Interview with Tajette O'Halloran

In this interview with Australian photographic artist Tajette O’Halloran, we talk about the inspiration behind her projects like In Australia, The Quarry, and Regional Rituals. She talks about her difficult upbringing in the Northern Rivers area, and how that put her on a path to tell the stories of adolescence. 

We also talk about parenting, incorporating our kids into our art, and her practice of incorporating both film & digital into her work.

Based in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, Tajette’s photography ranges from documentary to portraiture to conceptual. The common thread is examining adolescence and identity; both her own and others’.

Tajette’s projects include In Australia, where she revisits her hometown and creates scenes reminiscent of her youth, and the ongoing The Quarry, a series of portraits of young people at a local swimming spot. Her most recent project is Regional Rituals, commissioned by Powerhouse, a museum in Sydney, Australia.

“Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Index

0:00 - Introduction to photographer Tajette O’Halloran

1:52 - Tajette’s photo series In Australia 

10:35 - How In Australia started

13:59 - Tajette’s narrative approach to In Australia

17:08 - Growing up in Lismore, NSW, Australia

17:55 - Regional Rituals, a new photo series

22:36 - Tajette knew as a kid her childhood wasn’t typical

26:02 - Processing difficulty though photography

29:01 - Tajette’s photos remind Zach of Sally Mann

34:18 - Mixing black & white and color in a series

36:55 - How COVID affected photographers

40:26 - Tajette’s Earth and Water photos feel like parenthood

43:48 - Does Tajette feel like she’s rejecting mainstream society?

46:48 - Growing up in a mix of cultures in Lismore, Australia

48:40 - How Regional Rituals came to be

54:54 - The Quarry is an ongoing series of portraiture

Find Tajette

Website: https://www.tajetteohalloran.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tajette.ohalloran

Find Zach

Website: https://zachdobson.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto

Find Courtney

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymccracken_/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happy_life_lessons

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@courtneymccracken_

About the Podcast

Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson and Courtney McCracken is a weekly conversation about photography and all its impact. Each week Zach and Courtney discuss their latest adventures, life lessons, and anything else that sounds interesting. 

Photography is Nothing invites you into the conversations they were already having as a married couple running a photography and media company in the current world.

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