This Year's Model

"You are responsible for every part of your image, even the parts you’re not interested in."

"Take a look at what you’re looking at."

-- Jay Maisel

 

In this episode, Ward steps into unfamiliar territory at a fashion photography event sponsored by Sony and The Camera Store. Instead of simply making the same model pictures as everyone else, he falls back on what he knows: treating the whole thing like street photography. He moves between sets, waits for gestures and expressions, and eventually turns his camera toward the photographers crowding around the models. The experience gives him a taste of the collaboration that happens between a photographer and a willing subject—and makes the idea of organizing his own outdoor fashion shoot feel a lot less like a daydream.

Antonio and Ward then remember legendary New York photographer Jay Maisel, who recently died at 95. Antonio shares his own encounters with Maisel, stories from the photographer’s famously blunt workshops, and the quiet influence Maisel’s work has had on the way he photographs color, light, and ordinary surroundings. Maisel claimed that when he went out with a camera, he looked for “absolutely nothing”—meaning he left his expectations behind and allowed the world to show him what was there. His photographs are a reminder that seeing is a skill, style can become a trap, and even the most everyday scene can become remarkable when someone is paying close enough attention.

 

Mentioned in this episode

• That ’70s Shootout at Off Set Studios — The Camera Store’s recap of the event Ward attended

• The Camera Store — Calgary’s independent camera shop

• Peter Lindbergh — the fashion photographer Ward hopes to channel in his own way

• Jay Maisel — explore Maisel’s extensive photographic archive

• Jay Maisel’s favorites — photographs accompanied by Maisel’s own stories and observations

• About Jay Maisel — biography, interviews, books, and other resources

• Joe McNally — photographer and former Maisel student whose remembrance Antonio reads during the episode

• Light, Gesture, and Color — Maisel’s book about training the eye to recognize what makes a photograph work

• Jay Myself — a documentary about Maisel and his legendary home and studio at 190 Bowery

Also mentioned

• Lauritzen Gardens — the Omaha botanical garden Antonio visits

• Adobe Project Indigo — the experimental iPhone camera app Antonio uses for extra reach and RAW capture

• Trent Parke’s Monument — the photobook Antonio shares with his class

 

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