Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton

"My first trip after Sarah passed was to the Grand Canyon…so I think that trip and that sense of awe…felt like I was connected to something outside of myself." This episode was recorded during Ryann Casey's artist talk about her show, Loss Event, at the JKC Gallery. Ryann and I talk about combining the personal loss of her friend Sarah, with the public loss of national park land as a means to explore the grieving process and how we don't allow ourselves to fully explore grief. Ryann is a Philadelphia/New Jersey based artist, curator, and organizer. She has exhibited in and around Philadelphia and NYC while also working as an adjunct Professor of Photography, Art History and Critical Theory in New Jersey and currently teaches Art History and Photography at MCCC. Casey holds a BA in Photography with a minor in Gender Studies from Stockton University and an MFA/MS in Photography and Art History from Pratt Institute. https://www.instagram.com/ryann.casey/ https://www.facebook.com/ryannmcasey Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"The analogy I always use is that we are on this table as a society, but we don't see that we are getting pushed closer and closer to the edge and we're comfortable because we are still on the table, but now we are looking at the edge and we are freaking out." Bunni Elian is an alum of the Bronx Documentary Center and one of the original members of the Bronx Photo League. Her work on the Afropunk music festival earned her a Pulitzer Center grant and was just featured on the Picture Show, NPR's photo story site. Bunni is a multimedia journalist and her work explores the cultural implications of the African Diaspora which is directly tied to Bunni's own journey of finding herself. We talk about politics, race, and how her pre-med education informs her work. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Links: https://www.hellobunni.com/ https://www.instagram.com/hellobunni/ https://www.facebook.com/MelissaBunniElian/ https://twitter.com/bunnisays https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2018/09/02/643074020/afropunk-brings-the-black-lives-matter-ethos-abroad Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I was like, If I spend as much time working on my own stuff as I do working at this desk I could probably make just about anything happen, so goodbye." Nicole Craine's successes in the documentary/photojournalism world can be attributed to her ability to know when it's time to walk away and when it's time to lean in. Nicole has walked away from a couple of steady photo related jobs in New York that others would kill to have in order to pursue her work and, one time, so she could meet Quest Love, more on that in the show. Those moments created space in her life where she could then lean in to pursue opportunities by not being afraid to just call people up. This led to getting into the Eddie Adams workshop, joining the Everyday Project, showing her work to the New York Times, and receiving some serious interest in her family-based project. We hit upon a lot different topics in this episode such as race, politics, censorship, and the getting work as a female photojournalist. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Links: https://www.nicolecraine.com/ https://www.instagram.com/everydayruralamerica/ https://www.instagram.com/nicole_craine/ https://www.facebook.com/nicole.craine https://twitter.com/Nicole_Craine Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I want nuanced reflections and questions…that's why I like literature…if a book didn't do that you would not be interested and you would throw it away…so I think photography should beckon the same kinds of responses…" Sarah Blesener dropped out of school at an early age to pursue alternative forms of education which included a year of flight school. She describes herself as very goal driven with a desire to get things done quickly, which accounts for how much she has accomplished in a relatively short period of time. Sarah has an impressive list of awards, clients, publications, shows, and lectures all within the last 3 years. We talk about her work and how having it out in the world for others to interpret filled her with self-doubt at first but then gave her a better understanding how the photograph can create conversation and it also helped Sarah get a better sense of where she wants to go philosophically with future work. http://www.sarah-blesener.com/ http://www.sarah-blesener.com/instagram/ https://www.facebook.com/sarah.blesener https://twitter.com/sarah_blesener This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"As an artist I began to feel that I was making collectibles for wealthy people…with apex I turned into more of an educator…and the fellowship is the program that I would have liked, that I think I should have gone on." -Steven Rand As part of a series of events related to the exhibition, Light in Wartime, curated by Rola Khayyat (ep.68), I was invited to speak to Steven Rand, the Founder of apexart. It was a panel discussion with Steven, Rola, Margaret Ewing, Director of Programs, and former board member, Jon Kessler. We talked about apexart's history and the its unique models for inviting curators and accepting fellowship candidates. We also talk about it's "art-avoidance" fellowship program which Steven created, in part, from what he thought was missing during his own development as an artist. Special thanks to Rola for offering me this chance to be part of her show and a big thank you to Ryan Soper, Director of Production, and Elizabeth Larison, Director of Operations for all of the setup and work they did to make the show happen.

"I looked back on my life and was like, I've done a lot of tearing down, a lot of dismantling of my life to move on to something else and grow, and I thought maybe I don't need to do that…" Reuben Radding's path to photography can be traced through his love of music. He dropped out of High School to play music and to be with a community that got him away from his abusive father, who was also a musician. Music brought him to New York City in the early 90's where he played at the Knitting Factory, which would eventually lead to his love of photographing in New York. There were times when Reuben tried to break-up with music by pursuing writing, but he would always come back to music. Even now, Reuben judges his photographic compositions the way he would a musical composition, by how well it organically all comes together. We talk about all of this and more, including how Reuben ended up writing for porn magazines and testing software for Microsoft on this episode of Real Photo Show. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Links: http://www.reubenradding.com/street-work https://www.instagram.com/reuben_radding/ https://twitter.com/ReubenRadding https://www.facebook.com/reuben.radding Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"I think even in storytelling and making pictures there's so much noise and it's so busy and here's this conflict and this violence and for me it's just about people, I just want to see them." Sara Hylton uses portraiture to tell the stories of the oppressed, abused, and the underrepresented. Much of her work focuses on discrimination against women and their resilience in the face of systemic class and gender bias. We talk about how Sara developed this sense of social justice, how she chose photography as her method of communication, and what it takes to gain the trust of those who have every right to be suspicious of others. http://www.sarahylton.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sarahyltonphoto/ https://twitter.com/sarahyltonphoto https://www.facebook.com/sara.hylton.12 This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"That was at the very end of Thailand, I was just starting to think I didn't want to play poker anymore and I was starting to be drawn to something maybe a little more creative which I had never done in my whole life…" Aaron Berger taught himself photography by studying the tech specs that are included with photos on Flickr® and looking at photographers such as Garry Winogrand on the internet. His path to photography started with a realization that he was not going to be a professional soccer player which lead to a lucrative career in internet poker and a failed attempt to be a YouTube® star. We talk about how all of this leads Aaron to New York with a point and shoot film camera. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ LINKS: http://www.aaron-berger.com/ http://www.aaron-berger.com/workshops https://www.instagram.com/aaronbergerfoto/ https://www.facebook.com/aaron.berger.9 Photo of Aaron © Andre D Wagner Visit realphotoshow.com @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/ Michael Chovan-Dalton on FB

"When the shelling got too bad my mom would hide us in the bathroom and say it's just raining really hard and this is the safest spot in the house." Rola Khayyat grew up during the Lebanese Civil War but when talking about her experience she doesn't focus on the horrors, she focuses on the richness of her life and how her mother protected her children and gave them a sense of security and home. Life during conflict is at the heart of Rola's work and also became the creative drive behind the work of her siblings and her mother. We talk about all of this with a focus on Rola's documentary, "From Brooklyn to Beirut" about a community of Lebanese Jews in New York and their connection to Lebanon. https://rolakhayyat.com/ https://www.instagram.com/rolesk/ https://www.facebook.com/RolaKhayyatPhotography/ https://twitter.com/rolakhayyat This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit realphotoshow.org @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB

"The people that I dealt with were quite fascinating to me because I came from a completely different perspective and I began following them and I said they support me there's no reason for me not to support them." Peter Kasovitz is the co-founder of K&M Camera which has been in business for 42 years. It's an institution among photographers from all around the world and Peter's generosity and support for students and established photographers is know by many. Peter and I spoke at SVA which was meaningful for the both of us, SVA brought many customers to K&M, including me, and it was while I was a student at SVA that I learned first hand of Peter's generosity. We also talk about Peter's relationships with some great photographers such as Robert Frank and Roy DeCarava. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org @realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB