Award winning photojournalist, documentary photographer, and filmmaker Sebastian Meyer joins the show to talk about how he went from a kid growing up in New York, to spending ten years living in Kurdistan, co-founding the first Iraqi photography agency, and his beautiful new book that documents the journey and the people called "Under Every Yard of Sky". Although Sebastian had a similar experience as so many others that have been on this show before of getting the chance to learn photography in a high school class, it wouldn't be until years later during college while he was studying abroad in France that he would truly fall in love with it. After seeing some of the photos he was taking during his travels, a friend turned him on to the field of photojournalism and gave him a book on Magnum photographers that would change his life. Soon enough Sebastian was chasing his own dreams as a photojournalist, and even ended up as an intern at the Magnum photography agency. After moving to London to try and establish himself as a photographer there, Sebastian was given the opportunity through a friend to travel to Kurdistan on an assignment. While on assignment, he met who would become his best friend and future business partner Kamaran Najm and the two of them would go on to create something idealistic and amazing in Kurdistan. During our conversation Sebastian tells me what attracted him to life in the middle east and how he ended up calling Kurdistan home for so long, what it was like trying to build a photo agency, the tragic story of his best friend Kamaran, how he feels about the current state of photojournalism, and the advice he gives to others coming up in the field.
To Learn More About Sebastian Meyer Visit:
To Buy a Copy of Under Every Yard of Sky Visit:
https://www.sebmeyer.com/bookstore
And Follow Him on Instagram At:
https://www.instagram.com/sebmeyerphoto/
To Learn More About Visual Revolutionary Visit:
http://www.visualrevolutionary.com
And Follow On Instagram At:
https://www.instagram.com/visualrevolutionary/
My good friend, and bad ass photographer, Emily Polar returns to the show to have an honest conversation about what it looks like to truly value and honor your time, the issues she has with the conventional model of the the role of an advertising photographer, what it was like to live and study in Nepal for the last three years, the influence Buddhism and daily meditation has on her life, how she manages her money and lives with almost no overhead in order to stay on the move, and the plans she has going forward with her career and her personal life. Make sure to check out Episode #4 from the way back machine to hear Emily's first appearance on the show where she discusses her backstory and how she got to where she is today.
To Learn More About Emily Polar Visit:
And Follow Her on Instagram At:
https://www.instagram.com/emilypolar/
To Learn More About Visual Revolutionary Visit:
http://www.visualrevolutionary.com
And Follow on Instagram At:
https://www.instagram.com/visualrevolutionary/
Documentary photographer, respected photojournalist, and educator Glenna Gordon joins the show to talk about how she went from a kid growing up in suburban Orange County, to living in West Africa covering everything from Boko Haram to Muslim women who write romance novels. Although Glenna was raised in a loving home and in a sheltered community, she was no stranger to stories of tragedy and hardship and was brought up with the intimate knowledge of what true suffering and sacrifice can look like. She knew from a young age that Irvine was not the place for her and she had dreams of living in New York and seeing what else the world had to offer. After studying art history at UC Berkley and then getting a job that would move her to NYC, she realized that she wasn't creatively satisfied and wanted more than sitting at a desk full of paperwork. She attended journalism school at Columbia and then decided to go visit her older brother who was living and working in Rwanda. On a whim, and full of youthful courage, she somehow managed to talk her way into a Rwandan prison and put together a story about women who were being held there. That story would end up being the catalyst to her chasing her passion of story telling, becoming more dedicated to photography, and falling in love with the people of Africa. During our conversation we talk about what made her decide to move to Uganda at the age of 25 and the transition from being a writer to focusing more on telling stories with her camera, what it was like to create such a viral media piece like her story on the 300 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, her eventual move back to New York and realizing some of the stories that needed to be told here in the states, and the advice she gives to those dreaming of one day telling their own visual stories.
To Learn More About Glenna Gordon Visit:
And Follow Her on Instagram At:
https://www.instagram.com/glennagordon/
To Learn More About Visual Revolutionary Visit:
http://www.visualrevolutionary.com
And Follow on Instagram At:
https://www.instagram.com/visualrevolutionary/