The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Photojournalist Alexandra Avakian has been published in National Geographic, Time, LIFE, The New York Times Magazine and more. Her photographic and written memoir, Windows of the Soul: My Journeys in the Muslim World, was named as one of American Photo’s year-end Her work is currently part of the War/Photography Exhibit being exhibited at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles. Alexandra Avakian recommends the work of Susan Meiselas http://alexandraavakian.com/ http://alexandraavakian.com/blog/ http://www.susanmeiselas.com/ http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/ www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Kirk Tuck is an Austin-based commercial photographer, author and creator of the popular photography blog, The Visual Science Lab. His photographic business has served numerous clients including IBM, Dell, Texas Monthly Magazine, The Arts Council of Texas and Time Warner. He is also the author of several books on photography and the business of photography including Minimalist Lighting and the Commercial Photography Handbook published by Amherst Press. You can discover more about Kirk and his work by visiting his website and his blog. www.kirktuckphoto.com www.visualsciencelab.blogspot.com www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Alison Turner was born and raised in Southern California. She learned early on that freedom consisted of long family road trips in a wood paneled station wagon. After college graduation, she started her journey of climbing the corporate ladder thinking it would lead me to a better life. Years passed by and I as she made it to the top steps of the ladder, she wasn’t fulfilled. Instead, she felt trapped and uninspired. She decided to give it all up to find her creative soul that was lost along the way. In order to do that, she packed up everything she needed in her car and began to wander across the United States looking for something. What she found was a new appreciation of what is important in life. Shy by nature, having a camera is her excuse to talk to strangers. Because of meeting and talking to strangers, she has met the most interesting folks and has had the chance to do things all because of holding a camera, smiling and saying “hello.” http://www.alisonturnerphoto.com/ http://shelby-lee-adams.blogspot.com/ www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

In this episode of The Candid Frame, Ibarionex shares some insights he's learned from the many interviews that he's conducted for the podcast, books and magazine articles. He shares how he's come to see his own creativity through the practices of some of the world's best photographers. He discusses the idea how he has come to face fear, anxiety and self-doubt when it comes to taking on new projects. www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Martine Roch was in mid-life, living in Dijon, France, when she started getting serious about photography. It was 2004, and she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She dove into photography and Photoshop to take her mind off the disease. She was passionate about her new art form and learned quickly. One day, while looking at a daguerreotype of a 19th-century lady that she had scanned into Photoshop, Roch looked down at her dog, a golden Labrador Retriever named Boudi. Suddenly, something clicked in her head. “Let’s try to dress you as a lady,” she said aloud. And thus was a career born. Roch created dozens of these whimsical hybrids, then started posting them on the social-networking site Flickr. They became an immediate Internet sensation. A French publisher asked if she would license her photos for reproduction on notebooks and postcards. Soon, a German publisher came calling. Today, her notebooks and postcards are sold worldwide. People don’t give animals enough credit for being intelligent, Roch believes. “They think animals are like objects,” Roch says, “but they have feelings and emotions. They have their own way of thinking and reacting to what they see and feel.” http://martineroch-studio.com/ www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Matt Blum (lead photographer) and Katy Kessler (editor/art director), 31, live and work in Minneapolis, MN. Matt started the Nu Project in 2005, and Katy became the project editor in 2009. To date, it includes 150 women from North and South America. This fall, they will travel to Spain and Portugal to photograph more volunteers in their homes.To participate, sign up at http://thenuproject.com/participate. To find out more about Matt + Katy's work please visit http://www.mattblum.com www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Brooke Shaden was born in March of 1987 in Lancaster, PA, USA. She grew up near the "Amish Country" until attending Temple University. Brooke was photographically born in December 2008 after graduating from Temple with two degrees: film and English. She now resides in Los Angeles, CA, USA with her husband and two cats. She began creating self-portraits for ease and to have full control over the images, and has since grown into a self-portrait artist. Self portraiture for her is not autobiographical in nature. Instead, she attempts to place herself within worlds she wishes we could live in, where secrets float out in the open, where the impossible becomes possible. Brooke works to create new worlds within her photographic frame. By using painterly techniques as well as the square format, traditional photographic properties are replaced by otherworldly elements. Brooke's photography questions the definition of what it means to be alive. http://brookeshaden.com/gallery/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Crewdson www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Jonathan Hanson is a freelance photographer based in Baltimore, MD. His passion for culture, exploration and storytelling inspired him to leave his Midwestern roots for the East coast. His work is inspired by color, light and the relationships photography can often forge. He has travelled through Southeast Asia, Africa, Mexico and Canada. He received dual BA’s in Journalism and Creative Writing from Drake University. In 2010, he was selected for the Eddie Adams Workshop and was named one of the top emerging photographers in the U.S. by The Magenta Foundation. http://jhansonphoto.com/ http://jhansonphoto.com/blog/ www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Travel photographer Tom Carter (1973) was born and raised in the City of San Francisco and graduated with a degree in Political Science from the American University in Washington, D.C. Following a political career with a number of high-profile state and national campaigns, Tom decided to "peek over the fence" and subsequently spent 18 months backpacking down the length of Mexico, Cuba and Central America. Tom later spent one year in Japan, one year in India, and four years in the People's Republic of China, traveling extensively throughout the country's 33 provinces and autonomous regions. The result was his first book, CHINA: Portrait of a People, hailed as the most comprehensive book of photography on modern China ever published by a single author. https://www.facebook.com/chinaportrait?fref=ts http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZGM6 www.thecandidframe.com [email protected]

Winifred Whitfield has embraced a rich and varied life. After receiving Masters Degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Social Work she became a Vice President on Wall Street. Seeking a different life style, she moved from New York to the Northwest, purchased a little farm and thrived – though she continued to provide financial services to client. She took a photography class when she needed photos of her llamas for her website and fell in love with this artistic expression. Her expertise grew quickly, competing successfully international print competitions. She judged print competitions at the international level and taught Master Classes. After several years as a classic portrait photographer Winifred has become a passionate digital painter, with painting expertise in Corel Painter and Photoshop. She is an educator, with an online store offering personalized painting workshops, “Almost One To One” and portrait painting tutorials, in addition to more than 50 painting tutorials on YouTube. She has received the Accolade of Lifetime Achievement from Wedding and Portrait Photographers International, the highest level of achievement granted by that organization, a Kodak Gallery Award, and a Perfect Print Award amongst others. Her expertise is primarily in portrait painting, commissioned by her clients, but she enjoys fine art painting as well. Though Winifred sold her farm 2 years ago, she continues to own and operate Winifred’s Portrait & Fine Art Gallery near Seattle, Washington. http://winifredsgallery.com http://skipallenpaints.com www.thecandidframe.com [email protected] [email protected]