The Show Me Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Welcome to the Show Me Podcast, a photography show hosted by Geoff Livingston. Every podcast a guest joins Geoff and discusses how images tell stories, and what makes them work (or not).
Moab Landscape and Astrophotographer Bryan Haile and I sit down and discuss the nuances of Milky Way photography. We cover weather, gear, lighting, single frames versus stacks, and star trails. Then we discuss editing techniques as well as composing a great image.
Here are the show notes:
2:36 Bryan talks about astrophotography and landscape photography and how the weather affects both of them
3:58 Bryan talks about how they prepare to get out in the desert and shoot flashlights, tech gear and all that stuff
5:17 Bryan also talks about the right gear to use when taking shots as a photographer especially in astrophotography
6:52 Bryan talks about lighting in photography and how to get the right light while taking the photos
7:53 Bryan talks about StarStax, how to use it, stacking images and if he’d recommend photographers to use it
8:58 Bryan talks about stacking of images and the difference that it has from single imaging and what he would recommend
9:43 Geoff and Bryan talks about Starry Landscapes Stacker, what it is and how they use it to make photos
11:30 Bryan talks about why he does the star trails photos and also shares some of the areas that are designated as the Dark Sky Park
12:48 Bryan talks about the light from Moab which is blowing up and how it is impacting the dark sky
13:43 Bryan talks about some of the ways that he uses in editing after capturing his images that makes his images look spectacular
16:19 Bryan also talks about how he got into astrophotography since he was a night photographer at first and talks about Tom and others who he does photography with
19:11 Bryan talks about pre-visualization in photography, what it is and why it is important in this field
21:08 Bryan also talks about landscape and nightscape photography and how the composition of these two can be the same
22:09 Bryan talks about the shot that he dreams about and would be thrilled to take it and how he plans on taking it
Episode 3.3 of the Show Me Podcast features LA-based fashion photographer Dallas Logan in a frank conversation about racial bias in photography. Dallas and Geoff discuss racism in fashion photography including recent controversies surrounding Vogue magazine covers of Simon Biles, Kamala Harris, and Amanda Gorman. Then the two dive deeper, discussing bias in hiring, the challenges black photographers face with their portfolios, and even the way some photographers initially interpret light. The two wrap with conversations about what progress looks like and mentorship.
Dallas is a well-known and sought-after fashion photographer whose works have been published by GQ and People and numerous brands. Show notes follow.
Show Notes
1:27 Dallas share a little bit of history about his life and how and why he decided to be a professional photographer
3:21 Dallas talks about his company Light is Light and the reasons behind its creation and how it serves its customers
6:25 Dallas talks about race and the rolling controversy that seems to happen with fashion magazines and covers particularly when they feature black models photographed by a white person
10:32 Dallas also talks about the challenges that comes with being a photographer who is all concerned about the race
12:44 Dallas and Geoff talk about the importance of knowing your subject really well as a photographer to really come out with the best shots even with limited time
13:59 Dallas explains if the opportunities of black photographers are getting better and how they are progressing
17:14 Dallas and Geoff talk about diversity in relation to photographers getting a particular job and how it's impacting black photographers today
20:03 Dallas talks about how black photographers are more questioned about their expertise than the white photographers and what needs to be done
22:10 Dallas shares what he thinks the progress in photography should look like and what photographers like Geoff should do to make a difference
24:12 Dallas talks about the importance of developing other people and mentoring them in the right direction and where he got that sense of developing others from
28:36 Dallas talks about how Clubhouse helped him get the chance to meet up with a lot of diverse talented photographers out there in the world
30:05 Dallas talks about his book, Light is Light and also talks about how people can get it and get a better understanding about photography
Clubhouse is the new social network of the day, dominating headlines and activating photography conversations. Many photographers and people, in general, want to know if there is actual value for them on Clubhouse. DC Area Model, Photographer and Studio Owner Dakota Lee joins me for an active discussion about how Clubhouse is changing the photography conversation.
Conversations on the podcast include:
1) Clubhouse: What is it for non-users? 2) Why we like it and the value we see in it. 3) Reset of the online photography conversation from gear to art. 4) There is a high volume of female photographers on Clubhouse (which is great!) 5) Our astrophotography workshop in June
Give Show Me Podcast Episode 3.2 a listen. Full show notes are below!
1:06 Dakota shares a little background of herself and her journey of becoming a photography entrepreneur
2:17 Dakota and Geoff talk about the Clubhouse app and explains what it is in details and if they’d recommend it to someone else
4:41 Dakota also explains why she loves the Clubhouse app, why she joined and also shares the values that she’s getting from it
5:45 Geoff explains why it was a good year for Clubhouse to launch and also what values he is getting from it
9:03 Dakota and Geoff talk about the influencers on Clubhouse and things that people should avoid on Clubhouse
11:26 Dakota and Geoff talk about if they have Clubhouse strategy and also Geoff talks about the Punk club that he started in Clubhouse
13:50 Dakota talks about how she works with Clubhouse as a networking platform and how she plans on using it more
16:07 Dakota and Geoff talk about how Clubhouse can be used as a community that helps you achieve your goals
19:05 Dakota shares her thoughts on what she think about the communities in the Clubhouse and if they are important
20:40 Dakota explains if Clubhouse changed her perspective on photography industry at all, her general feel about participating in it and if conversations are better because of it or not
24:29 Dakota talks about representation and how this is happening in the Clubhouse and how diverse the app is and the importance of that
27:14 Geoff talks about the punk photography group that he formed in the Clubhouse and how they are going to do it
28:27 Dakota and Geoff also talk about the feeling of creating a room in the Clubhouse and being invited in one as a co-host and how they start a conversation in the room
29:51 Dakota talks about astrophotography, what it is and what made her decide to run an astrophotography workshop
Transition Editor and Focus on the Story Founder Joe Newman joined me for a fascinating conversation about curating the work of a team of street photographers (including me) who documented the 2020 election. We discussed the unusual transition of power including the Million MAGA March and Proud Boys rallies, the Capitol Insurrection, and the Biden Transition.
Like my own solo photo book NotMyPresident: Five Years of Resisting Trump, Joe is publishing the work of dozens of photographers in his photo book called, "Transition" which is on Kickstarter until Saturday morning. The book can only be bought in this matter and will not be available for public sale afterwards. Visit Joe's site focusonthestory.com for more details.
Continuing our COVID 19 series of virtual visits to fun lands or ideal destinations, this episode of the Show Me Podcast takes visitors to the gorgeous exotic lands of Havana, Cuba. The podcast discusses:
- The beautiful cityscape
- Portraits of Cuban citizens
- Decay and dilapidation of Havana buildings
- Street scenes illustrating the culture of Havana
- The vibrant classic cars that are ever-present in Cuba
Images discussed were taken during visit to Havana four years ago with six other fellow photographers. The trip was extremely memorable, revealing an incredible beautiful culture.
A video, photo gallery, and photo essay/transcript of the episode are available via ShowMePodcast.com.
Welcome to Show Me Podcast Episode 2.11: Four Years of Trump Protest Photos. For the past four years, I have been photojournaling protests against Donald Trump and his Administration.
The recent Black Lives Matter protests brought a new wave of photos, so many so that it caused me to look at the entire album. With the election coming up it seemed like a good idea to review this project and look to overarching themes.
From basic civil rights to democratic principles, the same themes kept appearing over and over again in the protests. They were:
- Racism
- Immigration
- Gender equality
- LGBTQ rights
- Science and facts
- The right to earn
- Freedom of expression
See the photos in the podcast or below, or just listen to the podcast to hear about those protest trends, the major issues that define the Trump presidency.
In addition, to commemorate this podcast I created the above "Cancel the Trump Reality Show" protest poster.
You can download it for free here, or order a print here.
Please share this episode/photo essay with your friends. Most importantly register and vote.
This Memorial Day weekend, please let me take you through a virtual tour of Olympic National Park. So many of us have lost trips and planned vacations to the coronavirus quarantines, and are now just re-emerging into our local neighborhoods. To make things easier, I hope to take you to the magical place I feel in love with last year, Olympic National Park.
This Show Me video podcast and associated transcript/photo essay takes you from the south of the park in the Lake Quinault region all the way to the ocean and then to the north, where we will visit Hurricane Ridge. The podcast will show you 40 photos over 20 minutes.
Before I begin, a little back story… In April 2019 I toured Olympic National Park over five days and four nights. The goal was to build an Instagram guide for Aramark’s Nation’s Vacation group of lodges in Olympic National Park. Thank you to the Nation’s Vacation team for letting me share some of those photos taken on that trip with everyone.
I hope you enjoy the journey. A Full Transcript with photos is available on geofflivingston.com.
London-based Rock and Roll photographer Jason Miller visited to discuss shooting rock and roll shows. He broke down how he goes about it, and how crazy it is to shoot a show in ten minutes flat.
Our conversation began with a discussion of an incredible photo from The Clash, which was featured on their seminal album London Calling, shot by Pennie Smith (who didn't want to publish the image). Then we discussed a punk rock photo by the legendary New York photographer Godlis.
Once we got into Jason's photographer, we had a wide variety of shows to discuss, including:
- The Dropkick Murphys
- Backyard Babies
- Wildhearts
- Morrissey
- Sinead O'Conner
You can find Jason via his site rocknrollcocktail.com (and don't miss his books there) as well as on Instagram (and everywhere else as @jasonmillerca). A full transcript is on the showmepodcast.com site. You may also want to check out Episode 2.7: Rock's Greatest Photos!
Thanks for listening to the Show Me Podcast with Geoff Livingston. More shows, sponsorship and donation information are available at ShowMePodcast.com
Early in the morning on March 2, the Fairfax County police banged on my door to inform me my mother had died. This began a surreal journey through sudden death and mourning, immediately followed by the global change and devastation caused by the coronavirus. This is my story, as told through the camera.
At first, my photography was stunted and limited, but then it quickly evolved to become an expressive device. From sadness to gloom to documentation and finally the hope of a new spring, this very personal podcast and associated photographs document my creative journey.
Local rock photographer Rachel Lange and bassist Brett Pocorobba join me for an active conversation about rock (and rap)'s most iconic photos. Musicians include John Lennon (by Annie Leibowitz), Janet Jackson (x2), Lady Gaga, Johnny Cash, Metallica's Jason Newsted, Michael Jackson, NWA, Prince, Queen, Taylor Swift, U2 and Arch Enemy.
After more than 30 minutes of photos we thought we had just grazed the surface, and felt that perhaps genre-specific shows were in order. Listen to the episode and let us know what you think the best rock and roll photos are, and who should be included in our next episode!
Nana Gyesie may be the most spiritual photographer I know. He explores the world of people and places through his camera, a very spiritual experience for him that profoundly affects his soul and view of the world. To shoot with Nana is to experience life in a new way.
In this special episode of the Show Me Podcast, we start by exploring one of his influences, Graciela Iturbide and her seminal work "Day of the Iguana." Nana discusses how Iturbide's type of photojournalism impacted him and his work.
Then we discuss Nana's works in Cuba, during the rise of the Trump Presidency, and finally his most recent works in Seattle. Listen to this very special episode of the Show Me Podcast, and enjoy a spiritual street photography journey with Nana.
There is no portrait quite like that of an animal, whether it’s a cute K-9 friend or an animal in the wild. Photographer Jeffrey Morris joins me for this very special episode all about photographing animals, starting with the amazing (mostly) wildlife work of Joel Sartore.
With mass extinctions becoming commonplace, Joel Sartore is on a mission to photograph every wild species he can. Jeff noted that Joel Sartore who shoots amazing animal portraits in “studios” adapted for the species and location. While his work is mostly with wild animals, it has influenced how Jeffrey’s approach to shooting domestic animals.
Of course, Jeffrey’s work is fantastic, too. We show several images (including the featured dog pic) and discuss how he gets that magic pet pick that makes their human friends gush with emotion.
I am proud to dedicate this special animal photography episode to my mother nationally syndicated astrologer Jacqueline Bigar, who passed away days before this episode was published. She loved animals more than anything else on earth, and I know she would watch this episode over and over again. I love you, Mom.
Sebastião Salgado is one of the most influential photographers to emerge out of Latin Ameria. A UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, his works have inspired many, including Show Me Podcast episode guest Kirth Bobb.
Kirth and I discussed Genesis, his wide-ranging works between 2004-2011 that show the unblemished faces of nature and humanity. From wildlife to the human condition in aboriginal and worker communities, we see how his works show incredible stark scenes.
Then we discuss Kirth's incredible vision, as he is increasingly recognized as one of DC's most creative photographers.
Enjoy this very special and inspiring episode of the Show Me Podcast.
February 19th marks the opening of the 2020 Exposed DC Photography Show, an annual exhibition featuring the best photos illustrating life in DC during the past year. I sat down with Exposed DC Executive Director Noe Todorovich to discuss some of the 43 award winners.
Noe’s second appearance on the Show Me Podcast (her first episode featured American Gothic by Gordon Parks) examined nine of the award winners works in four loose themes.
Glitter championship/celebration pics by Brian Moseley, Brian Gray, and Ather Ahsan
Lifestyle pics by Diana Nguyen and Iñaki Sánchez
Classic street images by Gina Falcone and Sofia Sebastián
Classic DC images by Erika Nizborski and Craig Nedrow
Watch or listen to the episode to learn about these award-winning images.
See the 2020 Exposed DC Photography Show at Touchstone Gallery
You can see all the award-winning works via the Exposed DC exhibition. Even better, you can meet the photographers during the opening night reception on Wednesday, February 19. Full disclosure, my image Scoot Down the Highway was an award winner.
Tickets and more information are here: http://exposeddc.com/2020/01/15/the-2020-exposed-dc-photography-show-opens-february-19/ You may also be interested in these episodes:
Episode 1.6 American Gothic by Gordon Parks and Exposed DC with Noe Todorovich
Episode 2.2 Kristen McNicholas on What Makes a Good Award (2019 Sony World Photography Awards)
The Show Me Podcast is recorded at Heartcast Media. Quality podcasting requires time and money. Please consider sponsoring the show on Patreon.
Photography awards are all the rage. Who is good, what image is the best? But are they actually that good or is it a subjective debate.
Photo Editor Kristen McNicholas (formerly with National Geographic) and I debate, using the 2019 Sony World Photography Award winners as our debate topic. Listen to what we liked -- and didn't like -- about last year's winning photos.
Lawrence Jackson, Official White House Photographer during the Obama Administration, discusses his time there as visualized in his new photography book, Yes We Did. Lawrence not only served the Obamas for eight years, but he had a unique perspective as an African American photographer chronicling Barack and Michelle Obama's time in the white house, and their impact on America. He saw their personal sides, their incredible ability to impact children, and how people reacted to them. Listen to this very special opening episode of Show Me Podcast Season 2.
Part two of our special September 11 episode Lt. Colonel Robert J. Darling (retired) picks up right where we left off, starting with the collapse of the World Trade Center North Tower through the desperate attempts by FDNY and NYPD to rescue any survivors and the White House bunker team's efforts to secure America's skies, and its cities against further attacks. Be prepared, this is an emotionally trying episode of the Show Me Podcast.
September 11 remains one of the most visceral moments in American history. Lt. Colonel Darling served as the logistics lead in the White House during September 11, and joins Geoff Livingston to remember the attack through the photos. You can learn more about Lt. Colonel Robert J. Darling and his book, "24 Hours Inside the President’s Bunker, 9/11/01" on robertjdarling.com.
September 11 remains one of the most visceral moments in American history. Lt. Colonel Robert J. Darling served as the logistics lead in the White House during September 11, and joins Geoff Livingston to remember the attack through the photos. Part 1 of their discussion details what was happening in the White House from the first strike on the World Trade Center North Tower to the decisions made on Flight 93 by Vice President DIck Cheney and the passengers on Flight 93.
Listen to Part 1 of this emotional episode to get the insider's perspective of one of America's most tragic and consequential days. You can learn more about Lt. Colonel Robert J. Darling and his book, "24 Hours Inside the President’s Bunker, 9/11/01" on robertjdarling.com.
IGDC Founder and Instagram whiz Holly Garner came by to discuss one of her favorite influences, Alfred Stieglitz. Stieglitz was a late 19th and early 20th-century photographer who was instrumental in making photography an accepted art form.
Then we discussed Holly's undertaking of IGDC ten years ago, and how the meetup and online curated platform has involved and inspired an entire genre of DC photography on Instagram and via in-person meetups. Then we discussed her own progression as a photographer via the @golightly handle on Instagram.
Jarob Ortiz is the National Park Service Heritage Documentation Program photographer. In addition to his own fantastic photography, he came by to discuss the very surreal and amazing Manufactured Landscapes project by Edward Burtynsky. We discussed the amazing way Burtynsky captured human impact on natural landscapes using a blend of natural and created symmetry.
Then we discussed some of Jarob's own work, including his Alabama Civil Rights Trail and Staten island projects for the National Park Service. This is truly a fantastic episode. Soak up Jarob's insights and talent here.
Some photographs stand the test of time, for example, Richard Avedon's emotional take on Marilyn Monroe. One of DC's most influential photographers Jarrett Hendrix stopped by Show Me to discuss his take on the image, and Avedon's body of work as a whole. Then Jarrett and Geoff discuss evolving styles and how some photographers photograph what their hearts compel them.
Around the Lens Host and visual content creater, Dave Murphy joined Geoff Livingston for a Show Me podcast on James Nachtwey and wartime photography. They discussed why James Nachtway's wartime photography and general photojournalism is so striking. Then they discussed David's work in the military and the Around the Lens podcast.
Exposed DC's Noe Todorovich came by Heartcast Media Studios to discuss Gordon Park's seminal photo American Gothic. Parks was an iconic African American photographer who documented race relations, and was best known for his work directing the movie Shaft. Afterwards, Noe and Geoff Livingston discuss Exposed DC's annual photo contest and some past winners, and her own fine art photography.
Richard Binhammer of Binhammer Photographs was in town and stopped by Heartcast Media Studios to discuss Robert Frank and his incredibly influential photography book The Americans. We then talked about Richard's ongoing project Roadside America, infrared photography and then chatted about PhotoNexus in Santa Fe this July.
Snap DC Author Angela Pan joins Geoff Livingston for this fun episode discussing landscapes. And if you are talking landscapes, then you need to discuss Ansel Adams. Angela and Geoff dive in and discuss Ansel's lasting impact into the digital age, and then Angela's own experiences photographing Washington, DC and the National Mall. The two then go on to discuss travel photography.
Focus on the Story Founder Joe Newman joins Geoff Livingston for episode 3 of the Show Me Podcast, where the two discuss why the Colin Kaepernick photo used by Nike for the Just Do It Campaign was so much more successful than the GQ Cover shot taken during the exact same shoot by Martin Schaller. The two then go on to discuss storytelling via photography in Cuba, the Trump Inauguration, and the 2019 Focus on the Story Click DC photo festival.
Copyright lawyer John Mason joins Geoff Livingston for a conversation about Huawei and Apple, and how they use photography -- perhaps in an illegal fashion -- to promote their smartphones. John and Geoff go on to discuss copyright law as it applies to photography.
Former director of White House Photography and photojournalism pioneer Sharon Farmer joins Geoff Livingston for a fascinating discussion about photographing United States Presidents. Sharon Farmer led the Clinton White House with its photography, and was the first African American and first woman in her position serving the President.