199: Anna Morgan - Truth, Experience, and Beauty in Landscape Photography

Welcome to episode 199 of F-Stop Collaborate and Listen!

This week on the podcast, I had a wonderful conversation with a landscape photographer living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Anna Morgan.

Anna grew up in the United Kingdom but later relocated to Vancouver, BC to practice veterinary medicine. She recently sold her veterinary practice to pursue a Master's Degree and start a family. Through her Master's Degree, she decided to write her thesis on quite a fascinating topic: The Role of Photography and the Photographer in Conservation. The frameworks by which Anna used to frame her thesis have far-reaching application to understanding photographers, photography, and how we can think about each from varied perspectives. Anna was gracious enough to send me a copy of her thesis, which I read prior to our conversation.

Anna and I discuss some interesting topics this week, including:

• The role of photography and the photographer in conservation,
• Content-driven themes including truth, experience, and beauty, and how these themes interplay with situated knowledge including emotions, interests, meanings, attitudes, beliefs, and values,
• How misrepresentation of truth in photography could hinder conservation efforts (and other impacts of misrepresentation),
• The importance of representation of women in photography and art and the roles women can play in addressing the climate crisis and other environmental issues,
• How Anna's thesis has helped me to understand and conceptualize how and why various photographers present their artwork the way they do in regards to digital manipulation,
• And lots more!

Over on Patreon this week, Anna and I discuss the practice of Slow and Contemplative Photography and how it connects curiosity, creativity, and care for the environment.

Here are the photographers that Anna recommended on the podcast:

1. Jo Stephen.

2. Lizzie Shepherd.

3. Melanie Collie.

4. Switchback Shawty / Cherisa Hawkins.

Other items mentioned on the show:

1. The Project I'm excited about.

I love hearing from the podcast listeners! Reach out to me via Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter if you'd like to be on the podcast or if you have an idea of a topic we can talk about. Join the discussion over on Nature Photographer's Network! We have weekly discussions about each episode of the podcast. It's also free! We also have an Instagram page and a Facebook page for updates.

Thanks for stopping in, collaborating with us, and listening. See you next week.

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