Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton

"It's just amazing how like when you kind of put energy out, like a certain type of energy that you want to be around and that you want to be a part of, how the world kind of brings that right back to you…" Andre D. Wagner accidentally started his photo career while playing basketball for Buena Visa University as a social work major. He took a photo class thinking it would be an easy grade, but like many first time photo students, he was shocked by the cost and the amount of work involved, but unlike many first time photo students, he didn't give up even after being accepted to Fordham University for a Masters in social work. Andre is experiencing some great successes right now which include, his first book, Here for the Ride, he is a regular contributor to the New York Times, he was included in a campaign on Black History by Hennesy, and he recently married. We talk about his successes, learning to appreciate them but also understanding the need to keep moving forward. LINKS https://andredwagner.com/ https://www.instagram.com/photodre/ https://twitter.com/photoDre http://vsco.co/photodre/images/1 https://www.creativefuture.dk/editions/here-for-the-ride | Book Power in Fleeting Moments: SLIDESHOW with Andre D. Wagner | Vice Video New History Vol. 1 I Hennessy x Andre Wagner | Hennessy Video Visit www.thephotoshow.org @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I don't think I was really ready to break out as a photographer, but I was ready to break out as like my own spirit." Joseph Michael Lopez is a documentary photographer. His interest in photography started while he was a cinematographer. Joseph is mostly self-taught and his work often involves concerns for social justice which is a character trait he attributes to the life story of his mother who escaped Cuba in 1967. Joseph's work has appeared on the cover of M, The Magazine for Leica M Photography, The Sunday Review of The New York Times, New York magazine and The New Yorker, among others. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ LINKS https://www.josephmlopez.com/ https://www.facebook.com/joseph.m.lopez https://www.instagram.com/josephmlopez/ https://twitter.com/JosephMLopezNYC http://m-magazine.photography/ceemes/en/magazine/m-magazine-no-3.html Visit www.thephotoshow.org @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Photo by Rachel Elizabeth Seed

"We talk to other community organizations all the time, they are like, oh how do you get such great community engagement, we do events all the time and the community doesn't come. Well, are you doing events for the community or with the community?" - Eve Biddle "I'm really proud of what we've done, we've worked so hard, it's fabulous, it continues to grow, why don't I just dive deeper." - Jeff Barnett-Winsby The Wassaic Project is a fantastic organization in Wassaic, NY. It's an artist's space, a residency, an after school program, a pizza bar, an event space, an arts festival…or more simply put, it is a place where visitors, visiting artists, and the Wassaic community come together to share who they are and what they do. I visited Eve and Jeff to talk about who they are and how it all started and we had a great conversation about some of beautiful and tragic events that helped launch the project, but we also talked a lot about how it changed the course of their own lives and the plans they had for themselves as working artists. Links: http://wassaicproject.org/ https://www.instagram.com/wassaicproject/ http://www.evebiddle.com/ http://jeffbarnettwinsby.com/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"When you're 3 or 5 years old and you're understanding that your grandma fits bras, you don't think about it in a sexual way…I just equated bras with, oh people go see grandma Selma feeling uncomfortable and they leave feeling better." Nomi Ellenson is a body positive and sex positive boudoir photographer. As a freelance fashion photographer, Nomi felt limited by what she was assigned to shoot in terms of promoting a specific kind of beauty. She started her own business so she could help change the narrative on what it means for someone to feel beautiful. She credits her photographic practice to a combination of influences. She is the daughter of two rabbis who believe in community service and putting your whole self into your work. She is also the great-great-granddaughter of the founder of The Town Shop, a well known lingerie store in Manhattan. Nomi describes her shoots as collaborations and those collaborations require that she develop a sense of trust with her clients, something she learned to do as a child watching her grandmother fit women for bras in the family store. We talk about Nomi's path to photography, learning how to run a business, and we even do a bit of tech-talk near the end of the show. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Links: http://www.naomiellenson.com/ https://www.instagram.com/nomifoto/ https://www.instagram.com/boudoirbynomi/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"That's the thing I get most excited about with photography is what you can hide from the viewer and how you can frame your work to make it something that is very specific or might not be seen just passing by." Katie Kline's photography was influenced by her father's job at Disneyland and their frequent trips to the land of artifice. Now Katie sees a little Disney wherever she travels and you can see it in her landscapes and the way she records the details of places that aspire to be more. Katie also teaches photography at a High School in North Hollywood California and we talk about the benefits of learning photography by shooting film and using a traditional darkroom. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Links: http://www.katiekline.com/ https://www.instagram.com/katiekline/ https://www.instagram.com/robertkline/ (Katie's father's IG) Visit www.thephotoshow.org realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow

"That's when I came to learn more about Graciela Iturbide, Tina Modotti, Lola Alvarez Bravo…that kicked in this interest or appetite in what else is going on in other places…" Verónica Sanchis Bencomo founded Foto-Féminas as a way to promote the work being done by female photographers working in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was while growing up in Venezuela and witnessing political turmoil that Verónica became acutely aware that the media could be a powerful tool for giving voice to those with little power or means to be heard. It was then through her photographic work with an NGO in Chile that cared for young burn victims, that Verónica became more interested in learning about female photographers who worked in Latin America. Links http://www.veronicasanchis.com/ https://foto-feminas.com/ https://foto-feminas.com/contact/ (click here to donate to the library or to submit your work proposal) https://www.instagram.com/veronicasanchis/ https://twitter.com/VeronicaSanchis https://www.facebook.com/FotoFeminas/ https://twitter.com/FotoFeminas Visit www.thephotoshow.org realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow

"If the bottom line isn't scaring you, you haven't thought of everything, and because of that we don't go after enough funding…" Jackie Battenfield is an artist and an entrepreneur, and that is a big part of the message she shares with her audience when she teaches professional practice at Columbia University and when she lectures at conferences. Her book, The Artist's Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love, has been called a "tough-love" guide to pursuing a career in the visual arts. The title of the book is not entirely accurate though. As Jackie explains in the show, the book and her lectures are about taking care of the business side of art so that you can make your art without damaging your financial or personal life. Links: http://www.jackiebattenfield.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jackiebattenfield/ https://www.facebook.com/jackie.battenfield http://artistcareerguide.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Guide-Make-Living-Doing/dp/0306816520

"You know I had a meltdown and went to hang out in the desert for a couple weeks…came back…I talked to my brother and he's like, you say good things but you don't do anything good. You have all these ideas…your at 10,000 feet, nothing is on the ground for you…" Emile Askey was born in California to a Macedonian/Australian mother and an African American father. At a very young age his mother convinced the family to move from LA to Australia because, she was concerned with gangs in the public schools and as she put it to Emile, he wasn't black enough to go to public school and he wasn't white enough to go to private school. The constructs of race and identity are present in Emile's work but also in how Emile sees his work in relationship to the work of others. In particular, Emile believes his identity and personal experiences allows him to photograph where other historically important, mostly white, photographers have traveled and yet make photographs that others could not make because of who they were at the time and how people interacted with them. Links: http://www.emileaskey.com/ https://www.instagram.com/emileaskey/ http://lenscratch.com/2016/10/emile-askey/ https://www.aint-bad.com/article/2017/08/14/emile-askey/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow

"I was a criminal, I lived that criminal lifestyle, and I really didn't give a crap about anybody's feelings…but something changed in me and photography…brought me closer to people." Donato DiCamillo has one of the more unique stories of how he got into photography. Afflicted with behavioral and anger issues, Donato was kicked out of high school and became fully immersed in a life of crime. In 2006 he was arrested by federal agents in an operation involving the Colombo crime family. It was while serving time in a federal prison and then in house arrest that Donato began to use the camera to help him reconnect with people and with himself. Links: https://www.donatodicamillo.com/ https://www.instagram.com/donato_dicamillo/ https://twitter.com/DonatoDiCamillo https://donatodicamillo.tumblr.com/ https://www.donatodicamillo.com/blog/ (Workshops) Visit www.thephotoshow.org realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow

"I literally went from, I wasn't able to say the words out loud…my mom is gay, to basically writing it in the Times and screaming it to the whole world." Gabriela Herman does something that is rare among photographers, she makes a living with her photography. Gabriela talks to Michael about some of her career milestones, including getting some photojournalism work through Craigslist. Her new book ,The Kids (The New Press), which explores the lives of kids who grew up with LGBTQ parents also allowed Gabriela to achieve some personal milestones as well with her own parents. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Links: https://www.gabrielaherman.com/ https://www.facebook.com/gabherman https://www.instagram.com/gab/ https://twitter.com/gab https://thekids.gabrielaherman.com/ https://thenewpress.com/books/kids Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride