Photography is Nothing

In Episode 54 of Photography is Nothing, Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken explore the remarkable photography of Adger Cowans, a pioneering photographer whose work spans street photography, documentary photography, portraiture, jazz, fine art, and more than 30 motion picture sets.

From his early days in Columbus, Ohio, to assisting Gordon Parks in New York City, Cowans built an extraordinary career documenting everyday life, capturing cultural icons, and finding beauty in unexpected places. We look at some of his most compelling images, including his evocative street photographs, expressive portraits, experiments with light and abstraction, and behind-the-scenes photographs of legendary actors and filmmakers.

Cowans was also a founding member of the Kamoinge Workshop in 1963. The group continues to this day and is dedicated to supporting Black photographers providing a more well-rounded look at the experiences of Black Americans.

Cowans has a spiritual approach to making art. His work is a reminder that photography can be about more than documenting events — it can be about expressing how we experience the world.

This episode is an introduction to Cowans and his work ahead of our upcoming conversation with him.

In this episode:
Adger Cowans' early life and photographic beginnings
His time assisting the legendary Gordon Parks
Cowans' work in street photography, everyday life, and fine art
Photographing Hollywood film sets, actors, jazz musicians, and cultural figures
His abstract work with light as the subject
The relationship between photography, painting, and artistic expression
Building a creative life and continuing to explore new possibilities over time

*CORRECTION* - Zach said "Serpico" as one of Adger's credits, but the film he photographed starring Al Pacino was "The Panic in Needle Park."
Photography is Nothing is a video podcast hosted by photographer Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken, exploring photography, creativity, and life.

Subscribe to Photography is Nothing for more conversations about the photographers, ideas, and experiences that shape how we see.

Find Adger
Website: https://www.adgercowans.com/

Find Zach
Website: https://zachdobson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Find Courtney
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happylifelessons/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons

About the Podcast
Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting. 

Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.

Fair Use Statement
This document contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I have determined this to be "fair use" of the copyrighted material as referenced and provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this document for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain express permission from the copyright owner.

#PhotographyIsNothing #AdgerCowans #Photography #StreetPhotography #DocumentaryPhotography #PhotographyHistory #GordonParks

Zach & Courtney take the family to New York City for the first time. Over the past few years, Zach has been working regularly in New York, but the rest of the family (Courtney included) had yet to visit the city.

In this episode, we talk about experiencing New York with our five kids. We visit spots like Times Square, Battery Park, Chinatown, the 9/11 Memorial, Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History, and more! 

This show is packed with photos from Zach, video clips from Courtney, and some images by the kids, too.

“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Index
0:00 - Photographing what’s in front of your camera
2:27 - Zach has been leaving his family behind
4:34 - Driving into New York on September 11th
10:26 - Visiting Times Square at night
16:37 - Central Park felt the most “New York”
21:22 - Starting our first day in Battery Park
23:54 - Visiting the 9/11 Memorial
27:39 - Every city has more than you expect
30:04 - Chinatown, NYC
33:13 - Accepting exhaustion
34:12 - Bichon owners meetup
35:39 - Courtney says let the kids pull us forward
39:25 - Kids love climbing rocks in Central Park
45:03 - Courtney’s birthday in New York
46:25 - Visiting the American Museum of Natural History
1:01:02 - Back to Central Park & Belvedere Castle
1:03:06 - Popular spots in Central Park
1:04:49 - 5th Avenue
1:06:03 - Takeaways from visiting New York City for the first time.

Find Zach
Website: https://zachdobson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Find Courtney
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_

About the Podcast
Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting. 

Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.

Fair Use Statement
This document contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I have determined this to be "fair use" of the copyrighted material as referenced and provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this document for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain express permission from the copyright owner.

In this interview with Australian photographic artist Tajette O’Halloran, we talk about the inspiration behind her projects like In Australia, The Quarry, and Regional Rituals. She talks about her difficult upbringing in the Northern Rivers area, and how that put her on a path to tell the stories of adolescence. 

We also talk about parenting, incorporating our kids into our art, and her practice of incorporating both film & digital into her work.

Based in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, Tajette’s photography ranges from documentary to portraiture to conceptual. The common thread is examining adolescence and identity; both her own and others’.

Tajette’s projects include In Australia, where she revisits her hometown and creates scenes reminiscent of her youth, and the ongoing The Quarry, a series of portraits of young people at a local swimming spot. Her most recent project is Regional Rituals, commissioned by Powerhouse, a museum in Sydney, Australia.

“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Index
0:00 - Introduction to photographer Tajette O’Halloran
1:52 - Tajette’s photo series In Australia 
10:35 - How In Australia started
13:59 - Tajette’s narrative approach to In Australia
17:08 - Growing up in Lismore, NSW, Australia
17:55 - Regional Rituals, a new photo series
22:36 - Tajette knew as a kid her childhood wasn’t typical
26:02 - Processing difficulty though photography
29:01 - Tajette’s photos remind Zach of Sally Mann
34:18 - Mixing black & white and color in a series
36:55 - How COVID affected photographers
40:26 - Tajette’s Earth and Water photos feel like parenthood
43:48 - Does Tajette feel like she’s rejecting mainstream society?
46:48 - Growing up in a mix of cultures in Lismore, Australia
48:40 - How Regional Rituals came to be
54:54 - The Quarry is an ongoing series of portraiture

Find Tajette
Website: https://www.tajetteohalloran.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tajette.ohalloran

Find Zach
Website: https://zachdobson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Find Courtney
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_

About the Podcast
Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting. 

Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.

Fair Use Statement
This document contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I have determined this to be "fair use" of the copyrighted material as referenced and provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this document for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain express permission from the copyright owner.

Tajette O’Halloran is a photographic artist based in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. Her work ranges from documentary to portraiture to conceptual. The common thread is examining adolescence and identity; both her own and others’.

Tajette’s projects include In Australia, where she revisits her hometown and creates scenes reminiscent of her youth, and the ongoing The Quarry, a series of portraits of young people at a local swimming spot. Her most recent project is Regional Rituals, commissioned by Powerhouse, a museum in Sydney, Australia.

This episode is an introduction to Tajette’s work leading up to our interview with her next week.

“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Index
0:00 - Meet photographer Tajette O’Halloran
3:30 - În Australia - Tajette examines her adolescence 
5:15 - The photo that first caught Zach’s attention
14:00 - The Quarry - An ongoing series of portraits and observations
17:23 - Earth & Water - photographing childhood
23:20 - When are you a part of the story?
24:53 - Regional Rituals - Project commissioned by Powerhouse Museum

Find Tajette
Website: https://www.tajetteohalloran.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tajette.ohalloran

Find Zach
Website: https://zachdobson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Find Courtney
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_

About the Podcast
Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting. 

Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.

Fair Use Statement
This document contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I have determined this to be "fair use" of the copyrighted material as referenced and provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this document for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain express permission from the copyright owner.

In this 50TH episode, Zach & Courtney talk about what they’ve learned so far from running a photography business, starting a podcast, raising 5 kids, homeschooling, and just being generally busy making things for 20 years.

“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Index
0:00 - Grow or die
1:40 - Starting a business
4:31 - Courtney & Zach had the same idea
5:57 - Starting a life after college
12:46 - We had abandoned our intuition
17:04 - Starting our own business worked
23:50 - You have to do other things to support the Big Thing
25:40 - Would Zach recommend this lifestyle?
33:04 - Dealing with ego death
40:35 - Getting back to the original vision
45:45 - Choosing joy
49:53 - Unexpected skills Zach has learned
54:42 - Learn to photograph the everyday & make it interesting
57:00 - Courtney is here to go beneath the surface
1:03:56 - Learn and change and grow or die

Find Zach
Website: https://zachdobson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Find Courtney
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_

About the Podcast
Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting. 

Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.

Fair Use Statement
This document contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I have determined this to be "fair use" of the copyrighted material as referenced and provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use any copyrighted material from this document for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain express permission from the copyright owner.