Photography Quote by Joseph Rodriguez

“Raised in violence, I enacted my own violence upon the world and myself. What saved me was the camera — its ability to gaze upon, to focus, to investigate, to reclaim, to resist, to re-envision.”

- Documentary Photographer Joseph Rodriguez

See Rodriguez's latest show "Cultural Memory Matters" at NYC's 601Artspace through March 12, 2011.

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Stars of Ethiopia by Chester Higgins

The photo exhibition, 'STARS OF ETHIOPIA,' thirteen color images by photographer Chester Higgins representing the diversity of Ethiopian people will be on view at the New York University's Kimmel Center from March 1st to May 1st, 2011.

Each image, measuring 70" x 80" will look like bus stop ads fronting onto the public sidewalk for pedestrian and vehicular traffic to see. At night, the images will be backlit, so for 24-hours a day during these two months the Washington Square public will be treated to a little of Ethiopia in Greenwich Village.

There will be an opening reception on Friday, March 11th in the 2nd floor lounge from 6:30 - 8:30pm. RSVP 212.998.4222. Read the full press release about the 'STARS OF ETHIOPIA' exhibit.

DISCOVER MORE TALENT
See all photographer interviews on Dodge & Burn.

STAY IN TOUCH
Get updates on new photographer interviews plus news on contests, art shows and informed commentary on what's happening with diversity in photography. Subscribe to Dodge & Burn Photography Blog: Diversity in Photography by Email
Follow me on Twitter @mestrich for more on photography

Photographer Interview: Camille Seaman

One day I'll get to curate my own photography show and photographer Camille Seaman's breathtaking landscapes will definitely be on the walls. Last year I discovered Seaman's work through her SilberStudios TV video interview where she discusses her lighting techniques and more.

Having been raised among the Native American Shinnecock tribe, in the interview Seaman says her work is very much about her life and family ancestry. Although she got somewhat of a late start going pro, this fine art photographer has had an impressive career and was recently named a 2011 TED Fellow.

Where are you from?
I was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York.

What kind of photography do you shoot and how did you get started - any "formal" training?
I am considered a fine art/documentary photographer. I always made photographs ever since I was a small child but it wasn't until I was 32 years old that I knew I wanted to professionally pursue photography.

I had fine arts training along with extensive art history as well as "special" photography education which meant learning the hard way and teaching myself by trial and error until I was ready to approach my heros, asking them to teach me their skills.

Photographer Interview: Albert Chong

See more photography by Albert Chong and friend him on Facebook.

D&B: Where are you from?
AC: I am originally from Kingston, Jamaica by way of Brooklyn, NY, San Diego, CA and presently Boulder, CO.

D&B: What kind of photography do you shoot and how did you get started – any "formal" training?
AC: My photography has been primarily focused on the use of the medium as a means of artistic and personal expression. My work has been a contributor to the discourses surrounding the contemporary visual arts of people of African and Asian descent. Inherent in these discourses are issues of race, identity, ethnicity, multiculturalism and postcolonial visual expression of methods of cultural retrieval.

Photographer Interview: DeAndre DaCosta

Fashion photography has been an obsession of mine since the early '90s when the term "supermodel" came of age. I believe fashion magazines were my first introduction to the potential of photography as a creative career.

Late last year I saw DeAndre's photos of one of my favorite models, Brandi Quinones for Masquerade magazine and I was shocked to find out there was a young phenom behind those images.

As you'll soon find out from his interview, DeAndre DaCosta is unstoppable. Watch his evolution in real time, follow him @d_DaCosta on Twitter.

Where are you from?
I was born in raised in the suburbs. Rosedale, Queens [New York] to be exact.

What kind of photography do you shoot and how did you get started - any "formal" training?

I'm a "fashion" photographer in every sense of the word. I never received any formal training.

I had a concept in my head a year prior to buying a camera and/or ever shooting a model. A year later I bought the camera and finally had a chance to shoot. I booked my friend Lloyd Williams at Ford models and the rest was history.

No formal training here.

What cameras or techniques do you use?
I started off using Nikons. I use a Canon now and I play around with different cameras. It depends on what I'd like to capture. My biggest technique is shooting from the heart, and that takes skill.