It's March 10th, 2007, and this of The Candid Frame.

It's great to have you back.

Today's guest is John Siskin.

And John is a photographer I met last year during a better photo event up in Seattle last year. And he

actually lives here in Los Angeles, not too far from where I am. And recently I had the opportunity

to visit him in his studio to talk about his career and his work. John is a fine art photographer

who specializes in macro work as well as portraiture and architectural work.

And he has a unique side to himself in that he actually constructs some of his own cameras,

which is a very exciting and very unique aspect to his career as a photographer.

He's a very meticulous technician, and especially when he comes

to lighting. But what really matters to John is not technical stuff for its own sake, but really

how it serves the image in the end. And he's really passionate about photography and making

pictures. And I think that will come across in the interview.

And it's one of the reasons I chose John to be a guest on the Candid Frame.

So, enjoy our conversation with John Siskin.

It didn't have auto exposure.

It just didn't have exposure.

You pointed it in the general direction of things that you were interested in and you shot. And I was fascinated by it. And then I got a Polaroid Swinger, which made lovely instant pictures. And that was just incredible. And then I got a real camera. I got a Kodak Retina 1A that had been my dad's.

These are beautiful little cameras that collapse into very small space

and had Schneider lenses on them.

I didn't have a clue what I was doing.

I didn't understand aperture. I didn't understand shutter speed.

...