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PODCAST

Conspiracy of Cartographers

Personal film photography podcast about traveling, shooting film, a bit of history, and whatever random things come up. Hosted by the former co-host of All Through a Lens. conspiracyofcartographers.substack.com

arts visual arts

All Episodes

28:44

The Absurd Competition of Photo Contests, also a Day...

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/09/02

I took in the Evergreen State Fair in Snohomish County, Washington, last week. I walked the midway, avoided the games, and ate too many fries and too much cotton candy. There’s always some mixed feelings swimming around in my head about the animal exhibits. I avoided the cows, but took in the sheep. Saw a bunch of horses, and rolled my eyes at the dogs. I followed half a dozen “cat” signs with arrows only to discover that the cats were somehow not there that day.Each of these stalls and pens had

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19:59

We'd Be Fine Without Kodak

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/08/18

Disclaimer: Even the mere thought of the demise of Kodak makes some folks in the film community have big feelings. I’d like to state for the record (or whatever) that I don’t think Kodak is going out of business. I’m sure they’ll be around for decades to come and will never let us down. They’ll never discontinue your favorite emulsion or raise film prices. They’ll always love us and respect us, and follow us on Instagram forever. They just had a slight financial malfunction. But, uh, everything’s

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28:44

I Was Wrong About Solitude and Isolation.

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/07/07

If you look through my photos, you will see pictures of abandoned buildings, of houses left empty, of roads seldom driven, of paths sometimes walked only by me. You will see endless photos of old towns, empty cars, power lines, bridges, and railroads. But you'll almost never see a photo of a person, let alone a portrait.It took me years to realize that I shied away from this. And maybe that's what it is, maybe I am shy. Too shy to ask if I could take your picture. Too shy to learn just how to make

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46:56

Why I Left the Camera at Home

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/06/19

This episode is a bit different. First, it is audio-only (and when you listen, you’ll understand why). Second, it is fully recorded in the field on a few hikes and an overnight camping trip that would usually be a photography trip. I suggest listening with headphones.Here, I take my first camera-less trip in well over 20 years. Did I survive? What is left of me? Along the way, I talk about why I wanted to try this, why I love this part of Washington state, the importance of photography, whether I

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25:20

Don't Shoot, Just Think!

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/06/09

[Before we start, I want to let you know about my new zine, Cloudless. It’s now available, and you can pick it up here.]The narrow dirt road straddled the Idaho/Washington border with late spring wheat fields, their stalks nearly to my knees, growing on either side. I stopped the car on a hill and waited for the dust to settle so that I might see the scene behind me in my rearview mirror.I stepped onto the road, grabbing my camera and checking to see again what I had loaded. The road ran through a

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22:11

Photography is a Hobby and That's Okay

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/05/29

Did you ever have someone get really intense with you over something you said? They were insistent, and even their arguments seemed a bit more involved than just boring semantics. Maybe they were even angry. And it’s someone whose opinion you valued, so immediately, you took a step back and gave a long think to whatever you said and how you said it. Then, after quite a bit of soul-searching introspection, you concluded that you were still right and what the hell was that all about?One time I was

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29:35

Take a Picture Vs. Make a Picture: A Pretty Dumb Debate

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/05/19

“You don’t take a photograph,” a young Ansel Adams might have said, “you make it.”This is probably Adams’s most famous quote. And, it’s usually just something rattled off by your photography professor because it sounds deep and you gave them a bunch of money, and they have to say something at least a little profound-ish. And you were young and impressionable. You’d buy anything.It’s used by a thousand semi-professional photographers trying to convince their potential clients that they’re doing

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29:44

The Importance of Solitude (And the Postal Service)

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/05/08

Last week I told you a story, I told you about my first hike of the season, I told you about solitude and how important a role it plays in where I travel, where I photograph. Last week I told you all about it, I told you almost everything. It was, however, a lie of omission.“I scrambled up some natural steps,” I told you, “between sagebrush and giant boulders left stranded.” Before taking in the Columbia River still hundreds of feet below, I took out my phone, recorded a video, and posted it to

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31:30

Balancing Photography and Hiking

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/04/29

I had packed the night before - camera, film, water, food. I had checked maps, selected my trails, and committed them to memory. This would be an easy hike, I thought, but then recalibrated. I am out of shape, this is the first hike of the year (first hike in a year), and I haven’t felt great in months. This will be what it is.It’s not that I didn’t care, but I had to get out. The winter and early spring of Seattle was suffocating me. The constant noise of cars, the echo of far too many voices, the

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30:27

However It Happened, James Was Dead

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/04/17

Spring Ranch is "known" as the most haunted ghost town in Nebraska, though I'm not sure by which metric it achieved that knowing.Spring Ranch Cemetery looks like any normal cemetery. There's a gateway, a lane down the middle and your typical array of stones on either side.While I was there photographing, I felt no hauntings, no specters, spooks or haints. There are no ghosts in the ghost town of Spring Ranch, and the cemetery is filled with the town's history, parceled out for those who can read it

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29:41

How to Start, Kill, and Resurrect a Project

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/04/07

All the way back in the first post, I told you about my travels and trials of the summer of 2024. I ever so briefly mentioned visiting and exploring some of the railroad towns along the Virginia/North Carolina border.“I will have much more to say about these towns and this experience in the future (possibly a zine will come of it),” I said, long ago.The future is now! And a book has come of it. [You can get it here.]I’d like to tell you all about it, but I don’t want this just to be some commercial

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22:40

Kill Your Photography Idols and Love Them More

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/03/27

I’ve got two things to talk about today and they’re both sort of related. The first thing is about getting to know your favorite photographers better, but also why to not put them on a pedestal. Sort of. You’ll see.And the second thing is about questions. Sometimes they’re annoying, but we need to be cool. I’ll explain why, but it’s basic human empathy.Kill Your Idols (To Love Them More)In punk rock, there used to be a saying “Kill Your Idols”. I think Sonic Youth made it popular, but it definitely

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25:54

You Have Too Many Cameras, Let's Fix That

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/03/17

I’ve got two pieces for you today. First, you’ve probably got way too many cameras, and I’d like to make you feel bad about that. Kidding, kidding. But I would like to talk about how we can and why we should narrow down the cameras we use.Second is: this past week I got an idea and I want to run it by you. It involves Tolkien and the sea.You Have Too Many CamerasLast episode, I told you all about my hike into Bullet Canyon, weighed down by not enough water and a few too many cameras. While the water

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33:49

Nearly Dying Alone in a Utah Canyon

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/03/06

Hello and welcome! I’ve got a story for you. It’s about the time I dragged way too many cameras into a Utah Canyon. Did I get any photos? Did I see cool stuff? Did I ever return? Find out! This is a longer one, so strap on your backpacks, grab your cameras, and make sure you have enough water. We’re going in.I stood overlooking the canyon two hundred feet below me, deepening, falling and twisting west into the late July sunset. Returning to my tent, pitched under the relative shade of a cluster of

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20:53

Why Do You Want to Be a Photographer?

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/02/24

I have not picked up a camera yet this year. My last photo was taken in a cemetery on New Year's Eve. I don’t miss it, and I don’t worry that I may never pick one up again. I’m fairly certain I will, I’m a photographer, after all. What I also don’t worry about is inspiration.The way I shoot is much like a travel photographer on assignment. I rarely touch a camera if I’m not on the road (at least a daytrip), and I’ve never worried that I won’t be inspired to photograph once I leave town. It’s just

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26:35

How We Discover Our Places

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/02/13

I grew up in a rural town in central Pennsylvania surrounded by rolling hills we called mountains and creeks we called “cricks.” It was often lush and green through summer. The earth was dark clay, and when the farmers would run their plows through it, the discs would produce lines of packed soil. It was typically east coast - every small town had a main street, a school and dueling pizza and hoagie shops.While the spring brought flowers, and the autumn an array of color, the winters were bitter,

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21:48

Why We Embrace the Imperfections of Film Photography

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/02/03

I’ve got three things to talk to you about today. First up is about a major minor setback I had last week. It’s first because it’s a first-world problem, but since it’s my first-world problem, it’s going to be yours as well.Second, you’re going to learn something about photography. Not the thing. The word.Third, we all hate social media and now we’re playing musical chairs. The last one on Instagram please turn off the light.I haven’t been writing as much as I used to. There was a time when I could

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22:45

Hello.

Conspiracy of Cartographers ·

2025/01/23

Hi there. I’m Eric. I’m a photographer. If you don’t know much about me, I suppose here is as good a place as any to get to know me.I live in Seattle, but almost never photograph anything here. My preference is the eastern part of the state, and I’m out there in the spring and autumn as much as I can be - mostly weekends. I also have messed up my life enough to get a month off every year for more extended travel, a four-week photography trip that is equal parts exhausting and productive. It is not

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