Thoughts on Photography
Thoughts on Photography is a podcast not about tips and tricks, how to take better portraits or landscapes, or travel destinations (although they may be mentioned). It’s not so much about the how of photography, more so about the why! It’s inspired by where photography begins for us – the stories and how people are using photography in their lives around the world today.
Julio De Matos is based in Portugal and I first got to know of Julio's work through his book "Fading Hutongs" which are photos of hutongs taken in China and through that work, I came to discover other significant bodies of work. Incidentally, "Fading Hutongs" was one of my favorite books of 2008.

Part of Julio’s initial work deals with and explores interconnections using alternative photographic processes. His later work, while on the surface, could be labeled travel photography, goes deeper into social commentary in the documentarian tradition by raising awareness of the survival and extinction of ancestral cultures.

Julio’s most recent work is closer to home and explores the influence of Brazilian architecture on the architecture of Portugal as well as the confluence of digital interventions in the landscape and subsequent print. Julio’s photography has been widely exhibited and he has had several books of his work published. I find exploring Julio’s work like peeling an onion with many layers, each one more revealing.

Direct download: TOP-0069.mp3
Category:interview -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

Shane Lavalette is a recent graduate with a BFA from Tufts University in partnership with The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Shane writes extensively about photography through his photo-related blog where he focuses primarily on fine art photography and issues concerning contemporary photographic practice. He features individual photographers, books, exhibitions and interviews. Shane is also the founder and editor of Lay Flat, a new print publication of contemporary photography and writing that uses an innovative magazine format for the articles and actual prints of the featured photographs.

Shane, who's personal photographic work has been well received through various exhibitions and awards, represents a new breed of young photographers who are putting as much an emphasis on the contributions they can make to the field of photography as on their own personal work.
Direct download: TOP-0068.mp3
Category:interview -- posted at: 8:55pm EDT

In this podcast, I discuss what to do when you have already achieved a certain level of success with your photography (particularly through juried exhibitions) and are wondering what do to and where to go next with the marketing of your work.
Direct download: TOP-0067.mp3
Category:marketing -- posted at: 2:47pm EDT

Like many photographers, Natalie Young didn't start out with the intention of becoming a photographer but rather, photography found her. She left a career in finance, married a musician and began living the photographic life. After photographing on her husband's family farm, Young eventually realized that she had not only a body of work but had work that could feed her artistically. As with the farm series, Young's approach to photography is usually a reflection of personal life and it is this approach that has given her the success she now enjoys with her photography.
Direct download: TOP-0066.mp3
Category:interview -- posted at: 12:00am EDT