…you will be punished by your anger
Apparently Buddah said this but we can’t be sure. It’s something I always wonder about quotes - who actually said them?
Over the past week I’ve been thinking about anger a lot. I find myself in situations where I’m too angry. I know it’s not good but I’m glad for one thing.
Sometimes, 89% of the time, these anger sessions in my mind where I struggle with myself yields some results. They get me back into the gym. They get me writing or doing more photography. They keep me moving.
Keeping anger inside you isn’t good. Another quote comes to mind.
I’m not going to write more about anger here because you can find 363 000 000 articles related to anger within 0,32 seconds if you needed to. But I will put down two key points which helps to keep me sane and dare I say out of trouble.
Anger shouldn’t control you. It makes you do stupid things. You will inevitably do something you are going to regret. Learn to manage it.
Anger takes up a lot of time. It makes you fume, sometimes wish for bad things. It makes your mind wander into dark corners. Use it constructively then let it go.
I hope you had a good week, less anger and more peace of mind. As you read through the newsletter I hope your Sunday is very relaxed. If you enjoyed this and you’re looking for a way to get further newsletters from me I’m leaving a subscribe box just below the photo.
Interview
For the next interview I spoke to John Picciuto. He’s a photographer and storyteller from NYC and is also the host of the wrong advice podcast. His photography ranges from street, documentary and portrait. Below you can find links to his website and other platforms.
John Picciuto Website | John Picciuto Instagram | John Picciuto YouTube channel
Now, onto the meat and potatoes…
Hi John, first of all thanks for taking time to answer the questions - can you tell us about who you are, how you started out in photography and your style of photography?
My career in photography started almost 4 years ago in August of 2020 when I lost my job during the pandemic. With the benefit of a more than kind severance package I took some of that money and went out on a cross country trip with just me and a couple of cameras I bought.
After about 6,600 miles and some 20+ days on the road I figured out what I wanted to do with my life and that was to be a photographer.
Are you a full time photographer at the moment?
Yes
I had a look at your website - there are three categories of photography there. Of the three (documentary, portraits, music) which one do you enjoy the most and why? I wanted to ask which one is your favorite but from experience I can tell it would like asking a parent who their favorite child is :D
You are correct, it is like picking a favorite child and a tough question to answer.
When I'm in the pit shooting a concert I don't think there's any better feeling in the world. Simultaneously when I'm out walking the streets of NYC with a film camera in my hand whether it my Leica or my Hasselblad there's a feeling of at home that I'm not sure I experience anywhere else when photographing. The long and short answer is that it's a tie.
I'm blessed to be able to do what I love for a living and sometimes that's shooting personal work out and about in NYC and other times it's a paid shoot in a studio, all the experiences boil down to me being lucky.
The first time we 'met' was on a Twitter (X) space a few years ago and you also did the podcast back then. How is the podcast coming along and how do you balance it with photography? Do you find an overlap between the two mediums?
The podcast is going great.
I recently just signed a lease for a studio space to begin in the near future where I'm carving out space for a podcast "set" as well as my photo studio. The next step in the evolution of the podcast is more in person video conversations which I'm excited about.
The balance is pretty easy for me as I have a great flexibility in my time that allows me to do podcasts when I'm not shooting and vice versa.
At times one has to take a back seat to the other just based on being busy but the overlap is where the magic happens. A lot of times I get to interview photographers who inspire me, whose work has made an impact on me, and because of that I find the two really play off each other in a way that helps me grow as a storyteller and artist.
A lot of your work is shot on film; did you start out shooting on film or digital? I haven't shot film myself but it seems the images have a more authentic feel to them - it's similar to black and white photos VS color photos.
If we're being technical I started shooting film when I was in middle school on a point and shoot camera but I don't think that's what you're asking HA.
When it comes to film VS digital I think as I've gotten older my own romanticism for shooting film has grown. The idea that when I'm gone there's going to be a physical remnant of my work (the negatives & prints) that will exist for at least some period of time.
When it comes to paid work obviously 98% of that work is done digitally and that's fine but for me when it comes to personal work I'm much more interested in making projects on film. The process is slower and at times slows me to focus much more on the process which benefits me tremendously.
As any photographer will tell you I'm sure I'm constantly going back and forth between digital and film and which I love more at any given moment, as of the last year or so though it's been mostly film.
Final question from my side - do you still find time for street photography?
Absolutely! I don't get out nearly as much as I'd like but I try to take at least 1-2 days a month and shoot some street photography. For me it's where my love of photography really started and it'll be something I do forever.
Checkout
In here I share the social media channels of artists I found while browsing the internet. Got any artists which inspire or interest you? Leave some feedback for us to check out.
Photographer
Richard Khalo (Pete Lopez)
If you are interested in seeing photograph on the streets of Los Angeles have a look at this page. A good balance between B&W and colour images will show you the streets through the eyes of the photographer.
Richard Khalo (Pete Lopez) Instagram page
Photographer & Videographer
Clara Bunge
A mix of photos from Argentina & Croatia, Clara does an excellent job at showing the life and the characters of these streets. Another example of a great mix between color and B&W photos. One of my favourites below:
Photos
Some of the photos I took this week. I don’t post these on other social channels and share them with my subscribers only.
Connect
I have a few social channels I maintain. If you’d like to connect please send me a message. And if you have any interesting content you’d like to share please don’t hesitate.
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Thanks for reading :)
Nice interview! I'll check this podcast out!!