Peeling the Onion
In this episode of the Photo Life we speak with Mike Davis, former photo editor for The White House and National Geographic Magazine, about the role editing plays in making a powerful and cohesive story from a body of work. He also shares some of the secrets of the editing game that have kept his eyes in demand with award winning photographers for over 20 years.
About Mike Davis
Mike Davis is a photography consultant, picture editor and photographer who works with photographers around the world to elevate their photography. He was most recently a picture editor at the Oregonian and has also directed photographic coverages and their presentation as a visual editor at The White House, National Geographic magazine and newspapers in Chicago, Detroit and Albuquerque.
Mike has been named newspaper picture editor of the year twice and received the National Press Photographers Association’s highest professional award, The Joseph A. Sprague Memorial Award. He and his staffs have received dozens of awards in Pictures of the Year International competition, including best use of photography several times.
He was director of photography for the book Blue Planet Run, a presentation of global fresh water issues and has been a picture editor for many other books.
And Mike has taught several times at workshops including the Missouri Workshop, Mountain People’s workshop, Santa Fe Workshops, and Somos Foto, and has lectured at a range of Universities.
He has judged POYi several times, as well as many other photojournalism contests and been a jury member of the W. Eugene Smith grant, The RFK Journalism Awards, The Nikon Sabbatical and others. He holds a masters degree in visual journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Photos below courtesy of Mike Davis.
Metrofiets Cargo Bikes northeast Alberta shop
Cyclocross national championships in Bend, Oregon
Park Blocks of Portland, Oregon
Jeremy Garb and Tanna TenHoopen Delinsky of Wolf & Bears
Matthew Card cooking outside Vanilla Workshop
About the Host- Travis Schreer
Travis is a wanderer who has a life-long passion for helping creative people realize their ambitions. While studying at the Kendall College of Art and Design and Eastern Michigan University, simultaneously pursuing a BFA in fine art and a Masters in creative writing, Travis rediscovered his fascination with photography and began working as a product photographer. After a brief stint studying poetry in Paris and years of developing his own artistic identity from the comforts of various midwestern cities, Travis packed his wool socks and moved to the chilly climes of Alaska. When he realized wool socks weren’t enough, it was on to Portland, Oregon where he endeavors to make The Photo Life a powerful resource on the virtual airwaves. Next time you’re in Portland, stop by Dawson City Park, where Travis can be found most evenings. He’s the scruffy guy playing with Collignon Quincampoix, the coolest dog you will ever meet.