Dan Winters on The Candid Frame
Something to make your 8-hour sentence in the soulless cubicle a little more palatable today: An outstanding, long-form audio interview with photographer Dan Winters, by Ibarionex R. Perello.You can stream the audio here (right click to D/L) or listen in iTunes here.
Lots of other cool interviews on The Candid Frame, too. And you can subscribe through the iTunes link above.
BTW, the Dan Winters book pictured above is just fantastic. My absolute favorite monolith in years. Highly recommended.
(Thanks much to Rich Bianchini for the tip via Twitter.)
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Posted at 12:00 AM.
15 Comments:
"Something to make your 8-hour sentence in the soulless cubicle a little more palatable today"
Hahaha. You know your audience.
Gosh! This is good. All about designing and making the Dan winters 'Periodical' table book.
Not a 'periodic table' book. That would be less interesting.
http://www.spd.org/2009/06/the-making-of-periodical-photo.php
Dave, how did you know I'd be spending 8 hours in a soul draining box know as a cubicle? Are you a psychic as well as a world renowned flasher?
What strikes me about Dan Winters' photography is his 'style' (or absence thereof) when it comes to lighting. For him, each human face is a unique object, with its own unique physical properties, and his approach to lighting is to uniquely approach it according to the uniqueness of the subject. This is an approach repeated in this interview, and that I've heard or read of him a few times now.
He may have an arsenal of lighting setups that form his starting point, but he doesn't (indeed can't) rely on any one (or group) of formulaic lighting setups. Each portrait reflects its own particular and unique application of Dan Winters' skill, thoughtfulness, sensibility and intelligence (each of which are evident from this interview).
In that sense, achieving his level of portrait photography is a kind of unattainable ideal. That makes it an interesting challenge for amateur, beginning photographers like me, trying to learn from work like his. But at the same time, his lighting approach is a kind of formula for achieving your own, personal approach and style. It's something you can strive for, but never truly achieve; but in the process enables you (if you're willing, and appreciate the challenge) to achieve the best out of *you*.
It's both daunting and encouraging at the same time. That's why I'm drawn, ALL THE TIME, to open my copy of Periodical Photographs and to visit his site.
God I love his work.
I know I'm going to get it for this, but I don't really get the big deal about Dan Winters. He's very good, of course, but 90% of his promoted stuff is just a headshot in front of a minimal background. DPP had an article on him recently and every single shot was exactly the same, and kinda boring; an off center, blank gaze. All I ask is this: if he didn't shoot famous people (yet somehow got the same amount of exposure), would everyone still have their lips on his hindquarters? None of his pics are 'bad' by any stretch, but I don't think it's mesmerizing like people claim. I would love for someone to explain what it is I'm missing here...
I like what he says. Thanks for the tip...
Agree with you Captaindash.
what's the big deal about headshots if they were not celebrities?
Phenomenal. The Chase Jarvis interview is also very awesome.
My cubicle is even more soul-less, being a government run hole in the wall. any file ending with mp3 is blocked by the heartless server admins. Can you serve up mp4's instead? ;)
Thanks for the podcast link. There is enough good stuff in there to keep my busy for a while. Are there any other don't-miss podcasts out there I should know about?
I love his simplicity! Big fan...
This site is amazing! more wasted hours listening to al those podcasts
and for people who think Dan is only a headshot shooter, you might want to check his work for Wired magazine. (search for the related Strobist post)
@AndyM
Indeed. And I would add that light does not need to be complex and scream "look at me" to be great. Winters' is just simple and ... perfect.
While he may be known for his portraiture, I especially enjoy his contructions/illustrations.
The Candid Frame is my fav podcast (since there is no Strobist Podcast!) Every episode is worth a listen. Every episode has something in it...even those that at first don't grab me.
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