The Depth Of Field Podcast

This is a rebroadcast of an interview I did originally in Dec 2009.  I speak with Chris Orwig, a past instructor at the Brooks Institute of Photography, author and renown portrait photographer about his book Visual Poetry, his approach to teaching students, why we need to “slow down,” and what we can do to become better photographers. Chris is one of the wisest persons I know. The guy has an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He also has an amazing memory for quotes. Sounds silly, till you spend time with him and you get, “That reminds me of a quote by…” a few dozen times. I think this fits well with his gift of wisdom and thirst for knowledge. Chris is yet another gentleman photographer. Enjoy. Please visit his website HERE.  Check out his new book titled "Authentic Portraits: Searching for Soul, Significance, and Depth" at Amazon.com.  

Damien Lovegrove is a treasure trove of both photographic and business knowledge. With years of photographic commercial and wedding work under his belt, this knowledge is all field tested by real life. I feel fortunate that he took an hour out of his busy schedule to share some of this insight with us. To say Damien is easy to talk with would be an understatement. He is flowing with wisdom, ideas, encouragement and more. Damien is considered by many to be one of the world's most influential contemporary photographers. These days he is best known for creating portraits that make women look amazing. Damien is known for his lighting style picture composition. If you don't believe me check out his website, Lovegrove Photography and you will soon be convinced. He is also a fellow Fujifilm X-Photographer and ambassador. He has shot exclusively with Fuji cameras since May 2012. Damien shoots around 1,000 frames a week. He says if he doesn't shoot that much in a week he starts to feel like he is going backwards. Yet,

Every year after our workshop in India, Piet Van den Eynde and I spend an hour or so talking about this years new Fujifilm gear. Because we do it in the field it sometimes becomes difficult to find a good location to record these discussions. It is India after all, things are noisy. One year we even made a tent out of blankets and recorded the show under it. Not to worry, this years was a breeze. Piet and I only had to deal with noisy bellhops and stray dogs, all of this served as a background to an amazing hour of looking at the latest gear from Fujifilm. For this episode we invited camera geek and photographer Rene Debar, host of the Fuji Xtras blog to help us with our yearly overview. One of the first topics we discuses is our workshop in India and what we did during the 10 days traveling India. The last couple of years we have been doing more and more off camera flash work. This year, we hosted an exclusive group of alumni workshop participants and we did even more flash work. We brought with us two Jinbe

I had the pleasure of working with Dan Carr online many years ago when we wrote for the same photo website. He seemed like a great guy to know then and after this interview I can say for sure he is. Dan is a Brit who has transplanted himself to Canada. He shoots a wide variety of subjects so it’s difficult to peg him into one genre. But he is best known for his adventure and ski photography. Dan also operates a photography educational site called Shutter Muse where he writes about everything from the business aspects of the industry to location guides from around the world. Dan has many informative eBooks at Shutter Muse as well. In this episode we talk about how he started and his journey. Dan is full of great advice and stories that even the newest photographer will find helpful. Follow through these services: Website: dancarrphotography.com Ski Site: theskiphotographer.com Instagram: instagram.com/dancarrphoto Twitter: @dancarrphoto Facebook: facebook.com/dancarrphoto Google+: +DanCarr Photo Muse (eBooks):

Piper Mackay represents the dream of so many photographers out there. She was working a successful career and gave it up to follow her new found passion of photography. Her career was in the fashion industry and the area of photography that captivated her was wildlife and later cultural work. In this interview we look at how she did her own, "Great Migration". Piper speaks openly and honestly about her fears and her doubts. Did she make a mistake to follow her passion. Will she make it in the field of wildlife photography when other more experienced photographers she respects tell her she is nuts to enter. Join Piper Mackay and I talk about her journey and her struggles. This will be an encouraging shot in the arm if you are a struggling photographer. It doesn't matter if you are an enthusiast or a professional, there is nuggets in this hour that will make you say, I really can do this!

David Bergman is one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet. He is humble, unassuming and crazy good at what he does. David has 13 Sports Illustrated cover to his credit. He has photographed 6 presidents and numerous big name celebrities. If that wasn't enough he is the personal photographer for Bon Jovi. He is also known for his work with the Gigapan, the pano gear that enabled him to shoot the inauguration of President Obama and that has garnered over 30 million views! In this episode of Depth of Field we speak with David about his work and his views of what it takes to be a success. We talk about what’s the point of what you are shooting or why are you shooting what you shoot? What’s your attitude like? Do people want you around? What’s separates you from all the other photographers out there? Remember, we have a new feed on iTunes and we need your ratings and comments. By rating us you help put us in front of many more listeners. If you want to comment right on the timeline of the podcast, listen in on Soundc

Timothy Allen is an English photographer and filmmaker best known for his work with isolated cultures and people around the world. He shot into the public light with his work on the BBC documentary series, Human Planet. This show took an unexpected turn during the interview. I had thought we would be talking all about travel and some great adventure stories from the road. Not so much. What we got was some amazing advice on business and marketing from a very successful photographer. This interview is rich! I love doing this show for just this reason. Incredible insight into the life of a working photographer.

Michael D. Davis is the photographer’s friend. Mike Davis is a photo editor. Photo editors are people photographers have a love/hate relationship with. In this interview with Mike Davis you come to see that the photo editor has the photographers best interest at heart. I found my time with Mike to be refreshing. It was one of the most laid-back interviews I have ever done and one of the most significant. Mike’s approach to what makes the perfect photo is almost spiritual. Honestly, this may be one of the most important interviews I’ve ever done. Mike gets down to the essence of what a photograph is about. He feels even the journalistic image that tells a strong story must have more to stand out above the rest. For it to be really special, it needs 5 elements that Mike goes on to share with us.

Kevin Russ, by his own admission likes to take the path of least resistance. This path has taken him from a shooting studio work (on a DSLR), being one of the first photographers with iStock and later becoming one of their inspectors. To now shooting almost exclusively with his iPhone and living out of his car. He sells his images both on iStock as well as society6.com, a social media website that sells prints and kitsch with your images on it. He goes where he want to go, he shoots what he wants to shoot and he lives by his own rules. Kevin Russ is his own man. I caught up with Kevin while he was in California on his way to Arizona. I had read the Atlantic article on him and felt he would add a whole new dimension to this podcast. They called him the “iPhone’s Ansel Adams”. I have interviewed wedding photographers, travel photographers, photojournalists, humanitarian photographers, why not an iPhoneographer? It just so happens that Kevin’s old roommate who introduced him to photography is a guy right here in

Douglas Kirkland is one of photography’s legends, there’s no other way around it. He’s made a treasure trove full of images of the greatest personality that we saw in the latter part of the 20th century. And by greats I mean the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Mick Jagger, Sting, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rod Steiger, Peter Faulk, Michael Caine, Dr. Stephan Hawking, Morgan Freeman, Orson Welles, Andy Warhol, Oliver Stone, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, Coco Chanel, Marlene Dietrich, Peter O’Toole, John Lennon, Brigitte Bardot, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Catherine Deneuve, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and of course Marilyn Monroe to name only a few. It’s as if you are not famous without having a Kirkland portrait. I can imagine the Hollywood dinner parties, “Darling, you won the Academy award, how droll. But, have you had your portrait made by Kirkland”? It’s not just the celebs either. If you are a famous photographer who do you go to get your port

Brian Smith has carved out a name for himself in photographing the rich and, as he puts it, the infamous. His list of subject is far too long to write out here, but here is just a sampling; Venus and Serena Williams, Gene Hackman, Cindy Crawford, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, The Bee Gees, Antonio Banderas, Shaquille O'Neal, Alan Greenspan, Don King, John Turturro, Anne Hathaway, Ben Stiller, Sylvester Stallone, Pope-John-Paul-II, Wynonna Judd, Richard Branson and many, many more. It is important to note that Brian Smith is not a "one trick" pony. Brian worked for years in photojournalism and has made several iconic and historically important images. If you are over 40, you probably remembers Brian's iconic image of US diver Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board while competing in 1988 Olympics. Brian peppered our time together with advice and pointers that every photographer will find helpful. You will enjoy this one! Visit or follow Brian: Website HERE Blog HERE Stock images HERE Twitter HERE Faceb

I have been looking forward to talking with Michael Yamashita for years. Yamashita is a National Geographic icon. He has shot more than 30 stories with the magazine, many of which became cover stories. Specializing in Asia, he has shot stories on Marco Polo’s journey to China, the Great Wall, The Age of the Samurai, Korea's DMZ and much, much more. Many of his stories have been turned into a National Geographic Channel documentary, The Ghost Fleet, won Best Historical Documentary at the 2006 New York International Film Festival. Yamashita’s prior book, Marco Polo: A Photographer's Journey , sold over 200,000 copies worldwide in its initial printing .  Marco Polo is also the subject of his award-winning National Geographic Channel documentaries, Marco Polo: The China Mystery Revealed, in which Yamashita retraces the 13th-century Venetian’s epic excursion to China.  His other books include The Great Wall: From Beginning to End, Zheng He (Discovery), In the Japanese Garden, New York from Above and Mekong (R

Michael Freeman is one of the photographers I had wanted to interview for a long time. His book on composition, "The Photographer's Eye" had become the first book I hand to new photographers. It is destined to become the classic treatise on composition - a must read for every photographer. Michael is one of the most widely published photographers in the world. He has worked for most major international magazine and book publishers in a long career. A leading photographer for the Smithsonian Magazine for three decades (more than 40 assignment stories), He has also published more than 120 books on subjects as varied as Angkor, Sudan, ethnic minorities in Southeast Asia, the Shakers, and contemporary Japanese design and architecture. His 50 books on the practice of photography are standard works, and have sold almost two million copies in more than 20 languages. His contribution to teaching is the photography courses at the UK’s Open College of the Arts, now to degree level in the national curriculum. London-bas

Eric Kim says, for him street photography happened by chance. "I was standing at a bus stop and I saw a man with horn-shaped glasses reading a book. There was something so genuine and unique about the moment. My heart was palpitating and the second I brought my camera to my eye, he looked directly at me and I instinctively clicked. My heart froze, but I made my first street photograph, without even realizing it." Eric Kim is another one of those “nice guy” photographers. There is not a lot of ego to have to sidestep to hear honest views and listen to his story. I appreciated that. Eric seemed to be open and willing to have his ideas and thoughts challenged or at the very least poked that by me in this interview. We talked at great length about his definition of street photography and we got into the differences between social documentary and social commentary in photography. I think you will enjoy getting to know Eric, I know I did. You may not agree with his approach or all of his views but you'll definitely

Jerod Foster is an editorial and natural history photographer based out of Lubbock, Texas, as well as a photography instructor at Texas Tech University. His work focuses on features and environmental portraits for magazines, books, and commercial purposes. Jerod contributes to the Manfrotto School of Xcellence, an educational resource for amateurs and professionals alike. He is also a partner and editor for Badlands Design and Production, a publishing house that focuses on high-end coffee table photography books. I met Jerod online like so many of my friends these days. Then one day I get an email from him that he wants to interview me. Wait ! - That is my line. I am the one who does the interviewing. Well, it turned out he was writing a book for our good friends at Peachpit/New Riders entitled "Storyteller: A photographer's Guide to Developing Themes and Creating Stories with Pictures". After the interview, which ended up in the book, by the way, I realized we had a lot to talk about. So we decided to contin

I have known Keith Talley for years. Keith he is a commercial photographers out of Texas. Not the glam kind that take shots of sexy models in skimpy underwear. Keith’s has more talent that that, he makes vinyl flooring look sexy. Frankly, that’s talent. When he is not traveling all over the US shooting industrial product for clients, he is playing golf. Apparently, pretty darn good at it too. I wouldn’t know, all I ever hit is air when I play the silly game. When he is not doing that he is giving his time to some charity or church traveling to Africa or India shooting projects for them. In this episode of Depth of Field I speak with Keith about making a living in hard times. What’s the secret? He had his best year last year and in a small town like Temple, Texas! I chose Keith for this interview for just this reason, I wanted folks to hear the story of a working photographer, not unlike themselves. Sometimes our guests can seem bigger than life and I listeners might feel they are almost surreal. Not Keith, he

My only problem with Mitchell Kanashkevich is his name - I can't pronounce it! Mitch is an amazing photographer that at any given moment can be found documented the world with his camera. From the surfer miners of Java to shepherds in India passion lies in capturing disappearing ancient cultures and the human condition in unique, challenging situations. His has an uncanny knack of finding the most amazing light. I have known Mitch for six or seven years. We first met online on the Travel Photography Network. He struck me then brash and bold. I now realize what I had mistaken for brash and bold was self confidants and an overabundance of talent.   You have to visit Mitch's gallery HERE and visit his blog HERE. Mitch is represented by both Getty and Corbis. He is the author of six ebooks and you can find them HERE. Enjoy this interview with my friend Mitchell Kanashkevich.

I met John McDermott this past summer in Angkor Wat while I was co-leading a workshop there. McDermott is typical of the photographers I interview, modest, unassuming and willing to share his story. He first came to Angkor in 1995 to witness a total eclipse of the sun. Inspired by the surreal, otherworldly light of the eclipse, he returned again and again over the next several years to create a definitive artistic portrait of the ancient Khmer temples. In addition to his Angkor work, McDermott has continued his fine art project throughout Southeast Asia, focusing on ancient temples and cultural heritage sites. He now lives with his wife and son in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where he founded three galleries that exhibit the work of Cambodian artists and photographers working across Asia. John McDermott’s work is on display as part of the permanent collection at the National Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His photographs are held in private collections worldwide and have been printed in numerous books and publicatio

This is the third Depth of Field I have done with David duChemin. David is always an interesting and challenging interview and of course entertaining. But this interview is slightly different. I say slightly different because it’s still interesting, challenging and entertaining but this one is full of emotion. In this interview, David and I speak about his fall. Some say “fall from grace”. I would argue that he fell with grace and mercy. Because, as he describes this fall it was only mercy that kept him alive and is grace that keeps him going. In this interview not only do we talk about his fall we also talked about a couple of his rants and pet peeves. I know you will enjoy and be challenged by this interview with David duChemin.

In this Depth of Field I speak with Esther Havens. Ether Havens is a Humanitarian Photographer. She captures stories that transcend a person's circumstances and reveal their true strength. For many years she has worked on social-awareness campaigns with organizations such as charity: water, TOMS Shoes, Concern Worldwide and A Glimmer of Hope. Her images compel thought and challenge action. She has traveled to over 45 nations in the last 10 years -- and she'll keep going until she sees that every person on the planet has access to education and clean drinking water. At heart, she is a connector, fostering relationships across continents, cultures, industries and perspectives. While not traveling, Esther calls Austin, Texas home. This interview is destined to be a classic. Esther and I have been trying to set up this for over a year. When we finally got our schedules to match up we made up for lost time. Esther speaks openly and frankly from her heart and shares her concerns of the current trends in humanitaria