talk

Alec Soth Rambles Through Photo Books by William Eggleston

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns around have pushed artists to find new ways to work, publish, and teach. Renowned photographer Alec Soth is posting "rambling talks" to his YouTube channel, and in this 42-minute talk, Soth slowly flips through photo books by photographer William Eggleston and discusses the work.

Does Photographing a Moment Steal the Experience From You?

Countless photographs are snapped every day by people looking to preserve their life's experiences, but is the incessant picture taking actually robbing us of them? Travel photographer and writer Erin Sullivan recently gave this interesting 8-minute TED Talk on the subject.

Using Drones to Shoot War Zones

Photographer and director Joey L has been using camera drones to capture aerial photos and videos in conflict zones. Here's a 21-minute talk he recently gave on his work at Hardwired NYC.

How One Photographer’s Camera Saved Him from Loneliness

Photographer Ryan Pfluger says he uses photography "as a means for therapy and connection." In this 12-minute talk he recently gave at TEDxPasadena, Pfluger shares an inspirational insight into how photography has played a major part in bettering his life.

Here’s Something Every Photographer Needs to Hear

SLR Lounge recently published this 8-minute video on 10 ways you can light and shoot the same scene. But it's the short monologue at the end, starting at 6m38s, that has received quite a bit of attention in the online photo community. Pye Jirsa talks about how every photographer can help foster a culture of supporting one another.

The Wildlife Photographer Who Shoots in England’s Urban Jungle

Want to be a wildlife photographer but find it hard to get out of the city? Try shooting urban wildlife. Here's an inspiring 13-minute Nat Geo Live! talk in which photographer Bertie Gregory shares stories about his adventures in capturing wild animals on camera in England's urban jungles.

Don’t Follow Your Passion

"Follow your passion" is a piece of life advice that's commonly thrown around. It's heard in the photography industry, and especially in graduation commencement speeches. But here's a 5-minute video in which well-known TV host Mike Rowe argues for the opposite: why you (maybe) shouldn't follow your passion.

TEDx Talk: Babycakes Romero Discusses ‘The Death of Conversation’

Street photographer Babycakes Romero scored a viral hit last year with his project "The Death of Conversation," a series of photos showing people "together" but lost in the worlds of their own smartphones.

Romero was recently invited to TEDxBergamo in Italy to talk about the project and his thoughts on the images. You can watch the 16-minute presentation above.

Chris Burkard on the Joy of Photographing Surfers in Freezing Waters

Chris Burkard is a California-based surf photographer who has shot for some of the biggest companies and publications in the world. After years of shooting on popular, sun-soaked beaches and making a living through his "dream job," Burkard began to yearn for beaches that weren't dominated by tourists and the comforts of civilization. So, he began traveling to remote -- and often frigid -- shores around the world for surf photos that are off the beaten path.

Photographer Shares How He Spent Two Years Living on Photos Instead of Money

Back in 2012, we wrote about a project called "Pixel Trade" by Australian photographer Shantanu Starick. The basic idea was simple but crazy: Starick wanted to travel through all seven continents on the globe without ever spending any currency. Instead, he would try to trade his services as a photographer to people willing to provide him with shelter, food, and transportation.

Starick recently appeared at Behance's 99U to give a 20-minute talk on spending the past two years living on photos instead of money.

Spend Two Hours Learning from Portrait Master Greg Heisler

Earlier this week, when stumbled across this two-hour presentation by iconic portrait photographer Greg Heisler, it took all the will power we had not to share it with you right away. In our world, being the "first" to report on a story is often very important, and it's an impulse we often have to resist because we're intent on getting the story right.

In this case, however, it had nothing to do with getting the story right and everything to do with sharing it at a time when we felt the majority of our readers would have enough time to watch the video from start to finish. Two hours is a long time to listen to one photographer speak, but in the case of Gregory Heisler, we think you'll find it's not nearly long enough.

Portraitist Platon on Photographing Some of the World’s Most Powerful People

Platon (short for Platon Antoniu) is a Greek-English portrait photographer who has had the privilege of photographing some of the world's most powerful people. From literal world leaders, to cultural world leaders, to regular people who are changing the world one day at a time, his photography has earned him many well-deserved awards and magazine covers.

Last week, he spoke to the folks at the Wired Business Conference about his work, and Wired was kind enough to share the video online.

Cesar Kuriyama on Documenting His Life with One Second of Video Each Day

Director Cesar Kuriyama received a good bit of attention on the Internet last year for capturing 1 second of video on each day of his 30th year of life, and then turning the snippets into a beautiful recap of his year. The video premiered during a TED talk Kuriyama gave in March. That talk has just been published by TED, and can be seen above.

Exploring and Photographing the Sewers of Major Cities Around the World

Last year, New York-based guerrilla historian, urban explorer and photographer Steve Duncan gave an 18-minute talk (seen in the video above) to the audience at TEDxPhoenixville. Duncan spoke on his motivations for going deep into the underground infrastructure in major cities around the world, peeling back layers of a city to see and document things that are hidden to people above ground.

Eyeballs and Fine Art: Tyler Shields’ Take on Standing Out as a Photographer

Tyler Shields has led a very successful career -- both as a photographer and previously as a skater -- and in his talk at Luminance 2012 he spent some time explaining how he differentiates himself in an increasingly photographed world.

Specifically, he spends time explaining that there is photography that gets you "eyeballs" (viewers and attention for your work) and photography that gets you paid. (Warning: The video includes some strong language and a few potentially offensive PG-13 photos.)

A Talk by NASA Astronaut Donald Pettit on Doing Photography in Space

Want to know how astronauts photograph in space? Just ask Donald Pettit, NASA astronaut and “amateur” photographer. Donald Pettit has called the International Space Station home for over 370 days, and in that time he’s captured some of the most mind-blowing photos of space – and Earth – we’ve ever seen.