A pursuit of perspectives on photography. And my soul!
The continuation of our last chat. Recorded at the Calgary Central Library podcast recording studio. Edited with help from the AI Transcribe function of Adobe Premiere Pro. Brought to you by Alvin and my disdain for any rules, planning, or structure. We'll be sure to ask Chat GPT to give us a script for the next episode.
Another long break and another catch up episode. This time Alvin and I find ourselves in the recording booth at the Calgary Central Library. The summer's been busy. And we have put together two conversations for you. This first is just a reflection on... well... a summer of actually making photographs... Imagine that.
What happens when 2 guests can't make it and Alvin and I are left on the mics with no direction? What happens when life prevents a quick post-process turn around? This. This is what happens. We're going to talk about Diane Arbus and Contemporary Calgary. We're going to talk exploitation and purer pursuits. We're going to explore what about Calgary is preventing Dave from taking out his camera. And really we're going to just shoot the shit while we wait for life to throw us a clearer and more focused subject.
After a long wait here is another chat for you... next one will have guests and some focus. We hope.
If you want to be part of our discussion come join us on Discord (https://discord.gg/XSVzYPku) or just message/review/email!
We are joined by Danny Luong award-winning photographer here in Calgary. Just because we can, we focus on what we know about fine art commerce and inevitably about our communist-leaning sense that there's just something off about capitalist speculation in art. And in general. Did we solve free market capitalism? You're f'ing right we did!
We have a slow and uneven publishing schedule but we're working together. If you want to be part of our discussion come join us on Discord (https://discord.gg/XSVzYPku) or just message/review/email!
Just to add to creepiness: cover art created on Adobe Firefly - AI Generation is a thing.
David went to Toronto for his grandmother's funeral. As a photographer. Alvin was a photographer for his uncle's funeral a few years back. How does one separate themselves as a process and as a family member. And when our family isn't doing well, are we one or the other first? Or both? This week's episode is the two of us trying to figure that out.
If you're interested in becoming part of the conversation or have any personal experiences you wanted to add, you can find us on social media @mvfpodcast; email us mvfpodcast@gmail.com; or look us up on Discord https://discord.gg/yFGkvuSX
Took a long break but we’re back. This time we’re changing the lean a bit. Alvin and I have created a Discord channel and we’ll just be recording thoughts about themes we come up basically at random. If you’re looking to be a member of this project - including offering points of discussion and guest appearances etc hit us up! Alvin’s still on instagram @loupe.fiasco or you can email us at mvfpodcast@gmail.com
Thanks for sticking around. Hope we can add something to the photographic diaspora.
The end of a year and the end of a season. A brief reflection on the past year of work. And a notice that there will be a break and, if my next project is successful, I’ll return with a different approach to this conversation. Thank you for listening and I hope to talk to you soon!
This week's guest is Soloman Chiniquay documentarian photographer, film maker, and as I'm about to learn, a very wise young man. He lets me into his experiences growing up in a reserve in Morley and how hard it was to get out and build himself as an artist. He had great role models in his mother and grandfather which is reflected in his work to bring his experiences and successes back to his people at home.
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My View Finder is proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported.
This week I sit down with Ashley Nixon. Ashley holds a PhD in Ecology and has worked in education, research, as well as in the private sector.
More relevant to us, he has been working a camera since his youth - primarily focusing on building narratives about the environment, culture and social change. His work brought him around the world where he ultimately connected with the native cultures in Peru and I learn how his profound search for sharing his experiences with the people there has driven him into becoming a documentarian through images, words, as well as through film.
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My View Finder is proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported.
This week I sit down with Stefan Strangman, writer and freelance photojournalist. I wanted to find out how journalism is taught and practiced, You know, to challenge my own cynical bias that it’s twisted in its nature. Stefan shares with me his own journey becoming a journalist and how his own practice centres around a strong sense of ethics and personal beliefs. He explains that both through his education and work experience he’s very aware of the impact photography can have on public opinion and understanding. And he also understands that the ability and responsibility to share stories is changing - it’s not just the privileged and the establishment that should endeavour to create stories.
We are seeing the marginalized groups being challenged and earning access to be part of the story telling as well. Here’s the first part of my chat with Stefan!
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My View Finder is proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported.
This week I’ve asked Jennifer Sanford to join me. While not a professional photographer, Jennifer is a political and PR consultant with her own podcast called Conservative Like Me. I asked her to talk to me because a) she’s been a guest and collaborator on my other podcast Kyle and Dave vs The Machine and she’s smart and well read; and b) because she “quote unquote” leans to the right politically and as artists we need to keep our ears open to the full spectrum. I think we’ll discover that we’re not that different. At all.
I ask her about the use of photography and truth forming, politics, and propaganda. We discuss the tension in the recent rise of so called nationalism, think MAGA, and I ask the most important question… what is up with Geese? They’ve been hissing at me on my runs and I’m just tired of their devil-may-care attitude. Protected animal my ass. Anyways, here’s the first part of my discussion with Jen.
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My View Finder is proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported.
This week we meet Angela Boehm. Angela is a documentarian photographer based here in Calgary who started with building a photography project at home with her teenage kids which then evolved into projects documenting different cultures and most recently a project documenting the forests around us. How did she start her journey? Has she been taking pictures her whole life? If you looked at her portfolio would you believe she’s only been seriously learning this craft for 3 years? Let’s talk to Angela and see if we can get some insight into her process.
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My View Finder is proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported.
Art is often associated with mental health. Usually in some dramatic and brutal way. Think of the phrase: suffering for one’s art. But sometimes it’s related in a sense of therapy, coping, self discovery. Today I sit down with Kristofer Schofield to talk about the latter. And perhaps the first one too. We discuss how his struggles with his mental health line up with his approach to photography. And rally car racing. And next week with straight edge hardcore music. I’m getting ahead of myself. What is the line between solitude and isolation. Healing and expression? Art and madness! Let’s hear what Kris’ experiences teach us.
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My Viewfinder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network - Locally Grown, Community Supported
This week I sit down with Rocio Graham. She is a Mexican Canadian multidisciplinary artist based here in Mohkinstsis (mockh-Kinth-sthis)/calgary. Rocio’s roots in her Mexican heritage and her journey to settling here in Canada have provided her with a unique and active practice. She shares this with us briefly to explain how art helps us deal with our discomfort and why, for her, a strong connection with nature and plants -as well as her anxestry - influences her aesthetic. She believes that art has to capture an audience at a brief glance but also suggest deeper reflections for those that take time to absorb the work itself. Let’s listen in as we learn about the power of the camera, compost, and the expression of one self.
Rocio has suggested that her mother and her childhood exploration of all the mechanics of life drive her creativity. What about the rest of us? Is art simply some abstract intuition, or are there deeper parts of our personality that are trying to get out on a piece of paper, the screen, or in the world itself as a physical object?
How do we let go of the literal trappings of our exterior… perhaps this week we can try a brief intentional mediation on our upbringing and how it has impacted, positively or negatively, on how we interact with the world through our art.
Awareness of where we come from may unlock new paths to explore and experiment.
My Viewfinder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network - Locally Grown, Community Supported
This week I had the pleasure of talking to Greg Gerla. Greg is a commercial and fine art photographer here in Calgary. I met Greg a few times over the last few years at several of his shows but this is the first time we’ve been able to sit down and actually meet. And what a conversation we had! In this, the first part of our conversation, I learn of his balanced approach to the craft. How commercial can inform art, and vice versa. How social media is not the bane of art, but rather another piece of artistic expression. But one, like fast food, that needs to be consumed in moderation. Greg’s a photographer in nature and he shines light on how to maintain creative engagement in our passion.
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My View Finder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported. For more Albertan podcast content, click their link!
Today’s guest is Eric Donovan - Professor of Astrophysics at University of Calgary and photographer! In this, the first part of 2 talks, we’re going to talk about the intersection between art and science and how creativity is required. There’s a thought that science and math are cold, calculating, and robotic. Eric believes the opposite is true - that living emotionally is key to our success.
a person of great learning in several fields of study; polyhistor.
It’s interesting to think about defining people by one aspect of their life. The assumption that a photographer only cares about their camera and the quality of their exposures is… frankly.. insulting. What drives art and creativity is dimension and depth. And how can we lay claim to either if we aren’t interesting in EVERYTHING around us? So I have to ask… what books and non-photography avenues are you interested in? Have you read a book on science or sociology or… book binding? Do you craft? This week my challenge for you is to take a peek at something besides your camera that you’re passionate about. Let me know how this does or may in the future influence your creativity.
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My View Finder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported. For more Albertan podcast content, click their link!
This week's talk is with Ryan Wilkes. Ryan has an adventurous journey into the wildlife photographer he is today. We talk about being raised in Calgary with dreams of being a professional athlete. His move from sports to engineering. His decision to leave engineering to pursue a PHD in medical sciences. And then how he connected with nature and with birds living in New Zealand during his studies. The bird that started it all? The New Zealand Kea. They are endangered... why? Because they eat sheep. Or at least peck them for their fat. WTF?
Ryan's got great insight in living life without attachment and fear. Or perhaps in the face of it and choosing to get outside and walk around instead of hiding out indoors. Connecting with the world around us viscerally and ultimately his aim is to use his images to inspire all of us to appreciate and take an active role living with nature.
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When's the last time you were outside (our recent cold weather warning notwithstanding)? Did you know Calgary was a hotbed for aviary activity? I didn't. I mention that I don't really like birds. But after listening to Ryan I have to challenge you: next time you're outside... look up... keep your ears open... let me know if you see anything flapping around. There's a world of birds out there. Waiting for you to see them. And perhaps to eat sheep. New Zealand Kea - the alpine parrot and apparently carnivore.
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My View Finder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: Locally Grown, Community Supported. For more Albertan podcast content, click their link!
Today I sit down with Dona Schwartz. Dona is a professor of photography here at the University of Calgary and the President and Chair of the Exposure Photography Festival. I learn about her personal photographic process and the influence of her career as an Ethnographic researcher. A scientific approach that informs her art practice and inspires us to look beyond just pretty pictures. For Dona the camera is a tool to help express narratives built around research and observation of a person's ideas.
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I'm adding challenges or thoughts to the end of each episode. Today's consideration is to look for something that is a passion (or an irritant) in your life and to consider how it might be represented in images. While we can't hope to complete a story in a week (Dona's research took years), we might start forming ideas around these intuitions. And most importantly, we might be inclined to get out and take more pictures!
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My View Finder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network. Locally Grown, Community Supported.
In today’s episode I speak with Mecoh Bain, portrait photographer, mother, and woman of colour. We explore her roots as a biracial child, growing up in rural BC and how that’s informed her practice in searching for soul through photography. Her portrait work focuses on representation and personal truths so that she can exemplify the spiritual power of accepting who you are and saying yes to life.
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My View Finder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: locally grown, community supported.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Julya Hajnoczky to talk about her practice. She's a visual artist here in Calgary who uses photography as a part of a mixed media approach to express themes of nature, sustainability, and forest undergrowth. We have a great chat about her upbringing and experience as a teacher and her journey into the world of art and grant writing. Can art impact the world around us? And what's the deal with whales? Julya has an opinion!
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My View Finder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network - Locally Grown, Community Supported. Through their work of connecting us with local businesses and events, Albertan content can continue to grow and flourish. Check out their work and the depth of the Alberta podcast scene at their website: www.albertapodcastnetwork.com
