Reclaiming a Natural Landscape, with Jade Doskow & Cal Flyn

What is the role of landscape photography in a post-industrial world?

In today’s podcast, we consider some possibilities in a chat with Jade Doskow, current photographer in residence for Staten Island’s Freshkills Park, and Cal Flyn author of the book Islands of Abandonment.

Above image: © Jade Doskow

While our two guests work in different disciplines, which leads to divergent approaches to the pictures they make, their shared purpose tells similar stories.

Among the topics we discuss are a distinction between romantic landscapes of the past and a more ambivalent attitude to the subject today, and a photographer’s responsibility to make pictures that go beyond merely decorative intent. You’ll also discover how dedication to a fine art passion project can lead to career advancement through paid assignments.

Join us for this fascinating discussion about recording the gradual process between post-industrial decay and engineered regeneration, or other states of rewilding.

Guests: Jade Doskow & Cal Flyn

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Episode Timeline

• 3:39: The evolution of Jade Doskow’s photo projects from documenting Red Hook, Brooklyn and past Worlds’ Fairs, to Staten Island’s Freshkills Park.
• 11:20: The history of landscape photography in America and differences between romantic landscapes and a more ambivalent attitude today.
• 18:53: Cal Flyn’s process in combining scientific fact and visual references in her book Islands of Abandonment.
• 24:36: Location access and planning for visits when doing research or photographing for an extended project.
• 30:14: Jade’s photo gear, both large format film and digital, her film processing, and post-production workflow process
• 36:40: Episode Break
• 37:38: Cal’s naturalistic approach to photographing the sites she visits, the cameras she uses, and the two types of photos she makes.
• 40:30: Matters of security when photographing private sites and the islands of abandonment Cal has yet to visit.
• 44:03: Discovering metallophyte plants on WWI battlefields poisoned by heavy metals and meeting feral cows on an abandoned Scottish island.
• 50:38: Jade’s work with different NYC municipal departments and her selection as official photographer in residence at Freshkills Park.
• 57:14: How Jade turned fine art photos for a passion project into paid work for the New York Times.
• 1:01:03: Thoughts about the future evolution of post-industrial and abandoned sites, and a photographer’s responsibility to make pictures that go beyond merely decorative intent.

Guest Bios

Jade Doskow is a New York-based architectural and landscape photographer known for her large-format images that examine the intersection of people, architecture, nature, and time. Throughout her work, a sense of monumentality mixes with modern details to highlight surreal aspects of the contemporary cityscape.

She holds a BA from New York University’s Gallatin School and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts. In 2021, she was the subject of the documentary film Jade Doskow: Photographer of Lost Utopias, which premiered at New York’s International Center of Photography and has since screened in film festivals internationally.

Also in 2021, Jade was named photographer-in-residence of New York City’s Freshkills Park, after four years of on-site photographic exploration.

Cal Flyn is an award-winning writer and investigative journalist based in the Scottish Highlands.

Her second book, Islands of Abandonment—about the ecology and psychology of abandoned places—was published in 2021. It has been shortlisted for numerous literary awards, including the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation, the British Academy Book Prize, the Ondaatje Prize, and the Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction.

Cal’s journalistic writing has been published in Granta, The Sunday Times Magazine, Telegraph Magazine, and the Economist, among others. Additionally, she is deputy editor of the literary recommendations site Five Books, and a regular contributor to The Guardian.

Her first book, Thicker Than Water, was a 2016 Times book of the year.

Stay Connected:

Jade Doskow Website: https://jadedoskowphotography.com/

Jade Doskow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j_doskow/

Jade Doskow Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jade.doskow/

Jade Doskow at Freshkills Park: https://freshkillspark.org/os-art/jadedoskow

Jade Doskow Lost Utopias Documentary: https://www.philipshane.com/lost-utopias

Jade Doskow Urban Omnibus Project: https://urbanomnibus.net/2022/11/extra-terrestrial/

Cal Flyn Website: https://www.calflyn.com/

Cal Flyn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calflyn/

Cal Flyn Linktree: https://linktr.ee/calflyn

Cal Flyn Islands of Abandonment: https://linktr.ee/IslandsofAbandonment