The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Celebrated photographer Matthew Jordan Smith has worked with some of the top names in entertainment today including Haile Berry, Jennifer Connelly, Jamie Fox, Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey.  Matthew’s love of photography and people stretches far beyond his commissioned work and has given birth to several personal projects including two books. The first book entitled Lost and Found and sponsored by Microsoft focuses on missing and exploited children and is endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. His other book includes Sepia Dreams which features portraits and interviews with accomplished African Americans.  A native of New York City, Matthew has taught at the prestigious School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. He is also an active volunteer with several art schools including Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design and RIT. He is a board member of Kids with a Cause Europe and APA/LA. http://matthewjordansmith.com/ http://matthewjordansmith.com/blog/ www.rev.com www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

With Effortless Beauty, Julie DuBose brings a new perspective to photography. She talks in an intimate way not just about how we express our experience with our camera, but about a whole new and fresh way to experience our visual world altogether. She guides us through the process of seeing without our usual habitual ways of experiencing what we see, so that we can have vivid, mind-stopping visual perceptions, and express those perceptions exactly as we see them.  Julie DuBose has been a practitioner of Miksang Contemplative Photography since 1998.  She studied with Michael Wood, the founder of the Miksang Training course of study and practice, and began teaching courses with him in 2005. Together they have developed the Miksang Training curriculum and have taught in North America and Europe. In 2009 Julie co-founded The Miksang Institute for Contemplative Photography in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to courses held in various locations in the US and Canada, each summer The Miksang Institute hosts a three week intensive course of study on the principles and practice of contemplative photography.  Miksang Publications was founded in 2010 to produce print and digital books on the practice of Miksang Contemplative Photography and related art forms. Effortless Beauty is the first offering of Miksang Publications. http://effortlessbeautybook.com http://miksang.com http://miksang.com/miksanglife/ http://miksang.com/Michael-Collection/index.html http://ibarionex.net/thecandidframe/ info@thecandidframe.com

Rob Lutter is a  photographer, designer & writer from England. In 2011 he left his home in London to begin a photographic journey & global expedition attempt to cycle around the world. He  put the UK film industry behind him to embark on a creative, physical & psychological adventure across 4 world continents & more than 40 countries. His passion is in discovering & creating stories through film, word or photography & his  work aims to capture unique cultures & landscapes, to learn from them & share their lives & his  own with the world, inspiring others through tales of human endeavor. This journey is many things. Primarily, it’s a photographic & literary travel project that aims to tell a universal story, about the need for change, adventure & happiness. Secondly, it’s a charity event that aims to raise £20,000 for mental health organisations – for every mile cycled a pound can be raised to help others struggling through life, as he has & still is, troubled by the mind. The trip is also just sheer escape – a way out of the office, out of the routines & constraints of daily life. A chance to create a fresh start & a name for himself in an unusual, exciting, cheap & unpredictable way. The unknown is a place where good things can happen, where something at all can happen. http://thelifecycle.roblutter.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Born in Paris in 1928 to Russian parents, Elliott Erwitt spent his childhood in Milan, then emigrated to the US, via France, with his family in 1939. As a teenager living in Hollywood, he developed an interest in photography and worked in a commercial darkroom before experimenting with photography at Los Angeles City College. In 1948 he moved to New York and exchanged janitorial work for film classes at the New School for Social Research. Erwitt traveled in France and Italy in 1949 with his trusty Rolleiflex camera. In 1951 he was drafted for military service and undertook various photographic duties while serving in a unit of the Army Signal Corps in Germany and France. While in New York, Erwitt met Edward Steichen, Robert Capa and Roy Stryker, the former head of the Farm Security Administration. Stryker initially hired Erwitt to work for the Standard Oil Company, where he was building up a photographic library for the company, and subsequently commissioned him to undertake a project documenting the city of Pittsburgh. In 1953 Erwitt joined Magnum Photos and worked as a freelance photographer for Collier's, Look, Life, Holiday and other luminaries in that golden period for illustrated magazines. To this day he is for hire and continues to work for a variety of journalistic and commercial outfits. In the late 1960s Erwitt served as Magnum's president for three years. He then turned to film: in the 1970s he produced several noted documentaries and in the 1980s eighteen comedy films for Home Box Office. Erwitt became known for benevolent irony, and for a humanistic sensibility traditional to the spirit of Magnum.  www.elliotterwitt.com http://www.magnumphotos.com/ http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/erwittdc/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Dan (Dano) Steinhardt has over three decades of business experience in photography. In addition to national academic achievement, Steinhardt was first recognized for his photography when Scholastic Magazine awarded him the Grand Prize as the best high school photographer in North America. As Marketing Manager at Epson America, Inc. Steinhardt's responsibilities help position Epson as a key player in the photographic industry to professional and amateur photo markets.  Steinhardt was fortunate to have attended Reseda High School in Los Angeles, CA studying under the legendary Warren King. While still in high school, Steinhardt began assisting professional photographers in Hollywood, CA. Because of his background at Reseda High and experience as a photo assistant, Steinhardt was awarded advance standing at Brooks Insitute of Photography, Santa Barbara, CA where he double majored in Advertising/Illustration and Industrial/Scientific photography graduating with a Bachelors degree at the age of 20.   After graduation from Brooks Institute, Steinhardt operated his own commercial photography studio in Chicago, IL, specializing for eight years in advertising photography for national clients. During this time, Steinhardt worked in large format table-top product and food photography and was voted by American Photographer Magazine as, "New face in advertising photography".  Before joining Epson, Steinhardt was a marketing director in the Professional Division at Eastman Kodak Company and held a variety of positions at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY and New York City including strategic marketing director, market segment manager and professional imaging specialist.  In addition to a bachelor's degree with honors from Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, CA, he has completed additional studies in the business schools of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.  http://dansteinhardt.com/ http://www.vivianmaier.com/ http://www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Chris Gampat is the founder of The Phoblographer and he manages all of the daily tasks. He has worked for Photography Bay,  PCMag, Geek.com, Magnum Photos, B&H Photo Video and MAC Group amongst others. He specializes in content development and Social Media marketing campaigns for the creative industry. Chris also freelances for many other publications such as Digital Camera Review, Gear Patrol, Imaging Resource, and Resource Magazine. The Phoblographer is a site dedicated to the practice of photography with reviews that are rooted within the real-world use of equipment and software. It also includes features on photographers, helpful tips and humorist articles revolving around the world of photography.  www.thephoblographer.com http://500px.com/ChrisGampat http://eliotdudik.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

​Kevin McCollister is a Los Angeles based photographer who has been sharing images on his blog East of West LA since 2006. In his blog and his book by the same title, he explores parts of the city of Angeles not frequently explored in film and television. His photographs of Los Angeles, reveal the mash-up up the past and the present with images that often reflect how buildings and spaces have been continually adapted with each generation of Angelenos, particularly immigrants. His night photographs reveal a Los Angeles which seems virtually abandoned upon nightfall, but which still reveal glimpses of the people and the communities that work and exist there during daylight hours. Born in Ohio, McCollister worked as a deckhand on the Mississippi River for several years after which he lived in Cambridge, MA where he attended Harvard University Extension School.  He has lived in Los Angeles longer than he has lived in any other city.  http://jimsonweed.blogspot.com/ http://www.manuelalvarezbravo.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Alvarez_Bravo http://www.modotti.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

David H. Wells a free-lance photographer affiliated with Aurora Photos and photo educator in Providence, Rhode Island. He specializes in intercultural communications and the use of light and shadow to enhance visual narratives. His work has been featured in one-person exhibits at Brown University, U.C. Berkeley and Harvard University. His work has been part of group exhibitions at the Houston FotoFest and the Visa pour l'Image Festival in Perpignan, France. He has been an Artist in residence at the Visual Studies Workshop and the Light Works Photography Center. He has taught classes at the University of Pennsylvania and workshops at the International Center for Photography in NYC and Maine Media Workshops. He was featured in Photo District News as one of "The Best Workshop Instructors." http://www.pdnonline.com/features/PDN-Reader-Survey-T-3302.shtml His photo-essays have been funded by fellowships from Nikon/NPPA, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the MacArthur Foundation's Program of Research and Writing on International Peace and Cooperation, the Alicia Patterson Foundation and the Fulbright Foundation. His project on the pesticide poisoning of California farm workers was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by the Philadelphia Inquirer. As an Olympus Visionary, Wells has been contracted by the camera company to produce images and provide feedback on new product lines. You can find out more about David H. Wells and his work by visiting his site http://davidhwells.com/index.php or his blog http://thewellspoint.com/ or follow him on Tumblr at http://thewellspoint.tumblr.com/ or Twitter at https://twitter.com/thewellspoint David H. Wells recommends the work of Harry Callahan. www.davidhwells.com/index.php http://thewellspoint.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

A special announcement about a dedicated phone and tablet app for The Candid Frame photography podcast.  We are hoping you would consider donating just $10 towards making the app available for free for all listeners of the show.  If you and 23 other listeners do this, we will be able to provide a free pathway to the great content we offer at The Candid Frame.  www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com Here is the link for the TCF Donate site https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=PV0nmy4Wzq9ux6583YKgwign4GxOY3lnQ_wPzxwdTjtGF4VW7WJiWemToja&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d0038486cd0d9a2f3f8e698d26650388a

Mark and Holly Jansen of Mark Jansen Photography and Jansen Photo Expeditions have been displaying their art as well as teaching and guiding photographic workshops since 2005.  They take their clients on photographic dream tours throughout the American West and the world.  Jansen Photo Expeditions workshops include DSLR workshops, iPhone photography classes, and online classes in basic photography, Photoshop, and Macro Photography.   Mark Jansen is a native of Los Angeles, CA, and the founder of Mark Jansen Photography and Jansen Photo Expeditions.  He was educated at Moorpark College, Moorpark, CA, in Commercial Design and Photography.  Mark participates regularly in photographic continuing education programs and trade shows, so he's always on the cutting edge of our rapidity changing photographic world.  Mark is personally involved in every project and workshop he holds and puts his personal stamp of excellence on everything he does.  Mark has lived and breathed photography all his life. His childhood passion for tinkering with video and film cameras  and other gadgets has turned into a successful visual arts career.  Many of his works are in private and corporate collections such as State Farm Insurance and Sysco Food Services Corporate offices in California as well as large format murals in the Waypoint Cafe in Camarillo, and the Santa Maria Airport in Santa Maria, CA.  Holly Higbee-Jansen has a life long passion for photography and loves to share her art and knowledge with her clients .  For the past 40 years, Holly has been exploring her fascination with light through photography since her family attended workshops with Ansel Adams in Yosemite Valley as a young child.  Holly has degrees in Business and Environmental and Interior Design.  Holly honed her photographic skills through years of traveling the world and photographing natural landscapes and displaying her work along with her husband Mark in galleries and art shows throughout Southern California.  Eventually, this love of light expanded into teaching workshops throughout the west and the world with Jansen Photo Expeditions.  Currently, Holly's photographic work has expanded to include women's glamour portraits, the exploration of the beauty of women in natural light. Photographer Websites: www.markjansenphotography.com www.jansenphotoexpeditions.com www.JansenPhotoExplorations.com www.mountainlight.com www.vivianmaier.com The Candid Frame www.thecandidframe.com info@theandidframe.com