The Boredom Identity

"The Chinese have a theory that you pass through boredom into fascination and I think it's true." ― Diane Arbus “If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes.” ― Pablo Picasso In this episode, Antonio and Ward talk about what happens when your photography starts to feel flat, and why boredom isn’t always a bad thing. They kick around the idea that boredom can be a signal to slow down, stop forcing work, and let your eye reset on its own. The conversation also touches on how the camera can act as a kind of shield, especially when photographing difficult or emotionally loaded situations, and how that distance affects both the photographer and the images being made. The second half of the episode turns to color, specifically dye transfer printing and why it still holds so much weight in the history of photography. Using photographers like William Eggleston, Irving Penn, Joel Sternfeld, and Ernst Haas as touchstones, they talk about how dye transfer created a physical, almost unreal richness that modern processes struggle to match. From there, the discussion opens up into a broader reflection on growing as photographers—what you stop chasing over time, how your instincts change, and why learning to sit with uncertainty can quietly push the work forward. Video of dye transfer process.   Subscribe to our Substack Newsletter Help out the show by buying us a coffee! Support the show by purchasing Antonio’s Zines. Send us a voice message, comment or question.   Show Links:   Antonio M. Rosario's Website, Vero, Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook page Ward Rosin’s Website, Vero, Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook page.   Subscribe to us on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio Deezer Podcast Addict