The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Jerry Monkman is an outdoor photographer and film maker who specializes in conservation issue affecting the Northeastern U.S.  His work has been used in publications around the world and his images have been used in more than 100 land conservation projects since 2000. He is also the author of 9 books, including The AMC Guide to Outdoor Digital Photography, which won a 2012 National Outdoor Book Award. www.ecophotography.com http://bridgetbesaw.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Don Komarechka is a Barrie, Canada based nature & landscape photographer with a passion for photographing the unseen world. From abandoned buildings to swirling stars, lightning to snowflakes, Don’s images convey a sense of curiosity and wonder. Active in the photographic community, Don is a teacher, author and explorer. Writing a regular column in Outdoor Photography Canada and teaching many nature photography workshops, he’s always willing to share his knowledge and secrets.  Seeing the world beyond visual perception is a driving force is Don’s photography. His latest project is an in-depth study of snowflakes. From a photographic perspective and with a scientific mind, the images offer a compelling look into a subject we rarely appreciate. Technically challenging and time-consuming to create, Don’s images illustrate that exploring new worlds can happen two feet from your door. Discover the beauty of these images and the science behind them in Don’s upcoming book “Sky Crystals: Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes” ( ). The book is being crowd-funded until April 30th 2013 – help make the project an even greater success! You can also see more of Don’s work on his website ( ) http://www.stevesimonphoto.com/ www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

Angelo Merendino is an Akron native who has lived in Nashville, Taos and most recently Manhattan. When his wife of 5 months was diagnosed with breast cancer Angelo found that the most effective way to communicate and share their daily challenges was with his camera. The resulting body of work was first exhibited in Cleveland, OH, and has since been shown in New York City, Brooklyn, Rome and Washington DC. Angelo’s photographs have been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The USA Today and La Repubblica. Online features include The Huffington Post, The New Yorker’s PhotoBooth, ’s Photo Blog and .  Look at the images from the project by visiting  www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

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 info@thecandidframe.com

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 info@thecandidframe.com

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 info@thecandidframe.com

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 info@thecandidframe.com

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 info@thecandidframe.com

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 . To find out more about Matt + Katy's work please visit www.thecandidframe.com info@thecandidframe.com

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 info@thecandidframe.com