Ed Kashi | "We humans live for stories"

The time-honored saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" can quickly lose meaning in the intricate tangle of a photographer's lifetime archive. That is unless you take a disciplined approach to organizing your photographs from the start. This essential message is woven throughout this week's podcast with the esteemed photojournalist and filmmaker Ed Kashi. "You need to look at your archive from early on, even before you think you have any critical mass of material," Ed instructs. "This is your memory, this is your history. This is like the essence… Well, for me, this is like the essence of who I am." Derek's chat with Ed spans the full arc of his career of nearly 50 years—from his early in-depth stories for legendary magazines to his current work on ambitious creative projects through Talking Eyes Media, the non-profit he co-founded with his wife Julie Winokur.  Their discussion also covers the many implications of the digital revolution, being accountable for the pictures you make, viewing social media as an opportunity to be your own publisher, Ed's natural reflex to anticipate and react to situations, plus his affinity for capturing "Abandoned Moments," where he's not fully in control of the action in front of his lens.  Yet, while photos are vital building blocks, story reigns supreme. "Here's how I want to end," Ed concludes. "Joan Didion has a great quote, 'We humans live for stories.' Simply put, and so true and so wise. And I feel that I live for stories, whether I'm telling them or whether I'm absorbing them." If you've enjoyed this podcast, please follow us @bhpodcastnetwork and be on the lookout for more inspiring conversations in our new format. Guest: Ed Kashi Episode Timeline: 0:00: Ed Kashi: Anticipate & React 3:16: Ed's reflexes to anticipate and react and not be in control of situations he documents. 5:45: Ed's approach to social media: He can be his own publisher. 9:45: Your archive is the essence of who you are as a photographer. 12:31: Ed's switch to digital photography in 2002.  16:30: An early ambition to be a writer rather than a photographer.  21:33: Ed's Aging in America project and his entry to video. 26:58: Collaborating with his w