Inspiration in Action

Today’s guest’s art is an excellent example of how one person can make an impact with photos. Simon McCheung is an award-winning and well-selling conceptual photographer and a passionate gamer, who through a bit of playfulness, a bit of mystery, and a lot of visual effects tell stories about things that are important in his life. We discuss why no story or topic in your art is insignificant, why you should be open to real conversations with your viewers, and what’s the most important thing, if you want your work to sell.

Today’s episode is a gold mine of practical tips on improving the lighting element in your photography and maximizing its effect on the viewer. One of my favorite portrait photographers from Bratislava, Marek Wurfl tells us about how he learned to study the light and why it's important in visual storytelling, what’s the difference between a good and a bad light photo, and can you actually fix everything in post? You’re up for a treat, enjoy!

Today’s guest is an extraordinary young South African artist, Luke Rudman, who turns trash that he finds on the coastline into mind-blowing works of art. Combining visual and performance art Luke sends an important message about the state of the environment and oceans in particular. What started as a student project, later on, lead to collaborations with organizations like Greenpeace. We talk about why inspiration should almost be a step two for an artist, what can you do, when procrastination takes over and how one single weird idea can influence the minds of many. Enjoy!

In this episode I sit down with a photographer and filmmaker Sean Tucker, who is particularly known for his incredibly beautiful and sincere educational YouTube videos, watched by hundreds of thousands of people every day. Sean calls himself a visual storyteller and that naturally drove my attention to his work, ideas, and points of view on photography in general. We discuss things like being authentic in your art, finding your style, and searching for the stories you want to tell with your work! Enjoy!

In this episode I want to dive into a topic that interests all portrait photographers: how can you turn a simple portrait into a whole story about your subject. Real or imaginary, happy or sad, those visual stories are exactly what captivate viewers in great portraits, do you agree? My guest today is Laura Sheridan, a master visual storytelling, who magically turns her subjects into fantasy heroes or characters from horror movie scenes. Laura shares how story can be translated through poses, light, details that you see in the photo. But most importantly how the stories that you tell with your work can empower other people and transform their views and opinions. Enjoy!

Today I sit down with a successful fine art and fashion photographer, Kristina Varaksina to discuss the topic that so many of you are so passional about. How do we go beyond simply beautiful pictures and produce truly impactful work? The work that will not just communicate our point of view and values, but could also have influence on others? How can we expand the aesthetic component and join it with thoughts and feelings. This inspiring conversation will give you tips and I’m sure will bring a few aha moments.

In this episode, I’d like to introduce you to an artist on a mission. Her mission is to help people see their own beauty, gain self-confidence, and eventually inspire others. Lilya Corneli is an internationally acclaimed fine-art photographer and the creator of the to be a muse project, in which she and her team turn ordinary people into muses from paintings of the great masters of the past. In this conversation, we discuss Lilya’s journey from an economist and a stay at home mom to an influential creator putting together shows for the major museums in Vienna. Also, we touch upon topics like staying creative in the lowest moments of your life, secrets of working with non-professional models, and the importance of constantly challenging yourself. You’re in for a treat! Enjoy!

In this episode, I talk to Dina Goldstein, a war zone photojournalist who turned to a very peculiar and strikingly powerful satire fine art photography. Dina is known worldwide for her large-scale projects, with lots of actors and complicated sets. But what’s more important those projects portray the world in a surreal, yet embarrassingly truthful way. In her works, Dina touches upon the role of women in contemporary society, modern values, political icons, and ideals of life. If sharing an artwork takes courage, then sharing artwork with a sharp opinion takes 10 times more, if you ask me. In our conversation, we discuss what it takes to state your point of view as an artist and actively share it, as well as how you can shoot large scale projects on tiny budgets if you want to see your ideas happening in real life. Please welcome, Dina Goldstein.

This episode is the last one this year and is very special. Today’s guest is a Swedish photographer I was stalking for years for his clear, minimalistic and unique style of creating deeply emotional images. And let me tell you those emotions don’t come from anywhere. After fighting depression for over 7 long years, Gabriel finally found himself in conceptual photography art and now is on a mission of helping others to deal with their mental health through his work. In our conversation, we discussed the main first steps to finding a personal style in photography and creating authentic work, how creative practices can help you heal and why well-being is essential for your productivity as an artist.

When today’s guest just graduated from college and wanted to find a job as a photographer for a magazine, he sent 50 emails per week to any fashion editor, stylist, journalist or columnist he could find an email address for! And he did it for 3 months in a row! This is the level of persistence we all should be aiming at. It paid off! Today, Justin Dingwall is an internationally acclaimed artist who shot for numerous top brands as a fashion photographer and whose fine art works are exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world, including my very favorite Guggenheim museum! In this interview, we talk about trusting your creative intuition, how inspiration works and if you should pay attention to feedback. Today’s episode will blow your mind, I promise. Enjoy!