Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton

"I was a criminal, I lived that criminal lifestyle, and I really didn't give a crap about anybody's feelings…but something changed in me and photography…brought me closer to people." Donato DiCamillo has one of the more unique stories of how he got into photography. Afflicted with behavioral and anger issues, Donato was kicked out of high school and became fully immersed in a life of crime. In 2006 he was arrested by federal agents in an operation involving the Colombo crime family. It was while serving time in a federal prison and then in house arrest that Donato began to use the camera to help him reconnect with people and with himself. Links: https://www.donatodicamillo.com/ https://www.instagram.com/donato_dicamillo/ https://twitter.com/DonatoDiCamillo https://donatodicamillo.tumblr.com/ https://www.donatodicamillo.com/blog/ (Workshops) Visit www.thephotoshow.org realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow

"I literally went from, I wasn't able to say the words out loud…my mom is gay, to basically writing it in the Times and screaming it to the whole world." Gabriela Herman does something that is rare among photographers, she makes a living with her photography. Gabriela talks to Michael about some of her career milestones, including getting some photojournalism work through Craigslist. Her new book ,The Kids (The New Press), which explores the lives of kids who grew up with LGBTQ parents also allowed Gabriela to achieve some personal milestones as well with her own parents. 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.gabrielaherman.com/ https://www.facebook.com/gabherman https://www.instagram.com/gab/ https://twitter.com/gab https://thekids.gabrielaherman.com/ https://thenewpress.com/books/kids Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"…and to me that is the irony in all of this…In the act of wanting to be alone, and disappearing, he actually became famous." Amani Willett's new book, The Disappearance of Joseph Plummer, pieces together the history and the mythology left behind of a mysterious hermit who moves away from society to the deep woods of New Hampshire in the late 1700's. Amani became interested in Plummer after realizing that his father had bought the same land, where Plummer had settled, also as an escape from modern life. Amani treats the historical and the folkloric complex nature of this work and the work he did photographing the remnants of the Underground Railroad as equally important. He embraces the ambiguity and rejects the reducing of stories to simple facts so that others feel comfortable with the work. We talk about how this embrace of ambiguity might be related to people wanting him to simplify his identify as black or white and how exploring Joseph Plummer was also exploring his relationship with his father. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. http://www.mfaphoto.sva.edu/ Links: http://amaniwillett.com/ https://www.instagram.com/amaniwillett/ https://twitter.com/amaniwillett https://www.overlapse.com/catalog/disappearance-joseph-plummer/ https://www.instagram.com/overlapse/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"I remember saying, 'That, that's it, I almost died for that…it's a nothing photograph.' That's how I would have been remembered, he died to make a really nothing photograph. " John Trotter is a former photojournalist and conflict photographer who had photographed in dangerous hot spots like Mogadishu, but it would be on a simple assignment in Sacramento California where John would face his own life altering experience. thePhotoShow becomes theCyclingShow for the start of this episode as John and Kai go deep on biking and how it relates to photography and how biking gave start to John's life in photography. LINKS http://www.johntrotterphoto.com/ https://www.instagram.com/unamericain/ https://www.instagram.com/maps.images/ https://www.facebook.com/john.trotter.33 Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"Photography is magic…it has incredible and really unparalleled power to represent and define people, communities, and individuals...kids see that and they want to do that and they want to be part of that." Former conflict photographer Michael Kamber founded the Bronx Documentary Center. The BDC is dedicated to providing free photographic education to Bronx middle and high schoolers, as well as education for adult Bronx photographers. Michael believes in the value of photography to educate and inform and he also believes that anyone willing to put in the work should have a place to learn the craft and share their work with their peers and that money should not be a barrier to learning. Opening the BDC was the fulfillment of an idea that he and his fellow photojournalist and friend, Tim Hetherington, had talked about and they had even picked the site before Hetherington was killed by artillery fire in Libya in 2011. The first show honored Hetherington's work. LINKS https://www.bronxdoc.org/ https://www.facebook.com/bronxdocumentary/ https://twitter.com/followbdc/ https://www.instagram.com/bronxdocumentarycenter/ https://www.facebook.com/mike.kamber Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"It was about getting the opportunity as a woman to experience the beauty of my partner and also question beauty and how beauty is constructed and the language of beauty itself." Lissa Rivera and BJ Lillis talk about their collaboration on "Beautiful Boy." Lissa describes this work as a "…confession between friends." and that description reveals itself again and again as Lissa and BJ describe their evolving relationship that grows and changes with each photograph that Lissa makes of BJ. Our conversation takes us through the history and a contemporary look at the role of the artist and their muse. LINKS http://www.lissarivera.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lissa_rivera_/ https://www.facebook.com/lissa.rivera.39 http://www.museumofsex.com/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"People know that there are black artists out there but it's just about why isn't that work included in the overall narrative…Let's know the history of photography and let's figure out how we can insert ourselves into that narrative." Aaron Turner started Photographers of Color so that when you are asked the question, "How many photographers of color do you know?" you would have no excuse for having a poor answer. Aaron is the Technical Director of Film & Electronic Arts at Bard College and an Adjunct Professor. We talk about growing up in West Memphis on the Arkansas/Tennessee border, his start in photojournalism, and his embrace of multi-discipline and conceptual work as a means to fully exploring his ideas on what black art is and what being a black artist is all about. LINKS http://www.aaronturnerphotography.com/ https://twitter.com/photogsofcolor https://www.instagram.com/aturn_arkdelta/ We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"The feeling that you are opening a door for someone , what you always dreamt that someone would do for you…it's a very humbling experience." Float Magazine is the brainchild of Dana Stirling and Yoav Friedlander. It is an online publication that allows lesser known photographers to showcase their work with photographers who have had more success in getting recognized. In our conversation about how Dana and Yoav got started you will also hear how they became such great partners who support each other and are really rooting for each other to succeed. LINKS http://www.floatmagazine.us https://www.facebook.com/Floatphotomagazine https://www.instagram.com/float_magazine/ Submission Inquiries: floatzine@gmail.com http://www.danastirling.com https://www.instagram.com/dana_stirling/ http://www.yoavfriedlander.com https://www.instagram.com/yoavfriedlander/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"I realize I have a kind of self-consciousness about my history, about having grown up in Apartheid South Africa and mostly my work is outside of race…" Gary Schneider is the Director of the Graduate Program at Mason Gross School of the Arts. The Harvard Art Museum has recently acquired a historic collection of printer proofs from the Schneider/Erdman Photography Lab that Gary and his lifelong partner John Erdman owned for 30 years. In addition to the proofs Gary and John are donating their personal vintage and modernist collection of photos. Michael, Kai, and Gary discuss this and how various choices in Gary's life brought him from South Africa to Pratt Institute, to running a photo lab, and most recently to Mason Gross. LINKS http://www.garyschneider.net http://www.masongross.rutgers.edu/visual-arts/faculty/gary-schneider https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2017/05/12/harvard-art-museums-acquires-treasure-trove-photos/9JqvWzzvt8oRi0qP9ofYhL/story.html Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride

"I think about that neighborhood that's been wiped away as a crime scene…" Stephen Hilger is the Photography Chair at Pratt Institute. His book Back of Town is a record of a transitional moment in a neighborhood of New Orleans devastated by Katrina. For 5 years from 2008 to 2012 Stephen recorded the struggle between preserving and demolishing the area officially known as "Lower Mid City" but commonly called the "Back of Town." We talk about Back of Town, growing up and photographing in Los Angeles, including his series on the famed Ambassador Hotel, and we talk about his time so far at Pratt and his vision for the future of the program. LINKS http://www.stephenhilger.com/ https://www.instagram.com/stephenhilger/ https://twitter.com/stephen_hilger http://www.ambassadorarchive.org/ http://www.spqreditions.com/#/back-of-town/ Visit www.thephotoshow.org We are realphotoshow on Twitter/IG/FB Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/realphotoshow and on Instagram instagram.com/realphotoshow/ Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/realphotoshow Music by Giancarlo T. Roma and Kai McBride