#179 THE PRESIDENT’S PICTURE & HIP HOP’S GOLDEN ERA
On the day the States welcomes in a new President, I have two stories, one of a photograph that became the favourite Inauguration Day picture for Barack Obama made by photographer Matt Mendelsohn and then we talk music and how a science lesson helped photography student, Anderson Ballantyne become one of the leading lights of hip hop image making in its golden period.
Patron of the day is Kent Johansson based in Luxembourg. Kent’s work, I think, shows the toil of a photographer in quiet observation, whether that’s in a city or as with his latest posts, in the countryside, in the mist. The twisted swimming steps leading down to the calm waters of Oskarshamn, the not so palatial but equally beautiful streets of Versailles, a secret breathing space in Echternach; all captured beautifully quietly. Sometimes you don’t need Instagram to shout at you.
We’re supported by MPB.com – the people to trust for buying, selling and trading used camera gear in the States and Europe. They also have a blog that talks with inspirational photographers and I’d like to link here to an interview with portrait photographer Lawrence Agyei who has worked with publications including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, TIME magazine, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and The Marshall Project. He like my guest today can count on his school for being the reason he became a professional.
Photographs copyright Anderson Ballantyne. Not to be reproduced or used without express permission of the photographer.
