In this episode of Deep Natter, we're talking about effort, specifically whether and how and to what degree effort is connected to the value of the things we make. To help illustrate how effort can affect or influence the end product, we refer to a couple terrific films by Werner Herzog. If you would like to listen to these conversations live or participate with a question or comment, join us on the Clubhouse app Tuesdays at 2pm Eastern.

SHOW NOTES

Love languages by Gary Chapman

Heart of Darkness

Fitzcrraldo

Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo

Burden of Dreams

Aguirre Wrath of God

Bert Kreisher and Casey Neistet

Casey Neistat

CONNECT WITH JEFFERY

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

CONNECT WITH SEAN

Website: http://seantucker.photography

Twitter: @seantuck

Instagram: @seantuck

YouTube: Sean Tucker

BE A PART OF THE SHOW

You can listen to Deep Natter live and be a part of the conversations on Tuesdays at 2pm ET on Clubhouse.

SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also get Deep Natter, along with my other shows Process Driven, In Between, and Iterations by subscribing to Jeffery Saddoris: Everything wherever you listen to podcasts.

MUSIC

High Line by Duffmusiq

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, we may earn a commission. Thanks.

In this debut episode of Deep Natter, Sean and I are talking about long-term projects and curating our own work. Each of us have been circling a personal project for years and as luck would have it, coming out of a global pandemic was just the catalyst we needed to stop thinking and start doing. We also talk about the importance of making the things you want to see in the world, rather than worrying about how they might be received by an audience, and Sean shares one of his favorite recent books.

SHOW NOTES

A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine

Happy by Derren Brown

Photo Work by Sasha Wolfe

David Bowie on never playing to the gallery

CONNECT WITH JEFFERY

Website: https://jefferysaddoris.com

Twitter: @jefferysaddoris

Instagram: @jefferysaddoris

CONNECT WITH SEAN

Website: http://seantucker.photography

Twitter: @seantuck

Instagram: @seantuck

YouTube: Sean Tucker

BE A PART OF THE SHOW

You can listen to Deep Natter live and be a part of the conversations on Tuesdays at 2pm ET on Clubhouse.

SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also get Deep Natter, along with my other shows Process Driven, In Between, and Iterations by subscribing to Jeffery Saddoris: Everything wherever you listen to podcasts.

MUSIC

High Line by Duffmusiq

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, we may earn a commission. Thanks.

Lately, I seem to be having more and more conversations with people who have really started taking a long look back on their lives to try to determine to what degree anything they’ve done matters and whether or not it will keep mattering after they’ve gone. For many of them, these musings revolve around a major accomplishment or a specific body of work that was somehow more, for lack of a better word, than most — if not all — of the other things that they have done. Many have even used the term “calling” to describe it. Personally, I’ve not experienced that, at least not in the way that it’s been described to me. I think my life has been different in that I’ve done a bunch of smaller things that, when looked at together, form something that is greater and much more fulfilling that the sum of its parts. I was talking about this with Jack Lowe who you might remember from episodes 37 and 38 of Process Driven and we thought that it might be a perfect topic for another chance to record. So get comfortable, because for the next hour or so, we’re talking about the importance of legacy, connecting with people, and a really wonderful story that involves Jack piloting a 42-ton lifeboat in the North Atlantic and a Rottweiler called Bear.

I think one of the things that made Father Bill Moore so important to me was the fact that he was one of a small group of non-family members and non-friends to say that I had talent as a painter and that I had something to say with my work and he was one of an even smaller group of people who I would consider a mentor in my life. This is probably something for another time, but I don’t think you can seek out a mentor — not intentionally and not with any real specificity in terms of who that person will be. That’s the way I feel about all of the mentors in my life. I never sought them out, but somehow our paths crossed and my life was made better for it. And hopefully theirs were too.

SHOW NOTES

Father Bill Moore - https://frbillmoore.com/

The Father Bill Moore Foundation - https://fatherbill.art

The dA Center for the Arts - https://www.dacenter.org

Pomona Arts Colony - https://www.pomonaartscolony.com

Music in this episode

Reconciled by Sean Williams

The Wrong Way by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

 

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Buy a copy of my book: Photography by the Letter

I think Ben Horne and I first talked about recording together in 2018, not long after I was introduced to his work. But as John Lennon famously said, “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans” and for one reason or another, we just couldn’t get our schedules in sync, but I am so grateful that we were able to circle back around and make this happen. I am a huge fan of Ben’s work. I think one of his superpowers as a landscape photographer is capturing the quiet drama of big places — subjects and scenes that most of us would simply ignore if we even noticed them at all. It’s beautiful work and I’m happy to finally connect with Ben to talk about it.

SHOW NOTES

Zion National Park

Yosemite National Park

Death Valley National Park

Colorado Plateau Film Reveal

Ben's Portfolio Box Set

CONNECT WITH BEN

Website: https://www.benhorne.com

Twitter: @BenHorne

Instagram: @benhornephoto

Music in this episode

Normalize by Stanley Gurvich

What Have We Lost by David James Terry

Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

 

WANT TO SUPPORT THE WORK I'M DOING?

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Tell Your Friends & Share Episodes Online: You can even share a favorite show clip using the terrific Recast feature. I’ve made a video showing you how: Create Custom Audiograms with Recast by Simplecast - YouTube

Buy a copy of my book: Photography by the Letter

While I’ve never really done one myself — not intentionally anyway — I am fascinated by long-term creative projects. I find the whole idea of intentionally and purposefully immersing yourself in something you know is going to take years to realize both inspiring and a little terrifying. But I guess if you find the right project, the challenges, obstacles and accidents both happy and unhappy make the journey of bringing whatever it is to life that much more rewarding.

Marc Wilson is a photographer in the UK who has completed two such projects back to back. From 2010 to 2014, he produced a body of work called The Last Stand which, in his words “aims to reflect the histories and stories military conflict and the memories held in the landscape itself.” In 2015, after releasing the body of work as a book, he began work on his next project, A Wounded Landscape - bearing witness to the Holocaust, which is based around 22 Holocaust survivor stories. The six-year project, culminating in a 750-page book, was made at more than 160 locations and is told through more than 350 photographs, as well as transcripts of conversations, research and sound. I am so grateful for the opportunity to talk about this powerful and important body of work.

SHOW NOTES

Kickstarter for A Wounded Landscape - bearing witness to the Holocaust

CONNECT WITH MARC

Website: https://www.marcwilson.co.uk/

Twitter: @marcwilsonphoto

Instagram: @marcwilsonphoto

Music in this episode

Normalize by Stanley Gurvich

Mysa by Laurel Violet

Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

 

WANT TO SUPPORT THE WORK I'M DOING?

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSS | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Tell Your Friends & Share Episodes Online: You can even share a favorite show clip using the terrific Recast feature. I’ve made a video showing you how: Create Custom Audiograms with Recast by Simplecast - YouTube

Buy a copy of my book: Photography by the Letter

In the middle of 2019, Netflix launched a show called Blown Away, which is a competition show for glass artists. The promos looked terrific and I think Adrianne and I were hooked from pretty much the first episode. We binged the whole season and it became our go to recommendation for our Netflix-watching friends. I even reached out to Alex Rosenberg, one of the contestants on the show, who I sat down with for an episode of Process Driven.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year when Netflix finally released season two of Blown Away and for the next ten episodes, Adrianne and I were right back in the hot shop with a new group of artists. And just like with season one, I know I wanted to talk to one of the contestants and I knew exactly who I wanted it to be. Both Adrianne and I were fans of Elliot Walker straight away. There was just something about his demeanor in the shop, not to mention that we absolutely loved what he made on the show. I really resonated with his approach to the materials, and the sense of humor he brought to the pieces he was making. I also really connected with how he spoke about his partner Bethany, who is not only his girlfriend, but also his assistant, his muse, and the curator of their gallery, Blowfish Glass.

And just so you know, this conversation does contain spoilers. So if you haven’t seen season two, consider yourself warned.

SHOW NOTES

Blown Away on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80215147

Blown Away on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9908860/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt

Alexander Rosenberg on Process Driven: https://jefferysaddoris.com/everything/processdriven-28/

CONNECT WITH ELLIOT AND BETHANY

Gallery: https://www.blowfishglassart.com

Website: http://ewalkerglassart.co.uk

Instagram (Elliot): @ewalkerglassart

Instagram (Bethany): @bethjadewood

CONNECT WITH ME

If you have questions, feedback on the show, or a suggestion for someone you think I should talk to, I’d love to hear from you. Connect with me on Twitter @jefferysaddoris or email me at [email protected]

Music in this episode

Reconciled by Sean Williams

Normalize by Stanley Gurvich

Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

 

WANT TO SUPPORT THE WORK I'M DOING?

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast |

As many of you know, I currently produce three different podcasts, each with a different format and purpose. Process Driven is a deep-dive conversation with a single artist to talk about what they do and why they do it. In Between is a conversation with a recurring group of co-hosts around a single topic or theme. Iterations is my audio journal — it’s shorter than the other two shows and it’s just me offering up thoughts or reflections around what I’ve recently been thinking about or trying to work through. As I said, each of these shows offers a different listening experience, but in many ways I see them as part of the same larger, ongoing conversation. As you might expect, each of the three shows has its own feed and if you want all of them, until last year you had to subscribe to all three individually. But early in 2020 I looked a little deeper at how people were listening to podcasts, and what I found was that most people don’t listen to every episode of every podcast they subscribe to. I know I don’t. Instead, they create playlists — cherry picking episodes from within a given show or even across multiple shows, which is exactly why I created my “Everything” feed. Listeners could now get all three shows, along with any one-off conversations or any future shows in one feed instead of multiples and they could just add episodes of my shows into the playlists they were already making.

My plan from the beginning was to ultimately deprecate the individual show feeds and JUST have Everything. I even confirmed it again in an episode I put out in January called “Setting the Intention for 2021.” But the more I think about it and the more Adrianne and I talk about it, the more I’m questioning whether killing off the individual feeds is the best way forward.

On the one hand, I can see where if you were unfamiliar with my shows — both past and present — and you went to my website for the first time, you might be a little confused seeing three different shows that, at least on the surface, all seem to deal with creativity and the creative process in one form or another.

On the other, maybe you are familiar with the me and my back catalog but you just aren’t interested in my monologues or random conversations and you only want to hear my conversations with other creatives deep diving their process.

Either way, having only a single feed for all that I do — despite my intentions behind it — might not be what you want as a listener. And one thing that I have learned from Adrianne is to meet people where they are, which means that if you are really only into one show, I don’t want to risk losing you as a listener because I’m forcing you to subscribe to shows that don’t really interest you. That doesn’t serve either of us.

Look, I would love it if everyone listened to everything I released – and maybe that’s a goal I can shoot for – but I need to earn it. So, for now, I’m going to keep all of the individual feeds active and keep trying to meet you where you are.

CONNECT WITH ME

If you've got questions or feedback, you can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram @jefferysaddoris. If you’d prefer something more direct, you can email me at [email protected].

Music in this episode

Funk It Up by Steve Poloni

In the Clouds by Be Still the Earth

Music in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music and sound effects licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.

In Process Driven 37, I had part one of this two-part conversation with Documentarist, Jack Lowe. And while you don’t need to have listened to part one to enjoy this conversation, I invite you to go back and listen to it if you haven’t. Among other things, we talked about the origins of Jack’s Lifeboat Station Project, which has him traveling to all 238 lifeboat stations around the UK in his mobile darkroom Neena to make photographs with his 12x10 inch wet plate camera. In this conversation, we talk about some of the motivations for the project and the supportive community that has grown around it, as well as what Jack hopes people will take away from the body of work as a whole. And just as we did in part one, we go down a few rabbit holes and, of course, talk a bit more about The Life Aquatic.

SHOW NOTES

The Life Aquatic

CONNECT WITH JACK

Website: https://lifeboatstationproject.com

Twitter: @ProjectLifeboat

Music in this episode

Reconciled by Sean Williams

Normalize by Stanley Gurvich

Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

 

WANT TO SUPPORT THE WORK I'M DOING?

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSS | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Tell Your Friends & Share Episodes Online: You can even share a favorite show clip using the terrific Recast feature. I’ve made a video showing you how: Create Custom Audiograms with Recast by Simplecast - YouTube

Buy a copy of my book: Photography by the Letter

At the beginning of the year, I released an episode called Setting the Intention for 2021, and one of the things I talked about was how I wanted to make some changes to my shows, both in who I approach to record with and in how I actually produce and edit the episodes, for example using music and sound effects to enhance the ambience or atmosphere of an episode when it’s appropriate and serves the story.

The first person I met on the back of all of this was Jack Lowe and I can’t really even tell you where I first heard his name or saw photos from his Lifeboat Station Project - most likely it was something that popped up on Twitter which over the past several months has become a terrific way for me to discover new work and connect with interesting people. Regardless, once I dove into a bit of Jack’s work, I knew I wanted to talk to him.

 

SHOW NOTES

Ambient Isolation: https://www.ambientisolation.com

Matthew George Tuckey: @MGTuckey

Jack’s Dawn Chorus: https://m.soundcloud.com/mrjacklowe/sets/dawn-chorus

Daniel Meadows: https://www.photobus.co.uk

Anthony Hopkins' "Be bold...": https://twitter.com/AnthonyHopkins/status/1344008299490861056

JACK'S FIELD RECORDING KIT

MixPre-3 II: https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre/

DPA 6060 Spaced Stereo Pair: https://www.dpamicrophones.com

Audio-Technica M40X: https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/ath-m40x

CONNECT WITH JACK

Website: https://lifeboatstationproject.com

Twitter: @ProjectLifeboat

Music in this episode:

Reconciled by Sean Williams

Normalize by Stanley Gurvich

Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Music featured in this episode is licensed from Artlist, which is a terrific music licensing platform for YouTubers and filmmakers. Use the following link to get two additional months of Artlist free when you sign up: https://bit.ly/JS_Artlist

 

WANT TO SUPPORT THE WORK I'M DOING?

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Overcast | RSS | Spotify | Google Podcasts