The Diffusion Tapes

In Tape no2 I chat with Lori Vrba. Vrba is a multimedia/mixed media photographer, curator, retreat host, and fire eater. We talk about her journey in life, personal work, family, her friendship with Keith Carter, some notable exhibitions and her involvement with Pigs Fly Retreats and Click! Photography Festival. Recorded during that very festival, October 2018. All conversations are recorded face-to-face. These are… the...

In Diffusion Tape no.3, I visit with mixed media photographer and educator Heidi Kirkpatrick at her home and studio in Portland, Oregon. We talked a little about her history, her evolution from 2-d photography to 3-d photo objects, her camaraderie with fellow photographers, her themes of femininity and family history and how teaching has been one of the most rewarding parts of her photo career.

Recorded Nov. ...

In Diffusion Tape no.4 I had a sit down with Katharine T. Jacobs. I caught up with her while she was visiting Portland this past December. Katharine filled me in our her photo history, shared some personal stories, her challenges, and unpacks some of her photography baggage.

Recorded Nov 2, 2018. All conversations are recorded face-to-face. These are… the Diffusion Tapes.

Show notes:

Kat...

In Tape no.5 I visited photographer and educator Ray Bidegain at his home here in Portland, Oregon. We talked about his youth, his journey from commercial to fine art and his general thoughts on the craft of photography. Ray also turned the tables on me for the last few minutes of the chat.

Recorded January 29th, 2019. All conversations are recorded face-to-face. These are… the Diffusion Tapes.

Sho...

For Tape no.6 Heather Evans Smith was in town to give an artist lecture at the Portland Art Museum and I was happy to sit with her for an evening recording session. We explored creative beginnings, the development of her artistic voice, plus she shared some entertaining anecdotes from her journey thus far.

Recorded March 21st, 2019, All conversations are recorded face-to-face. These are… the Diffusion Tapes.

Back in March of this year I had the pleasure of sitting down with photographer, writer, and podcaster Mike Sakasegawa while he was in Portland attending a conference. I became aware of Mike a few years back because of his own podcast called Keep the Channel Open where he primarily converses with photographers and writers. In our conversation we talk about his work, the authenticity of photography, his podcasting projec...

Welcome to Diffusion Tape no. 8 with the photographer, curator, editor, writer, and educator Aline Smithson. Smithson wears many hats and in our conversation, we talked about the cultural evolution of photography, female representation in the medium, archiving in a digital world, portraiture, Smithson’s personal art history, her family, and the importance of play in the creation of photography. Aline Smithson ...

Hi friends, I’m Blue Mitchell, photographer, publisher of Diffusion Annual, and now podcaster. You’re listening to the Diffusion Tapes, a podcast where I chat with photographers, curators and writers working in the field of fine art photography. More specifically, the tapes are conversations with people that I’ve befriended on my journey as an artist and publisher. In these conversations I get to learn a little more abo...

Welcome to Diffusion Tape no. 9 with curator Hamidah Glasgow. Hamidah is a member of Strange Fire Collective and is the Executive Director of the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado. We sat down for a nice chat during the 2019 Photolucida Festival in Portland. I’m in awe of this woman and I hope you enjoy hearing some of her personal stories as much as I did. We talked about her youth, her path to ...

Welcome to Diffusion Tape no. 10 with photographer Ken Rosenthal.

You’re listening to our long-awaited season finale. Well, I don’t know if you can call nearly two years of slow-releasing a season, but I’m going with it. It’s been a crazy time for all of us so I’m pleased to close out this chapter of the Tapes by sharing my conversation with Ken Rosenthal, one of my most favorite people I’ve met while publish...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Diffusion Tapes. My first guest is Michael Kirchoff, who will from here on out be my co-host!

Michael Kirchoff is a photographic artist working in the worlds of both commercial and fine art photography, an independent curator and juror, and an advocate for the photographic arts. Based in Los Angeles, California, he is Co-H...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Diffusion Tapes. For our second episode, we talked with photo artist Molly McCall.

Born in Monterey, California, Molly McCall was raised along the rugged California coastline of the Monterey Peninsula. Surrounded by infamous photographers, writers, filmmakers, and painters, their work provided an indelible appreciation and...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Diffusion Tapes. In our third episode, we had a great time chatting with photographer and gallery owner Jennifer Schlesinger.

Jennifer Schlesinger is an artist, curator, gallerist, and educator based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. As we discuss in the Tape, Jennifer has approached her photography, as well as her Director rol...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Diffusion Tapes. In our fourth episode, we share some time with atomic photographer Harley Cowan.

Harley Cowan is a photographer and architect based in Portland, Oregon. He shoots large format and has a keen interest in architectural heritage documentation and historical preservation. In our chat, we learn about his journe...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Diffusion Tapes. In our fifth episode, we hear exciting and history-making photography stories from Stu Levy.

Dr. Stu Levy lives in Portland, Oregon. He studied with Ansel Adams, and was an instructor at the Ansel Adams Gallery Workshops, and leads photography workshops on the Oregon Coast. He has several books, works in m...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Diffusion Tapes. We spent some quality time with the illustrious Ann Jastrab for this episode.

Ann Jastrab is the Executive Director at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel California. Ann grew up in the village of Whitsboro, New York. She studied literature and art in college and received her MFA from the Savannah Co...

Happy Halloween! It seems so appropriate that today we release our episode with the 'wildly interesting" Ed Bateman.

Edward Bateman is an artist and professor at the University of Utah, where he heads the Photography and Digital Imaging area. The work of Edward Bateman exists in a space between photography and printmaking, although his extensive use ...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Diffusion Tapes. In our long-awaited eighth episode, we chat with photographer, educator, and analog lover Rashod Taylor.

Rashod Taylor is a fine art and portrait photographer whose work addresses themes of family, intimacy, legacy, and the black experience. He attended Murray State University and received a Bachelor's degr...