A Photographic Life

In episode 187 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on the potential need for a new name for digital capture, how to educate a client and when to turn down a commission and why to do it. He also marks the death of photographer Tom Stoddart. Plus this week photographer Ilona Langbroek takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Ilona Langbroek graduated with honours from the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam in 2019 and is now based in Hilversum, The Netherlands. Langbroek invites the viewer to become part of a memory, through metaphorical representations of memories and fantasies. Utilizing a strong contrast between light and dark, she creates a twilight zone aesthetic as a metaphor for the disappearing past. To achieve this, she uses the soft lighting used by painters of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age, such as Vermeer, Rembrandt or the Italian painter Caravaggio. This approach has led to numerous bodies of work including the series Silent Loss, a personal series based on her family history in the former Dutch East Indies. Langbroek has been presented with numerous awards for her work and has been exhibited internationally. www.ilonalangbroek.com Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 186 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on commitment to photography and photographers, never getting old, questioning funded photographic institutions, supporting good causes and more Dutch photo comedy. Plus this week photographer Ashleigh Coleman on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Ashleigh Coleman was born in 1983 in Virginia and is a self-taught photographer working with an inherited Hasselblad. Her photographs have been exhibited across the United States, including solo shows at the Fischer Galleries in Jackson, MS, the University of Mississippi's Center for the Study of Southern Culture, and the Claire Elizabeth Gallery in New Orleans. Coleman's work has also been shown at the Ogden Museum, the Griffin Museum of Photography, the University of West Virginia, the University of Southern Mississippi, the Bo Bartlett Center, and it is currently part of the traveling exhibitions for Looking for Appalachia and A Yellow Rose Project. She is a founding member of the Due South Co and lives on the land of her husband’s family in rural Mississippi. www.ashleighcoleman.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 185 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on keeping things simple, the return of humanist photography and listening to photographers speaking. Plus this week photographer Richard Ansett on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Richard Ansett is a social documentary portrait photographer based in London whose heavily stylised individual studies and essays revolve around an empathy with disenfranchised communities informed by his own relationship to his sexuality and adoption from birth. His individual portraits have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Smithsonian, USA and the Canadian Library and Archive and his portrait of the artist Grayson Perry Mother & Child won first prize at the Sony World Photography Awards 2019. Ansett’s series of portraits exploring the complex mental health of women prisoners and a series exploring a disappearing community in South London, Behind The Brutal Facade, 2020 were both shortlisted subsequently for the same awards. The portrait of an autistic boy in a flower garden from the series Boys in a City Park, Ukraine, 2011 won the Arte Laguna Prize 2013 and his project Mother and Child, Donbas, Ukraine 2011 was exhibited at the UNICEF What is Your Name? exhibition in Kiev in 2016 as a metaphor for the trauma of enforced internal dislocation and migration due to conflict. His portrait Danel, 9from his seriesChildren of Grenfell taken six months after the Grenfell Tower fire was selected as the People’s Choice at the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 2018. His images have been selected 13 times for the National Portrait Gallery, London portrait prize exhibition. http://richardansett.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 184 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on humility, 'awesomeness' and pride, stealing other peoples work and recommends some comedy that pricks the pompous photography bubble. Plus this week photographer David Rothenberg on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ David Rothenberg is a photographer and educator who lives in New York and who has over recent years, made his home borough of Queens the subject of several major projects. He has produced two books of his work Roosevelt Station and Landing Lights Park, which TIME magazine named one of the best photography books of 2018. Rothenberg was the recipient of the PHOTO 2021 x Perimeter International Photobook Prize for Roosevelt Station and in 2019, and he was awarded the Peters S. Reed Foundation Grant for photography. Rothenberg’s photographs have been published in The New York Times, Hyperallergic, Libération, Die Zeit and The New Yorker and are held in the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MoMA, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Rothenberg received an MFA from Bard College and a BFA from Parsons School of Design. https://davidrothenberg.com Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019).https://davidrothenberg.com Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 183 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on the reasons for photo books to exist, European box sets, and the importance of cinematography to the still image. Plus this week photographer Sean Gallagher on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Sean Gallagher is an independent photographer and filmmaker whose work focuses on creating photography and documentary film projects that highlight stories from the front line of the climate crisis and important and under-reported global environmental issues. Gallagher studied Zoology at university in the UK, an education that informs his work. From chasing timber poachers with armed policemen through the jungles of Cambodia, to photographing undercover in secretive North Korea, he had produced diverse stories for some of the world’s leading news outlets. He is an 8-time recipient of Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting travel grants, his images are represented by the National Geographic Image Collection and he is a Fellow of the UK Royal Geographical Society. Originally from the UK, he has lived and worked across Asia for over 15 years and is currently based just outside of Beijing. https://gallagher-photo.com Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 182 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on commissioned smartphone remote photography, explaining usage fees to clients and being professional. Plus this week photographer/filmmaker Ross McDonnell takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ You can read the interview with Ross mentioned in this episode here: https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2012/12/31/ross-mcdonnell-interview/ Ross McDonnell is a photographer and filmmaker born in Dublin, Ireland. Since graduating with a MFA in Film Production, Ross's work has evolved into a mature storytelling voice across a range of lens based disciplines. He was recently named as a Shortlisted Artist for the the Prix Pictet, the global award in photography and sustainability, and his photographs have been exhibited at the V&A Museum, the Gallery of Photography Dublin, the Shanghai Centre of Photography and the Grand Palais at Paris Photo. Often working on self-initiated photography projects, Ross has lived and worked in Mexico, Afghanistan, Ukraine and the US and published his work in the New York Times Magazine, Time and The Sunday Times Magazine. An Emmy Award winning filmmaker for The Trade in 2021, Ross' first film Colony premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for an Irish Academy Award. His following film as a director, Elián was filmed in Cuba and premiered at the Tribeca film festival was nominated for an EMMY Award. McDonnell's work has screened at the Sundance Film Festival, the London BFI Film Festival and IDFA. His forthcoming film projects include Love Yourself Today as Executive Producer and The First Wave for National Geographic Documentaries on which he served as a Cinematographer & Co-Producer. His first book Joyrider, published by Thirty Nine Books and the Charcoal book club has just been released and is available now. He lives in New York. https://rossmcdonnell.com Grant Scott is the Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 181 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on the photographic long game, supporting established photographers and the importance of having a website. Plus this week photographer Marketa Luskačová on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Marketa Luskačová was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1968 and graduated from Charles University, Prague with a Degree in Sociology with a thesis on religion in Slovakia. During her stay in Slovakia, she became familiar with old Christian rites and decided to return with a camera to document the surviving traditions. Luskačová then studied photography at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and from 1970 to 1972, she photographed stage performances of the Za branou theatre, however, the theatre was banned by the communists in the spring of 1972. The same year, she showed her body of work titled Pilgrims in the Gallery of Visual Arts in Roudnice nad Labem. In 1971, she had married the poet Franz H. Wurm but terrified by the 'Normalization' programme in Czechoslovakia at the time, Wurm left the country and Luskačová asked the state authorities for permission to visit her husband abroad. After several short visits she emigrated to England in 1975. Her work was banned in Czechoslovakia, and she started photographing London's markets in 1974 and as a Magnum nominee, the Chiswick Women's Aid Group. She first visited the North East of England in 1976 when visiting Chris Killip, who lived there and whom she had a son with. She fell in love with Whitley Bay, and with the people there, so when the Newcastle based Amber collective invited her in 1978 to photograph the North East of England alongside Martine Franck, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Paul Caponigro, she was drawn back to photograph the seaside. In 2016 she self-published a collection of photographs of street musicians, mostly taken in the markets of east London, under the title To Remember: London Street Musicians 1975–1990, with an introduction by John Berger. Cafe Royal Books have published two of her bodies of work Chiswick Women's Aid 1976–77 and Ireland 1972–73. Her work created for the Amber collective By the Sea: Photographs from the North East, 1976–1980 was published in 2019. In the same year a major exhibition of her work was shown at Tate Britain. www.marketaluskacova.com Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 180 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on analogue photography in a digital world. Plus this week photographer James Oatway on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ James Oatway was born in 1978 in South Africa and grew up in Phalaborwa, a small copper mining town. He graduated from Rhodes University with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2000 before working as the Chief Photographer and Picture Editor of the Sunday Times newspaper. His work revolves predominantly around themes of social inequality and people affected by conflict and together with photographer Alon Skuy, Oatway published a photographic book about xenophobic violence in South Africa called [BR]OTHER, published in 2021 and he is the co-author of The Battle of Bangui also published in 2021. Oatway works extensively on the African continent and often collaborates with humanitarian organisations such as UNICEF, UNHCR and Médicins Sans Frontières. His work has been published in The Guardian, Stern, Internazionale, Le Monde, TIME, Paris-Match, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The LA Times and others. Oatway has received various international awards including multiple Pictures of the Year International awards. In 2015 he was named the South African Journalist of the Year and in 2018 his Red Ants project won the Visa d’or Feature Award at the Visa Pour l’image Photojournalism Festival in Perpignan, France. He has taught documentary photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg and is affiliated to Panos Pictures in London. www.jamesoatway.com Dr. Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 179 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed dedicating this week's episode to the photographer Colin Jones, and reflecting on supporting child refugees through photography, the need for clear and simple language in communication, and inclusion through events being held online. Plus this week photographer Dan Burn-Forti on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which he answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Dan Burn-Forti was born in Mortlake, West London.  Age 14, he began taking pictures with his mother's Fujica SLR and, after a little assisting and three slightly wasted years studying photography at Middlesex Polytechnic, he has worked ever since primarily in the fields of editorial and advertising photography.  His work spans a range of subjects including everything from celebrity portraiture to animals, reportage to cars, but his work is linked by a love for the absurdness of human beings and the incongruous oddness of modern life.  Over the years his pictures have appeared in numerous publications such as The Observer, Wired, Esquire, Tatler and The Sunday Telegraph.  These days he is increasingly working in the advertising field, having shot many global campaigns for a range of clients that includes Mercedes, HSBC, Sony, John Lewis, VW, Channel 4 and Nike.  In recent years he has also worked as a director, having directed a number of TV commercials for clients such as O2, MINI and Bulldog. Outside of his commissioned work, his passion is for unconstructed observed photography, work that has appeared in two self-published books titled Go Away and Golden Sun.  Burn-Forti has won many awards including The AOP Awards, The Taylor Wessing Prize, Creative Review Awards, Photo District News, the Creative Circle, Communication Arts and The American Photography Awards. www.danburnforti.com Dr. Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). Grant’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021

In episode 178 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on those that are chosen to decide the future of photography, narrative photographic fiction and the reality of NFTs. Plus this week photographer Carol Golemboski on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Carol Golemboski received an MFA in Photography from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1999 and an MA in Art from The University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996. She has been the recipient of numerous grants including individual artist fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Saltonstall Foundation and Light Work. Her Psychometry series won the 2007 Project Competition Award from Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Golemboski's images have been published internationally in textbooks and notable photographic journals in the United States, China, France, Spain, Austria and Sweden. She is an Associate Professor and the Area head of Photography at the University of Colorado Denver. In 2013 Golemboski released an interactive artist's book as an iPad app called "Psychometry." It was selected as one of the twelve Outstanding Books of 2013 by the Independent Publisher Book Awards, winning the category of "Outstanding eBook Achievement." Golemboski is represented by the Robert Klein Gallery in Boston and Kevin Longino, Fine Photographs. www.carolgolemboski.com Dr. Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). ’s book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2021