Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton

David De Lira (he/they) is a queer, BIPOC, lens-based artist and educator born and raised in northern Mexico. He is currently based in Schenectady & Syracuse, New York. I met David at the Biennial Homecoming show at RIT this past winter. David’s work explores their connection and relationship to a white queer community that he married into with their partner. David’s photographs of this community are often made within or accompanied by images of northern landscape that is equally new to David’s life. We talk about how David came to be where he is and how David’s family and friends informs who he is and how that is all revealed in David’s work. https://www.deliradavid.com This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com David De Lira (he/they) is a queer, BIPOC, lens-based artist born in 1991 Raised in northern Mexico, De Lira currently residing in Schenectady, New York. De Lira holds a BA in Art History & Studio Art from SUNY Albany (2019) and an MFA in Art Photography at Syracuse University (2023). His undergraduate education dramatically influenced his aesthetic, formal skills, and research interests for his present work in art photography. De Lira’s work concentrates on intimacy, desire, and love, which have been important elements of his own embodiment, along with the subjects of his photographic gaze, who are part of his chosen family--his husband, friends and lovers.  He consciously uses elements of light, color, gesture, and pose to imbue his photographs with emotional and psychological intensity. De Lira’s work does not attempt to provide definitive answers. Rather, he invites viewers to engage with others in an intimate, meaningful way, requiring them to reflect on their own identities in the process.  Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Photographer, Louis Chavez and I have a conversation about New Intimacies, Louis’ photographic study of gay cruising. It is inspired by Peter Hujar’s work but takes a more experimental approach with more inspiration by writings of José Esteban Muñoz. We also discuss Louis’ work as a curatorial assistant at the George Eastman Museum and, as your teaser, you just might learn a little bit about the Situationist International and Pscyhogeography. Louis was also kind enough to send a video slideshow on the Real Photo Show YouTube channel so you can see the work while listening. https://chavezlouis.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@realphotoshow This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com Louis Chavez is a photographer and curator based in New York. Their solo exhibition, New Intimacies, was exhibited at the University of Rochester’s Hartnett Gallery in 2021 and at PeepSpace in Tarrytown, NY in 2023. Chavez was a participant in SOILED: The Downtown Dirty Book Fair, curated by Matthew Leifheit in 2022, and was a graduate presenter at the Society for Photographic Education’s national conference in 2023. In addition to their visual arts practice, Chavez is a curatorial assistant in photography at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. They were a guest curator at Visual Studies Workshop in 2020 and a studio assistant to photographer Joshua Rashaad McFadden in 2021. Chavez holds an M.F.A. in Photography and Related Media from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a B.S. (summa cum laude) from SUNY Brockport. Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Photographer and New York Times Photo Editor, Mikko Takkunen, joins me today to talk about his upcoming book, Hong Kong, published by Kehrer Verlag with an essay by Geoff Dyer. Hong Kong is Mikko’s farwell to the place where he worked for over 5 years the New York Times desk’s Asia photo editor. It is also where he started his family and witnessed some of the greates social upheavals in the country’s recent history. We talk about how this book is not a social or political statement but an observation and an embrace of a place he loves and is forever connected through experience.  https://www.mikkotakkunen.com https://www.kehrerverlag.com/en/mikko-takkunen-hong-kong   This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com Mikko Takkunen is a photo editor at The New York Times’s For- eign desk where he’s spent more than five years between 2016– 2021 in Hong Kong as the desk’s Asia photo editor. He began tak- ing these photographs in early 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and continued until the summer of 2021 when he left Hong Kong. Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Photographer, founder of Charcoal Book Club and Press, and the Chico Review, Jesse Lenz, is my guest today. We talk about his upcoming book, The Seraphim,  the second book in a series of seven that Jesse calls The Seven Seals septology. We break down what that means and how Jesse sees this life long septology as connected to and inspired by his family, his home, and his life. Jesse and I also talk a lot about the way he has setup his life to make photos, to promote the work of others through the Charcoal Book Club and Press, and to help mentor and provide growth for new generations of artists through the Chico Review. https://www.jesselenz.com https://charcoalpress.com/shop/the-seraphim This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com   Jesse Lenz (1988, Montana) is a self-taught photographer and multidisciplinary artist. He is the author of The Locusts (Charcoal Press, 2020), and he is the founder and director of Charcoal Book Club and the Chico Review. As an illustrator he has created images for publications including TIME, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and many others. From 2011-2018 he also co-founded and published The Collective Quarterly and The Coyote Journal. He lives on a farm in rural Ohio. Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Erin Hoyt is the Director of Operations at Filter Photo, owns and operates a successful wedding photography studio, and is a cotemporary photography collector, and a photographer. Erin learned photography and business outside of academia through internships, work experience, and just being highly self-motivated. We talk about all of these things and about Erin settling in after her recent move to Atlanta.  https://www.filterphoto.org https://erinhoytphotography.com https://www.instagram.com/erinhoytphotography/ https://www.instagram.com/emariehoyt/ This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com Erin Hoyt is the Director of Operations at Filter Photo, a non-profit photography gallery and festival based in Chicago. At Filter, Erin manages an ongoing series of artist lectures, professional development workshops, and portfolio reviews. Since joining the organization in 2010, she has overseen over 90 exhibitions and 13 annual festivals. In that time, she has worked with a range of artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Tarrah Krajnak, Zora J Murff, Todd Hido, Poulomi Basu, and Rodrigo Valenzuela. Erin splits her time between Atlanta and Chicago.    Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.mfaphotographyreviews.com https://www.chicoreview.com Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Photographer and former student, Dan Bassini and Michael talk about how Dan has been cutting his own path in photography through sheer will and the use of an old plastic camera. Dan talks about his series, No Invite, a fashion/portrait zine made annually during Fashion Week in New York. Dan also shares the stories behind his current books, Cruel Summer, I Still Feel It, and we talk about an upcoming book and show. Michael and Dan also reminisce a little about his time at Mercer and some funny stories from Michael’s very early teaching days there. https://www.danbassini.com/ https://therangefinderdiaries.com https://www.youtube.com/@realphotoshow This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club. Each month, members receive a signed, first-edition monograph and an exclusive print to add to their collections. Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com Dan Bassini is a photographer in the New York City area specializing in digital and analog photography. He has released ten books within the "No Invite" series, as well as three non-portraiture books: Highway Hypnosis, Cruel Summer, and I STILL FEEL IT. His work has been displayed in many solo and group shows in the New York City area. Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Photographer and educator, Lara Shipley talks about her book, Desire Lines, published by Overlapse. Desire Lines combines imagery and text, both contemporary and historical, as a vehicle to have a thoughtful and contemplative discussion about immigration. It looks at  our current humanitarian crisis at the southern border and views it through the larger context of human migration and shifting borders. Lara and I also talk about her current collaboration with Antone Dolezal called The Naked Truth, a story about a Victorian Spa founded by a snake oil saleseman and which eerily resembles the disinformation media world that was particularly effective during Covid. https://www.larashipley.com https://www.overlapse.com/catalog/desire-lines/ This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com. Lara Shipley is an American photographer. She exhibits in galleries across the United States, and her work has appeared in notable exhibitions at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, GuatePhoto international photography festival in Guatemala, the Benaki Museum in Greece and a recent solo exhibition at the international photography festival Cortona on the Move, in Italy. Her work is in collection institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (NYC), Whitney Museum of American Art (NYC), Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington D.C.), Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago), and the Nelson Atkins Museum for Art (Kansas City). Lara’s photographs have appeared in publications such as Harper’s Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, British Journal of Photography, Atlantic Monthly, Vice, and NPR. She received a MFA in photography from Arizona State University and a Bachelors of Photojournalism from the University of Missouri. She is an Assistant Professor of Photography at Michigan State University. Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Photographer, director, designer, and composer, Umberto Nicoletti talks about his first monograph, Asylum, published by Rizzoli New York. Umberto uses his skills as a fashion and celebrity portrait photographer to share the experiences of members of LGBTQI+ refugee community and to portray them, not as victims, but as role models who have survived acts of violence and discrimination from the countries they left and the countries from which they requested asylum. https://www.asylum-thepr oject.com - https://www.umbertonicoletti.com - https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9788891835925 - https://youtu.be/PrpkwqC4ZmI (book trailer) This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club. Each month, members receive a signed, first-edition monograph and an exclusive print to add to their collections. Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com. Born in Padua, Italy, Nicoletti graduated in the early 2000 at “I.S.I.A.” (Higher Institute for Artistic Industries, University of Urbino), and at the Fachhochschule in Augsburg (Germany). He attended the “Università dell’Immagine” (University of Image), the first course on the five senses in Milan created by Fabrizio Ferri. He began his professional career as assistant photographer and in 2005 he opened his own studio, Das Studio, which deals with photography, video, art installations, graphic design & creative direction. Umberto Nicoletti’s first photography fine-art book titled "Asylum" was released on May 16, 2023, published by Rizzoli New York. Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Nigel Baldaccino is a multi-media artist and architect based in Malta. Michael and Nigel talk about his interest in architecture and how it influences his work. Nigel also discusses how his experience with anxiety disorder affects how he interacts with the world and makes art. Michael makes a lot of references to Nigels projects in this episode so you may want to check his website while listening. Also, be sure to watch Nigel's video on the Real Photo Show YouTube channel. https://nigelbaldacchino.com https://maltabiennale.art https://www.youtube.com/@realphotoshow This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club. Each month, members receive a signed, first-edition monograph and an exclusive print to add to their collections. Begin Building your dream photobook library today at  https://charcoalbookclub.com BIO Nigel Baldacchino [b. 1989] is an artist and design architect based in Malta. His artistic practice extends to various media, including photography, music production, video, text, and design of physical objects / spaces. His impetus towards taking photographs runs loose in theme, and is often fuelled instead by his own sporadic musings about the way one relates to the world around them through their presence in space and their perception of it. Past collective photographic exhibitions include Sense of Place [BOZAR, 2012], In Transit [NRW Forum in Dusseldorf / Stadskantoor / Leewarden, 2017], Transitions [Peinture Fraîche, 2020], BLINK [Valletta Contemporary 2021] & most recently the first show from the exhibition series ‘those eyes, these eyes, they fade’ [Valletta Contemporary 2022]. The latter is a project he initiated with Benedicte Blondeau & curator Anne Immelé. Prints of his photographs and work in video were acquired by the The Malta National-Community Art Museum in 2017 as part of their collection. His photography was also published on GUP Magazine’s first edition of ‘FRESH EYES’ (2020). In 2019 Nigel published Soon Out of Context (Unsolicited Press) featuring instances of his own poetry presented in dialogue with found images lifted from old publications, now in the public domain. In 2021 he published his first solo music release under his experimental ambient project ‘pool night’, with Belgian label Complex Holiday, titled Everything is Still Here. Baldacchino is currently part of the 2023 Long Term Photobook Program by Penumbra Foundation / Image Threads Collective & was recently appointed curator & lead exhibition designer for the first edition of maltabiennale.art. Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show

Photographer Emma Hardy and Michael talk about her first monograph, Permissions, published by Gost. Emma talks about recognizing how inauthentic family photos seemed to her even at a very early age. This desire for authenticity when photographing her children and her life has been a driving force in her personal work as well as a guiding principle in her commercial work.  Permissions,  is a tender document of motherhood and childhood, love and yearning, and leaving home. The images in the book are gathered and distilled from Hardy’s personal archive and span a period of 20-years. -Gost Books http://www.emmahardy.com This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club Begin Building your dream photobook library today at https://charcoalbookclub.com Emma Hardy was born in London and studied Drama and French at Bristol University. She moved to Paris for four years working in the art world before returning to London to pursue a career in acting, but found herself better suited to life behind the camera. By this time, she was married, living in rural Suffolk, and raising her family of three young children. She has photographed for British Vogue, The Telegraph Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Fader, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone amongst others. Her first solo exhibition "Exceptional Youth" was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery, London in 2006 and 39 of her portaits are included in the gallery's collection. Hardy Continues her work as a portrait and documentary photographer for a wide range of publicaitons, returning to new phases of her family images whenever she can. -Gost Books Support Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/real-photo-show