn’t always have to be a painful experience. Plus, Art Kane is our Photographer of the Week.

On Taking Pictures – Community – Google+
Too Much Inspiration: Paris Photo Los Angeles – Faded + Blurred
Writing Wednesdays: Can Writing Be Taught?
KPCS: Bobcat Goldthwait #189 – YouTube
The Elephant in the Room — Medium
The land that inspired Andrew Wyeth – The Washington Post
Andy Warhol Floppy Disk Recovery White Paper
Photographer Takes Stunning Surreal Photos With An Old $50 Film Camera
One Foot In A Dream: Oleg Oprisco

Photographer of the Week

Art Kane – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Art Kane photos from Snap Galleries
ART KANE Pictures from a Visionary Photographer

#104: Happy Doing What You’re Doing Right Now

This week, we discuss experience versus results and how process sometimes trumps outcome. Also, do photographers, particularly photojournalists, have a responsibility to filter what not to show? A listener question about placing a value on our work – why is it so difficult? Carl van Vechten is our Photographer of the Week.

On Taking Pictures – Community – Google+
Paris Photo Los Angeles
9/11 – The Falling Man – YouTube
Lytro changed photography. Now can it get anyone to care?
How The Hell Did This Man Fit 3,000 People in One Photo?

This Week’s Sponsor

Sponsored by Squarespace Use the coupon code FIRSTCAMERA at checkout to save 10% on your order.

Photographer of the Week

Carl Van Vechten’s Harlem Photographs : The New Yorker
Carl Van Vechten’s Portraits | Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Carl Van Vechten – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

#103: A Lifetime of Rehearsal

This week, we discuss obsession as both a motivator and a meditation and whether or not photography might be just one big performance. Also, do you worry about what you’re not shooting as much as what you are? Plus, living for your resume vs. your eulogy. Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus is our Photographer of the Week.

Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould on Netflix
Meet The Photographer Who Will Save Us From Art World Snobbery
David Foster Wallace on Charlie Rose
David Brooks: Should you live for your résumé … or your eulogy? | TED.com
Another Photographer Just Made $10K-Plus With An Instagram Flash Sale – Forbes
Straight Outta Chevy Chase – Radiolab
Adobe launches Lightroom for iPad: Connect
Hands on with the Pentax 645Z: Digital Photography Review
Sample Images?645Z | RICOH IMAGING

Photographer of the Week

Anja Niedringhaus
Anja Niedringhaus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Human Side Of War: Anja Niedringhaus – Faded + Blurred

#102: Rigging the Roulette Wheel

Big Q&A show this week as we attempt to tackle some of your questions from the Google+ Community. We got some great questions on process, intent and even the business side of creativity. Danny Lyon is our Photographer of the Week.

Deke’s Techniques 303: A Totally Serious Photoshop Workflow | dekeOnline
Photoshop-Circle-of-Life.jpg (1024×735)
Photoshop Tool Palette Progression
It’s Bliss: behind the iconic Windows XP photo – Digital Cameras: SLR & Compact Cameras
Bliss photo with WRX
No more X-PRO1S… all R&D placed into the X-PRO2! | Fuji RumorsFuji Rumors
Bill Wadman Telling A Story – Christmas 1999 – YouTube
The Beauty Of Things Born Again: Sebastião Salgado | Faded + Blurred

Photographer of the Week

Danny Lyon – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Magnum Photos
Danny Lyon: The World Is Not My Home

Books We Recommend

The Seventh Dog
Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement
Like a Thief’s Dream

#101: Cookie Cutter Wisdom

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 Photographer of the Week.

On Taking Pictures – Community – Google+
YANSS Podcast – Episode Five – The Authenticity Hoax « You Are Not So Smart
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield on Amazon
New York hotel offers to live-tweet your wedding – for $3,000 | Digital Trends
Stunning Photo Series Highlights The Beauty Of Black Dogs That Are Often Overlooked In Adoption
Black Dogs Project
The Mystery of the ‘Only Camera to Come Back from the Moon’ | Motherboard
Alan Bean Art, Alan Bean Astronaut, Alan Bean Moonwalker, Alan Bean Paintings
Rinzi Ruiz photography
New55 FILM by Bob Crowley — Kickstarter

This Week’s Sponsor

Sponsored by Squarespace Use the coupon code FIRSTCAMERA at checkout to save 10% on your order.

Photographer of the Week

Lee Friedlander | Fraenkel Gallery
MoMA | The Collection | Lee Friedlander (American, born 1934)

Books We Recommend

Friedlander
Lee Friedlander: Self Portrait
Lee Friedlander: Mannequin

#100: Discovering Something New

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.

On Taking Pictures Intro Compilation – MP3 On Taking Pictures Intro Compilation – YouTube Facebook Is Ending the Free Ride The beautiful invasion: Sponsorship and Instagram Kim Kardashian & Kanye West Cover Vogue April 2014 Scott’s suicide reveals tragic side of city’s glitzy scene Jaron Lanier: The Internet destroyed the middle class Photographer Swallows 35mm Film, Allows Digestive Fluids To Create Astounding Images The only camera to make it to the moon and back sells at auction for $910,000

This Week’s Sponsors

Freshbooks Tell them On Taking Pictures sent you when you sign up and get 60 days for free! HostGator Use offer code PICTURES for 30% off your order.

Photographer of the Week

Erwin Blumenfeld – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Home | Erwin Blumenfeld Erwin Blumenfeld on Pinterest

Books We Recommend

Erwin Blumenfeld (Stern Fotographie Portfolio) (English and German Edition) Erwin Blumenfeld (Editions Hazan) Erwin Blumenfeld – Studio Blumenfeld Erwin Blumenfeld (Phaidon 55′s)

#99: Authenticity Complex

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.

Capa In Color [Review] – Faded + Blurred
What Is a Photograph? | International Center of Photography
NPPA gives Humanitarian Award to photojournalist Al Diaz
Miami Photojournalist Al Diaz, Photography, Miami photographer | Al Diaz
Rocker Jack White – Serious Jibber-Jabber with Conan O’Brien – YouTube
IT MIGHT GET LOUD | Sony Pictures Classics
“It Might Get Loud” on Amazon Streaming
18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently
Calumet Photo in the US Officially Declares Bankruptcy, Gave Employees Zero Notice

This Week’s Sponsor

Sponsored by Squarespace Use the coupon codeREFINEYOURVISION at checkout to save 10% on your order.

Photographer of the Week

Young Model’s Shocking Terry Richardson Story Sparks a #NoMoreTerry Boycott
Terry Richardson posts on HuffPo

#98: Signal to Noise

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.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Paris as Muse
Award-Winning Photo Tells Us More About The Syria Crisis Than Any Statistic Can
The world’s largest photo service just made its pictures free to use | The Verge
Beyond the Frame
Steven Soderbergh’s State Of Cinema Talk – Deadline.com
“Leica Photography” Is Dead. Leica Killed It. | Leicaphilia
‘Upskirt’ Photos Legal In Massachusetts, Says Court
‘Upskirt’ ban in Massachusetts signed into law – CNN.com
Infographic-1920-1200-01.jpg (1920×1200)
Report Finds Art Ranking Poorly as Investment Compared to Other Collectibles
This Photographer Just Made $15K In One Day On Instagram
Daniel Arnold on Instagram

This Week’s Sponsor

HostGator Use offer code PICTURES for 30% off your order

Photographer of the Week

Lewis Hine | Shorpy Historical Photo Archive
Addie Card: Search For An Amemic Little Spinner, Chapter One