August 24, 2024

Gale Zucker, Photographer

44 minutes

Embrace the potential of your phone’s camera, choose indirect lighting (not a flash) to show texture, and get your knits off the ground—these are just a few pieces of Gale Zucker’s advice for how to take knitting photos you love. Whether she’s shooting in a studio or a barnyard, Gale uses her camera to bring her subjects to life.

Gale grew up in a family where everyone learned to knit, and the craft has been a constant since childhood. With a love for the storytelling potential of photography, she studied photojournalism, becoming a stringer for The New York Times and shooting for national publications. Her subjects ranged from intensely serious, even grim, to lighthearted and quirky.

Occasionally she found herself on the sheep beat, sent to farms to photograph stories for lifestyle publications. During the knitting-blog boom, she started a website and called it “She Shoots Sheep Shots,” all while continuing her photojournalism and commercial photography work. Invited to propose an idea for a book, she surprised her agent by suggesting a series of photos and profiles of fiber farms across the country, which became the book Shear Spirit. Her work has grown to include more knitting and fiber projects—subjects in which she shares her knowledge in this episode.

Although she still photographs a range of commercial and lifestyle projects, Gale finds her lifelong love of knitting thoroughly intertwined with her professional work. And when she’s lucky, she still gets to shoot sheep shots.

Links

Gale Zucker website

She Shoots Sheep Shots

This episode is brought to you by:

Treenway Silks

Treenway Silks is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com. You’ll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway's array of wild silks provide choices beyond white.

If you love silk, you’ll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed.

Yarn Barn of Kansas

Learning how to weave but need the right shuttle? Hooked on knitting and in search of a lofty yarn? Yarn Barn of Kansas has been your partner in fiber since 1971. Whether you are around the corner from the Yarn Barn of Kansas, or around the country, they are truly your "local yarn store" with an experienced staff to answer all your fiber questions. Visit yarnbarn-ks.com to shop, learn, and explore.

Shaniko Wool Company

Sustainability and regenerative ranching have been a way of life for the ranches of Shaniko Wool Company for decades. They are the first “farm group” in the U.S. to achieve certification to the rigorous international Responsible Wool Standard and NATIVA Regenerative. Shaniko ranches raise Merino/Rambouillet sheep in the Western United States, delivering a fully traceable wool supply that gives back to the Earth and its ecosystems. To learn more, and discover Shaniko’s yarn partners, visit ShanikoWoolCompany.com.

Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival

The Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival is the perfect way to spend a weekend surrounded by over 150 craft vendors in Greenwich, New York. Discover a curated group of vendors featuring the best of wool and artisan crafters. Throughout the weekend enjoy workshops, free horse drawn wagon rides, free kids’ crafts, a fiber sheep show, and a sanctioned cashmere goat show. Join us September 21 & 22, 2024, and every fall! For more information visit adkwoolandarts.com.

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