Image by Vincent Laforet

Platon Audio
Wednesday November 26th 2008, 9:02 pm
Filed under: Articles

Here is the long promised audio from Platon’s speech at the Eddie Adams Workshop from a few weeks ago.  It’s well worth a listen.

It’s one thing to have a few hours to photograph someone you know, or are being given a chance to get to know.   These days, when you’re asked to photograph a celebrity (or even just a CEO)  it’s more likely that you’ll find yourself photographing someone for a few seconds or less than 10 minutes - and that you’ll only be allowed to do so, if you agree to play by a long list of pre-determined rules.  

Pulling off an original image, navigating all of the politics, let alone capturing a moment,  is an art in it of itself.  And Platon talks at length about the process with incredible wit and frankness - and demonstrates how he has become a master of doing so.  

Enjoy and happy Turkey Day!  (If the Turkey’s putting you to sleep - this speech is sure to wake your right back up.)


49 Comments so far
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[...] Check it out here. [...]

Pingback by Platon Audio « Vincent Laforet’s Blog | The Click 11.26.08 @ 10:01 pm

Thank you for posting this.
Happy Turkey Day!

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Comment by Bret 11.26.08 @ 10:12 pm

Thanks for presenting this Platon speech. I am glad you could record it for the rest of us.

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Comment by daniel 11.26.08 @ 10:36 pm

Great speech, thanks for sharing.

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Comment by Ben 11.26.08 @ 11:06 pm

I teach photography on a daily basis at a university, and while I was listening to the presentation, I was also looking at Platon’s portfolio. More students need to hear informative, practical experiences like this, and I appreciate your posting of this recording. I’m effectively making it a required listening to several of my courses. Thank you!

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Comment by Jerod 11.26.08 @ 11:27 pm

Very cool talk. I was also able to see most of the images he talks about from his website.

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Comment by Bernie 11.26.08 @ 11:28 pm

Thx!

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Comment by iHand 11.27.08 @ 3:00 am

Big thanks for posting that. A really fantastic talk.

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Comment by Sean Wood 11.27.08 @ 6:24 am

What a great speaker, fascinating. So much about portrait photography and never a mention of f-stop etc, very telling.

Thanks for sharing.

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Comment by Ian 11.27.08 @ 7:26 am

Nice.

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Comment by Em P Dee 11.27.08 @ 7:33 am

Funny and interesting.

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Comment by Fotografo 11.27.08 @ 8:05 am

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Thanks for posting this Vincent. Paton is a very cool character.

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Comment by David 11.27.08 @ 10:11 am

Vince, thank you so much for posting this.

And Platon, thank you so much for giving your permission. I was in tears at the end.

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Comment by Michael 11.27.08 @ 12:29 pm

Amazing speech!
Thanks for sharing with us!

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Comment by Alexandre Fortes 11.27.08 @ 1:13 pm

Platon is a riot, love the last part about the bitches. Was going through his portfolio on his website while I listened trying to spot the images he has a fascinating body of work to date and still so young. Thanks for sharing Vincent/Platon

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Comment by Justin 11.27.08 @ 2:21 pm

Huge thanks for sharing this piece.It was more than enjoyable to listen to. Would love to see Platon speak - his sense of humour is just perfect.

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Comment by Wilhelm 11.27.08 @ 5:16 pm

This is great! He’s a funny guy.

I picked up Platon’s Republic recently and at the back are all these great handwritten notes about each of the pictures. Its pricesless

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Comment by Paulo Rodrigues 11.27.08 @ 5:36 pm

Thanks for all this great blog showing your work Vincent! Happy Thanksgiving!! -Daryl

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Comment by Daryl Shields 11.27.08 @ 6:14 pm

Hello and Thanks!! This is REALLY Cool to see.. I mean HEAR!!

Happy Turkey Day to you as well!!

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Comment by Bob W 11.27.08 @ 6:50 pm

I really enjoyed that! Thank you for sharing. ^_^

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Comment by Kagetsu 11.27.08 @ 8:02 pm

The bit about Monica Bellucci is hilarious (among others). Thanks for posting this, it made my day.

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Comment by Aleksandar 11.28.08 @ 7:41 am

Ha, I like that guy. Very interesting to hear about his work. Too bad it’s not a video which would show the photos he’s talking about.

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Comment by Sebastian 11.28.08 @ 9:16 am

That was a really great speech indeed. Informative and entertaining at the same time. Unbelivable that the guy got to take pics of so many celebrities/well-known people. Awesome stuff and great stories. Thanks for sharing!

Szabi

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Comment by Szabi 11.28.08 @ 11:38 am

It’s easy to understand this man’s success after listening to his engaging story telling ability, which was time well spent. It’s also a comfort to know that his experiences with people such as Christopher Walken, mirror exactly the many head cases I’ve had the good fortune of trying to subdue.

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Comment by Robert Randall 11.28.08 @ 11:51 am

[...] is one of the group leaders at the Workshop and he was able to get a recording of the Platon talk. He’s hosting it at his own blog. It’s a great listen on a master portrait photographer talking about his process and the way [...]

Pingback by Platon enlightens « Central Illinois Photoblog 11.28.08 @ 11:58 am

Thanks for putting this online. I signed up for his speech seminar over at the Photo Plus Expo in Oct. Really enjoyed it, and nice to have this clip to playback for friends. Seems the content here and there was extremely similar.

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Comment by EP 11.28.08 @ 12:45 pm

Great listen. Even though I browsed through Platon’s images I ended up closing the window and imagining the images through his words which was actually quite entertaining. Later I went back to check the President Clinton shot where he stated how others had critiqued it and laughed my ass silly.

Thanks for sharing it. All the best.

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Comment by Bram 11.28.08 @ 3:18 pm

Thanks so much for sharing–very inspiring to hear such entertaining and educational stories from somebody at the top of his profession.

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Comment by Evan Robinson 11.30.08 @ 3:28 am

I really enjoyed this conversation….the last story was moving….thank you

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Comment by Francisco 11.30.08 @ 11:22 am

“I learned something that day; never piss of the photographer just before he takes your portrait.”

Classic!

I felt bad for Platon at some points though…I was laughing out loud to some of the things he said and the audience seemed non-responsive. Maybe everyone was tired??

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Comment by Jimbo 11.30.08 @ 12:54 pm

The Dustin Hoffman story was hilarious and moving. Thanks for sharing Vincent.

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Comment by Rick 11.30.08 @ 2:40 pm

Nice speech.

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Comment by Matt 11.30.08 @ 11:29 pm

[...] to hear what a photographer goes through to take photos of celebrities, politicians, musicians. Listen in here! Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)EXCLUSIVE: Drew Johnson Is A Beauty Pageant [...]

Pingback by The wave « Down South. 12.01.08 @ 1:28 am

thanks for sharing!
You always have Platon’s photos clear in front of your inner eye that even audio only is great to follow

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Comment by christian 12.01.08 @ 5:50 am

Thanks for posting - FYI you can also hear Platon on this week’s On the Media (podcast) during a great segment on ethics in portrait photography. (Yes, you hear from Jill Greenberg too).

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Comment by Becky 12.01.08 @ 11:57 am

Fantastic…Thanks

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Comment by Scott Van Dyke 12.01.08 @ 12:02 pm

This is great — wish it were available to download as a podcast!

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Comment by Charles 12.01.08 @ 5:16 pm

I genuinely enjoyed the Planton speech. Thank you for sharing. One day I’ll be able to afford to go to workshops, but for the time being I’ll have to save up for and hear second hands bits like this.

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Comment by Lisa Reese 12.02.08 @ 7:23 pm

[...] ive seen the movie and it was amazing. check out platon…hears a link for an awsome audio clip. heres his site. pretty funny guy..gonna have to show ms brown this interview thingy clip. i need [...]

Pingback by december 2, 2008 « Ideas, Thoughts, and Happenings 12.02.08 @ 10:05 pm

Very nice! What a character. Any more audio from any other Barnstorming speeches that you would like to share? Like, say, anything you might have talked about? ;)

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Comment by todd huffman 12.03.08 @ 4:57 pm

Thank you! It was great in person, I am glad I get to enjoy it over and over again!

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Comment by Patrick Smith 12.03.08 @ 7:25 pm

Vincent, Thanks for hosting this and letting us hear it - really really cool…

Sime

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Comment by Sime 12.05.08 @ 4:42 am

[...] Link to Platon Talk December 9, 2008 From Vincent Laforet’s blog.  Photographer or not, I think you will derive enjoyment from this. [...]

Pingback by Link to Platon Talk « restless planet 12.09.08 @ 12:48 pm

Thanks for the Platon speech. I kinda wish for video but as others said, I can picture some of the pics he was referring to. That was fun. But Platon might never get another shoot with Dustin Hoffman again if his entourage of female uh,…assistants ever find out what he calls them. lol

Anyway, this was fascinating. Thanks again. :) It reminded me a bit of 10 years ago when Douglas Kirkland came to WKU to give a presentation on his career and he told the stories behind many of his photos. I remember most all those stories still.

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Comment by Marshal 12.10.08 @ 1:39 am

Thank you for posting this, it was wonderful.

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Comment by Chad 12.12.08 @ 11:44 am

I finally took the time to listen. So glad I did, thanks for putting this on your blog. I clicked through Platon’s website as he was talking about many of the images.

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Comment by Tammy M. 12.18.08 @ 9:44 am

[...] Well worth a listen: Audio from Platon’s presentation at this year’s Eddie Adams Workshop. (EAW ‘89 alum here, [...]

Pingback by Photography Watch » Speedlinks: December 18th, 2008 12.19.08 @ 12:35 am

[...] Platon Interview I read the Strobist and learned about an audio broadcast of a Platon presentation. I listened to his presentation and found it highly enjoyable. I thought others might like it too. [...]

Pingback by Enjoyable Platon Interview - Pro Photo HOME 12.21.08 @ 3:00 pm

Bought Platon’s Republic last week and while impressed with his pictures - didn’t really have an idea of the man behind the lens. This audio gives an impression of what he’s like - very entertaining and educational.

And has been said if you’ve seen the pics then you don’t need to view them again while listening - the images are so striking that they just jump into your mind as he talks about them.

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Comment by David Young 12.26.08 @ 8:39 am



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