In today’s episode I speak with Mecoh Bain , portrait photographer, mother, and woman of colour. We explore her roots as a biracial child, growing up in rural BC and how that’s informed her practice in searching for soul through photography. Her portrait work focuses on representation and personal truths so that she can exemplify the spiritual power of accepting who you are and saying yes to life. *** My View Finder is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: locally grown, community suppo...
Jan 15, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 28
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Julya Hajnoczky to talk about her practice. She's a visual artist here in Calgary who uses photography as a part of a mixed media approach to express themes of nature, sustainability, and forest undergrowth. Julya shares her experiences learning about the art world - applying for exhibitions; developing a specific focus; grants and other project resources; and the effect of this growing process on her own artistic mindset. We even dabble a bit on represent...
Jan 08, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 27
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Julya Hajnoczky to talk about her practice. She's a visual artist here in Calgary who uses photography as a part of a mixed media approach to express themes of nature, sustainability, and forest undergrowth. We have a great chat about her upbringing and experience as a teacher and her journey into the world of art and grant writing. Can art impact the world around us? And what's the deal with whales? Julya has an opinion! *** My View Finder is a proud memb...
Jan 01, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 26
I'm David Youn . Thanks for listening to my podcast. Here's my year end wrap up for 2020. I've learned a lot this year from these incredible artists. 2021 looks to be just as great as I have a slew of great artists ready to talk to you each week. Thanks as always to the Alberta Podcast Network for your support. And don't forget to subscribe and rate this podcast! Happy New Year. Talk to you again January 1, 2020!...
Dec 25, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 25
John Goldsmith is a photographer and chemist originally from Chicago and now living and working in Vancouver BC. His latest venture in art is his print shop The Printmaker Studio . We mix up some great conceptual concoctions about art’s beauty and purpose both to the artist and the presumed audience. Our hypothesis? That art helps to reflect what an individual or even a community experiences and its purpose is to communicate this experience to a larger audience. In photography the camera has a u...
Dec 18, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 24
John Goldsmith is a photographer and chemist originally from Chicago and now living and working in Vancouver BC. His latest venture in art is his print shop The Printmaker Studio . We mix up some great conceptual concoctions about art’s beauty and purpose both to the artist and the presumed audience. Our hypothesis? That art helps to reflect what an individual or even a community experiences and its purpose is to communicate this experience to a larger audience. In photography the camera has a u...
Dec 11, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 23
My guest today is Chelsea Yang-Smith . I met Chelsea through the Exposure Studio program and our conversation has given me insight into where she comes from and how she has become a pragmatic commercial photographer and still a champion of the arts! We talk about her experiences in Calgary's professional photography world, her background as a mixed race woman in Calgary, and how all of these experiences helped form her unique perspectives on the art of photography itself. *** My View Finder is a...
Dec 04, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 22
My guest today is Chelsea Yang-Smith . I met Chelsea through the Exposure Studio program and our conversation has given me insight into where she comes from and how she has become a pragmatic commercial photographer and still a champion of the arts! We talk about her experiences in Calgary's professional photography world, her background as a mixed race woman in Calgary, and how all of these experiences helped form her unique perspectives on the art of photography itself. *** My View Finder is a...
Nov 27, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Do we put images on pedestals? Does art have intellectual influence and what can we do to press this conversation forward? Wilmer Aburto has been building provocative and challenging statements through photography. He asks why we must rely on a single representation of beauty and strength - and he builds images to demonstrate that once we move outside the norm we can draw on even greater power. He's published books, put on shows, and has had his images displayed as public art. If you're looking ...
Nov 20, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Can art help us deal with the stress and even traumas of our day to day existence? My guest believes so. Wilmer Aburto has been building provocative and challenging statements through photography. He asks why we must rely on a single representation of beauty and strength - and he builds images to demonstrate that once we move outside the norm we can draw on even greater power. He's published books, put on shows, and has had his images displayed as public art. If you're looking to see the diversi...
Nov 13, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 19
How does one define their self. It’s a fascinating question that has troubled philosophers and psychologists for many years. With the influx of photography, imagery, and now social media… this has become more complex than ever. My guest today is my friend Kaitlin Moerman . Two years ago she built a life size self-portrait for a photography show on Identity. The catch was that she took that image and displayed it through obscured glass. There’s a metaphor there. Here’s the first part of my chat w...
Nov 06, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 18
How does one define their self. It’s a fascinating question that has troubled philosophers and psychologists for many years. With the influx of photography, imagery, and now social media… this has become more complex than ever. My guest today is my friend Kaitlin Moerman . Two years ago she built a life size self-portrait for a photography show on Identity. The catch was that she took that image and displayed it through obscured glass. There’s a metaphor there. Here’s the first part of my chat w...
Oct 30, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 17
This week I zoom with Louie Villaneuva . Louie is a photographer. And I mean that definitively. As you'll hear, he has committed himself completely to this craft and his passion and dedication shows. He speaks photographically. In this first half we gab a bit about how he got here and what he's looking for. About his love of brutalist architecture. His words. And we start to talk about books. And Spain. And man... we'll have to sit down with him again! I feel like we just barely scratched the su...
Oct 23, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 16
This week I zoom with Louie Villaneuva . Louie is a photographer. And I mean that definitively. As you'll hear, he has committed himself completely to this craft and his passion and dedication shows. He speaks photographically. In this first half we gab a bit about how he got here and what he's looking for. About his love of brutalist architecture. His words. And we start to talk about books. And Spain. And man... we'll have to sit down with him again! I feel like we just barely scratched the su...
Oct 16, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 15
This week I had the opportunity to sit down with Tyler Tanner . Tyler is a local skate board fanatic and photographer and we connected over zoom to chat about the relationship between the two; approaches to life that we can learn from both; and generally the process of photography and its impact all around us. Tyler is a reflection of a genuine and peaceful professional who should be indicative of the skate board community, and our biases around it. They're not a bunch of hooligans with concrete...
Oct 09, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 14
This week I had the opportunity to sit down with Tyler Tanner . Tyler is a local skate board fanatic and photographer and we connected over zoom to chat about the relationship between the two; approaches to life that we can learn from both; and generally the process of photography and its impact all around us. Tyler is a reflection of a genuine and peaceful professional who should be indicative of the skate board community, and our biases around it. They're not a bunch of hooligans with concrete...
Oct 02, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 13
This week I had the opportunity to sit down with Twinkle Banerjee . I was introduced to Twinkle through the Exposure Studio project . As part of a select group of photographers here in Calgary, we have created a new community of creativity. I had not yet come across Twinkle's work but what a great discovery ! She's amazing. I think I was inspired to speak to her both as a multi-national woman and, of course, her fascinating recent work of shooting "street" images through a set of binoculars! Gen...
Sep 25, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 12
This week I had the opportunity to sit down with Twinkle Banerjee . I was introduced to Twinkle through the Exposure Studio project . As part of a select group of photographers here in Calgary, we have created a new community of creativity. I had not yet come across Twinkle's work but what a great discovery ! She's amazing. I think I was inspired to speak to her both as a multi-national woman and, of course, her fascinating recent work of shooting "street" images through a set of binoculars! Gen...
Sep 18, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Welcome! This is David Youn and this podcast is called My View Finder. I’m looking to get to some of the roots questions behind why we photographers do what we do. To start of this second season of weekly episodes I’ve moved completely away from photography. I called my friend Nick Olkovich. Nick and I went to school together many years ago when I masqueraded as a philosophy major. Nick is an Assistant Professor and Marie Anne Blondin Chair in Catholic Theology at St. Mark’s College in Vancouver...
Sep 11, 2020•38 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Welcome! This is David Youn and this podcast is called My View Finder. I’m looking to get to some of the roots questions behind why we photographers do what we do. To start of this second season of weekly episodes I’ve moved completely away from photography. I called my friend Nick Olkovich. Nick and I went to school together many years ago when I masqueraded as a philosophy major. Nick is an Assistant Professor and Marie Anne Blondin Chair in Catholic Theology at St. Mark’s College in Vancouver...
Sep 04, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 9
I met fellow Exposure Studio member Danny Luong building my first Perspectives Art Show. I don’t remember how. Maybe Alvin . I could fact check that, but obviously too late for that now. Danny’s main focus is documentary or journalistic - he uses different formats and subjects but always seems to focus on his family lineage, stories of immigrants in this country, and the generational experience of, at least right now, asian canadians. Through our chat I kept hearing this asian perspective in his...
Jul 10, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 8
I met fellow Exposure Studio member Danny Luong building my first Perspectives Art Show. I don’t remember how. Maybe Alvin . I could fact check that, but obviously too late for that now. Danny’s main focus is documentary or journalistic - he uses different formats and subjects but always seems to focus on his family lineage, stories of immigrants in this country, and the generational experience of, at least right now, asian canadians. Through our chat I kept hearing this asian perspective in his...
Jul 10, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 7
I sit down (over Zoom) with my good friend Alvin Paringit . We talk photography. Inspiration. And walking. He sends me a link to Bryan Formhals' blog Way of the Walk . Whenever I meet Alvin I always talk about the "why" of photography and he always humours me. He's a great photographer in a purist sense. He loves the process. And however disconnected we've both been lately from the publishing and feedback of public engagement, he's always got a camera in hand. Or at least around a strap or in a ...
Jun 29, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 5
I sit down (over Zoom) with my good friend Alvin Paringit . We talk photography. Inspiration. And walking. He sends me a link to Bryan Formhals' blog Way of the Walk . Whenever I meet Alvin I always talk about the "why" of photography and he always humours me. He's a great photographer in a purist sense. He loves the process. And however disconnected we've both been lately from the publishing and feedback of public engagement, he's always got a camera in hand. Or at least around a strap or in a ...
Jun 29, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Stoics believe in acting for the process... the essential essence of an act. Not for the results. Not for the gains. But good and wise actions based on broader conceptual beliefs. Can photography be practiced this way? Is there an argument that most hobby and passion photography is already in this sphere? Or is there a line between "pure" processes and "actual" expressions that, in my opinion, gets blurrier each generation. I want to agree with Curtis - that if I can't practice photography separ...
Jun 10, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 4
My chat with Curtis yeilded a fascinating reflection. I posited the idea that Photography has had a particularly negative impact on culture and Curtis responded. His approach of separating the act and pursuit of photography as a pure art form and the manner in which is used echoed Stoic approaches to ethics. Namely that the ultimate aim of any pursuit should be it's core virtue - separate from any worldly or secondary interpretations... in this case that photography itself remains pure when prac...
Jun 10, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Our discussion points me to consider my own values in my work. Can I, like Esther, face some of these ideas. This podcast/blog is a start, of course. But I’ll have to also have to be sure the concepts which I believe will express whatever opinion I project will be pure. That the position I realize will be the best reflection of my true self and therefore of my true intent and integrity. So that even in the face of any criticism… I can make the conversation very simple. That whatever I have creat...
May 25, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In considering Photography's role in establishing, manipulating, and perhaps controlling the ideas of "normal" or "good" - I thought of my friend Esther's recent work entitled Know Your Place . A series of stark images about the role assigned to Korean women. This is an evolving definition, of course, but one that I personally resonated with. Here, in two parts, is our discussion about the relationship between photography, expression, race, and representation. To connect with Esther, check out h...
May 20, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 1
David Youn is not interested in the technical side of photography, but the thinking and philosophies behind snapping a picture. Subscribe now to get each new episode! Email Dave at dyounphoto@gmail.com
May 16, 2020•2 min
