December 18, 2024 • 24 mins
What shapes an artist’s lens? LA-based photographer Sean joins us to share his extraordinary journey, from being inspired by his grandfather to capturing authentic moments that resonate deeply. Growing up with an independent film producer mother, Sean was exposed to the art of professional presentation early on. He reveals how his upbringing in a predominantly white school system influenced his unique approach to making his subjects feel genuinely seen and understood through his photography.
Host KC Carnage (@iamkccarnage), Sean (@@goldn_charmr)
Daz It Daz All is written by KC Carnage (@iamkccarnage) and Produced by KC Carnage and Rick Barrio Dill (@rickbarriodill). Associate producer Bri Coorey (@bri_beats), Audio and Video Engineering and Studio facilities provided by S.L.A.P. Studios LA (@SLAPStudiosLA) with distribution through our collective for social progress and cultural expression, SLAP the Network. (@SLAPtheNetwork.com)
If you have any ideas for a show you want to see or hear, email us at info@SLAPtheNetwork.com and as always, you can go to dazitdazall.com and sign up there to make sure you never miss a thing...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You know, growing up, my mom was an independent film
producer, so I've always kind ofgrown up on set.
I've grown up in LA.
I kind of know how things aresupposed to be presented in like
a professional way, and I havethat knowledge that I want to
give back to my people as well.
And the way that I look atpeople is I.
I really have a love for what Ido.
I have a love for connectingwith people and putting those
(00:22):
things together.
I shoot people how they wouldprobably see themselves.
You know how you look in themirror, how you look in the
phone before you take a selfieand you know you're thinking
you're going to take thatperfect image of yourself.
That's the image I alwaysstrive for.
I want to shoot people how theysee themselves.
That's it, that's all.
Tell me how you feel.
That's it, that's all.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
That's it, that's all .
Black excellence at its finest.
How that skin glows, she's atrue diamond, with the world
right out back.
She's still smiling, never leftthat crown till she stayed
thriving.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
That's it.
That's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
(01:04):
That's it, that's all.
Is that really it, though?
What up, what up?
What up?
Welcome to.
That's it, that's All.
I'm your host, kasey.
You know what we're here for.
It's an opinionated podcastthrough the lens of black women
and black creators.
And today, our guest, we haveSean Michael Ryan.
Welcome, hey, thanks for havingme.
(01:25):
Okay, just a little snippetabout him.
You know he does amazingphotography work.
I met him at an event.
One of my good friends, who hasalso been on the show you know,
was hosting, and it was justthe way you were capturing
people, even like looking in,like the preview that's what you
call it, the preview.
I said, okay, you got a littleeye.
I see you, I see you, I see you.
You'll see some of his work.
(01:46):
He's worked with a lot ofpeople Janelle Monae, ruby Rose,
danny Lee Gazzelia.
The list goes on.
I won't keep talking about him,because that's what he's here
to do.
Welcome how you doing.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, thanks for having me again.
I'm good Excited to check outyour podcast and just chat with
you.
Chop it up a little bit Allright cool.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
So tell us a little bit about yourself.
How did you get intophotography?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Well, so first, I'm from LA.
I'm an LA native there's notmany of us left out here, but my
family's from Cleveland, Ohio.
My inspiration for photographyactually really came from my
grandfather.
He was the family photographerand the patriarch of the family
Kind of kept everyone togetherbut also, like captured these
moments.
And one of the things heinstilled in me is that, like,
(02:32):
if you love something, take apicture of it.
That way you have it forever,you know.
And when he passed, he lost hisbowel cancer and passed away
and I kind of like took it, youknow, as something.
I was like you, like I want tokeep his legacy going forward
and I was like okay, At the sametime, I was also trying to
figure out what I want to dowith my life as well.
(02:53):
Around.
What age was this?
I want to say it was around 20,20, or no.
No, it was actually sorry, itwas around 24, I believe that he
passed, but I had already beendoing photography a little bit
here and there like dabbling init, but I was also working like
the corporate structure andeverything like that, and I was
just like this doesn't feelright for me, but I need, so I
need to find something else.
And when he passed, it was asign that you know, just do this
(03:15):
, go, go all the way into thisand keep learning, keep building
on it.
You're an amateur right now,but if you keep pushing into it,
keep learning, educatingyourself, you can actually grow
it, and and it's something healways loved to do too so now,
every time I do it, I think ofhim as well oh sweet.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So you like the family photographer now, like
when you do all the christmasstuff and the family unions.
They're like get sean I'meveryone's photographer.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Now, everyone who knows me um, yeah, it's, yeah,
it was great.
I it.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So the love of photography came through your
grandfather.
Now you all know.
You know this show isdefinitely about you know our
people and how we show up andpresent ourselves.
Do you find how do you, how doyou like, move around the world
as a black photographer?
Like, do you feel like you havebeen presenting some challenges
that maybe your counterpartshaven't?
Or do you think that your stylein different in showcasing
(04:07):
yourself in this world?
How has that been?
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, I kind of see things through a unique lens, I
believe.
Where I kind of grew up, goingto a mostly white school system,
my parents wanted me or my momwanted me to be in one of the
better schools.
My school was like one of thetop five in the country of
public schools anyway, and itwas.
I was one of like six blackkids that was there, but during
(04:33):
that experience I actually gotto have, um, an experience
growing up with, like you know,that kind of environment, as
well as being black in Americaas well and dealing with things
I'm dealing with, as you know,growing up as a black man.
And now, through that lens, theway I see things is like.
I see a lot of like how thingsare are presented in the the way
(04:53):
that the United States istypically presented on TV, and I
kind of want to take those sameideas and insert some people
that look like me and peoplethat I grew up you know, they
are my family, that I grown uparound and everything, and make
it more diverse and open upthose things, those doors for
other diverse people you know,um, so and kind of.
(05:15):
I feel like that kind of bringsbalance to the world and that's
kind of what I want to do andwant to continue pushing for as
I grow okay, and what is yourunique touch on your photography
?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
if you had to put it in words, like, why would I want
to hire you or why would I wantyou to be behind the camera and
when I'm doing these things?
Because I do know that, likeoriginality and authenticity,
every creator has a little bitof that that they want to show.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, to put put it in like you know short words,
I'd just say, like you know,growing up my mom was an
independent film producer, soI've always kind of grown up on
set.
I've grown up in LA.
I kind of know how things aresupposed to be presented in like
a professional way, and I havethat knowledge that I want to
give back to my people as well.
And the way that I look atpeople is I really have a love
(06:06):
for what I do.
I have a love for connectingwith people and putting those
things together.
I shoot people how they wouldprobably see themselves.
You know how you look in themirror, how you look in the
phone before you take a selfieand you know you're thinking
you're going to take thatperfect image of yourself.
That's the image I alwaysstrive for.
I want to shoot people how theysee themselves.
That's the image I alwaysstrive for.
I want to.
I want to shoot people how theysee themselves and I get to
know that by getting to knowthem and looking at them with
(06:27):
like, not just like.
They're not just my customer.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
This is someone I actually like, I value and have
interest in wanting to shoot, soit's funny that you said that
you like to shoot people in theway where they can see
themselves did you find anythingabout yourself that your
photography brought to you.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, I mean, I guess , like I was always, like I grew
up as a shy person, I'm stillkind of shy, you know, in a
sense.
But you know, I kind of alwayswanted to see myself in a
certain light and few peoplecould actually capture that.
So, you know, my mindset waslike, okay, if not many people
can do this, then I need to bethe person who does it, you know
(07:09):
.
So that kind of taught me aboutsomething about myself where
I'm like, you know, I'm the typeof person who's like, you know,
if no one's doing it, then I'mgoing to hop in there and I'm
the one who's going to take careof it and make sure it gets
done.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Nice and make sure it gets done, nice.
So, at the end of all of this,if you had a dream I mean, we
all have dreams, but where doyou think your end game is, or
if there is an end game, in whatyou want, your career, how you
see yourself in your work.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I think the end game is I want to climb that
Hollywood ladder, so to speak,and kind of be up there.
Not so much, you know, I don'treally care about the fame per
se, but I do want to make a namefor myself, make a legacy for
myself and for my family as well.
I just really want to see howfar I can take it, how many
people can see my art Because Icreate art for it to be seen and
(08:03):
if I can get more people to seeit and appreciate it.
I like feeling that love andthat, you know, like sharing
things and having them be justas excited about it as I am, and
I want to see how far I canpush that.
I actually want to become acinematographer in Hollywood,
and if I can be one of the topcinematographers in Hollywood, I
think I've done my job.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Have you ever thought about doing an art show?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Possibly.
Yeah, I keep hearing about that.
Now People keep pushing me totake it just offline and bring
things to art galleries andthings like that, so that might
be the next step.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I mean bringing it to the people.
I always feel like thatguerrilla style has always.
I mean, the internet is theinternet?
Right, it's given us a lot ofaccess to the world.
But I think that the reason whypeople like people or the
reason why people enjoy acertain thing, is because
usually there's a personal touchto it right.
(08:57):
One of the reasons why youwanted to get into photography
because your grandfather wasdoing it was a personal touch to
you.
So I asked about the artgalleries because I I personally
enjoy our galleries, and moreso like I like photography and
um sculptures like those are thetwo that I'll usually seek out
because I feel like seeing whatyou see, because you only have
your eyes right, and so it'salways unique, as a creator
(09:21):
myself, to try to decipher whatwere you thinking about when you
took this shot.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Like, what were you looking at?
Like, is that what you reallymeant to shoot?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So I always think about that.
But what has been some of yourlike inspirations like, um, do
you have any photographers youhave like kind of looked up to?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
or yeah, um, there's there's, there's there's so many
um, both men and women that Ilook up to.
Um, there's Layla Stefani,she's my homegirl out there.
Um, beast Williams, um, there'sa lot theo hype, um, he got me,
he actually really helped, uh,bring it out of me.
Um, when I after covet happened, he was, you know, kind of like
(10:07):
a driving force but kind oflike, you know, showing me how
to get this money on my own andreally build and kind of pave me
the way, because he showed mehow he went about it, going from
just being like a freelancer toworking with, you know, sony
pictures and stuff like that.
So, um, I've had, I've had mymy fair share of people that
I've met and looked up to andhad mentored me and things like
(10:28):
that, and I hope to mentorsomeone else as well, nice, nice
.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
I mean again, like we're all community right um,
has your, has your communityexpanded?
You think within yourcreativity, because you said you
came from um a corporatebackground um what do you think
your community is like nowversus it was then?
Speaker 1 (10:47):
um, it's a lot broader now.
Yeah, it's uh, you know, thereach.
The reach is is great, like Ihave people who I meet at
parties and stuff sometimes arelike when they find out who I am
because they don't usually seemy face, but if they find out
who I am because they don'tusually see my face, but if they
find out who I am they're like,oh my God, yeah, I've seen your
work.
Yeah, like, I've shared it withpeople.
I've, you know, I've talked topeople about it and now to
actually meet you is great andit's like damn, is this what
(11:10):
fame feels?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
like oh, you famous, you know it's nice, you know,
yeah, I mean, you gotta be proudof what you do and it's one of
those things where you have aproduct right or you shoot a
picture and you do it becauseyou love it or not even
sometimes that you love it.
Let's just get rid of the lovethat you have for it.
(11:31):
The fact that you had to do ajob and the amount of joy and
emotion that it evokes frompeople is the most intriguing
thing.
Sometimes, Like you're like oh,yeah, I did that, and most of
the time it's like I do itbecause I do it.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
But like isn't it crazy that like sometimes our
intention conveys something elsethan what we actually intended
to do?
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Like, do you have any art like any paintings?
I mean not paintings, you know.
Yeah, that's true.
Like, do you have any art likeany paintings?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I mean not paintings.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
you know, paint Photographer, blah, blah blah.
Do you have any photos thatlike maybe it's your favorite
one that you've taken?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Why that's really hard.
I you know I like I usuallydon't hold on to that feeling
for too long.
It's usually like I take it, Irelish in the moment, I love
that photo, but then it's alwaysabout what's next you know, so
like.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
But if you had to choose?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
one.
Yeah, if I choose one, Okay sothe one that's like your
favorite.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
What would you say?
The most sentimental or themost like powerful one you felt
was powerful?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
So I do.
I have a lot of powerful work.
I've um shot a lot of differentpeople and everything.
Um, I gotta say, though, likethe, the biggest thing that I
want to shout out is, like, whenI shoot with my girlfriend,
rosemary lewis, who's also amodel, a fashion model like, I
love shooting with her becauseher photo is just like we always
.
We always get talked about,they're always shared, they're
(12:59):
always great, they always comeout great and there's a true
passion behind it.
So each one of those I candefinitely be proud of every
single time.
Other ones outside of that,I've done some that were
black-oriented and historical.
I'm trying to think what, whatI can say?
(13:20):
Um, like my girl armani, she'sgot some, she's got some good
work on my page, for sure yeah,definitely check out some of her
, her photos.
Um yeah, man, just go to my page.
I like I can't call it just one.
They're all beautiful to me.
I mean that's fair, that's fair, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
So we're going to get into a game.
We like games.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
All right, we're going to play Black Card Revoked
.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And this is the original flavor X.
So this one's supposed to bebetter, bolder and blacker.
Okay, and basically he's goingto answer some questions.
We're going to see if you knowthe answer and some of these.
I've looked through these cardsand some of them are very like
historical, so I'm not going tojudge you on those, but there's
some that we all should know.
You ready, All right, it'sgoing to be a multiple choice.
(14:12):
In which classic film does aClassic film?
Does a woman yell get your shitand get out before burning her
ex's car?
A thin line between love andhate.
A Diary of a mad black woman.
B.
Waiting to exhale.
C.
What's love got to do with it?
D.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
It's going to be number one A thin line between
love and hate.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
No, she blew up his car.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
But waiting to exhale gosh.
Okay, all right.
Yeah, all right.
Which classic movie might haveyou heard?
You ain't got a forehead, yougot a five head.
A friday b all about thebenjamins.
C I got the hookup.
D White Men Can't Jump.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Is it B?
Yep, yep, gotcha, yep, gotcha.
Oh my gosh, he's funny.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
All right, which classic movie might you heard?
Some of us got to use what wegot to get what we want.
A, roots B.
The Players Club C Paid in Full.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
D Soul playing B the Players Club.
Okay, you good, you good, yougood, you keeping it, you
keeping it.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
All right, all right, all right.
Which state can we trace mostof our families to because of
the majority of slaves landedthere first?
A, north Carolina, b, georgia,c, virginia, d, south Carolina.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Ooh, I'll say D South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Ooh, you good, you good Okay.
You keeping your card, youkeeping your card, all right.
Which legendary artist hadboiling hot grits thrown on him
by a former girlfriend?
A Peter Gunz, b Future, c AlGreen, d Marvin Gaye.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Ooh, okay, I think it C Al Green, D Marvin Gaye.
Okay, I think it's either AlGreen or Marvin Gaye.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Which one.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
This is tough.
I don't really pay attention tothat story, but I'm trying to
think.
Was it Al Green?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, this is the last one and for me this is the
classic, so I will judge you.
Yeah, yeah, okay, this is thelast one and for me this is the
classic, so I will judge youOkay.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Okay, who famously sang nights like this?
I wish raindrops would fall ina parking lot.
A Eddie Cain, B Choir Boy.
C Eddie King Jr, D Dresser.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Okay, okay, I'm going to go with C Eddie King Jr.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig.
All right, there we go.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Nice like this.
I wish raindrops would fall.
Well, good job.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Thanks, there we go, guys.
That was our edition of BlackCar Revolt.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Boulder, wait, what is it?
Let there we go, guys.
That was our rendition of BlackCar Revolt.
Boulder wait, wait a second.
Let me go back.
Black Car Revolt, originalflavor X better, bolder, blacker
.
Okay, sean.
Well, thanks for having, thanksfor coming on the show.
I got a lot of information, alot of insight of what you do.
At the end of my shows, Idefinitely like to give some
type of message.
(17:14):
Whether I definitely like togive some type of message,
whether it's to your youngerself, whether it's to an
upcoming photographer or, youknow, a young black male
photographer that's like youknow, getting into this.
This field of work can bechallenging.
What kind of advice would yougive to them?
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Just keep learning, keep growing.
Don't take things toopersonally.
Just keep experiencing life andjust letting it mold you as you
grow.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Okay, and where can they find you?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
All right, my social media is going to be Golden
Charmer.
No, e's Just G-O-L-D-Nunderscore C-A-R-M-R Golden
Charmer.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Okay, well, thanks again, sean Y'all, if y'all
enjoyed this show and y'all hadany more questions for Sean or
you know, you basically want toyou know, maybe hire him to work
.
That's what we're here aboutbuilding community, reaching out
(18:13):
while we reach in.
Please like, subscribe, sharethis post Again.
We'll have his information inour feeds and videos and things
like that, but don't be afraidto reach out to either us or him
Other than that that's it.
That's all.
That's it.
That's all is written by me,casey Carnage, and produced by
myself and Rick Barrio-Dill.
Associate producer, brie Corey,audio and video engineering and
(18:37):
studio facilities provided bySlap Studios LA with
distribution through ourcollective Slap the Network.
If you have any ideas for ashow you want to hear or see,
please email us at info atslapthepowercom and, as always,
go to no-transcript.
(23:43):
Get your shit and get outbefore burning her ex's car.
A a thin line between love andhate.
B diarrhea of a mad black woman.
C waiting to exhale.
D what's love got to do with it?
Speaker 1 (23:58):
I think it's a thin line between love and hate.
Say that again.
I think you said diarrhea of ablack woman.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Diarrhea of a.
Yeah, okay, so then you saiddiarrhea.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Okay.
You know, growing up, my mom was an independent film
producer, so I've always kind ofgrown up on set.
I've grown up in LA.
I kind of know how things aresupposed to be presented in like
a professional way, and I havethat knowledge that I want to
give back to my people as well.
And the way that I look atpeople is I.
I really have a love for what Ido.
I have a love for connectingwith people and putting those
(00:22):
things together.
I shoot people how they wouldprobably see themselves.
You know how you look in themirror, how you look in the
phone before you take a selfieand you know you're thinking
you're going to take thatperfect image of yourself.
That's the image I alwaysstrive for.
I want to shoot people how theysee themselves.
That's it, that's all.
Tell me how you feel.
That's it, that's all.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
That's it, that's all .
Black excellence at its finest.
How that skin glows, she's atrue diamond, with the world
right out back.
She's still smiling, never leftthat crown till she stayed
thriving.
That's it, that's all.
That's it, that's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
That's it.
That's all.
Keep it real.
That's it, that's all.
(01:04):
That's it, that's all.
Is that really it, though?
What up, what up?
What up?
Welcome to.
That's it, that's All.
I'm your host, kasey.
You know what we're here for.
It's an opinionated podcastthrough the lens of black women
and black creators.
And today, our guest, we haveSean Michael Ryan.
Welcome, hey, thanks for havingme.
(01:25):
Okay, just a little snippetabout him.
You know he does amazingphotography work.
I met him at an event.
One of my good friends, who hasalso been on the show you know,
was hosting, and it was justthe way you were capturing
people, even like looking in,like the preview that's what you
call it, the preview.
I said, okay, you got a littleeye.
I see you, I see you, I see you.
You'll see some of his work.
(01:46):
He's worked with a lot ofpeople Janelle Monae, ruby Rose,
danny Lee Gazzelia.
The list goes on.
I won't keep talking about him,because that's what he's here
to do.
Welcome how you doing.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yeah, thanks for having me again.
I'm good Excited to check outyour podcast and just chat with
you.
Chop it up a little bit Allright cool.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
So tell us a little bit about yourself.
How did you get intophotography?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Well, so first, I'm from LA.
I'm an LA native there's notmany of us left out here, but my
family's from Cleveland, Ohio.
My inspiration for photographyactually really came from my
grandfather.
He was the family photographerand the patriarch of the family
Kind of kept everyone togetherbut also, like captured these
moments.
And one of the things heinstilled in me is that, like,
(02:32):
if you love something, take apicture of it.
That way you have it forever,you know.
And when he passed, he lost hisbowel cancer and passed away
and I kind of like took it, youknow, as something.
I was like you, like I want tokeep his legacy going forward
and I was like okay, At the sametime, I was also trying to
figure out what I want to dowith my life as well.
(02:53):
Around.
What age was this?
I want to say it was around 20,20, or no.
No, it was actually sorry, itwas around 24, I believe that he
passed, but I had already beendoing photography a little bit
here and there like dabbling init, but I was also working like
the corporate structure andeverything like that, and I was
just like this doesn't feelright for me, but I need, so I
need to find something else.
And when he passed, it was asign that you know, just do this
(03:15):
, go, go all the way into thisand keep learning, keep building
on it.
You're an amateur right now,but if you keep pushing into it,
keep learning, educatingyourself, you can actually grow
it, and and it's something healways loved to do too so now,
every time I do it, I think ofhim as well oh sweet.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So you like the family photographer now, like
when you do all the christmasstuff and the family unions.
They're like get sean I'meveryone's photographer.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Now, everyone who knows me um, yeah, it's, yeah,
it was great.
I it.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So the love of photography came through your
grandfather.
Now you all know.
You know this show isdefinitely about you know our
people and how we show up andpresent ourselves.
Do you find how do you, how doyou like, move around the world
as a black photographer?
Like, do you feel like you havebeen presenting some challenges
that maybe your counterpartshaven't?
Or do you think that your stylein different in showcasing
(04:07):
yourself in this world?
How has that been?
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, I kind of see things through a unique lens, I
believe.
Where I kind of grew up, goingto a mostly white school system,
my parents wanted me or my momwanted me to be in one of the
better schools.
My school was like one of thetop five in the country of
public schools anyway, and itwas.
I was one of like six blackkids that was there, but during
(04:33):
that experience I actually gotto have, um, an experience
growing up with, like you know,that kind of environment, as
well as being black in Americaas well and dealing with things
I'm dealing with, as you know,growing up as a black man.
And now, through that lens, theway I see things is like.
I see a lot of like how thingsare are presented in the the way
(04:53):
that the United States istypically presented on TV, and I
kind of want to take those sameideas and insert some people
that look like me and peoplethat I grew up you know, they
are my family, that I grown uparound and everything, and make
it more diverse and open upthose things, those doors for
other diverse people you know,um, so and kind of.
(05:15):
I feel like that kind of bringsbalance to the world and that's
kind of what I want to do andwant to continue pushing for as
I grow okay, and what is yourunique touch on your photography
?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
if you had to put it in words, like, why would I want
to hire you or why would I wantyou to be behind the camera and
when I'm doing these things?
Because I do know that, likeoriginality and authenticity,
every creator has a little bitof that that they want to show.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, to put put it in like you know short words,
I'd just say, like you know,growing up my mom was an
independent film producer, soI've always kind of grown up on
set.
I've grown up in LA.
I kind of know how things aresupposed to be presented in like
a professional way, and I havethat knowledge that I want to
give back to my people as well.
And the way that I look atpeople is I really have a love
(06:06):
for what I do.
I have a love for connectingwith people and putting those
things together.
I shoot people how they wouldprobably see themselves.
You know how you look in themirror, how you look in the
phone before you take a selfieand you know you're thinking
you're going to take thatperfect image of yourself.
That's the image I alwaysstrive for.
I want to shoot people how theysee themselves.
That's the image I alwaysstrive for.
I want to.
I want to shoot people how theysee themselves and I get to
know that by getting to knowthem and looking at them with
(06:27):
like, not just like.
They're not just my customer.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
This is someone I actually like, I value and have
interest in wanting to shoot, soit's funny that you said that
you like to shoot people in theway where they can see
themselves did you find anythingabout yourself that your
photography brought to you.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, I mean, I guess , like I was always, like I grew
up as a shy person, I'm stillkind of shy, you know, in a
sense.
But you know, I kind of alwayswanted to see myself in a
certain light and few peoplecould actually capture that.
So, you know, my mindset waslike, okay, if not many people
can do this, then I need to bethe person who does it, you know
(07:09):
.
So that kind of taught me aboutsomething about myself where
I'm like, you know, I'm the typeof person who's like, you know,
if no one's doing it, then I'mgoing to hop in there and I'm
the one who's going to take careof it and make sure it gets
done.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Nice and make sure it gets done, nice.
So, at the end of all of this,if you had a dream I mean, we
all have dreams, but where doyou think your end game is, or
if there is an end game, in whatyou want, your career, how you
see yourself in your work.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
I think the end game is I want to climb that
Hollywood ladder, so to speak,and kind of be up there.
Not so much, you know, I don'treally care about the fame per
se, but I do want to make a namefor myself, make a legacy for
myself and for my family as well.
I just really want to see howfar I can take it, how many
people can see my art Because Icreate art for it to be seen and
(08:03):
if I can get more people to seeit and appreciate it.
I like feeling that love andthat, you know, like sharing
things and having them be justas excited about it as I am, and
I want to see how far I canpush that.
I actually want to become acinematographer in Hollywood,
and if I can be one of the topcinematographers in Hollywood, I
think I've done my job.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Have you ever thought about doing an art show?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Possibly.
Yeah, I keep hearing about that.
Now People keep pushing me totake it just offline and bring
things to art galleries andthings like that, so that might
be the next step.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I mean bringing it to the people.
I always feel like thatguerrilla style has always.
I mean, the internet is theinternet?
Right, it's given us a lot ofaccess to the world.
But I think that the reason whypeople like people or the
reason why people enjoy acertain thing, is because
usually there's a personal touchto it right.
(08:57):
One of the reasons why youwanted to get into photography
because your grandfather wasdoing it was a personal touch to
you.
So I asked about the artgalleries because I I personally
enjoy our galleries, and moreso like I like photography and
um sculptures like those are thetwo that I'll usually seek out
because I feel like seeing whatyou see, because you only have
your eyes right, and so it'salways unique, as a creator
(09:21):
myself, to try to decipher whatwere you thinking about when you
took this shot.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Like, what were you looking at?
Like, is that what you reallymeant to shoot?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
So I always think about that.
But what has been some of yourlike inspirations like, um, do
you have any photographers youhave like kind of looked up to?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
or yeah, um, there's there's, there's there's so many
um, both men and women that Ilook up to.
Um, there's Layla Stefani,she's my homegirl out there.
Um, beast Williams, um, there'sa lot theo hype, um, he got me,
he actually really helped, uh,bring it out of me.
Um, when I after covet happened, he was, you know, kind of like
(10:07):
a driving force but kind oflike, you know, showing me how
to get this money on my own andreally build and kind of pave me
the way, because he showed mehow he went about it, going from
just being like a freelancer toworking with, you know, sony
pictures and stuff like that.
So, um, I've had, I've had mymy fair share of people that
I've met and looked up to andhad mentored me and things like
(10:28):
that, and I hope to mentorsomeone else as well, nice, nice
.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
I mean again, like we're all community right um,
has your, has your communityexpanded?
You think within yourcreativity, because you said you
came from um a corporatebackground um what do you think
your community is like nowversus it was then?
Speaker 1 (10:47):
um, it's a lot broader now.
Yeah, it's uh, you know, thereach.
The reach is is great, like Ihave people who I meet at
parties and stuff sometimes arelike when they find out who I am
because they don't usually seemy face, but if they find out
who I am because they don'tusually see my face, but if they
find out who I am they're like,oh my God, yeah, I've seen your
work.
Yeah, like, I've shared it withpeople.
I've, you know, I've talked topeople about it and now to
actually meet you is great andit's like damn, is this what
(11:10):
fame feels?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
like oh, you famous, you know it's nice, you know,
yeah, I mean, you gotta be proudof what you do and it's one of
those things where you have aproduct right or you shoot a
picture and you do it becauseyou love it or not even
sometimes that you love it.
Let's just get rid of the lovethat you have for it.
(11:31):
The fact that you had to do ajob and the amount of joy and
emotion that it evokes frompeople is the most intriguing
thing.
Sometimes, Like you're like oh,yeah, I did that, and most of
the time it's like I do itbecause I do it.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
But like isn't it crazy that like sometimes our
intention conveys something elsethan what we actually intended
to do?
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Like, do you have any art like any paintings?
I mean not paintings, you know.
Yeah, that's true.
Like, do you have any art likeany paintings?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I mean not paintings.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
you know, paint Photographer, blah, blah blah.
Do you have any photos thatlike maybe it's your favorite
one that you've taken?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Why that's really hard.
I you know I like I usuallydon't hold on to that feeling
for too long.
It's usually like I take it, Irelish in the moment, I love
that photo, but then it's alwaysabout what's next you know, so
like.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
But if you had to choose?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
one.
Yeah, if I choose one, Okay sothe one that's like your
favorite.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
What would you say?
The most sentimental or themost like powerful one you felt
was powerful?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
So I do.
I have a lot of powerful work.
I've um shot a lot of differentpeople and everything.
Um, I gotta say, though, likethe, the biggest thing that I
want to shout out is, like, whenI shoot with my girlfriend,
rosemary lewis, who's also amodel, a fashion model like, I
love shooting with her becauseher photo is just like we always
.
We always get talked about,they're always shared, they're
(12:59):
always great, they always comeout great and there's a true
passion behind it.
So each one of those I candefinitely be proud of every
single time.
Other ones outside of that,I've done some that were
black-oriented and historical.
I'm trying to think what, whatI can say?
(13:20):
Um, like my girl armani, she'sgot some, she's got some good
work on my page, for sure yeah,definitely check out some of her
, her photos.
Um yeah, man, just go to my page.
I like I can't call it just one.
They're all beautiful to me.
I mean that's fair, that's fair, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
So we're going to get into a game.
We like games.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
All right, we're going to play Black Card Revoked
.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And this is the original flavor X.
So this one's supposed to bebetter, bolder and blacker.
Okay, and basically he's goingto answer some questions.
We're going to see if you knowthe answer and some of these.
I've looked through these cardsand some of them are very like
historical, so I'm not going tojudge you on those, but there's
some that we all should know.
You ready, All right, it'sgoing to be a multiple choice.
(14:12):
In which classic film does aClassic film?
Does a woman yell get your shitand get out before burning her
ex's car?
A thin line between love andhate.
A Diary of a mad black woman.
B.
Waiting to exhale.
C.
What's love got to do with it?
D.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
It's going to be number one A thin line between
love and hate.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
No, she blew up his car.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
But waiting to exhale gosh.
Okay, all right.
Yeah, all right.
Which classic movie might haveyou heard?
You ain't got a forehead, yougot a five head.
A friday b all about thebenjamins.
C I got the hookup.
D White Men Can't Jump.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Is it B?
Yep, yep, gotcha, yep, gotcha.
Oh my gosh, he's funny.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
All right, which classic movie might you heard?
Some of us got to use what wegot to get what we want.
A, roots B.
The Players Club C Paid in Full.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
D Soul playing B the Players Club.
Okay, you good, you good, yougood, you keeping it, you
keeping it.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
All right, all right, all right.
Which state can we trace mostof our families to because of
the majority of slaves landedthere first?
A, north Carolina, b, georgia,c, virginia, d, south Carolina.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Ooh, I'll say D South Carolina.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Ooh, you good, you good Okay.
You keeping your card, youkeeping your card, all right.
Which legendary artist hadboiling hot grits thrown on him
by a former girlfriend?
A Peter Gunz, b Future, c AlGreen, d Marvin Gaye.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Ooh, okay, I think it C Al Green, D Marvin Gaye.
Okay, I think it's either AlGreen or Marvin Gaye.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Which one.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
This is tough.
I don't really pay attention tothat story, but I'm trying to
think.
Was it Al Green?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, this is the last one and for me this is the
classic, so I will judge you.
Yeah, yeah, okay, this is thelast one and for me this is the
classic, so I will judge youOkay.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Okay, who famously sang nights like this?
I wish raindrops would fall ina parking lot.
A Eddie Cain, B Choir Boy.
C Eddie King Jr, D Dresser.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Okay, okay, I'm going to go with C Eddie King Jr.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig.
All right, there we go.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Nice like this.
I wish raindrops would fall.
Well, good job.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Thanks, there we go, guys.
That was our edition of BlackCar Revolt.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Boulder, wait, what is it?
Let there we go, guys.
That was our rendition of BlackCar Revolt.
Boulder wait, wait a second.
Let me go back.
Black Car Revolt, originalflavor X better, bolder, blacker
.
Okay, sean.
Well, thanks for having, thanksfor coming on the show.
I got a lot of information, alot of insight of what you do.
At the end of my shows, Idefinitely like to give some
type of message.
(17:14):
Whether I definitely like togive some type of message,
whether it's to your youngerself, whether it's to an
upcoming photographer or, youknow, a young black male
photographer that's like youknow, getting into this.
This field of work can bechallenging.
What kind of advice would yougive to them?
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Just keep learning, keep growing.
Don't take things toopersonally.
Just keep experiencing life andjust letting it mold you as you
grow.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Okay, and where can they find you?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
All right, my social media is going to be Golden
Charmer.
No, e's Just G-O-L-D-Nunderscore C-A-R-M-R Golden
Charmer.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Okay, well, thanks again, sean Y'all, if y'all
enjoyed this show and y'all hadany more questions for Sean or
you know, you basically want toyou know, maybe hire him to work
.
That's what we're here aboutbuilding community, reaching out
(18:13):
while we reach in.
Please like, subscribe, sharethis post Again.
We'll have his information inour feeds and videos and things
like that, but don't be afraidto reach out to either us or him
Other than that that's it.
That's all.
That's it.
That's all is written by me,casey Carnage, and produced by
myself and Rick Barrio-Dill.
Associate producer, brie Corey,audio and video engineering and
(18:37):
studio facilities provided bySlap Studios LA with
distribution through ourcollective Slap the Network.
If you have any ideas for ashow you want to hear or see,
please email us at info atslapthepowercom and, as always,
go to no-transcript.
(23:43):
Get your shit and get outbefore burning her ex's car.
A a thin line between love andhate.
B diarrhea of a mad black woman.
C waiting to exhale.
D what's love got to do with it?
Speaker 1 (23:58):
I think it's a thin line between love and hate.
Say that again.
I think you said diarrhea of ablack woman.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Diarrhea of a.
Yeah, okay, so then you saiddiarrhea.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Okay.
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