TCF Ep. 645 - Dimitri Staszewski

The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

Ibarionex R. Perello

Arts, Visual Arts

4.8 • 768 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When photographer Dimitri Staszewski began his Close to the Bayou project, he was drawn to the layered and deeply personal relationship between people and place in southern Louisiana. His photographs explore the impact of land loss, environmental change, and cultural resilience, capturing stories that exist at the intersection of identity, heritage, and survival. Rather than portraying the region solely through the lens of crisis, Dimitri embraces its complexity—revealing beauty, strength, and an ongoing dialogue between past and present. At its heart, the story also reflects an intimate exploration of mortality, acknowledging how lives and traditions are shaped by both loss and continuity. His work asks us to consider how landscapes shape lives and how photography can honor both fragility and endurance. Close to the Bayou is a testament to the power of visual storytelling to preserve memory and amplify voices in communities too often misrepresented or overlooked. Resources: Dimitri Staszewski https://dimitri.studio Close to the Bayou https://dimitri.studio/close-to-the-bayou Altadena Photographers https://www.altadenaphotographers.org/ Support Ibarionex & The Candid Frame GoFundMe BuyMeaCoffee eBook Purchases Websites The Candid Frame Patreon Page The Candid Frame PayPal Contribution Link Signed Editions of "Making Photographs: Developing a Personal Visual Workflow. Sponsors Charcoal Book Club https://charcoalbookclub.com Frames Magazine FRAMES Magazine | Because Excellent Photography Belongs On Paper (readframes.com) Education Resources: Momenta Photographic Workshops https://momentaworkshops.com/workshops/ Candid Frame Resources The Candid Frame Newsletter & Substack Blog The Candid Frame Alexa Skill Making Photographs: Developing a Personal Visual Workflow The Candid Frame Flickr Pool The Candid Frame YouTube Channel Download the free Candid Frame app for your favorite smart device. Click here to download it for iOS. Click here to download it for Android Contribute a one-time donation to the show thru Buy Me a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/thecandidframe Support the work at The Candid Frame by contributing to our Patreon effort. You can do this by visiting patreon.com/thecandidframe or the website and clicking on the Patreon button. You can also provide a one-time donation via PayPal. You can follow Ibarionex on Instagram and Twitter.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Some photographs don't just show us a place.
0:08.3	They draw us in into its rhythms, its tensions, and the stories that unfold quietly in between.
0:16.6	Close to the bayou, the ongoing project by photographer Dmitri Stashevsky does just that.
0:23.6	Through his photographs, Dmitri brings us into the lives of people living along the Mississippi River,
0:29.6	a region marked by beauty, resilience, and deep cultural roots.
0:34.6	Dmitri doesn't rush the picture. He takes his time. There's a sense of presence
0:39.9	in the work, not just in what's shown, but in what's felt. He isn't just documenting a place.
0:46.8	He's building a relationship with it. In this episode, I speak with Dmitri about the evolution
0:53.2	of close to the bayou, how it began, how it changed him, and what it means to make photographs that grow from trust and time.
1:02.2	We talk about the sensitivity that's necessary when documenting with someone going through a health crisis and how his own health diagnosis changed his work and his life.
1:13.1	This is IbarianX and this is The Candid Frame.
1:22.1	Well, Dimitri, welcome to the show. It's a pleasure to have you.
1:25.4	Yeah, thank you. It's great to be on.
1:27.3	Thanks for reaching out. I mean, the cover alone of your book, close to the Bayou, is like very interesting.
1:34.3	And we'll talk a little bit about why that choice was there. But, you know, this whole book and this whole project revolves around a longtime family friend, Tom.
1:45.2	And, you know, he strikes me as the real cool uncle that he would visit.
1:50.1	He would, you know, the kind of guy that kids would really look forward to because he was such a
1:56.8	departure from the norm.
1:58.8	Yeah, exactly.
1:59.4	So we start talking about, you know, the images in the book. And tell me about that norm. Yeah, exactly. So we start talking about the images in the book.
2:02.6	And tell me about that relationship.
2:04.6	Yeah, I would describe him exactly like that.
	...

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