Interviews

Interviews with photographers and photojournalists working at the forefront of their fields across a wide range of genres, from fine art to documentary to street to travel, and everything in between. PetaPixel allows photographers to share their experience, opinions, and insights to inform and inspire the global photography community.

Reflections: Portraits of the Elderly Seeing Their Younger Selves

When my grandmother was suddenly stricken by a massive stroke, my family had to make the heartbreaking decision to let her go. The doctor told us that even if she were to survive it, she wouldn’t be the person we knew. I remember thinking at that moment, 'if you could only know what kind of woman she is!' We all knew that it wouldn’t be fair to her to bring her back in a way that wouldn’t allow her to live her life her way.

Cold-Flowers

An Interview with Photographer Zhang Jingna

Chances are you may, at some point or another, have seen New York-based photographer Zhang Jingna's work in your daily lives. Her work has appeared in Photo Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar print media, and her commercial clients include popular that include: Wacom, TRESemmé, Mercedes-Benz, and even Canon.

Interview with NYC Fashion Photography Duo Pony and Brett

Pony Lott and Brett Seamans are a fashion and editorial photography duo currently stationed in New York City. Their edgy style captures the imagination with a vulgar elegance and hard sexual attitude. Often inspired by historical figures, classic art, and vintage cinema, they play on classical forms while adding their own lavish vision.

The Business of Style

Recently, I was looking through a photo gallery of a potential new hire and was a bit dismayed by her use of a particular photo enhancement editing choice. All of her photos were very overly processed with multiple styles, much like the photo below.  She did have a wonderful eye, and her composition and posing were really lovely. But her processing choices really distracted from the beauty of her work. The people in her photos didn’t look real.

Sarah Lee Surf Cover Shot

Photographing Surfers Underwater: How Sarah Lee Makes it Happen

We're in the midst of Summer, and if you're one of the many folks who live by coastline, you have access to one of mother nature's most beautiful elements: the ocean. And while the lot of us prefer to purely listen to the waves crash from the comfort of the golden sands, photographer Sarah Lee has been taking her gear into the water and capturing surfers do their thing off the big island of Hawaii.

Interview with Greg Miller

Predominantly using an 8x10 view camera, Greg Miller's photography utilizes street photography, found moments and portraiture to capture human relationships and a sense of suspended reality. In 2008, he received a Fellowship in photography from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. His work has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, TIME, People, Fortune and LIFE.

Interview with Jim Mortram of Small Town Inertia

I first heard of Jim Mortram and his project ‘Small Town Inertia’ in the ‘Ones to Watch’ section of the British Journal of Photography. At first, I was happy that someone from my homeland, Norfolk, was making an impact in the photographic world. But of all projects I’d seen in BJP, Small Town Inertia was the only that gripped me.

A Conversation with Martin Schoeller

Flip through the pages of any major magazine published in the last few years and it's likely you've seen a picture snapped by Martin Schoeller therein. The German-born award-winning photographer got off to a rough start upon moving to the United States in the early 1990s, only to find himself as an in-demand iconic picture taker today.

Thomas Campbell at the Kentucky Derby

Interview with Texas Sports Photographer Thomas Campbell

The idea of being a sports photographer to many enthusiasts seems glamorous and exciting. Free and seemingly unfettered access to major league games with a view just meters away from live action. Akin to a soldier on a battleground armed with the latest gear, carefully and methodically (yet rapidly) shooting his subjects with the aim to make a publish-worthy photograph in the midst of chaos.

Hear What It’s Like to Serve as an Official White House Photographer

As a followup to our post earlier today about former White House photographer Eric Draper's work, here's an interesting and relevant 17-minute-long story that aired on NPR in January of this year. It's an interview with former presidential photographers Eric Draper and Robert McNeely, who photographed the presidencies of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton (respectively).

‘Double Exposure’: A Portrait of Identical Twin Photojournalists, the Turnley Bros

Even if you've never heard of Peter and David Turnley, you've likely seen at least one of their photographs at some point in your life. The identical twins are two of the most renowned photojournalists to have covered world events over the past few decades. The video above is a fascinating 13-minute-long feature titled "Double Exposure," which aired on 60 Minutes back in 1996 (warning: there are some strong images of violence).

From Bathrobe-Wearing iPhoneographer to Breaking-News Reporter

When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, an iPhone photo by photographer Nick Cope was one of the first to go viral and attract the attention of news organizations. American Photo has an interesting interview with Cope in which he shares what it was like to have the world pounce on his photo: …

Photographer Steve McCurry on Shooting Documentary Portraiture

Here's an interesting video in which renowned photojournalist Steve McCurry shares some thoughts on documentary portraiture. Titled Close Up: Photographers at Work, the video takes us behind-the-scenes with McCurry as he shoots some candid portraits on the street and then reviews some of his most prized shots captured over the course of his career. (There's a brief glimpse of the original film slides of his iconic Afghan Girl photo.)

The Perks of Having a Large Instagram Following

You don't get to 200,000 followers without earning a few perks. A couple of months ago, we reported that a number of Instagram power users had been flown out to the US Open in New York as part of various companies' marketing campaigns. Free trips and freebies like that one are becoming more and more common for Instagrammers with large followings.

Bob Carey on Using Tutu Self-Portraits to Support Women with Cancer

Back in March, we wrote about photographer Bob Carey's Tutu Project, which consists of self-portraits Carey created while wearing only a pink tutu. The project started out as a fun image made for a non-profit ballet organization, but soon transformed into something much more after Carey's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. The folks over at PocketWizard recently interviewed Carey, creating the touching short film above that offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the project came about …

World-Class Photojournalists Share Their Thoughts on the Impact of Instagram

Love it or hate it, you have to admit that Instagram is making a huge impact on the world of photography, changing the way images are snapped and shared. Among the 80+ million users who have shared 4+ billion photos are many of the world's most renowned photojournalists. Olivier Laurent over at the British Journal of Photography recently chatted with some of them, asking them about their thoughts on how Instagram is transforming photography as we know it: …

A Look At How Leica Lenses Are Made

Ever wonder why Leica lenses cost so much? Among the many reasons are two big ones: the lenses are all handmade, and are produced in very small batches. Joe Minihane of Humans Invent has a great interview with Leica's Director of Product Management, Stefan Daniel, who shares some interesting facts about how their manufacturing process works: …

Words of Wisdom by Renowned Portrait Photographer Gregory Heisler

Legendary American portrait photographer Gregory Heisler was recently invited to give a talk to the American Society of Media Photographers in Oregon. Prior to the lecture, Stumptown Visuals caught up with him to ask him for some words of wisdom. What resulted was this 8-minute gem that contains a good deal of advice you can apply to your own portraiture.

“The War on Terrorism Has Somehow Morphed into an Assault on Photography”

The New York Times has published a great interview with Michael H. Osterreicher, the general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association and the editor of the organization's advocacy blog. In it, NYT Lens Blog co-editor James Estrin asks Osterreicher about photographers' rights and the trend of people being stopped while shooting public locations.