

A Photographic Life
The United Nations of Photography
"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life." Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Whatever your level of engagement with photography The Photographic Life Podcast explains the realities of working with and learning about the medium. Each week photographer, writer, lecturer, filmmaker, and BBC Radio contributor Dr. Grant Scott reflects on news, discussions, themes and issues surrounding the photographic community. This is a podcast for those who do not want kit reviews, photoshop techniques, marketing babble or camera talk. It is for those who want informed conversation about photography and life. Grant Scott is the founder/curator of www.unitednationsofphotography.com, a Senior Lecturer in Photography at Oxford Brookes University, UK, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained, The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography and New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography.
His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay has been screened across the UK, and in Canada and the US.
Podcast music: Written and performed by Laura Ritchie.
Whatever your level of engagement with photography The Photographic Life Podcast explains the realities of working with and learning about the medium. Each week photographer, writer, lecturer, filmmaker, and BBC Radio contributor Dr. Grant Scott reflects on news, discussions, themes and issues surrounding the photographic community. This is a podcast for those who do not want kit reviews, photoshop techniques, marketing babble or camera talk. It is for those who want informed conversation about photography and life. Grant Scott is the founder/curator of www.unitednationsofphotography.com, a Senior Lecturer in Photography at Oxford Brookes University, UK, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained, The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography and New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography.
His documentary film, Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay has been screened across the UK, and in Canada and the US.
Podcast music: Written and performed by Laura Ritchie.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 12, 2021 • 20min
A Photographic Life - 147: Plus Endia Beal
In episode 147 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the ethics of guilt and digital documentation, commenting on two worlds of photography, and the importance of embracing new technology, thinking and practice.
Plus this week photographer Endia Beal 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?’
Endia Beal is an African-American visual artist, curator, and educator. She graduated from the University of North Carolina with a double bachelor's degree in Art History and Studio Art and as an undergraduate student attended the Studio Art Centre International in Florence, Italy focusing on classic Art History of High Renaissance period. In 2013, she completed a master's degree from Yale School of Art in Fine Arts and Photography. During this time she created her first body of work exploring the struggles of women of colour in the professional field, in the corporate space in particular. Since 2014 Beal has worked as the Director of Diggs Gallery at Winston-Salem State University and is an Associate Professor of Art at the university. Her work has featured in several online editorials including NBC, the Huffington Post, Slate Magazine and the National Geographic. Her work has been exhibited in several institutions including the Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit, Michigan, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art and Culture based in Charlotte, NC, the Aperture Foundation of New York, and the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York. https://endiabeal.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, 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).
His 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

Feb 10, 2021 • 19min
A Photographic Life - 146: Plus Ana Caroline De Lima
In episode 146 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the past, present and possible future for editorial photography.
Plus this week photographer Ana Caroline de Lima 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?’
Ana Caroline de Lima is a Brazilian photographer, journalist and anthropologist whose work focuses on the documentation of cultural, social and environmental issues from an intimate perspective. Her work has been awarded both nationally and internationally and has been exhibited in more than 20 countries, in places such as the Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Ana is an Eddie Adams Workshop alumna and a member of Diversify Photo, Authority Collective, Women Photograph and Everyday Brasil. After years working in Andean countries, she founded Everyday Andes in 2019, to build a community of photographers working in the region and showing the Andes without stereotypes. Her clients as an anthropologist and photographer include Amazon Conservation, ActionAid and Care International. Currently based in São Paulo, de Lima is trained on how to work in extreme environments. https://en.antropologiavisual.com.br
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, 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).
His 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

Feb 3, 2021 • 20min
A Photographic Life - 145: Plus Mark Klett
In episode 145 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the death of editorial integrity, academic photography book publishing and the need to create a photographic print.
Plus this week photographer Mark Klett 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?’
Arizona based Mark Klett studied Geology at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY before completing his M.F.A. in Photography at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Klett states that he is interested in making works that respond to historic images; creating projects that explore relationships between time, change and perception; and exploring the language of photographic media through technology. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the Japan/US Friendship Commission. Klett's work has been exhibited and published in the United States and internationally for over thirty-five years, and is held in over eighty museum collections worldwide. He is the author/co-author of fifteen books and he lives in Tempe, Arizona where he is Regents’ Professor of Art at Arizona State University. www.markklettphotography.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, 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).
His 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

Jan 27, 2021 • 20min
A Photographic Life - 144: Plus John Bulmer
In episode 144 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering what makes a magazine cover photographer, Irving Penn the photojournalist, the importance those who came before us, and Covid lockdown independent initiatives.
Plus this week photographer John Bulmer 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?’
John Bulmer was born in 1938 in Herefordshire, the grandson of the founder of the Bulmer cider company. While still a student of engineering at Cambridge he had photographs published in Varsity magazine as well as a magazine he co-founded, Image. He also completed photo-stories for the Daily Express, and Queen magazine, whilst working as an assistant to photographers Larry Burrows and Burt Glinn. Expelled from Cambridge six weeks before his finals Bulmer got a job with the Daily Express and stayed there for two years. Bulmer is most often associated with his documentation of the North of England which he began with his first assignment in 1960, for Town. In 1965, Bulmer first photographed the north of England in colour, for the Sunday Times magazine the magazine who he worked for until 1973. However, Bulmer continued working for other publications, including the British edition of Geo, as he combined photography with film commissions for the BBC and Discovery Channel. As Bulmer moved away from photography to film, his earlier photographic work until it was included in a 1983 exhibition at the Photographers' Gallery, British Photography 1955–65: The Master Craftsmen in Print. Bulmer's career in film continued to the mid-2000s, when he retired and turned to digitising and cataloguing his earlier photographs. The resulted in two books of his work being published by Bluecoat Press, The North and Wind of Change. www.johnbulmer.co.uk
*In this episode Grant incorrectly suggests that John Bulmer is married to the film director Mai Zetterling, this is incorrect. Bulmer worked with Zetterling but is married to Angela Bulmer, a sculptor. A full apology for this error will be included in next week's episode.
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, 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).
His 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

Jan 20, 2021 • 20min
A Photographic Life - 143: Plus Jasper Goodall
In episode 143 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering how we are all publishers now, photographic connection and presenting testimony from the frontline of photojournalism.
Plus this week photographer Jasper Goodall 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?’
Photographer, senior lecturer and former illustrator Jasper Goodall came into the public eye through his illustration work in the early 2000’s. Best known for his editorials in The Face magazine and his creation of ethereal imagery for the English rock band Muse, he was widely published and much referenced. In 2014 he left the world of commercial illustration and spent several years training as a counsellor at the Psychosynthesis Trust in London. This hiatus provided Goodall opportunity to take stock and re-imagine his creative output in a new and very different form; exploring the landscape at night. Goodall’s nocturnal series Twilight’s Path has been described as being at once beautiful and terrifying. In addition to his photographic practice Goodall teaches creativity and visual communication and he is a senior lecturer at the University of Brighton where he has taught visual communicators for almost 20 years. www.jaspergoodall.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, 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).
His 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/

Jan 13, 2021 • 21min
A Photographic Life - 142: Plus Joseph Szabo
In episode 142 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the role of the documentarian, working on the frontline, Zoom based photography, and the need to record as evidence of experience.
Plus this week photographer Joseph Szabo 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?’
Joseph Szabo is a teacher, photographer and author. He taught photography and art at Malverne High School on Long Island for 27 years and for over 20 years at the International Center of Photography, New York. His 1978 book, Almost Grown, featured many of his students and was acclaimed as one of the 'Best Books of the Year' by the American Library Association. In the book’s forward, legendary photojournalist and Founder of the International Center of Photography Cornell Capa, wrote that “in Szabo’s hands, the camera is magically there, the light is always available, the moment is perceived, seen, and caught.” Throughout the 80s and 90s, Almost Grown attained cult classic status in the fashion world, prompting Vogue fashion editor Grace Coddington to notice that “all the young fashion photographers were looking at Joe’s photographs as their bible.” In 2003, Szabo released Teenage his more complete view of adolescents coming of age. His most recent book Jones Beach captures his forty year exploration of summer at New York’s most popular beach. Szabo’s evocative black and white images have won him worldwide recognition and admiration, from photographers including Bruce Weber and filmmakers Cameron Crowe and Sofia Coppola. He is the recipient of a photography fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and his images reside in the collections of the Bibliotheque National in Paris, The George Eastman House Museum in Rochester, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Art, among many others. His photographs have been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The London Times, French Vogue, Women’s Wear Daily and exhibited at galleries in Paris, London, Japan, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles. https://josephszabophotos.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, 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).
His 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

Jan 6, 2021 • 20min
A Photographic Life - 141: Plus Buku Sarkar
In episode 141 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering whether your most recent work is your best work, the importance of childhood experiences within creative practice and what shape a camera has to be for it to be called a camera!
Plus this week photographer Buku Sarkar 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?’
Buku Sarkar is a photographer and writer who grew-up between Calcutta and New York whose photographic work is centred on the Park Circus Basti, the largest Muslim Slum in Calcutta. Sarkar writes mainly fiction although her first screenplay was due to go into production in 2020 and both her writing and her photographs have appeared in various magazines and journals. She lives between Calcutta and New York with her Ridgeback Julius and cat Izme and her photographs have appeared in Documentum Journal issue 1, guest edited by Stephen Shore, the NYT Lens Blog and the Huffington Post. Her most recent ongoing body of work is titled The Containment Diaries and her work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, New York and Miami. www.bukusarkar.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, 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).
His 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

Dec 30, 2020 • 22min
A Photographic Life - 140: 'New Year Special'
In episode 140 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed taking stock, and reflecting on where photography is at the end of 2020 and making suggestions for New Year's resolutions, based on new ways of working, learning and listening in a post Covid world. He also commemorates those photographers we have lost in the past year.
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, 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).
His 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

Dec 23, 2020 • 19min
A Photographic Life - 139: 'Christmas Special' Plus Editor And Photography Writer Bill Shapiro
In episode 139 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on photography at Christmas past, present and future. He also welcomes, podcast listener, former Life magazine Editor and writer on photography Bill Shapiro to the shed to explain what photography means to him as part of our 2020 Christmas Special.
Bill Shapiro is an American writer and editor, best known for serving as the editor of LIFE magazine, and as the founding editor of LIFE.com. LIFE magazine had not been published as a weekly for 32 years until Shapiro revived it in 2004. It resumed publication as a weekend supplement to U.S. newspapers with a combined circulation of approximately 12 million. LIFE.com was launched on March 31, 2009, and won the National Magazine Award for digital photography in 2011,and Webby Awards in 2010 and 2011. Shapiro collaborated with The Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards on a children's book called Gus & Me, which was published in 2014, and reached No.2 on The New York Times Best Seller list for children's books. Shapiro's book, Other People’s Love Letters, was published in 2007, and his co-edited book with Naomi Wax What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning was published in 2018. A fine-art photography curator for New York galleries and a consultant to photographers, he also serves on the Art Advisory Board for the SXSW festival. He writes about photography for the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Vogue, and Esquire, among others. On Instagram, he’s @billshapiro.
The advertisements included in this episode include:
Lowenbrau Beer
Jack Benny and Frank Nelson For Kodak
Alka Seltzer
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, 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).
His 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 2020

Dec 16, 2020 • 20min
A Photographic Life - 138: Plus Jeremy Liebman
In episode 138 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering the value of retaining copyright and an archive, experimenting with photo book covers, and the importance of inspiring others to explore photography.
Plus this week photographer Jeremy Liebman 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?’
Jeremy Liebman grew up in Berkeley, California and Dallas, Texas but is now Brooklyn-based. His client list is beyond extensive and includes Appartamento, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker, GQ, ID, Conde Nast Traveller, Apple, Nike, Levi's, Toyota, Prada, and BMW. His work includes portrait, fashion, still-life, video and interiors images and he is represented by Art Department, New York. http://jeremyliebman.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, 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).
His 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 2020