Sally Davies Encore Episode: We Are Our Stuff

B&H Photography Podcast

Jill Waterman

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

4.6 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode of the B&H Photography Podcast was originally published on July 29, 2021. We revisit it today to mark the passing of the podcast torch from creative producer John Harris to Jill Waterman, a creative content writer for the B&H Explora blog, who appears as a guest with Davies. Harris will continue to be an avid listener to the show, and we hope he’ll also grace us with his voice on occasion as a future guest.

Photographer Sally Davies embodies a remarkable creative spirit, and we think that spirit also resides in the homes of the 72 New Yorkers she photographed for her colorful book of environmental portraits, appropriately titled, New Yorkers. If this spirit does not exist and Davies is not in tune with it, how could she have captured the essence of her subjects and their abodes so efficiently, in some cases in just minutes?

We answer that question and many others in this discussion about the making of her book. We are also joined by Jill Waterman who has been photographed by Davies, and has written about her work. Our conversation gets to the heart of Davies’ fanciful project, and touches upon its themes of inclusiveness and of gentrification, but also digs into the process of photographing in cramped quarters with little time, and of the surprisingly difficult task of getting people not to smile for a portrait.

We talk about Davies’ decision to eschew light stands for on-camera flash and to use a Sony mirrorless camera and Zeiss 18mm lens. We also talk about the importance of creative freedom and rejecting preconceived expectations. Davies photographed a wide range of New Yorkers for this series and did not refuse a single person suggested to her, but when it came to organizing a book, edits needed to be made, and we discuss this process, as well. Davies is well-known for her street photography, and we mention her projects on neighborhood storefronts and vintage cars, but this series of interior portraits is as “New York” as it comes. Join us for this engaging conversation.

Guests: Sally Davies and Jill Waterman

Photograph © Sally Davies

For more information on our guests and the gear they use, see:
www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the B&H Photography Podcast.
0:04.0	For over 40 years, B&H has been the professional source for photography, video, audio, and
0:08.9	more.
0:09.9	For your favorite gear, news, and reviews, visit us at bnh.com or download the B&H app to
0:15.4	your iPhone or Android device.
0:17.6	Now here's your host, Alan White.
0:22.0	Greetings and welcome to the B&H Photography Podcast.
0:24.7	Today we're going to be featuring an encore presentation of our episode with Sally Davies,
0:29.2	a great chat about her book of portraits called New Yorkers.
0:33.2	Before we introduce today's show, they say that every great story has a beginning, a middle,
0:37.6	and an end.
0:38.8	Seven years ago, John Harrison and I sat down in front of a set of microphones and recorded
0:42.9	the first of what would evolve into a library of over 320 something podcasts.
0:49.1	It was a promising beginning and I'll venture to say the so-called middle years had some amazing
0:53.8	moments, many of which I will cherish for years to come.
0:57.4	Today's the last episode in which John and I will be sharing microphones as he's moving
1:01.2	on to new adventures.
1:03.5	Collaborating with John has proved to be more rewarding than I ever expected it to be,
1:08.2	and I know he'll agree that our on-the-acchemistry was dead on.
1:11.9	Now the good news is that endings bring new beginnings.
1:15.6	Jill Wardeman is an accomplished writer, photographer, and educator.
1:18.8	She's also a long-time coworker of ours on the B&H Explorer team with a specialty
	...

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