Reconnecting Roots

Announcer> Support for "Reconnecting Roots" is provided by the following: Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness sake.

Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

Lems Shoes.

Everything we do is done with intention and we will never stop our endless exploration to keep your feet happy and healthy every step of the way.

Discover more with less.

The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.

Through the generosity of our members and donors, the ETV Endowment has made it possible for programs like "Reconnecting Roots" to be shared around our state and the nation for more than 45 years.

Sharing a common passion for music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots."

upbeat music Gabe> From experiments, to art, to capturing everyday life, we're surrounded by photography.

But are pictures still memorable when we take millions of them each day?

Joel> The simple still photograph is the thing that's going to be shared and valued and celebrated forevermore.

(upbeat music continues) Gabe> How the image of our nation is shaped by the images we take.

(camera shutters) I'm Gabe McCauley.

Join me as we explore the greatness of America.

Beautiful for spacious skies Amber waves of grain Purple mountain majesties On the fruited plains We're home There's no place like home Home Home Gabe> Tracing the roots of progress from then to now and how, this is "Reconnecting Roots."

We're home Gabe> Samuel Langhorne Clemons, or as you probably know him, Mark Twain, is often called the father of American literature.

His classics, such as "Adventures of Tom Sawyer," are still popular to this day.

But Mark Twain's biggest hit at the time wasn't full of his trademark humor or epic tales.

It was completely blank.

Instead, it was a primed vessel for photographs, newspaper clippings, and other flat mementos.

Twain was a scrapbooker himself, and after growing tired of preparing the glue necessary to paste things into a book, he invented and patented a version of the albums with a self-pasting grid.

Photo cards and tintypes were gaining popularity, so people bought photo albums and Twain's scrapbooks to show them off to friends and family.

Twain's adhesive albums remained in production until 1902, and in a true act of irony, these blank books brought him more money than a single one of his written ones.

Perhaps a picture truly is worth a thousand words, even ones written by a literary legend.

So what is it exactly that is so powerful about a photograph?

Of course, it's a way for us to remember the things that have happened in our lives.

We can see family members we've never met, time travel back to different eras, and keep our own memories safe.

Probably keep...that one a little less safe.

But that's just a part of the bigger picture.

Photography has come a long way.

For the 85% of the global population that owns a smartphone, a photo is literally just at our fingertips.

bright music Through photography, we're no longer just looking at recollections of our own lives, but have the ability to learn about new people, places, and things.

Photography gives us the ability to see something as small as a single atom or as big as the earth.

As new flashy types of media enter our world, somehow these static pictures keep telling a moving story of our lives.

(bright music continues) (upbeat music) Joel Sartore> So the goal is to have the parrot anywhere here where he feels comfortable.

Gabe> Wildlife photography is the natural habitat for Joel Sartore, a National Geographic Explorer of the Year.

Joel> He looks lovely.

Now we got texture here.

We really want him down low and really looking.

That's okay.

Oh, there's the best frame of the day.

Sexy kitten was what I call this one.

Gabe> Joel is taking pictures for the Photo Ark, a project which aims to photograph every species living in the world's zoos, aquariums, and wildlife sanctuaries in order to inspire efforts to save threatened species.

It began here at the Lincoln Children's Zoo with a photo of the naked mole-rat and now boasts over 15,000 species, but sadly doesn't include my portrait.

So your goal was to use photography as a way to make people care, to think?

Joel> Yes, 100%.

The Photo Ark itself is a bit of a ruse.

It's all a ruse to get people to care about how we treat the world in the hope of saving beautiful animals like these.

Gabe> Are there any success stories?

Joel> This piece we did on the Florida grasshopper sparrow ended up getting the government's attention.

It was a federally listed species, still is, and they all of a sudden allocated $1.29 million a year for captive breeding efforts, and it worked.

Gabe> Were you always interested in animals as far as a subject?

Joel> My mother gave me a book, I think it was a "Time Life" book on the birds.

There was a bad photograph of the last passenger pigeon that died in 1914, a bird that was considered the most populous on earth, billions of them.

I should have it framed and hanging up on my wall.

That picture really got me thinking about extinction starting when I was about nine years old.

So I'm a extinction freak.

Gabe> Yeah.

Joel> I don't want it to happen anymore, and that's what I think about.

Gabe> And now you've gone full circle.

Joel> Mm.

Gabe> You travel the world as a photographer.

Joel> I do.

Gabe> What is it about a photograph that can transport someone to a time and a place?

Joel> I think it's the mystery of it.

Just the fact that it leaves a lot to the imagination.

It intrigues people.

It draws them in, and it can literally, very cheaply and instantly, transport you anywhere you want to go.

Gabe> Right.

Joel> It's like a good book, but easier.

Gabe> Do you have another photo that's inspired you or a photographer?

Joel> I am thrilled to see really good photographs that I didn't shoot.

Jim Brandenburg's picture of a white wolf jumping onto an ice floe for his story back in the late '80s, early '90s, on the white wolves of Ellesmere Island, that to me is the gold standard for natural history photographs.

There's another one by Brent Stirton of a male gorilla that was killed by humans and he's being brought in on his back, his body, in a crucifixion pose to show people what had happened.

I really learned from all of them and I'm very excited about it.

I just love photography.

You picked the right guy to come here.

(Gabe laughs) Joel> Right!?

Gabe> Why do you think that it's become such a central part of our existence?

I mean, it's just everywhere.

Joel> We don't necessarily remember a conversation.

We remember how we felt about it.

And to me, photographs are a visual equivalent of that.

The simple still photograph is the thing that's going to be shared and valued and celebrated forevermore, I think.

I'm a huge fan.

Gabe> Yeah, I mean, there's real power in a photograph.

Joel> Oh, the power of National Geographic and Disney is such that it's 750 million people every time we post something.

So there's a real chance, not just a gripe about how bad things are, but to celebrate really good ideas and the people and the companies that help, and a lot of pictures live on forever, whatever that means.

(gentle music) Gabe> The invention of the camera was a slow process.

The device known as the- Leonardo da Vinci Character> -Camera obscura.

Gabe> Was crucial in its development.

Thanks to Leonardo da Vinci, we have a clear description.

Leonardo da Vinci Character> Prego.

Gabe> It was a large room that an artist physically entered.

Light beamed through a hole in a wall and projected an inverted image onto the opposite wall that could be traced by an artist.

The physiognotrace improved on this idea for portrait-making and made it accessible to the middle class.

You no longer needed an expensive painter if you wanted an image of yourself.

It showed there was a real demand for regular Americans to capture life.

(old western music) Henry> All right, we're set to pop here, honey.

Photographer> You all look dashing.

All right, if we could just hold still, everyone.

Here we are.

And...just like so.

We're all... Mother> Should we be smiling?

(music stops) (photographer clears throat) Henry> You're smiling?

You're smiling?

Photographer> All right.

Well, you all were doing so well, but now we have to start all over.

Henry> Start all over?

What?

Had we started?

Photographer> Actually, we did.

All right.

Back to one, take two.

Okay.

Hold...just like- Mother> Just take the picture.

We're ready.

Henry> Yeah, we're ready.

Photographer> You wanted the authentic old-timey photograph with the old-timey props and the old-timey wardrobe.

Well, you're getting it with the old-timey camera.

Now, this daguerreotype camera requires the subjects to remain very, very still while it forms the image onto a plate, just like they did in the 1830s.

And it will look magnificent if you just hold still while I do it.

Henry> How long are we talking?

Photographer> Three minutes.

Mother> Three minutes?

Photographer> Maybe five.

Mother> Five minutes?

This isn't what I meant- Henry> Three to five minutes is nothing.

Mother>-when you said, "Let's take a family picture."

Henry> Well, it's fine.

Mother> I can't even breathe.

Henry> Hey, quiet.

Mother> Just...I'm telling... Henry> Peaceful family time is... Photographer> Okay, y'all don't have a conniption fit, all right!

This type of thing used to take about 15 minutes to an hour.

So you're getting a pretty good deal here.

Mother> Who even uses cameras like this?

Photographer> Mathew Brady, for one, the father of photojournalism.

He pioneered the craft during the Civil War, from photos on the battlefield to photos in the White House, if you've read a history book, you've seen his work.

Now, any more questions?

Henry> When will the print be ready?

Photographer> As soon as the exposure finishes.

Mother> And you'll just email it to us or...?

Photographer> No email.

You'll just take it with you.

It's on a piece of metal.

Mother> You mean like a hard drive?

Photographer> I mean a piece of metal.

Henry> Honey buns, it's fine.

Let's just, you know, just stay still and get it done and move on with life, all right?

Mother> I'm not going to be smiling.

Photographer> Perfect.

Truly authentic.

Here we go.

All right.

Settled in and hold.

Just a little... (bright music) Hold.

(child sneezes) Photographer> Okay, well...one more.

Yeah, one more.

(music continues) Gabe> By the 1870s, photography was an established profession.

One such professional, George Eastman, came to this career by way of real estate.

He purchased a camera to document parcels in Hispaniola, but he never developed the land.

Instead, he refocused his efforts, deciding to point and shoot for a new career in photography.

Even if you don't recognize the name Eastman, you no doubt recognize the completely made up name for his company, Kodak.

Their innovations included multiple exposures of paper film that could be advanced through a camera, an upgrade from single-shot plates used before.

This design became the basis for all cameras up until the introduction of digital photography.

His lab also created a transparent, flexible film that could be cut into strips and spooled into a camera.

Made from celluloid, this invention would become the focal point of Eastman's empire.

By 1900, the idea of a snapshot was a reality.

He introduced the Brownie, a $1 camera capable of taking a spontaneous photograph and simple enough for a child to operate.

Now anyone could be a photographer.

No one was left in the dark.

A big reason the Brownie was so sweet was that you didn't need a degree in chemistry to be a photographer.

A lab could develop your photos for you.

Kodak sold over 150,000 Brownie cameras in just the first year.

Photography was becoming a more common aspect of life.

This was reflected in the world of advertising as well.

Previously, paintings and drawings were the norm, but thanks to the half-tone process, photos could be printed alongside text.

Black-and-white photos were still common at this time, but things were about to get a lot more colorful.

upbeat music When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school It's a wonder I can think at all And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none I can read the writing on the wall Kodachrome They give us those nice bright colors Give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the world's a sunny day Oh, yeah I got a Nikon camera I love to take a photograph So mama, don't take my Kodachrome away Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away Mama, don't take my Kodachrome Mama, don't take my Kodachrome Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away Mama, don't take my Kodachrome Leave your boy so far from home Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away Mama, don't take my Kodachrome oooh Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away Okay (song ends) (bright music) Mother> Okay, you stand there.

I will try to be positive, smiley.

Henry> Listen, I heard this place was great.

Mother> Okay.

Henry> It's better than last time.

Mother> Oh, good.

(foreboding music) Photographer> Here's what I'm picturing.

Mother> Oh, no.

Photographer> Have the kids at the bottom gesturing toward the stars while the two of you are on top in profile covered in shadow and mystery.

Henry> That might be a bit much.

We just want a family portrait.

Mother> Just a picture.

Photographer> Just a portrait?

Every photograph is an opportunity to make art, to change the world.

(music continues) Photographs can highlight harsh working conditions that can lead to a change of laws or put a spotlight on the Civil Rights Movement.

It's no longer a hobby.

It's a serious art form.

Oh, and to be taken really seriously, I'll be using black-and-white film.

Henry> Why?

Hasn't color film been popular since the 1970s?

Photographer> Yes.

Technically it has been around since the 1930s, but it was much harder to make prints with.

We can start once your child returns.

Mother> What?

Oh.

Henry> Yeah, I don't think we have enough time to do something really artsy.

Can we do something quick?

Photographer> I have to make sure everything is just right with the aperture, the lens, the ISO, the shutter speed.

Henry> Why don't you just use a digital camera?

You just have to push a button.

Photographer> I'm an artist, not a grandpa with an iPad.

Gabe> Digital photography actually predates the digital era.

In 1975, the same folks who made the Brownie made a prototype digital camera.

Thanks to its size, it wasn't particularly user-friendly, but it lit the path for digital cameras, which would be sold in stores 15 years later.

It took years for the quality of digital to come close to film, but over time, many people traded their 35mm for megapixels.

Once the tech got small enough to put on cellphones, standalone cameras became a bit of an afterthought.

Now with more than six billion camera phones in the world, just about everyone has access to a digital camera of some kind.

(soft music) It's easy to feel like you're being watched everywhere you go when there's a camera everywhere you look.

With the sheer amount of photos being taken every day, we're documenting our lives now more than ever, whether you're always camera ready or not.

But with so many pics being snapped, are we diluting the power of a single photograph?

(upbeat music) Now that everyone has a camera in their pocket, how does that change things?

>> Because we can tell the whole world the good and the bad and the ugly.

There's billions of pictures a day posted to the Internet.

So how do you separate yourself out?

Well, maybe you have a consistent message that's one of hope and caring and motivational to people.

Gabe, you got any sloth jokes?

Gabe> It just takes a while for the punchline to really land.

Joel> Was that the joke?

Gabe> Yeah.

Joel> Wow.

(Gabe chuckles) Gabe> In a world of photography where you're a person who goes out and gets in front of an actual subject and takes a photograph authentically in a moment and someone can then just recreate that with digital tools and sometimes we don't even know the difference.

Was that a real animal or not?

Joel> Right, you know, that is a big concern.

I don't know how to combat it really, especially with pictures that can be manipulated and faked.

I hope that people are smart enough, but I think that would be really good to get some sort of a standard that labels pictures and videos as AI created or fake.

Gabe> You think I could try one?

Joel> You have at it.

You knock yourself out.

Gabe> Let's see if I can figure it out here.

All right, so.

Joel> Don't forget, eye contact.

Gabe> Yeah.

Joel> Why isn't the camera going off?

Gabe> Well.

Joel> Come on, man.

(Camera shutters) That's going to be better than mine.

(Gabe moans) Joel> That was it, the little claws were down.

Gabe> Well, when photography was first invented, you know, there was a quote that painting is now dead, right?

And so do you think now that we're evolving into AI and all these other things, like, will photography die?

Joel> No, I don't think so.

I think it might become more popular.

I think we see it every day with the way people pass along photos.

Gabe> Sure.

Joel> The other thing great about photos, you don't have to wait.

It's instant.

With a video, you got to wait for whatever the point is.

Gabe> Sure.

>> I don't have time for that.

Gabe> Yeah.

(Both laugh) Joel> There's some nice frames here.

So this is mine.

Gabe> Yeah.

Joel> That's yours, and I say yours is better because you kind of go away.

You have more room to kind of look around in it.

Okay, you're hired.

This is a problem.

It is tough to hold people's attention with a very quiet still photograph.

That is the mark of a great photograph, to stop people in their tracks and get them interested and maybe even get them into the tent of conservation.

That's what the Photo Ark's all about.

Gabe> Yeah.

(upbeat music) Gabe> With images surrounding us practically everywhere we go, are we becoming too obsessed with our own?

Since photos can be manipulated with camera tricks and editing, how much of what we see is even real?

This question isn't a new one.

While campaigning for president, Abraham Lincoln dealt with ugly rumors of being, well, ugly.

So he hired Mathew Brady to shoot him.

- What?

Gabe> I mean, photograph him, to set the record straight.

Brady used a few tricks to make Lincoln more conventionally attractive, like adding tons of light on his face to distract from what the newspapers called his lanky frame.

He also expanded Lincoln's collar to cover more of his neck, which was a frequent target of attacks.

Clever lighting and camera tricks aside, photos themselves were often completely faked.

This one of Ulysses S. Grant is a composite made of cutouts from three separate pictures.

Now photo editing is much faster and easier to the point to where it can be hard to tell what's fake and what's done all in-camera.

(upbeat music) Photographer> All right.

Man, everybody's looking great.

Yeah, I saw the pictures you sent me on Pinterest.

We can create that look no problem.

Mother> I do have a quick question though.

The pictures I sent, they were more outdoorsy and natural lighting.

So what are we doing here?

Henry> Oh, honey, trust me, this guy can do anything.

Trust me.

It's fine.

Photographer> All right, you guys good?

Three, Two, One.

Okay, I think we got it.

Henry> Wait, was that all?

Photographer> Yeah.

Henry> Uh...okay.

Come on.

Photographer> All right, cool.

Let's check it out.

See if we can find you here.

Mother> Why do you have so many pictures of such mundane things?

Photographer> Why not?

It costs nothing to take a picture now.

Mother> Yeah, but if you're busy shooting everything all the time, aren't you disconnected from the moment?

Like, what is so special about this sandwich you snapped five times?

Photographer> Nothing, but it got me 100,000 likes and a Wonder Bread sponsorship on the socials.

Henry> Hey, here we go.

Oh, that looks great.

Photographer> Pretty good, but a little editing, and perfect.

Henry> We'll take a 10 by 20.

Photographer> Like an actual print?

Mother> Yeah.

>> Yeah, no, I don't do those.

I'll just tag you when I upload it to the socials.

Mother> Oh, no.

We do not encourage our family to use social media for mental health reasons.

Those apps can always make you feel bad about yourselves, always comparing each other.

Mm-mm.

Gabe> Says the lady with the Pinterest portraits.

Mother> Okay, fine.

But could you fix my nose a little bit right there?

And then bring in the waist, yeah.

Henry> Get rid of the crow's feet.

Photographer> Okay.

Gabe> Photo sharing apps like Instagram blew up partly thanks to the filters that gave plain-looking phone pictures a vintage makeover.

People fell in love with film all over again, especially the kind made famous by Polaroid.

In 2019, Fujifilm sold 10 million instant cameras, more than 100 times the amount sold 15 years earlier.

That's a lot of photos being shared.

Although, now you don't have to do it in person.

Friends and family gather around screens to look at the millions of pictures uploaded to online photo albums every day.

Even family trees have gone digital with genealogy websites able to show you what your ancestors looked like.

The same way there's still paintings on our walls and family albums to flip through, photography will continue to evolve, adding more options for how we keep these stories alive.

(soft music continues) The stories of people we've loved, of history we need to remember, of places we've been and never been, and of time periods we can now travel back to.

All thanks to the single click of a camera.

(soft music) (camera shutters) (soft music ends) Just an old faded Polaroid Taken the summer we met In a frame by the bed Keep it close so I never forget How could I forget that feeling You and me When you're smiling When you're smiling I smile too When you're laughing When you're laughing All the world laughs with you I guess time never stopped I can tell by the dust on the frame But your memory's printed on me Like the ink on a page How could I forget that feeling You and me When you're smiling When you're smiling I smile too When you're laughing When you're laughing All the world laughs with you (song ends) (bright music) Gabe> Connect with me, Gabe McCauley, and "Reconnecting Roots" by visiting reconnectingroots.com where you'll find music, blogs, behind the scenes, and more.

Join our email list to stay reconnected.

(music ends) Announcer> Support for "Reconnecting Roots" is provided by the following: Muletown Coffee Roasters is all about slowing things down, digging into community, and encouraging good for goodness sake.

Taylor Stitch is responsibly built for the long haul and is proud to partner with brands that inspire hope for a more sustainable future.

Lems Shoes.

Everything we do is done with intention and we will never stop our endless exploration to keep your feet happy and healthy every step of the way.

Discover more with less.

The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.

Through the generosity of our members and donors, the ETV Endowment has made it possible for programs like "Reconnecting Roots" to be shared around our state and the nation for more than 45 years.

Sharing a common passion for music and community in beautiful Paradise Valley, Music Ranch Montana's mission to support musicians and provide a place to enjoy it together is reflected in "Reconnecting Roots."

bright music bright music