The Only Revolution is Within - Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson & Courtney McCracken
Photography is NothingShow Notes
Episode 05 - This week Zach & Courtney discuss everyday photography, Zach’s 180 on fireworks photos, an important quote that influenced Courtney, and the work of photographers Sally Mann and Larry Fink.
“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Index 0:00 - Showing after every trip to the grocery store. 0:19 - This is a podcast about photography and everything else. 0:57 - We’re getting great feedback on the podcast! 2:43 - Irish accents make Courtney feel cozy. 3:43 - Question: What photo books does Zach recommend for newer photogs? 7:06 - Comment: Disney ads don’t portray the reality. 8:30 - Prejudice against photographers who shoot using the LCD screen 10:42 - Zach does a 180 on a take from last episode. 14:28 - Courtney says there’s something that parents often overlook. 17:46 - Tom has an old tractor. Recreating moments in photographs. 19:35 - Documentary Photography is for Everyone - Zach’s talk at the Carmel Clay Public Library. 20:55 - The story about unhoused youth was not Zach’s to tell. 21:59 - Covid affected Zach’s trajectory as a photographer. 24:37 - Zach’s everyday photography during Covid. 📷 27:58 - Sally Mann’s photos of her family. 📷 35:01 - All the young people are using early 2000s digital cameras. 36:38 - Larry Fink photographed his neighbors, the Sabatines, in the 1970s and 80s. 📷 41:21 - Courtney loves this quote from Larry Fink that she wrote down a decade ago. 43:04 - Our late neighbor Rose said in every person a whole universe is born. 43:50 - Larry Fink’s photo of a universe in his own eye. 📷 44:51 - In photography, it can be easy to rely on grandiose things to make a photo interesting. 45:59 - Larry Fink’s full quote on the revolution within and its impact on Courtney. 48:01 - We were planning to go meet Larry Fink. 49:55 - Zach sees the revolution within manifest in Courtney. 51:03 - Courtney doesn’t care if kids sit and listen while she reads.
Find Zach Website: https://zachdobson.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Find Courtney Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_
About the Podcast Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting.
Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.
More from Photography is Nothing
In Episode 54 of Photography is Nothing, Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken explore the remarkable photography of Adger Cowans, a pioneering photographer whose work spans street photography, documentary photography, portraiture, jazz, fine art, and more than 30 motion picture sets.
Zach & Courtney take the family to New York City for the first time. Over the past few years, Zach has been working regularly in New York, but the rest of the family (Courtney included) had yet to visit the city.
In this interview with Australian photographic artist Tajette O’Halloran, we talk about the inspiration behind her projects like In Australia, The Quarry, and Regional Rituals. She talks about her difficult upbringing in the Northern Rivers area, and how that put her on a path to tell the stories of adolescence.
Tajette O’Halloran is a photographic artist based in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. Her work ranges from documentary to portraiture to conceptual. The common thread is examining adolescence and identity; both her own and others’.
In this 50TH episode, Zach & Courtney talk about what they’ve learned so far from running a photography business, starting a podcast, raising 5 kids, homeschooling, and just being generally busy making things for 20 years.