Is Ansel Adams Overrated? (Nah, Couldn't Be)

After 139 episodes over 3 years, we're wrapping up PhotoShelter's Vision Slightly Blurred podcast. It has been a joy to talk about the intersection of photography, technology and culture and share those thoughts with you, our audience.

In this final episode: Andre D. Wagner is awarded the Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship, Jonathan Blaustein shares his knowledge of the photo book publishing process, Michael Luo finds photo surveillance of Chinese immigrants in the 19th century, Gabriel Sanchez starts a new photo blog, New York Nico photographs some of NYC's best signs, and Sarah and Allen wax nostalgic. 

Thanks to everyone for listening!

During COVID with little work to be had, Joe McNally hunkered down to write a book that's part memoir, part business instruction, and part technical manual entitled "The Real Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a Working Photographer." After a four decade long freelance career, Joe brings a refreshingly candid point-of-view along with an entertaining writing style. In this episode of Vision Slightly Blurred, Sarah and Allen discuss the book and Allen's interview with Joe.

Also: AI Engineer Rashed Haq pushes the definition of "photograph" in Wired, Dimitry Kokh captures a family of polar bears at an abandoned weather station, Miami University sets up an automated photo booth in its career center, and surf photographers capture the massive waves of winter.

Although PDN magazine folded in early 2020, its parent company, Emerald, rechristened the list of up-and-coming photographers as "The 30." This past week, the 2022 edition was released, and as always, the nominating committee and jury did a spectacular job identifying and highlighting some of the industry's most promising talent.

In this episode of Vision Slightly Blurred, Sarah and Allen talk about some of their favorite photographers, and compare the look-and-feel of the 2012 edition to see what has changed in the past decade.

Also: Satellites and cellphones capture the devastation caused by the undersea volcano in Tonga, writer Caspar Salmon wonders why "hot man in a suit in a pool" is a thing, and Kanye West hires a photographer to document his date with actress Julia Fox.

Still think NFTs are some fringe idea? Yesterday the Associated Press announced that it will start selling NFTs of some of its iconic images at the end of the month. What will the market bear for photojournalism NFTs? Only time will tell.

Also in this episode: Getty Images recaps some of its photographers work on the anniversary of the January 6 Insurrection, Reuter's Leah Mills does the same on Twitter, NYC Mayor Eric Adams shares an portrait of his mom in a brandy snifter, Greg Miller has a new photo podcast, Instagram is testing chronological feeds, and the James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed its mirrors which will allow it to take the best space images EVER.

The end of the year means photo compilations, and Sarah and Allen go through some of their favorites from the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times with work by Allen Schaben, Francine Orr, Marcus Yam, Kent Nishimura, Wally Skald, Jay L. Clendenin, Ashley Gilbertson, Brenda Ann Kenneally, Sergey Ponomarev, Ryan Christopher Jones, Kholook Eid, Sandy Kim, Adam Ferguson, Kenny Houston, Michael Cialgo and more!

Plus Instagram allows users to prevent embedding, and Lina Scheynius wonders why Instagram allows her images to be stolen. Happy Holidays, and here's to a better 2022!

If given the chance to go to space, most photographers would probably gear up. But Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa visited the International Space Station with his iPhone, and still got some stunning images and footage in the process. The best camera is the one you have with you? 

Also in this episode, photojournalist David Butow chronicles the Trump presidency from election to insurrection in his book "Brink," Mary Berridge captures portraits of autism in "Visible Spectrum," Getty Images gets ready to go public (again), Instagram suspends the @metaverse account of artist Thea-Mai Baumann, and Cook and Jenshel capture a gorgeous photo of the Bryant Park Ice Rink in the New Yorker.

Our first ever live taping of Vision Slightly Blurred features one of our favorite photographers. Longtime National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson held court on Friday, Dec 3 as several hundred viewers joined online. 

In this episode, Jim talks about how he used Instagram to engage his audience during the COVID lockdown, his recent collaboration with The Grand Rapids Symphony performing Felix Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, the controversy surrounding the Environmental Photographer of the Year, and Twitter's new privacy policy. 

HBO's "A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks" shares its name with Parks' 1996 autobiography, and although much of the movie creates a visually stunning narrative of major milestones in his life, the documentary also covers the lives of photographers and directors inspired by his work. Devin Allen, Jamel Shabbaz, Latoya Ruby Frasier, Spike Lee, Ana Duvernay, Adger Cowans and more share how their work and relationships with Parks shaped their work. 

Allen and guest host Caitlyn Edwards discuss this and more including: "Afghan Girl" Sharbat Gula is relocated to Italy and we go down a rabbit hole of controversy surround McCurry's image, Instagram censors Madonna's nipple, and photographers capture the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

While most ex-Presidents opt for lengthy memoirs, Donald Trump decided on a photo book as the first post-White House tome. A new publishing company formed by his son, Donald Trump Jr, will start selling "President Trump's Official Photo Book" starting next month for $74.99.

Also on the show: we celebrate the lives of photojournalist Tom Stoddart and music photographer Mick Rock – both of whom passed away in the past week, Allen interviews Shaun Connell and Nana Kofi Acquah about the winning photo from the Environmental Photographer of the Year, and Leica and Vans team up to produce a checkerboard camera.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dina Litovsky built a career on observing candid moments of various subcultures – with some of her best work taken candidly on the streets of New York. A few weeks after a photo taken by one of her former students, Paul Kessel, caused a ruckus on Twitter, Litovsky chimed in on the subject while also referencing two past articles on the subject of ethics and the legality of street photography.

In this episode of Vision Slightly Blurred, Sarah and Allen continue the discussion of photography and ethics.

Also: Drew Gurian reveals how he captured Yo-Yo Ma for MasterClass and Aperture and  Paris Photo announced their photo book awards.