Hello friends. I’ve let photocolumn lay fallow for awhile as I have concentrated on other things. Since I support this site out of my own pocketbook I had to make a decision to either shut it down or do something new and different. Since you are reading this you probably figured out what I decided to do. So in an effort to keep this alive I decided to start doing a podcast. So sit back and enjoy our first photocolumn podcast. I’d love some feedback so please post a comment below.

Sol sporting his four-stone sombreo on the sidelines of the Sun Bowl.

This episode’s guest is Sol Neelman, photographer of weird sports. Sol recently published a book all about the Weird Sports he’s photographed over the years. Go buy it now. We talk about his book, some of the stuff he’s been shooting lately, community and Melissa Lyttle’s A Photo A Day, shooting events with other photographers which Sol says that “it wasn’t a competition, it was a celebration.” And much more. And just for the record, Sol has a potty mouth so consider yourself warned. Jump to the bottom of this post to listen to the podcast.

Here’s a few links to things and people we talked about on in the podcast:

Julia Robinson : http://www.juliarobinsonphoto.com/

We could have been Cousins…Sol is part of the Kangas clan and I’m a Parmele. Both families settled on the Oregon Coast around the same time. In fact just down the creek from each other : http://www.historiccutler.org/Pages/History.html

Geekfest 2011 Denver : http://geekfest2011.tumblr.com/

Hasselhoff Cheeseburger video

Melissa Lytlle : http://www.melissalyttle.com/

Michael Rubenstien : http://mrubenstein.com/

APAD : http://aphotoaday.org

Sol’s blog post from red neck games : http://www.solneelman.com/blog/?p=6

Chip Litherland‘s belly flop photo : Redneck Games

Tamika Moore : http://www.tamikamoore.com/

Music by Crash Normal : autoradio2

Now Please Enjoy the Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Eye Contact – Connecticut Seen Through The Lens of The Hartford Courant (Photo by Brooke LaValley)

Hartford Courant Photography: Photo blog

Framework, the photography and video blog of the Los Angeles Times, celebrates the power and explores the craft of visual storytelling. The blog highlights the work of Times photojournalists who, frame by frame, document the drama, the emotion and sometimes the humor of life. Framework also aims to serve as a resource hub for photography, multimedia and video enthusiasts who share our passion. We will trade insights and discuss the tools and techniques of telling stories through images.

via Framework – Photos and Video – Visual Storytelling from the Los Angeles Times.

The Tacoma News Tribune’s photo blog.

Check out Scott Stranzzante’s photo blog at the Chicago Tribune’s web site, Shooting From The Hip.

After a few unfortunate events set me back at work I missed the story I was planning on doing for my column. And now I was under the gun to find a new idea with less than a day to do it. So I was out and about looking around for a photo for our Our Town photo column and was thinking about different column ideas a newspaper could do.

One idea I liked I called Hour Town, a play off of the current column the Tribune does. With Hour Town a photographer would toss a dart at the map of the town and then go to that spot. Once there he or she would have 60 minutes to make a photo. If you are nice you could give them a block or two radius to work on. Or, tell them they can’t move from that spot. The rest is left up to the interpretation and creativity of the photographer.

I liked this idea for a few reasons. One it’s happenstance where the photographer is sent so the likelihood of being put in a place unfamiliar to them is high. Secondly I like that restrictions of time and place which can really drive the creative juices. Third it trades one type of stress, looking for a good idea and procrastinating about it, with another kind of stress, one that perhaps we’re not as much use to.

If you give it a try, let me know.

Vignette: Roanoke Times photographers share their best photos – Roanoke.com.

Just noticed Picture This from the Seattle Times where “photographers offer a glimpse into what inspires their best visual reporting.”

The view from The New Yorker’s photo department

via Photo Booth : The New Yorker.

The Salt Lake Tribune’s staff photo blog: blog.tribphoto.com