The judges for our B&H Photography Podcast Leica Photo Challenge join us on this episode of the B&H Photography Podcast. We want to encourage our listeners to enter the contest for a chance to win the 47MP full-frame Leica Q2 Digital camera. Our guests are both ideally suited to be a part of this contest because their individual work speaks to what is important in these times: family, community, and recognizing the humor and humanity we need to make it through.
We are joined by Craig Semetko, a documentary and street photographer who is much more than those two descriptors. He came to photography from a career in performance and comedy and that makes a lot of sense, noting the observational skill and humor found in his compositions. His first book, UNPOSED, published in 2010, with a forward by Elliott Erwitt, was followed by India Unposed, in 2014. Sly, ironic, absurd, all come to mind when you see the moments he captures and we talk about how it’s hard to photograph “funny,” about attitudes and techniques, and the difference between laughing with someone and at them. We also ask about the work he has done during the pandemic shutdown.
After a break, we welcome photographer Ashly Stohl. A Leica Ambassador, Stohl’s best known work concentrates on her family, particularly her three children. She is also the publisher and co-founder of Peanut Press, begun in 2015 with her first book, Charth Vader, which takes a look at her youngest son, clearly a big fan of Star Wars. Her second book, Days and Years, follows up with an intimate portrait of her three children.
A quote from Stohl sums up why she is a welcome judge for our Leica Photo Challenge: “There is a saying that all portraits are really self-portraits. So, what are portraits of your kids? They are portraits of a parent. I take pictures of my kids, and if you’ll look closely you’ll also see me in there—my worries and fears, my attempts to correct the problems of my own childhood, my heart and my struggles.”
Join us for this inspiring and enjoyable episode with two wonderful guests and let’s see your photos, too, in the B&H Photography Podcast Leica Photo Challenge.
Guests: Ashly Stohl and Craig Semetko
Photograph © Craig Semetko
Host: Allan Weitz
Senior Creative Producer: John Harris
Producer: Jason Tables
Executive Producer: Lawrence Neves