Awareness beyond photography

Welcome to Episode 108 of the F-Stop Collaborate and Listen podcast. I'm really excited to present this episode to you - I feel like it is so different than previous episodes of the podcast thank to our amazing guest, Shane McDermott. 

Shane and I have known each other for a couple of years and I have always found him to be a wonderful breath of fresh air. His perspective on life and photography is so refreshing and thought-provoking. He also happens to have some absolutely incredible work, which you need to check out as soon as possible. 

In this episode of the podcast, Shane talks about his beginnings as an Integrative Health provider and how that informed his approach to photography. We define and discuss contemplative nature photography and how Shane's approach to landscape photography is similar but different from that approach. Shane shares his thoughts on "visual centricity" "awareness," and "constant creative flow" and how this approach to photography can change how you interact with the natural world through your photographs. We also talk about Guy Tal's article on Nature Photographer's Network about "The Mindful Photographer," and how that approach is similar but different than Shane's. Lastly, we talked about his unique approach to workshops, which he calls "VisionQuest Photography."

This week on Patreon, I ask Shane about his experiences of travelling through Navajo and Hopi land in pursuit of landscape photography and he shares his experiences and thoughtful insights from his interactions with their culture as a photographer and traveler. 

Please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon! There's a ton of bonus content over there for subscribers! Your support is critical - it helps with production costs and to improve the podcast over time. Thanks! Even $1 / mo helps a lot! We are growing closer to our goal of getting to $1,000/mo in support, at which point I will create an award to be given to a photographer that is a champion of conservation. Help us get there!

Here are the photographers that Shane recommended for the podcast:

1. Kathleen Reeder.

2. Florian Schulz.

3. Doug Koepsel.

I love hearing from the podcast listeners! Reach out to me via Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter if you'd like to be on the podcast or if you have an idea of a topic we can talk about. You can also join the conversation on our Facebook Group! We've also started an Instagram page and a Facebook page for the podcast, where we'll be sharing updates as we go!

As a reminder, you can also support the podcast by shopping at B+H for your photography gear using our Affiliate Link.