Picturing World Cultures: Wayne Quilliam - Australia/Tasmania

B&H Photography Podcast

Jill Waterman

Podcast, Photography, Arts, Visual Arts, Bh, Photo

4.6 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 7 December 2023

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“The eye should learn to listen before it looks.” – Robert Frank

Australian photographer Wayne Quilliam used to consider his camera as a tool, but today it’s become his “companion.” This is just one of the inspiring takeaways from our chat for the new monthly podcast series, “Picturing World Cultures.”

Listen in as Quilliam describes his journey—from growing up on the island state of Tasmania knowing little about his indigenous roots, to gaining a fascination with culture while traveling with the Royal Australian Navy, to his current roles as a leading indigenous imagemaker and cultural ambassador.

When it comes to making pictures, Quilliam differentiates between an older approach of maintaining photographic objectivity and more contemporary methods for immersing yourself in a story to have a stronger sense of connection with subjects, and a better understanding of what that story will become.

We also discuss aboriginal cultural protocols, and Quilliam offers surprising insights into the unique relationship between culture and skin color in Australia’s indigenous communities.

Stay to the end for tips about photographing culturally sensitive subjects by listening for images rather than seeing them, and Quilliam’s following parting advice.

• Know who you are as a person and what your role is within the journey.
• Make sure you’re as informed as possible about your subject and the who, what, how, why, when, and where of the story and end goal.
• And most important, offer total respect to both the land and people as part of your photographic process.

Above photograph © Wayne Quilliam

Guests: Wayne Quilliam

For more information on our guest and the gear he uses, see:
https://blogd7.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/picturing-world-cultures-wayne-quilliam-australiatasmania

Stay Connected:
Wayne Quilliam Website: https://aboriginal.photography/
Wayne Quilliam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waynequilliam/
Wayne Quilliam Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AustralianAboriginalPhotography/
Wayne Quilliam Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/waynequilliamphotography/#
Wayne Quilliam book Culture is Life: https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/wayne-quilliam_-culture-is-life-2nd-edition-by-wayne-quilliam/9781741178760
Wayne Quilliam interactive exhibit “Connection”: https://www.thelumemelbourne.com/connection

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the B&H Photography podcast. I'm Jill Waterman, the show's
0:05.1	creative producer. I'm also host of our new monthly series,
0:11.6	Picturing World Cultures.
0:15.0	As an avid traveler, I've made pictures in many different cultures,
0:18.6	but I sometimes get the feeling I'm on the outside looking in. While a camera is often considered a passport for seeing the world,
0:26.0	I found that too much time spent looking through a lens
0:29.0	can narrow my field of view,
0:31.0	blinding me to aspects of culture that are often elusive or
0:34.7	unspoken. This kind of photography calls for more than just a good eye for
0:40.1	composition and detail, and it doesn't work with a one-size-fits-all approach. I've created this series for people like me who aspire to venture off the people and cultures they photograph to learn about
1:14.8	their insights, discuss their working methods, and especially to hear their stories.
1:19.4	A common thread among my guess is dedication to time spent in the field immersed in their work.
1:26.0	And while cameras in gear are part of their toolkit, the intangible elements of curiosity, empathy, and the passion to dig deep are even more important.
1:36.0	I hope you'll join me on these monthly adventures.
1:39.0	Our first stop, Australia with Wayne Pulliam, an indigenous image maker, storyteller, and cultural advisor
1:47.1	based in Melbourne.
1:48.9	For more than 30 years, Wayne has explored the subtleties of Aboriginal identity focusing on the lives and
1:55.3	experiences of First Nations Peoples and contemporary Australian culture.
2:00.0	From his itinerant start making pictures for an Aboriginal newspaper, Wayne has built a reputation for trust and friendship in communities large and small, which now spans multiple generations.
2:12.6	Wayne Pulliam, welcome to the show.
2:17.4	An absolute pleasure and thank you so much for inviting me.
2:21.5	So you've specialized in photographing Australia's
	...

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