A Photographic Life

In episode 140 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed taking stock, and reflecting on where photography is at the end of 2020 and making suggestions for New Year's resolutions, based on new ways of working, learning and listening in a post Covid world. He also commemorates those photographers we have lost in the past year.

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2021

In episode 139 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on photography at Christmas past, present and future. He also welcomes, podcast listener, former Life magazine Editor and writer on photography Bill Shapiro to the shed to explain what photography means to him as part of our 2020 Christmas Special.

Bill Shapiro is an American writer and editor, best known for serving as the editor of LIFE magazine, and as the founding editor of LIFE.com. LIFE magazine had not been published as a weekly for 32 years until Shapiro revived it in 2004. It resumed publication as a weekend supplement to U.S. newspapers with a combined circulation of approximately 12 million. LIFE.com was launched on March 31, 2009, and won the National Magazine Award for digital photography in 2011,and Webby Awards in 2010 and 2011. Shapiro collaborated with The Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards on a children's book called Gus & Me, which was published in 2014, and reached No.2 on The New York Times Best Seller list for children's books. Shapiro's book, Other People’s Love Letters, was published in 2007, and his co-edited book with Naomi Wax What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning was published in 2018. A fine-art photography curator for New York galleries and a consultant to photographers, he also serves on the Art Advisory Board for the SXSW festival. He writes about photography for the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Vogue, and Esquire, among others. On Instagram, he’s @billshapiro.

The advertisements included in this episode include:

Lowenbrau Beer

Jack Benny and Frank Nelson For Kodak

Alka Seltzer

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2020

In episode 138 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the value of retaining copyright and an archive, experimenting with photo book covers, and the importance of inspiring others to explore photography.

Plus this week photographer Jeremy Liebman takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

Jeremy Liebman grew up in Berkeley, California and Dallas, Texas but is now Brooklyn-based. His client list is beyond extensive and includes Appartamento, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker, GQ, ID, Conde Nast Traveller, Apple, Nike, Levi's, Toyota, Prada, and BMW. His work includes portrait, fashion, still-life, video and interiors images and he is represented by Art Department, New York. http://jeremyliebman.com

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2020

In episode 137 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering photography and magazines, gatekeepers who don't respond and the risk of using Instagram instead of a website.

Plus this week photographer Denisse Ariana Pérez takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

Caribbean born, Copenhagen based, Denisse Ariana Pérez is an Interactive Art Direction graduate from Hyper Island, Stockholm who currently works as a Senior Creative at the Belong Agency in Copenhagen, Denmark. Pérez says of her work that it challenges detrimental theories and notions of black masculinity that stem from Westernized patriarchal systems, and that have been filtered through the lens of racism. Her photography has been featured in and on Dazed, It’s Nice That, The Guardian, El Pais, VICE, Afropunk, Hunger, Ignant, Paulette and Accent magazines. In 2020 she hosted social media takeovers for Fotograiska and The New Yorker. www.denisseariana.com

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2020

In episode 136 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering photographers designing photo books, building teams of experienced people, and documentation of 'The Troubles' in Norther Ireland. He also announces that the UNP shop is now open!

Plus this week photographer Aletheia Casey takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

Aletheia Casey is a photographic artist based between Sydney and London. During the last 10 years she has published and worked with The Guardian, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, Australian Associated Press, and various international publications. Aletheia has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, Australia, Museum Bélvédère, Holland, The Perth Centre for Photography, Australia, The National Geographic Society, London, and The Australian Centre for Photography among others. She was named one of the '31 photographers to watch' by the British Journal of Photography and was shortlisted for the PHMuseum Woman Photographer's Grant in 2018. In the same year Casey won the Judge's Commendation for the Iris Award at the Perth Centre for Photography and was a finalist for the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Award. In 2015 she was named a winner of The Magenta Foundation Flash Forward Emerging Photographer Award for the UK, and has twice been a finalist for the National Photographic Portrait Prize. Casey is a founding member of the Lumina Collective. She is a photography lecturer at The Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and London College of Communication, University of the Arts. www.aletheiacasey.com

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2020

In episode 135 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the importance of being nice, telling the story of a photographer that became a baker, and reflecting on the jet-set lifestyle of one of the greats of British photography.

Plus this week photographer Paul Lowe takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

Paul Lowe is an award-winning photographer who has covered breaking news the world over, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela's release, famine in Africa, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and the destruction of Grozny. His images have been published in Time, Newsweek, Life, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Observer and The Independent amongst others. His book, Bosnians, documenting 10 years of the war and post-war situation in Bosnia, was published in April 2005 and Lowe's research on the photography of conflict, has led to him contributing chapters to Picturing Atrocity: Photography in Crisis (2012) and Photography and Conflict. His most recent books include Photography Masterclass, Understanding Photojournalism, co-authored with Dr. Jenny Good and Photography Rules: Essential Do's and Don'ts from Great Photographers. Lowe is a Reader in Documentary Photography and the Course Leader of the Masters program in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London, UK. He is a member of the VII Agency. https://viiphoto.com/authors/paul-lowe/

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Taylor Francis 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Taylor Francis 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2020

To mark the publication of his book What Does Photography Mean to You? The presenter of the A Photographic Life podcast Grant Scott spoke online with Bill Shapiro about the book, his process creating the podcast and what he has learnt from listening to the photographers who answer the question he sets them each week. This is an edited version of that conversation.

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Taylor Francis 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Taylor Francis 2019). His most recent book What Does Photography Mean to You? was published by Bluecoat Press in November 2020. Each week Grant presents the A Photographic Life podcast in whic he asks photographers from around the world the question that forms the title of his latest book.

Bill Shapiro served as the Editor-in-Chief of LIFE, the legendary photo magazine; LIFE’s relaunch in 2004 was the largest in Time Inc. history. Later, he was the founding Editor-in-Chief of LIFE.com, which won the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital photography. Bill is the author of several books, among them Gus & Me, a children’s book he co-wrote with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. In 2018, he published What We Keep, which was recently turned into a streaming series with Cynthia Erivo serving as executive producer. A fine-art photography curator for New York galleries and a consultant to photographers, he also serves on the Art Advisory Board for the SXSW festival. He writes about photography for the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Vogue, and Esquire, among others. On Instagram, he’s @billshapiro.

What Does Photography Mean to You?

Author: Grant Scott

ISBN 9781908457585: Softcover: Mono 190 x 130mm portrait + 192pp

£9.95 plus p and p

www.bluecoatpress.co.uk

© Grant Scott 2020

In episode 134 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering what makes an iconic image and music photography, the importance of editing, and the appropriation of 'lockdown' as a fashion photography moment.

Plus this week photographer Lois Greenfield takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

Lois Greenfield began her career as a photojournalist, but was drawn to the graphic potential of dance and covered the experimental New York dance scene for the Village Voice from 1973 to the mid 90’s. In 1982, she opened a studio where she could not only control the lighting, but could also direct the dancers in her exploration of the expressive possibilities of photographed movement. Her unique approach to photographing the human form in motion has radically redefined the genre and influenced a generation of photographers. She has worked with  most of the contemporary dance companies, from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to American Ballet Theatre. Many of these photos appeared in her two books, Breaking Bounds, 1992, and Airborne 1998. Her latest book, Lois Greenfield: Moving Still, was released in 2015, and the accompanying exhibition has been on tour within the US and to Russia, China, and Colombia. In 2014/2015 Lois was an Artist in Residence at NYU/Tisch Department of Dance and New Media. In 2015, she was honored with the Dance in Focus award given by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Dance Films Association, and in 2016 she received a lifetime achievement award from The McCallum Theatre Institute. Her clients include, Disney, Orangina, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi, Sony, Hanes, and Rolex. www.loisgreenfield.com

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Taylor Francis 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Taylor Francis 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2020

In episode 133 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the recent US Election and the continued importance of the photographic image in shaping narrative and existing as a historical document. In this episode Grant reflects on specific images and photographers that define US political history and those that may define the past four years of Trump's presidency for future generations.

Plus this week photographer Richard Beaven takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

British born Richard Beaven is based in The Hudson Valley, New York and works as an award-winning editorial and documentary photographer. Beaven's passion for photography started at the age of 11, but it was not until 2012, when he left a successful career in advertising and moved to the small community of Ghent, NY that he was able to concentrate on leveraging his own project work, along with newspaper and magazine assignments, to build a reputation in photography. He gained wide recognition for his In Trump Country (before) and In Trump Country (after) series and has recently completed his most ambitious self-assigned project to date, All Of Us: Portraits of the Ghent Bicentennial, which includes 276 portraits of residents in his town. His Ghent portraits were published as All of Us by Daylight Books in the autumn of 2020. Beaven's clients include The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, National Public Radio, Buzzfeed, and De Zeit. He has been featured on the NPR, Hudson River Stories, BBC News and the Jeffery Saddoris Podcast. In addition to his photography career, Richard and his wife Mimi, own and operate Little Ghent Farm in the Hudson Valley, NY. http://richardbeaven.com

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Taylor Francis 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Taylor Francis 2019).

His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/

© Grant Scott 2020

In episode 132 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering photographic good practice, the importance of listening, avoiding scams and why those who commission should have some photographic knowledge.

Plus this week photographer Eduard Korniyenko takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

Eduard Korniyenko was born in Stavropol, Russia, in 1974 and became a professional photographer in 2000. In 2002 he joined the Russian Union of Journalists and he is currently a full-time photo-correspondent for the regional news agency Pobeda26 and a REUTERS Contractor Photographer. His work as a photojournalist has focused on developments in the Northern Caucasus, which has experienced ethnic and intercultural conflict and political and economic instability. His images have been internationally exhibited and he has received multiple awards in recognition of his work. http://eduardkorniyenko.com

Eduard's contribution is read by by Artyom Grebnev .

Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Taylor Francis 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Taylor Francis 2019). His next book What Does Photography Mean to You? will be published in November 2020.

© Grant Scott 2020