The Photo Brigade Podcast

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with George Kalinsky, official photographer for Madison Square Garden. One of the institutions of "The World's Most Famous Arena” is not just the venue, but George, the house photographer himself, who has celebrated his 50th Anniversary covering over 10,000 events over the years. He's been the team photographer for The Knicks and has seen some of the most iconic moments in sports, politics, music, and religion. He has endless stories of friendships with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Mohammed Ali. We talk about his unconventional entrance into the world of photography which led to his life-long position at The Garden, his background as a designer, his exhibits and more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with Atlanta-based photographer Melissa Golden. As a return guest on the podcast, this was Melissa's first since we've begun video podcasting, so it's extra exciting to not only share her fun stories of covering everything from celebrity portraiture, DC politics, forest fires and more, but we get to see her work too. We talk about her career path and the importance of networking both online and in person to keep her name at the top of editors lists. We also talk about how she works with a photo agency and how it benefits her on both the journalistic and commercial side with negotiation and administrative work. We learn her 5-year goal and also get her advice to youngsters who hope to start a career in photojournalism. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with Alex Scott, a talented freelance photographer and photo editor for ABCNews.com. He made his way to NYC as a photographer but has ended up in the world of photo editing as his career has developed him which has inspired while working directly with some incredible photographers. We talk about his personal projects and travels and the importance of building trusting relationships with subjects and how to work with different communities and cultures. We talk about his background at university both in journalism as an undergrad to graduate school for photography at Missouri to find a clear vision for himself. While editing nearly full time, he's been working on an ongoing personal project outside his apartment doors documenting his own NYC neighborhood. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with Smita Sharma, a photojournalist and documentary photographer based in both New York and India, about covering gender and human rights issues. We talk about how she started he career by working for newspapers in India before coming to Manhattan to attend a short course at the New York Film Academy, which subsequently led to her applying to the International Center For Photography, where she learned from the perspectives and experiences of her fellow students via critiques and their life experiences. We talk about the importance of workshops she's attended, general networking, and working with a group of her peers as a member of the Koan Collective. We also discuss her career path and how she's navigated the world of freelance photography since going professional in 2013, to the point where she's now been published by various international publications including CNN, The Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, among many others. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode, Robert Caplin talks with Eric Thayer about his work covering the 2016 US Election since the primaries, his time with Donald J. Trump, and covering the refugee crisis around the world. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode, Robert Caplin chats with the one-and-only Harry Benson, who initially rose to fame alongside The Beatles, having covered their inaugural trip to the United States in 1964. They talk about his legendary career working with world leaders and celebrities, as well as capturing crucial historical moments. They also discuss the new documentary "Harry Benson: Shoot First" chronicling his epic career. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with Rock & roll photography legend Michael Zagaris about his career documenting the greats in music as he toured with the Rolling Stones, The Who, kicked it with Jerry Garcia, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, David Bowie and scores more! They talk about his just released book “Total Excess” chunk full of his music archives and also discuss Michael's 40+ years as the team photographer for both the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland A's and all the crazy stories in between! Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with BP Miller about his career in photojournalism, their recent expansion to San Francisco with Scott Strazzante and what it has to do with putting photojournalists back to work. They also talk about his working for charitable organizations and giving back to the industry that has treated him so well. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with Limor Garfinkle, a New York-based photographer originally from Israel. They talk about how photography saved her life and how she got into the photography business only 5 years ago and fully supports herself taking pictures. They also talk about her new portrait series and give a first look. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with Buffalo-based editorial and commercial Luke Copping about his career and business sense while serving on the national board of ASMP and juggling his many clients. They talk about his charitable work taking pictures of adoptable pit bulls from a local rescue shelter, look at his work, and much more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with Mohammed Elshamy, a 22-year-old Egyptian photojournalist based in NYC who covers some of the world's most dire events such as the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, the political unrest and street violence in Egypt, the European refugee crisis, the armed rebellion in South Sudan, and much more. They discuss his career path and the physical and mental toll (PTSD) this sort of coverage has on photographers who document such issues. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with Brooklyn-based photographer Anthony Geathers. They talk about Anthony's career path, serving two combat deployments in the Marine Corps to Afghanistan as a machine gunner before attending the School of Visual Arts and beginning his freelance career shooting sports and athletic portraiture. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with David Goldman, a Brooklyn-based photographer who specializes in topics around human rights, marginalized people, and maternal health.They talk about his background shooting celebrities and rock stars in LA, his career path, and much more! Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with The New York Times Social Media Photo Editor Kerri MacDonald about her career path and all things social. They talk about the importance of maintaining an active social presence and how she built, maintains, and launches all the NY Times accounts. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with his good friend, business partner, and stellar fashion photographer and DP David Geffin about what's going on in the industry, how to stay inspired, and what it takes to transition careers for those who want to take their photo and video work to a more professional, income-generating level!

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with photographer Dorie Hagler, a documentary storyteller. They talk about her career path and background as a newspaper photographer in New Mexico and her various projects including photographing in prisons and her ongoing portraiture project “me&Eve”. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast! 

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with his friend Cameron Michael, a commercial photographer, Director of Photography, and Advanced Motion Control Timelapser. They talk about Cameron's career path, some of his super cool projects (that he's allowed to speak about), and much more! Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with documentary photographer/filmmaker Jonah Markowitz about his documentary projects, portrait work, his background in air pollution research before his transition into photography, his grant with View Find, life as a freelancer, funding long-term projects, his feelings on multimedia and social, the importance of empathy in documentary work, and recognizing the lack of diversity and privilege of storytellers in the industry. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with his long lost photo editor Kevin Larkin who worked the New York Times Picture Desk while Robert interned over a decade ago. They talk about Kevin's career path as both a photographer and editor, his move to Dubai to start a newspaper, and his transition back to freelance photography back in the US.

On this episode Robert chats with South Korean photographer Shin Woong-jae about his long-term project documenting the devastating effects from production of semiconductors in electronics to the health of humans and electronics. They also discuss his career path from marketing and brand management to his studies at ICP, and becoming a full-time photographer living and working in New York whilst traveling the world working on self-generated projects. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with photographer Chris Nicholson, author of Photographing National Parks about his career path, browse his beautiful nature images from around our country's National Parks, and his new workshop series National Parks at Night. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast! 

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with Gary He, a friend and fellow photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. They talk about Gary's career path, when they both interned in NYC in 2005, and about his newest venture into app development. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast! 

On this episode Robert chats with New York- based photographer Stan Honda, who has worked as a photojournalist for 34 years, most recently for Agence France-Presse (AFP). On top talking and sharing images from his years of covering a wide range of topics including news events, politics, economics, sports and human interest stories, they discuss personal projects including documenting the U.S. concentration camps where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Most recently he's been pursuing a project involving night sky landscapes, combining his long time interest in astronomy and photography. As an artist-in-residence at four national parks: the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Wupatki in Arizona and Rocky Mountain in Colorado, he has been photographing the sky and the landscape with the aim of helping preserve our view of the night sky. Sit back, Relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with photographer Andrew Renneisen who specializes in documenting conflict, race, and ethnic and social issues domestically and internationally. They talk about how he started out, his internships, business, and about his upcoming move to Nairobi, Kenya where he will be represented by Getty Images Reportage. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast! 

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with New York-based photographer Jake Naughton who specializes in stories about LGBT and immigration issues worldwide. They talk about his career path, schooling, his time working for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, his projects near home his travels abroad. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade podcast! 

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with NYC-based independent photographer Cassi Alexandra about her career path that led her to shooting projects for clients such as  The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg among others. They talk about schooling, newspaper internships, workshops, as well as Cassi's experience working as a photo editor. Sit Back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade podcast. 

On this episode Jared Polin of FroKnowsPhoto.com chats with Robert Caplin about the brand and social community he's built over the past 5 years. They talk about his background in photography and how he grew his YouTube presence to over 500,000 subscribers, and where things go from here. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast! 

On this episode, Robert chats with photographer Alicia Hansen about her career and NYC SALT, a nonprofit she founded that provides photography programming and mentoring to underserved teens in New York City. They talk about education, workshops, shooting editorial, for Donald Trump's Apprentice, and much more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade podcast. 

On this episode Robert chats with Canon Explorer of the Light Peter Hurley about his headshot business and associate network. They talk about social media, networking, about speaking, and much more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with legendary celebrity portrait photographer Nigel Parry. They talk about his career and transition from London to New York while cultivating a client base made up of some of the best publications in the world... and much more. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On our 100th podcast, Robert chats with Mike Isler, who is a stellar photographer, digital tech, first assistant, and aerial technician where he works with photographers from helicopters, airplanes, cranes and rooftops providing assistance, coordination, and most importantly, safety. He's also very skilled with any sort of lighting, whether shooting stills in the studio or on a film set where he works as an assistant camera operator pulling focus, building camera systems, and on top of it all, he's a licensed airplane pilot. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.

On this episode Robert chats with music and celebrity photographer Drew Gurian about building his business from scratch after years  soaking in knowledge and traveling the world as Joe McNally's 1st assistant. They talk about the importance of networking, promotion, dealing with clients and much more. Drew also talks about landing big clients like Nikon shooting campaigns for newly-released gear. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

Robert Caplin speaks with NPPA Lawyer, Mickey Osterreicher, about the importance of photo advocacy. They talk about drones, copyright, 1st Amendment issues, and the importance of being a part of an organization like National Press Photographers Association who will always have your back! Mickey Osterreicher serves as general counsel to the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and is a member of the New York State Bar Association Media Law Committee, among many others. He is also an award winning photojournalist with almost forty years' experience in print and broadcast. His work has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Time, Newsweek and USA Today as well as on ABC World News Tonight, Nightline, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News and ESPN. As a lawyer, Mr. Osterreicher has been actively involved in such issues as: cameras in the courtroom, the federal shield law, media access, public photography, ag-gag legislation, anti-paparazzi statutes, drone photography, copyright, fair use and orphan works. He has helped to draft comments to the Copyright Office and written numerous articles on these subjects. He has helped draft revised photography guidelines for many law enforcement agencies nationwide and has also drafted updates for the New York State Bar Association Journalists' Handbook. He has drafted letters resulting in successful opposition to many state bills limiting the right of the press and public to photograph and record.

On this episode Robert Chats with Monica Stevenson, an award-winning commercial photographer, fine artist, and director based in New York City and Tryon, North Carolina. They discuss her career, business, social media and much more. Her reputation for lighting mastery and her artisan's approach to the creative process has been solidly established after working for international brands and agencies. Clients come to Monica for her refined aesthetic, spirited work ethic, and her collaborative nature. Working with her team, she forges enduring relationships with her clients—rooted in the ability to problem solve based on a deep creative knowledge and years of experience. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!  

On this episode Robert talks with news photographer Craig Warga about his near decade-long stint as a staff photographer at the NY Daily News, his recent transition into the world of freelance photography, the business behind that, family, and much more. Sit Back, Relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with Jared Levy, a director and cinematographer based in Brooklyn, NY. They talk about his career traveling the world working jobs for major clients and the business behind it all. They also talk about Jared's newest project as host of his very own podcast "Art vs Commerce" Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with photo editor Brad Smith, the former Director of Photography at Sports Illustrated where he oversaw all the photographic content. Prior to SI, Brad was the sports photo editor for The New York Times, assistant director of photography for the White House during the Clinton Administration, and director of photography at Sports Illustrated for kids and Sports Illustrated Women. They talk about workshops, promotion, his new projects, and how he uses social media to find great photographers working out in the field. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast. 

On this episode, Robert chats with Ben Lowy about his acclaimed career covering international conflict, natural disaster, as well as commercial work for various brands. They also talk about his his early adoption of mobile photography and social media to tell stories in a new way. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!Benjamin Lowy is award winning photographer based in New York City. He received a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2002 and began his career covering the Iraq War in 2003. Since then he has covered major stories worldwide. In 2004 Lowy attended the World Press Joop Swart Masterclass, he was named in Photo District News 30 and his images of Iraq were chosen by PDN as some of the most iconic of the 21st century. Lowy has received awards from World Press Photo, POYi, PDN, Communication Arts, American Photography, and the Society for Publication Design. Lowy has been a finalist for the Oskar Barnak Award, a finalist in Critical Mass, included in Magenta Flash Forward 2007, as well as the OSI Moving Walls 16 exhibit. His work from Iraq, Darfur, and Afghanistan have been collected into several gallery and museum shows, and shown at the Tate Modern, SF MOMA, Houston Center for Photography, Invalides, and Arles. His work from Darfur appeared in the SAVE DARFUR media campaign. In 2011 Lowy's Iraq | Perspectives work was selected by William Eggleston to win the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies/Honickman First Book Prize in Photography. The book is currently available and in stores now. In 2012, Lowy was awarded the Magnum Foundation Emergency fund to continue his work in Libya. In the same year, he received the International Center of Photography (ICP) Infinity Award for Photojournalism. In 2014, at the age of 35, Lowy received a Distiguished Alumni Award from Washington University in St Louis. Lowy is based in New York City. He is currently represented by Reportage by Getty Images. BenLowy.com

On this episode Robert chats with veteran wire photographer Gary Hershorn about this nearly four decade-long career working for the wires. They talk about Gary's transition into editing for Flipboard and now as he focuses on using Instagram and other social media to share his beautiful photos of NYC. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with Michael Ip, a freelance photographer and photo editor based in Barcelona. They talk about his career in editing as Senior Photo Editor at Newsweek as well as editing positions at New York Daily News, ABC News, Daily Mail and Maxim. Nowadays he focuses on portraiture and fashion. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast.  

On this episode, Robert Caplin talks with his friend, Deputy Photo Editor at Rolling Stone magazine, Sacha Lecca. With over 20 years experience in magazine publishing starting as a low-level photo researcher, Sacha moved up the ranks as a photo editor at Newsweek, CMP Media, and to his current senior photo editing position at Rolling Stone. Along the way he's also shot some stellar music photography which he shares through Instagram.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with NYC-based photographer Bryan Bedder about his career, the ups and downs of the past year when an accident left him nearly paralized and his amazing recovery. Bryan specializes in portraits, news, music, celebrity and corporate events. Since 2001 he has covered major events including NY fashion Week, The Super Bowl, Occupy Wall street, Hurricane Sandy, The Tony Awards, MTV VMA's, Sundance Film Festival. His photos have appeared in many major publication's world wide. His clients include Getty Images, American Express, Delta Airlines, Fiji Water, Motorola, and Dell.

On this episode Robert chats with photo industry veteran Peter Berberian about the business of photography. Peter's career has run the gamut from photographer to master printer, art consultant and most recently, Director of Brand Development for Agency Access. They discuss how important branding is for photographers and much more on this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast. 

On this episode Robert sits down with acclaimed war photographer Ron Haviv of VII Photo Agency in New York. They talk about his background in photography that led to covering conflicts and natural disasters around the world, his new book "The Lost Rolls", the business of photography, and how important it is to diversify their revenue streams in order to make a living as a photographer. They discuss social media, video work, safety, workshops, Ron's infamous scarf, and much more on this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!     

On this episode Robert chats with Manhattan-based freelance photographer Stephanie Keith who covers a lot of breaking news and personal projects around NYC. They discuss starting her career, going through International Center of Photography and NYU's photography programs, they discuss how two particular photos from the Occupy Wall Street protests went viral on the internet, the business of photography, and much more. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of the Photo Brigade Podcast. 

Oh this episode Robert sits down with veteran Chicago photographer Alex Garcia who's been a staff photographer for over 20 years working for some of the top publications in America such as The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune where he shared a Pulitzer Prize and won a World Press Photo Award. They talk about his background and how scored his staff positions and his recent transition into the world of freelance and commercial photography. Being of Cuban descent himself, he has a love for the country where he's spent a significant time experiencing and documenting the culture over the years and will soon be leading a New York Times Journey to Havana in February 2016. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of the Photo Brigade Podcast.  

Hello and welcome to the Photo Brigade podcast! It's been a few months since we've last posted a podcast and thats due to a number of circumstances. September I was traveling in Europe and had a personal family emergency, October was a crazy month with Eddie Adams Workshop and Photo Plus Expo in NYC, and we've been working on building some great partnerships as we move into 2016…but more on that later! Speaking of Photo Plus Expo, I was able to sit down for this podcast with our pal, John Harrington, AKA the Photo Business Guru. We talked about the latest issue of his best-selling photo business bible, Best Business Practices for Photographers, about social media, contracts, and much more! Sit Back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast. 

On this episode host Robert Caplin chats with legendary sports photographer Neil Leifer about his illustrious career spanning over 5 decades capturing some of the biggest moments in sports history. He and Robert discuss his business, highs and lows, his incredible work ethic, and readiness to catch the moment. 

On this episode Robert Caplin chats with his friend and colleague Peter Lockley about his sports photography career as well as their partnership producing the Maui Photo Expedition, a luxury photography workshop that takes place at the Four Seasons in Maui, Hawaii. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!

On this episode Robert chats with Flipboard photo editor Steve Fine who spent nearly two decades as the Director of Photography at Sports illustrated and before that as an editor at The New York Times.  They talk about Steve's career highlights and transitioning from traditional analog media to the digital and mobile platforms of the 21st century.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!  Steve Fine is Flipboard's first-ever photo editor where he pores through a firehose of photography from The Associated Press, Getty and Reuters to assemble vibrant galleries around breaking stories and events. When it comes to photo editing and picking the right shot, Steve Fine goes back to a piece of advice he was given early in his career: “You know it when you see it,” he says, recalling what a senior editor told him as he started working at Sports Illustrated, where he ultimately spent 17 years as Director of Photography. (Before that, he helmed the New York Times' photo desk for nine years.) During his storied career, the Manhattanite has anchored the photographic coverage of dozens of Olympics, Super Bowls and World Series—usually at the events themselves, on the field. He's witnessed all kinds of sports history, from Usain Bolt's world-record sprints to Super Bowl XLII's iconic play dubbed “The Catch.”

On this episode I chat with Brooklyn-based freelance photojournalist Natalie Keyssar about her her work in Venezuela and Ferguson documenting political unrest. We talk about her path in photography and how she pursues the projects that interest her. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of The Photo Brigade Podcast!