#427 PHOTOWALK: 24 HOURS ON EARTH IN JUST ONE PICTURE!

FEATURING ICONIC FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER STEPHEN WILKES

Today, a holiday-special interview with the iconic fine art photographer Stephen Wilkes. Since opening his studio in New York City in 1983, he's built an unprecedented body of work and a reputation as one of America’s most iconic photographers, widely recognized for his fine art, editorial and commercial work. Stephen Wilkes talks candidly about being mentored by a photographic great, Jay Maisel, the most extraordinary and at times haunting project on Ellis Island, plus Day to Night™, his most defining project, where epic cityscapes and landscapes, portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours, capture fleeting moments of humanity as light passes in front of his lens over the course of a full day. Stephen also sets a new assignment for the month of April.

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MORE ABOUT names, words, THE MUSIC and places FROM TODAY’S SHOW

Stephen Wilkes’ emotionally charged project on Ellis Island, a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States.

Stephen’s mentor Jay Maisel, an American photographer, whose awards include the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Media Photographers, and the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography.

Paul Aresu, documentary and commercial photographer based out of New York City.

Albert Bierstadt was a German American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. Stephen credits Bierstadt as one of his art influences along with Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who painted The Harvester.

René Magritte's (1898-1967) L’empire des lumières, which Stephen Wilkes suggests could have been an early Day to Night influence.

The Hudson River School, a mid-19th-century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism.

Martha Cooper, an American photojournalist. She worked as a staff photographer for the New York Post during the 1970s. She is best known for documenting the New York City graffiti scene of the 1970s and 1980s.

Bruce Davidson, an American photographer. He has been a member of the Magnum Photos agency since 1958. His photographs, notably those taken in Harlem, New York City, have been widely exhibited and published.

MUSIC LINKS: Sun in my World, by The Watershed is today’s playout song. Music on the show is sourced primarily from Artlist.


stephen wilkes (PICTURES FEATURED IN THE SHOW TODAY)

The Romeo and Juliet movie portrait that sparked curiosity for what was to come… (note the mirror referencing time changes in one still image, as discussed on the show). Photograph used by permission from the photographer.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, by Stephen Wilkes, part of Day to Night™. Photograph used by permission from the photographer.

Sacre Coeur, Paris, by Stephen Wilkes, part of Day to Night™. Photograph used by permission from the photographer.

Stephen Wilkes talks today about his work on Ellis Island, including (top left) the ghostly experience with the ‘girl in the photo’. Photographs used by permission from the photographer.

Above, Jet Star Rollercoaster, for National Geographic, and television on beach following Hurricane Katrina. Photographs used by permission from the photographer.


VIDEO LIBRARY

The following videos/subjects are referenced within today’s show.

The Ted Talk on Day to Night.

Stephen Wilkes’ film about Jay Maisel, moving out from The Bank.

GRUFF as mentioned in the show today by Stephen Wilkes.

Neale James

Creator, podcaster, photographer and film maker

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#428 THE TRUTH OF A PERFECT IMPERFECT PHOTOGRAPH

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#426 PHOTOWALK: A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO LIVE