On Taking Pictures

It’s Q&A time and we do our best to answer the questions you’ve sent in. We got a ton of great questions this time about gear, process, business and even a few that were too big to tackle, so we’ll get them in the mix for larger discussions next week. William Albert Allard is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• OTP Google+ Community - Assignment: #facelessportrait
  
• How well has “The Breakfast Club” aged? I watched it with my teenage son to find out. - The Washington Post
  
• 4 Year Old Boy Plays Piano Better Than Any Master - YouTube
  
• The Things We Do For Love: Why Self-Investing Isn't Self-Indulgence - Process Driven
  
• List — Bill Wadman
  
• William Albert Allard
  
• William Albert Allard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• William Albert Allard on Being a Nat Geo Photographer: You Have to Care
  
• The Candid Frame #105 - William Albert Allard | The Candid Frame: A Photography Podcast
  

This week's OTP is sponsored by Lynda.com - Get your free 10-day trial!
and by Squarespace - Get 10% off with offer code 'OTP'

This week, a memo written by David Mamet sparks a discussion around the meaning and importance we give the things we make. Also a follow up on the Norman Seef video and how, for some photographers, the connection with the subject is the point and the photographs are merely a byproduct of the experience. Leonard Freed is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #somewhereNew
  
• David Mamet’s Master Class Memo to the Writers of The Unit - Movieline
  
• Scriptnotes, 186: The Rules (or, the Paradox of the Outlier) | A ton of useful information about screenwriting from screenwriter John August
  
• Endgame (play) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Lake Street Dive Plays "I Want You Back" On a Boston Sidewalk - YouTube
  
• Norman Seeff, Photographer, Filmmaker, Healer (EG8) on Vimeo
  
• World Press Photo Revokes Prize - NYTimes.com
  
• Andy Gock : Newcastle Photographer Actual Measured Flash Durations of Small Speedlight Strobes
  
• Leonard Freed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Leonard Freed part1 - YouTube
  
• Magnum Photos Photographer Portfolio
  

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This week, what a difference a week makes. We begin with some followup to last week’s show and discuss expectation, process vs product and how for some (me) Artist is not the same as artist. Also, iconic photographers don’t always make iconic photographs. Plus, we reflect a bit on the life of Leonard Nimoy both as an actor and as our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #goldenhour
  
• The Private Photo Shoot that Sparked a War Inside Van Halen — Cuepoint — Medium
  
• Norman Seeff, Photographer, Filmmaker, Healer (EG8) on Vimeo
  
• Object:Photo | MoMA
  
• Gallery | Object:Photo | MoMA
  
• Sohei Nishino - Diorama Map New York
  
• Object:Photo MoMA Book
  
• Why photobooks are booming in a digital age - FT.com
  
• A Photo Editor
  
• FlakPhoto.com | Photography Online
  
• How I requested my photographs from the Department of Homeland Security | Ars Technica
  
• Apple - iPhone 6 - World Gallery
  
• 35 Beautiful Art Photographs Made By Leonard Nimoy
  
• Leonard Nimoy Photography on Pinterest | 54 Pins
  
• Episode 56: Remembering Leonard Nimoy — Super Fantastic Nerd Hour!
  
• The Full Body Project by Leonard Nimoy - Book
  

This week's OTP is sponsored by Lynda.com - Get your free 10-day trial!
and by Squarespace - Get 10% off with offer code 'OTP'

This week, what do you do when the motivation just isn't there? We may love what we do, but sometimes it’s hard to hold on to whether loving the process is enough. Also, are the rich kids taking over the arts? Photojournalist Melissa Lyttle is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• Apple Details Revolutionary New iPhone Camera - Forbes
  
• Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, Other Privileged Musicians Taking Over Arts | TNR
  
• Peter Lik Article on NY Times
  
• New55 Film: New55 Positive Print Scale Matches Negative
  
• Print out digital photos or risk losing them, Google boss warns - Telegraph
  
• Shutterbug Parents and Overexposed Lives
  
• Melissa Lyttle | +1 813-215-8329 | VISUAL JOURNALIST - EDITORIAL
  

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This week, should there be standards defining what is and isn’t considered photojournalism? Plus, are labels important, necessary or just noise? We also take a look at a potential alternative to Photoshop, the new Affinity Photo. Spencer Tunick is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment - #Mimic
  
• World Press Photo Disqualifies 20% of Its Contest Finalists | TIME
  
• It Takes Two to Tango: Instagram Account Brings Photographers Together | TIME
  
• Photoshop contest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• 3 Hours of New Video Essays on the Films and Career of Stanley Kubrick
  
• Room 237 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 565 - Paul Thomas Anderson
  
• Affinity Photo Beta
  
• Miroslav Tichý | International Center of Photography
  
• SPENCER TUNICK
  
• Naked States _ Naked States - Video Dailymotion
  

This week's OTP is sponsored by Lynda.com - Get your free 10-day trial!
and by Squarespace - Get 10% off with offer code 'OTP'

This week, we’re going deep into discussing the power of a single photograph. Social or emotional impact notwithstanding, are photographs (or art for that matter) better with additional context? Also, you’ll never believe what Carol Armstrong found in her closet. Iconic sports shooter Neil Leifer is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• On Taking Pictures 2015 Listener Survey
  
• On Taking Pictures - G+ - Assignment: #streetscene
  
• Humans of New York
  
• Lets Send Kids to Harvard: Vidal Scholarship Fund | Indiegogo Life
  
• Obama meets kid who inspired million-dollar Humans of New York fundraiser
  
• Beyond the veil: photographs can be more powerful than art | Art and design | The Guardian
  
• Locus Online Perspectives » Kameron Hurley: The Privilege to Publish; the Power to Persevere
  
• The Sartorialist
  
• 190 Bowery on Vimeo
  
• Meeting your Heroes : On Taking Pictures
  
• The long-lost Apollo 11 artifacts discovered in Neil Armstrong’s closet - The Washington Post
  
• LensVid Exclusive: What Happened to the Photography Industry in 2014? - LensVid.comLensVid.com
  
• Affinity Photo - Professional image editing software for Mac
  
• Film is Here to Stay! Studios and Kodak Strike a Deal | Indiewire
  
• The Bixby Bridge by Moonlight | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  
• Sports | Categories | Neil Leifer
  
• Professional Photographer Neil Leifer discusses his 50-year collection on Vimeo
  

This week's OTP is sponsored by Skillfeed.com - Get your free 30-day trial!

This week, a bunch of recent articles around use and copyright have us discussing “Who really owns what, and for how long?” Also, should art be enjoyed or merely collected? Bill may have found the perfect camera...for him. Louise Dahl-Wolfe is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• On Taking Pictures 2015 Listener Survey
  
• On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #square
  
• Photographer sues Nike over rights to Jordan 'Jumpman' logo: Digital Photography Review
  
• How an incredible coincidence sparked a Facebook plagiarism row - Telegraph
  
• Crowdsourced Instagram Photos of Snowstorm Land on the Front Page of the New York Times
  
• Adobe is suing Forever 21 for pirating Photoshop | The Verge
  
• Art for Money’s Sake - NYTimes.com
  
• Ebony Seeks Buyer for Photo Archive Worth $40 Million - NBC News.com
  
• 3-D printing and copyright: Replicas of 16th-century sculptures are not off-limits.
  
• Why every photo storage startup dies or gets acquired | The Verge
  
• Canon EOS 5DS & EOS 5DS R Specifications « Canon Rumors
  
• Louise Dahl-Wolfe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• Louise Dahl-Wolfe - Google Search
  
• Museum of Contemporary Photography
  
• Louise Dahl-Wolfe: A Retrospective on Amazon
  

This week's OTP is sponsored by Lynda.com - Get your free 10-day trial!
and by Squarespace - Get 10% off with offer code 'OTP'

This week, a domestic worker wins a Magnum Fellowship, two Magnum icons try Google Glass and we discuss entertainment before the word “format.” Also, we discuss what happens when you stop trusting your gear? “Small Town Inertia” shooter Jim Mortram is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• On Taking Pictures 2015 Listener Survey
  
• Prince Harry's Moving Photos Prove African Orphans Aren't Just The Face Of AIDS
  
• Xyza Cruz Bacani - Filipino Street and Documentary Photographer
  
• MAGNUM FOUNDATION — Announcing Our 2015 HUMAN RIGHTS Fellows
  
• Magnum Photographers Give Google Glass a Test Spin - SPIEGEL ONLINE
  
• Sports Illustrated Lays Off All Staff Photographers | NPPA
  
• HBO: Documentaries | Witness: Juarez | Home
  
• Joe Franklin, a Talk Show Institution in New York, Dies at 88 - NYTimes.com
  
• NASA Just Released The Largest Picture Ever Taken And It Will Shake Up Your Universe |Higher Perspective
  
• Trusting Your Equipment — Bill Wadman
  
• Stephen King: 'Writing is hypnosis' - YouTube
  
• On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #throughawindow
  
• J A Mortram
  
• Small Town Inertia
  

This week, a conversation overheard on the train sparks a discussion around the need to create or not and whether we would trade a creative life (whatever that means) for a nine to five if we could. Also, is your personal value in the experience of making or in the resulting artifact/object? Obscure Romanian shooter Andre Pandele is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• Congressman John Lewis Dancing to Pharrell Williams' "Happy": "Nothing Can Bring Me Down" - YouTube
  
• Dictabelt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
• From Wax Cylinders To Records, Saving The Sounds Of History : NPR
  
• The Rescued Film Project Archive
  
• Hand Processing Kodachrome
  
• Finding Vivian Maier nominated for Best Documentary? It was one of the worst documentaries of 2014.
  
• Memory and pictures “This is not my Memory” | Wallace Koopmans Artlog
  
• WhiteAlbum
  
• Mosaic Photo Books: Create a printed album from your phone
  
• Robert Frank Collection Guide
  
• Why you should stop relying on your phone, and buy a nice camera | The Verge
  
• On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #redux
  
• BBC News - A lost city: Photos of Bucharest's past
  
• Pandele81003.jpg | EST&OST
  
• Book Insider: Forbidden photos and personal images by Andrei Pandele | Romania-Insider.com
  

This week's OTP is sponsored by Squarespace - Get 10% off with offer code 'OTP'

This week, a few shorter discussions around work for hire vs licensing your work, work that becomes relevant years after it was produced and whether or not your work should continue after you are no longer the one producing it. Deborah Parkin is our Photographer of the Week.

Links for this episode:

• Three Records From Sundown | 99% Invisible
  
• A Last Gift From The Genius Mind of Taylor Negron: Reflections On A Life Spent Playing Everyman - xoJane
  
• Imagista - His Majesty of Modesty - Richard Butler
  
• The Posters Will Produce Affordable Art With a Touch of Charity
  
• Help: I Am Being Sued for Nearly $500,000 by a Model I Photographed
  
• Text - H.R.5893 : Ansel Adams Act | Congress.gov
  
• Opinion: When It Comes to the 'Ansel Adams Act,' the Devil is in the Details
  
• How the Selfie Stick Is Killing the Selfie | TIME
  
• On Taking Pictures - Google+ - Assignment: #bestof2014
  
• Deborah Parkin Photography Hexham Northumberland
  

This week's OTP is sponsored by Lynda.com - Get your free 10-day trial!