The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Mary Ellen Mark, an acclaimed documentary photographer, shares her rich journey of over four decades capturing humanity through intimate portraits and photo essays. She discusses the emotional depth of street photography and the responsibility of documenting marginalized communities. Mark critiques the industry's shift to digital, stressing the importance of maintaining artistic integrity. From capturing twins at prom with a rare Polaroid to empowering education through photography in Philadelphia, her insights illuminate the transformative power of storytelling in visual art.

John Ellis and Laura Preston left their lives in New York City on February 1st, 2013 to spend a year traveling around the United States in a 34 foot Airstream trailer. But instead of choosing their own destinations, they crowd-sourced the itinerary, letting the internet decide where they go. John, a freelance web developer, designed and built a website where people can suggest any place in the country for the couple to visit. The suggestions can then be voted upon; John and Laura visit the places with the most votes. They share photos and stories about their experiences on their blog and various social medias.  Both John and Laura come from artistic backgrounds. John went to school in Atlanta to study photography and worked for legendary photographer Jay Maisel for a number of years in Manhattan. Laura is a painter and studied art history and studio art at New York University.   www.zacharyconcepcion.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Jonathan Lucas Auch was born in New York City in 1984. He studied painting at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California. Upon returning to New York City, and training as darkroom printer, Jonathan worked for 3 years as the exhibition printer and assistant for photojournalist James Nachtwey, where he was responsible for all print production used in exhibits, periodicals, galleries and museums. As a freelance photographer, Jonathan works both on the street and producing photo/video reportage on a variety of stories which focus on; political, cultural and emotional isolation, alienation, loneliness, racism and discrimination. Jonathan Lucas Auch was born in New York City in 1984. He studied painting at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California. Upon returning to New York City, and training as darkroom printer, Jonathan worked for 3 years as the exhibition printer and assistant for photojournalist James Nachtwey, where he was responsible for all print production used in exhibits, periodicals, galleries and museums. As a freelance photographer, Jonathan works both on the street and producing photo/video reportage on a variety of stories which focus on; political, cultural and emotional isolation, alienation, loneliness, racism and discrimination. www.jonathonauch.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Klein_(photographer) www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Annu Palakunnathu Matthew's recent exhibitions include the Newark Art Museum, Newark, NJ, Light Work, Syracuse, NY, Sepia International, New York City, the RISD Museum, the 2006 Noorderlicht Photo Festival in Netherlands and the 2005 Le Mois de la Photo a Montreal Photo Biennale in Canada.   In 2007, Matthew was the first of three artists to be awarded the 2007 MacColl Johnson Fellowship in Visual Arts. Among the list of other grants recently supporting Matthew's work include the John Gutmann Fellowship, Rhode Island State Council of the Arts Fellowship and the American Institute of Indian Studies Creative Arts fellowship. She was recently an artist in residence at the Yaddo Colony, Saratoga Springs, NY and the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH. Her work can be found in the collection of the George Eastman House, Rochester, NY, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ, and the RISD Museum, Providence, RI, among others. Matthew's work is included in the book BLINK from Phaidon, that according to the publisher celebrates the quality and vision of today's 100 most exciting international contemporary photographers.   Annu Palakunnathu Matthew is on the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and the URI Council for the Humanities. She is represented by Sepia International Inc., New York City & Tasveer Gallery, India. http://www.annumatthew.com/ http://www.davidhwells.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Sarah Allegra is a Los Angeles-based fine art photographer specializing in conceptual and self-portrait imagery. A self-taught photographer, she has also indulged in other forms of artistic expression – from painting to songwriting – since she could first hold a crayon. Her photography is darkly ethereal, deeply symbolic and other-worldly. Drawing inspiration from music, books, fairy tales and her own personal demons, she creates visual poetry through her work. http://sarahallegra.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/artosthebear/ http://www.unsinnimage.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Walter Plotnick is a photo-based artist who lives and works in the Philadelphia area. He received his MFA from University of the Arts and BFA from Tyler School of Art. My current work is a hybrid of wet photography and digital process. I am influenced by the work of Bauhaus, Constructivist and Surrealist Photographers from the 1920s through the 1930s. I make photographs and photograms by constructing temporary still lifes, using vintage found objects and images on top of photographic paper in the darkroom. By manipulating a variety of light sources, then digitally combining, repeating or adding images, I am able to visually explore an abstract environment with objects and light, creating movement, form and tension.  http://walterplotnick.com http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/heartfield/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

After a short-lived tenure as a junior high school teacher and coach, then a flirtation with filmmaking, Will Jacks finally settled in on a career as a photographer. Eager to get started, he left Journalism graduate school in 1996, even though he was only a few hours shy of receiving his degree. His business has grown to serve a diverse clientele of commercial and editorial clients throughout the southeast, and his personal work is represented in several galleries in the region. In addition, his documentary work of the Mississippi Delta is a prominent part of the Viking Range permanent archives. Will is also active in the photographic and arts communities, serving as a past executive board member for the Delta Arts Alliance, a governor-appointed board member of the Mississippi Blues Commission, and as a judge for the ShootQ Grant, among others. He also owns and operates a small photography gallery focusing on imagery from the Mississippi Delta, and just this spring has re-enrolled at the University of Mississippi in order to finally complete his Master’s Degree. He and his wife Jamie, as well as their two pound puppies, Sam and Homer, live part-time in the Mississippi Delta and part-time in the French Quarter of New Orleans. www.willjax.com www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Joshua Mann Pailet was born in New Orleans in 1950 and raised in Baton Rouge, LA.  He graduated from Rice University in 1972 and 1973 with a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Accounting.  In 1973 Pailet founded A Gallery for Fine Photography to create a venue to collect, display and sell 19th and 20th Century photographs. He taught at Louisiana State University (Spring 1977). Though he has photographed locations across the country, the greater body of his work revolves around the city of New Orleans, which has allowed him to document life there for the last several decades, especially the years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. You can discover more about Joshua, his gallery and his own work by visiting his website.  Joshua Mann Pailet recommends the work of Josephine Sacabo and Louviere + Vanessa.  Support the work we do on the podcast by donating using PayPal. Your contributions help directly in us continuing to bring great interviews every week directly to you. www.agallery.com http://josephinesacabo.com/ http://louviereandvanessa.com/grotesk/index.html www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Corwin Hiebert is a management and marketing consultant to creative entrepreneurs (like world-renowned photographer and best-selling author David duChemin). He is the author of the new book  and he's the business development instructor at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts. His company is called Taendem Agency. He doesn't blog, he delivers. You can learn more about Corwin and his work by visiting  or  if you are interested having him serve as a consultant to your business.  Phone: Email: G+:  T: W:  Book:  www.nickhallphotography.com www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Ken Light is a social documentary photographer, and educator, whose work has appeared in books, magazines, catalogues, on-line media and exhibitions. He is the author of eight books including his most recent book, Valley of Shadows and Dreams (published by Heyday, 2012). Additional books include Coal Hollow, published in 2006 by The University of California Press, his text Witness In Our Time; Working Lives of Documentary Photographers was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in October 2000 and in a revised second edition in 2010. His photo book Texas Death Row University Press of Mississippi was published in the fall of 1997. Texas Death Row is a look at life inside the death house as the condemned wait to be executed in Americas largest and most active Death Row. He is a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California Berkeley and 2012 Laventhol Visiting Professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has taught workshops at the ICP in New York City, The Missouri Workshop, Anderson Ranch, the S.F. Art Institute and the School for Photographic Studies in Prague. He was editor of the university of California Press series on contemporary photography and a founder of the International Fund for Documentary Photography which awarded grants to photographers internationally and Fotovision.org anon-profit documentary organization based In San Francisco, California. He is associated with the editorial photo agency Contact Press Images in New York City. www.kenlight.com www.kenschles.com www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandiframe.com