Podcast #202 Do you know a bad photograph?

Hosted by Daniel j Gregory

January 21, 2019

Episode Number:

What the heck is this week's podcast about?

I have been struggling lately trying to understand why so many more bad photographs are out there. Part of it is a volume game. Part of it is an education game. However, I am not focusing on the bad photographs from someone who doesn’t aspire to make great photographs. This weeks’ podcast is focused on why a photographer who wants to make great work continue to put out bad photographs.

As I spent time reflecting on this, I realized that we spend so much time consuming bad photography that it impacts how we see behind the camera. Like eating nothing but junk food, it is hard to be healthy when nothing good is consumed. So how do we get better? We spend time looking at better work. Look at photo books, museums, and photographers we respect. Spending time with great works inspires us to do great work.

To be better at making good photography, we need to find a way to consume good photography. By removing and eliminating the terrible part of our visual diet, we can work to see better and make better photographs. Sure junk food now and then is ok, but you can’t live on cake alone.

Gear used in podcast






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Gear used in the podcast

Rode Boom Arm
Rode PSM Shockmount
Rode Podcast Mic
Focusrite Scarlet 2i2
Adobe Audition (part of creative cloud subscription)
Macbook Pro
OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock
Headphones

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Interpretation and translation

In this episode of the podcast I explore the idea of editing as translation. Rather than treating editing as technical cleanup, I look at how it becomes a way to interpret the lived moment of making a photograph. The camera captures facts but not the emotional truth, so editing bridges that gap. By shaping color, tone, and atmosphere, we translate experience into visual language and create images that feel honest, expressive, and connected to our intentions.

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What it means to share your work

In this episode of the podcast, we explore the quiet tension between the solitude of making photographs and the importance of sharing the work we create. Photography often begins in private moments of deep attention, yet that same solitude can drift into loneliness and self-doubt. We talk about why showing your images to others is a vital part of the creative cycle, how feedback and connection help clarify your voice, and why your work deserves to exist beyond your own hard drive. This episode invites you to embrace both the stillness of seeing and the community that completes the photograph.

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