Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton

"Well I'm just going to work at this lab for the rest of my life, I'll be a lifer…because my life is over at the ripe old age of twenty four…and then I got a call from the Chair up at RISD…" Michelle Leftheris is a multimedia artist and has been a faculty member and the Coordinator of Curriculum at the School of Visual Arts MFA Photo/Video/Media program for about 11 years, but that is about to change this August as she embarks on the next chapter in her life as a full-time faculty member at Middlebury College in Vermont. Kai and Michael sat down with Michelle at SVA to talk about her work and her teaching, and how both inform and each other. Kai and I also want to give special thanks to Michelle for being our liaison to SVA for the show. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. LINKS http://www.michelleleft.com https://www.instagram.com/leftherism/ https://www.facebook.com/michelle.leftheris http://www.sloanprojects.com/leftheris-artist-page/ 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

"Oh you know, Robert Frank did this or you know Soth did this, it doesn't really matter who did it, it's what you are going to put into it. Are you passionate about it, and is this part of your life experience?" Niko J. Kallianiotis makes photographs of places he has lived in the United States both as someone who has lived here for half of his life and as someone who grew up in Greece. His work is both reactionary and commentary. He has witnessed the economic rise and falls in both his hometown of Scranton, PA and in his homeland of Greece. His work explores the social landscape of the places he has lived and visited while exploring his identity in both cultures. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. LINKS http://www.nikokallianiotis.com/index https://www.instagram.com/njkphoto/ https://www.facebook.com/nikoj.kallianiotis http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/photographer-chronicles-pennsylvanias-forgotten-industrial-towns-people/ 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 I always kind of thought about myself in my role in the work as this otherness…it was me but it was a version of me.…" Jen Davis explores body image, identity, and relationships through the lens or her camera and the lens of her own journey transforming her body and her perception of who she is. Her work explores the tension between how you see yourself and how others see you. Jen's work is filled with intimacy and a desire to connect with others through the process of negotiating the photograph. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. LINKS https://www.jendavisphoto.com https://www.facebook.com/jen.davis.370515 http://leemarksfineart.com/artist/Jen_Davis/works/162 https://clampart.com/2013/07/jen-davis/ https://www.amazon.com/Eleven-Years-Anne-Wilkes-Tucker/dp/3868284583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492214556&sr=8-1&keywords=eleven+years+jen+davis 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

Our 1st April Fools Show - Hope you enjoyed it! - Kai and Michael respond to all of the great listener feedback on iTunes and start their spring with a new format and guest-free show. Check out our photo news, lens reviews, and developer debate. We also check-in with thePhotoShow roving reporter, Kerry Van Pacings, fresh from the Las Vegas PCM Show. In this episode: New cameras, new lenses, photo world news, Kai and Michael go head to head on our favorite developers, and news from the bulletin board. 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

"As time marches on where we've become more of a technical society…we've become removed…alienated from making things, there's also a sense of a lack of community…and I think that's what we do at Penumbra, the idea that we bring people together…" Photo Credit: © Gabriela Hnizdo Geoffrey Berliner is the Executive Director of the Penumbra Foundation. An impressive organization devoted to both historical and alternative photographic processes. Kai and Michael sat down with Geoffrey at Penumbra after taking a tour of the facilities which included a beautiful portrait studio with floor to ceiling window light, great workspaces, a storefront tintype studio, a library, a camera repair shop, and so much more. We talk about Geoffrey's passion for education, his background in philosophy, and his desire to create community. We also talk a lot about his very ambitious future plans for Penumbra as an educational and resource center for photographers. Check out their lecture series, workshops, and how to support them at the link below. LINKS http://www.penumbrafoundation.org https://www.instagram.com/geoffreyberliner/ https://www.facebook.com/geoffrey.berliner https://www.facebook.com/PenumbraFoundation/ https://www.instagram.com/penumbratintypestudio/ https://www.instagram.com/penumbrafoundation/ 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

"We know how beautiful of a machine that is, but right now mine is at home and for me to get to that point or to that break, was not easy…the whole notion of that rangefinder and that 35mm - 1.4. That whole thing is forever a part of me." Jeff Mermelstein is, for lack of a better term, a New York street photographer. He is the recipient of an Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellowship and the European Publishers award. His books include Sidewalk and Twirl/Run. Kai and Michael spoke with Jeff about what it means to use Instagram as a primary platform for showing work and whether or not there is an "Instagram Look" to photography. Jeff also teaches us a little Yiddish. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. LINKS https://www.instagram.com/jeffmermelstein/ http://www.powerhousebooks.com/books/twirlrun/ 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

"We spend a lot of time fundraising because a lot of this grant money goes directly to the artist so we need to make that up with…how do we pay for our rent, how do we pay for the lights, how do we pay me?" -Libby Pratt Lucas Thorpe hosted a panel discussion on non-profits and the arts back in December of 2016 and one of his panel members was Libby Pratt, Director of Baxter Street at the Camera Club of New York. Just before his panel Kai and Michael sat down with Libby and Lucas to get a preview of this panel discussion but also to talk more specifically about Baxter Street and the role in the non-profit arts as well as how it has recently changed its mission. We also get to know Lucas and Libby a bit more as artists in their own right and we stumble upon a shared interest and experience that Lucas and Libby have from their family history. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. LINKS Lucas Thorpe: https://www.lucasthorpe.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lucas_thorpe/ https://www.lucasthorpe.com/news/2016/12/9/support-and-be-supported-nonprofits-and-the-arts-a-panel-discussion https://www.fordham.edu/info/20359/master_of_science_in_nonprofit_leadership Libby Pratt: http://www.baxterst.org http://libbypratt.com https://www.new-draft-collective.com http://libpratt.tumblr.com http://www.secretarypress.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

"I was sort of like the teenage cub photographer of the Black Panther paper. They let me move around with all of the leaders of the party, I would ride around with them and take pictures and work on the newspaper." Jeffrey Henson Scales has been photographing since he was 11 years old and he started working for the Black Panther Newspaper as a young teenager. When he was 14 Time magazine ran one of his Black Panther photos. His interests would then turn to filmmaking, stage management where he would work with Minny Ripperton, and creating iconic album covers with bands such as Gamma2 and Arrested Development. He is currently a photo editor at the New York Times, but his first love of being a photographer has never left him and his encounter with cancer really drove that home. Jeffrey sat down with Kai and Michael at the SVA MFA Photo Big Room theater to talk about these things and more. This episode sponsored by the School of Visual Arts MFA Photography, Video, & Related Media - Charles Traub, Chair. Social: http://jeffreyscales.tumblr.com https://www.instagram.com/jeffreyhensonscales/ https://www.facebook.com/Jeffrey.Henson.Scales https://twitter.com/JHensonScales Website: http://www.jeffreyscales.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/House-Jeffrey-Henson-Scales/dp/0997530642 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 was in London, Mary Ellen was working there (in Seattle) and I think it was the first night she was there, she saw Tiny get out of a cab in the parking lot of the Monastery night club and she said, Oh my god, this is a film." Photo Credit: © Lisen Stibeck, Mary Ellen and Martin in Iceland, 2014 Filmmaker Martin Bell talks about how he and Mary Ellen Mark came to document Tiny and how it began a 33 year long collaboration and partnership. Martin's films have won many awards and Streetwise was nominated for an Oscar. We have a lengthy conversation about dealing with tough subject and the issue of exploitation. We also discuss the making and release of their last collaboration, a follow up to Streetwise, Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell and what Falkland Road Inc. is doing going forward. Web: http://www.tinythefilm.com http://www.falkland.com http://www.maryellenmark.com Social: https://twitter.com/maryEllen_mark https://www.facebook.com/maryellenmark 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's not always just the gender, it's the lives women lead and that makes it very difficult to be part of the commercial route…you don't fit the model of the young artist, in my case being deeply immersed in the domestic world raising a family, unable to pursue the things that the artistic model demands." -Tricia Wright Pen + Brush, a nearly 123-year-old non-profit focused on creating access to the art world for emerging and mid-career women artists, draws on a deep network of galleries, non-profits, organizations, and associations to support their mission. The network functions to build a support system that showcases undervalued art by women in order to gain traction within the primary art market to help foster their careers. Kai and Michael sat down with Janice Sands - Executive Director, Dawn Delikat - Associative Executive Director, and Tricia Wright - Artist at Pen + Brush, in their amazing brand new space at 29 East 22nd St NYC. We covered a range of topics including the rich history of the organization in the support of women in the arts and how it has changed over the years to meet the needs of contemporary artists. We also have a great conversation with Tricia about her work and how she uses lens-based constructs to examine issues of domesticity and how she turned to photography to re-contextualize her installation work. Links: Website: http://www.penandbrush.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PenandBrushNYC/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penandbrushnyc/ Website for Tricia Wright: http://www.triciawright.com Instagram for Tricia Wright: https://www.instagram.com/triciamwright/ 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