PhotoActive Episode 19: Michael Rubin

The latest episode of the PhotoActive podcast is a special one. I’ve known Michael Rubin since we both wrote books for Peachpit Press, and we’ve connected off and on through the years. He’s an interesting guy with an amazing backstory: He worked for George Lucas way back when, in the group that would be spun off as Pixar (and wrote a fascinating book about the experience, Droidmaker, which I highly recommend). He joined a little startup called Netflix and helped shape its future. He spent time at Adobe. Oh, and he helped pioneer the paint-your-own-pottery movement.

In all that time, he’s been a photographer and—more importantly this week—a lover of photography. His family slowly built up an amazing collection of original photo prints by almost every modern photographer you’ve heard of. And now he runs a business, Neomodern, that makes archival, framed prints from anyone’s photos.

So for this week, Kirk and Michael and I had an unusual idea: Let’s talk about a couple of the photos in Michael’s collection, and in so doing explore so many of the concepts and enthusiasm we enjoy in photography. I think you’ll enjoy this episode.

The show notes and a player can be found here: Episode 19: Michael Rubin and Classic Photos.

Also, here’s my semi-regular reminder about what truly helps us create PhotoActive.

• Even if you automatically get new episodes by subscribing in your favorite podcast app or player, or via this site, I encourage you to sign up for our PhotoActive mailing list. It’s a reminder of when new episodes appear, but it’s also what we’re using for upcoming giveaways. We’ve given away a copy of Chris Marquardt’s new book Wide-Angle Photography (from Episode 14), plus apps from The Photographer’s Ephemeris.
• Also, we love feedback and conversation at our PhotoActive Facebook group. Let us know how we’re doing, and if you have any subjects we should tackle.
• Lastly, iTunes reviews and ratings are very important for helping podcasts thrive, so please leave us some stars and words in iTunes.

Thanks! We’re enjoying this podcast, and hope you do, too. Anything you can do to help us grow our audience—recommendations to friends and family, mentions on social media, offers to sponsor, or inviting Kirk and I onto your podcast—are greatly appreciated.