Reclaiming a Natural Landscape, with Jade Doskow & Cal Flyn
B&H Photography Podcast
What is the role of landscape photography in a post-industrial world? In today’s podcast, we consider some possibilities in a chat with Jade Doskow, current photographer in residence for Staten Island’s Freshkills Park, and Cal Flyn author of the book Islands of Abandonment. Above image: © Jade Doskow While our two guests work in different disciplines, which leads to divergent approaches to the pictures they make, their shared purpose tells similar stories. Among the topics we discuss are a distinction between romantic landscapes of the past and a more ambivalent attitude...
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Picturing World Cultures: Mark Leong – China
B&H Photography Podcast
In today’s podcast, we sit down with Mark Leong, a fifth-generation Chinese-American photographer, for Picturing World Cultures. Above photograph © Mark Leong From his arrival in 1980s Beijing on a one-year travel fellowship, to his decision to live and work there long-term over the following decades, we follow Mark’s path from his ancestral village to the Beijing art scene, and beyond. He walks us through his experiences in documenting the massive cultural shifts as Chinese society transitioned from uniformity and limited choice to a realm of consumerism and increasing...
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Photography Mentors & Lifelong Learning, with Reid Callanan and Craig Stevens
B&H Photography Podcast
Today we chat with Reid Callanan, founder and director of the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and renowned photo educator Craig Stevens, formerly of Maine Media Workshops and Savannah College of Art & Design, about photography mentors, lifelong learning, and the role photo workshops play in cultivating community. Craig and Reid share plenty of insight, not just on the requisite trust that’s required in a successful mentor and student relationship, but other topics such as what it means to be truly passionate about photography, collaboration, as well as how to critique the work of others...
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Picturing World Cultures: Fabiola Ferrero – Venezuela
B&H Photography Podcast
Today’s podcast has us sitting down with Venezuelan photographer and investigative journalist Fabiola Ferrero to discuss her long-term photographic projects in Venezuela, for Picturing World Cultures. Above photograph © Fabiola Ferrero Fabiola walks us through her childhood memories of Venezuela and describes how this period contrasts significantly with the country’s current climate. We also discuss how she got started in photography, and how her time spent both in and out of Venezuela helped grow her photography and more. Guest: Fabiola Ferrero Episode Timeline: 2:20: Fabiola...
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B&H Podcast: Authentic Photographic Documentation vs AI Generated Images
B&H Photography Podcast
In today’s podcast, we chat with Boris Eldagsen, visual artist and AI pioneer, and Miles Astray, documentary photographer, on a plethora of issues surrounding AI-generated content. Boris and Miles share a ton of insight into the nature of AI-generated images, from the implications of it becoming more prevalent, the possibility and dangers of the spread of misinformation all the way to the need to rethink how we engage with social media. These are just a few of the points raised in our discussion with them. If you haven’t already listened, This episode is part of a wider series tracing the...
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Picturing World Cultures: Naina Helén Jåma – Norwegian Sami
B&H Photography Podcast
In today’s podcast, we’ll be talking with Norwegian photographer Naina Helén Jåma about her documentation of indigenous South Sami culture in Norway and her career as a press photographer in Scandinavia. Jåma details her childhood growing up in the small rural village of Snasa, where, at the age of 15, she began her career while working as a cultural interpreter and archivist at the Saemien Sijte Museum. From there, Naina takes us on a journey through her fascinating career as a photographer, from her training at the Nordic School of Photography to her work for world-renowned...
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Say Less, with Dr. Greg Gulbransen
B&H Photography Podcast
In today’s podcast, we’ll be talking with Long Island-based pediatrician and self-taught photographer Dr. Greg Gulbransen, whose newly released book Say Less documents the three years Gulbransen spent embedded with Malik, the paralyzed leader of a Crips’ set in the Bronx. Gulbransen details his journey from wildlife and fashion photography to documenting the lives of at-risk members of the Bikes Up Guns Down club to his most recent (and most daunting) project: photographing members of a violent street gang. Gulbransen also touches on his years-long campaign to require auto makers to...
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Picturing World Cultures: Tailyr Irvine - Native America
B&H Photography Podcast
How would you feel if all the coverage you saw about your culture was a superficial view from the outside, rather than a narrative steeped in details of lived experience? Above photograph © Tailyr Irvine This is the motivating force that led today’s guest to pick up a camera, enter the newsroom, and cultivate an insider’s perspective on contemporary Native American life, to expand the scope and enhance the accuracy of stories being told. From exploring quiet moments at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to a revealing photo project on Blood...
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Photography in the Age of Synthetic Imaging, with Fred Ritchin
B&H Photography Podcast
Where does the medium of photography stand in an era where the latest mantra encourages people to “Skip the Photo Shoot?” How can a viewer continue to trust photographs as evidence in a marketplace where AI is touted as a “revolution,” and “the new digital camera” that we need to embrace? And what methods can a photographer use today to be considered a credible witness with a transparent code of ethics? These are just a few of the points raised in our discussion with renowned writer, photo editor, and educator Fred Ritchin. For more than forty years, Ritchin has kept...
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Sports Action & Image Workflow for the Paris Games, with Maddie Meyer & James Chance
B&H Photography Podcast
Sports enthusiasts from around the world will soon be glued to their nearest viewing screen, watching the action unfold during the international Summer Games in Paris. But how much do you know about the finer points of photographing elite level competition, or about the lightning-fast, high-tech journey these images make from inside a camera to a remote editing workflow, and then onward to be enjoyed by you, the viewer? In today’s podcast we’ve got the inside track on how these visual delicacies are brought to life and served up to global audiences. Our guests are Getty...
info_outlineIt’s likely that everyone reading this has used, or at the very least heard of Adobe’s ubiquitous piece of software called Photoshop. But are you familiar with the very first—and perhaps the most eccentric—of the evangelists working behind that magic curtain?
Well, you’re about to meet him today, in our latest podcast featuring pioneers of photography and imaging. As Adobe employee number 38, graphic designer Russell Preston Brown was in the room when brothers Thomas and John Knoll showed up to demonstrate a new piece of software, in 1988. Suitably impressed with what he saw, Russell made a beeline to Adobe co-founder John Warnock and uttered the imperative “Buy it! Now!”
Thirty-five years later, Brown has not lost an ounce of passion for concocting magic with digital imaging tools, and for sharing his knowledge with other users during his outlandish workshops and events.
Join us for a rollicking chat with this shapeshifting impresario in cowboy attire. From Brown’s earliest training in darkroom photography to his current digital workflow syncing a mobile phone with Profoto lighting gear, we cover a lot of ground.
Throughout our discussion, we reflect on the revolutionary effects of technological advances, plus Brown’s uncanny luck to be there in the middle of the zeitgeist, which led him to a telling analogy:
“Yes, I was in the right place at the right time. I made my fair share of contributions, but it all comes back to—what if the Knoll brothers had not decided to make Photoshop? I want to see that Jimmy Stewart episode of “A Wonderful Life,” where Photoshop didn’t appear. Would we be using Letrasets?...”
Guest: Russell Preston Brown
For more information on our guests and the gear they use, see:
Above photograph © Russell Preston Brown
Episode Timeline:
2:47: A peak behind the scenes of Brown’s early experiences at Adobe and what constituted working as a graphic designer back in 1985.
10:24: Brown’s early training in darkroom photography, the type of photos he made and the tech transitions to the mobile phones that he works with today.
15:55: Thomas Knoll calls the iPhone a hallucination of what you are seeing in terms of colors, dynamic range, and quality of light. It gives us what we want to remember from that moment.
19:45: Brown’s workflow for shooting with an iPhone synched to Profoto strobes and other lighting modifiers, and his ability to carry everything around in one bag.
24:12: Comparing image captures from different brands of mobile phones: iPhone, Google Pixel 7 and Samsung 23. Plus, make sure to use a solar filter over the lens when photographing the eclipse.
31:27: Brown’s experiences working directly with programmers in the development of Photoshop, plus working one-on-one with a programmer to develop actions, scripts, and panels for his own Photoshop tools.
36:06: Episode Break
36:39: Brown reflects on his rapport with photographic purists during early presentations about Photoshop—from a photojournalism conference in Perpignan, France, to an early discussion about digital with Greg Gorman.
42:39: Adobe’s earliest dreams and goals about prepress and processing images to create CMYK output for print publication, and the subsequent ability to access Raw data.
47:15: Differentiating between generations of Adobe users and how they employ the software, plus distinguishing between Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Desktop.
51:46: Applications that have kept all the original tool sets, offering many routes to similar results, to serve the full range and successive generations of its user base.
54:00: The question of AI and differences between typing text and using AI prompts, or taking one’s original photographs and supplementing them with AI through Photoshop’s Generative Fill.
1:03:39: The dangers of using creative tools incorrectly, and Brown’s predictions about creative trends to come.
Guest Bio:
Russell Preston Brown is the Senior Creative Director at Adobe Systems Incorporated, as well as an Emmy Award-winning instructor. His ability to bring together the world of design and software development is a perfect match for Adobe products. In Brown 's 38 years of creative experience at Adobe, he has contributed to the evolution of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator with feature enhancements, and advanced scripts. Most recently he has started to travel the world with a mobile phone camera to capture his adventures from a whole new creative perspective. This new age of mobile photography has sparked his creativity and has inspired a variety of new imaging directions.
Brown also specializes in inspirational hands-on training at Adobe MAX, where he shows users how to work and play with Adobe software. He shares his delight in testing the creative limits of his tools as a prolific creator of an entertaining collection of Photoshop tips and tricks. His in-depth design knowledge and zany presentation style have won him a regular following among beginning, intermediate, and advanced Photoshop users alike. A live performance of the Russell Brown Show is not to be missed.
Stay Connected:
Russell Preston Brown Website: https://russellbrown.com/
Russell Preston Brown on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_brown/
Russell Preston Brown on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/russellprestonbrown/
Russell Preston Brown on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/therussellbrownshow/videos
Russell Preston Brown on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user6594224
Russell Preston Brown at the Photoshop Hall of Fame:
https://www.photoshophalloffame.com/russell-brown
Adobe Max: https://www.adobe.com/max.html