#517 Dreaming in Photos
The Photowalk
This week, I speak with Cathal McNaughton, a well-respected international photojournalist and Pulitzer Prize winner. We discuss his biographical film I Dream in Photos, his recent photography in Ukraine that focuses on ordinary life continuing alongside the war brought to their country, and the role family plays in shaping how and why he photographs. Along the way, Cathal shares a personal discovery that has refocused attention on him, after a career spent observing others. It becomes a conversation about self-understanding and what it means to keep making photographs when the...
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#516 Standing where Orwell stood
The Photowalk
This week, I talk with Craig Easton, and the conversation embraces AI, trust in photojournalism, and how a still photograph can still hold its own. But the heart of this chat sits on a Scottish island. Picture a house at the end of a single-track road, miles from anywhere, no shop, no pub, just weather, water, and time. This is Barnhill, on the Isle of Jura, where George Orwell came to live and work while writing Nineteen Eighty-Four. Craig travelled to this fabled place to make his new book 'An Extremely Un-Get-Atable Place'. This is a conversation about place, curiosity, and paying...
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#515 Strangers when we meet
The Photowalk
Strangers When We Meet is a street portrait project built as much on conversation as photography. In it, Tim Allen approaches people he has never met, talks with them, and then makes their portrait. Beneath that simple exchange sits a longer story about family influence and a decision to move his life to the town where he now photographs its people. The family thread isn’t about cameras being passed down, but about a father who could talk to anyone, and how that way of meeting the world found its way into the work. We talk about Tim’s book, Strangers When We Meet, published to raise funds...
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#514 THE ONE, big pictures from 2025 Part 2
The Photowalk
Late last Autumn, I asked you to send me one photograph you made in 2025. Not a greatest hit and not something that had done well online, just the one you kept coming back to when nobody else was watching. The one you might show a friend and say, “Yeah, this really means something.” What arrived was more than I expected. Over a hundred pictures came in, each with a story attached, some short, some long, some so open it made me pause. The level of trust that this show evokes never feels normal, and this project really brought that home. THE ONE was never meant to be a competition. There was...
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#513 THE ONE, big pictures from 2025 Part 1
The Photowalk
Before Christmas, I asked you to send me one photograph from 2025. Not necessarily what you consider to be your best, not your most liked, and not something measured against anyone else in either competition or social media terms. Just the picture that said to you, “This was my 2025.” The one you kept coming back to. My plan was to invite ten photographers to the first episode of 2026 to talk about their pictures and the why behind them. Over a hundred arrived, each with a story attached, and it quickly became clear that with the compelling stories you sent in, we’d need to spread this...
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#512 The time it takes to be truly seen
The Photowalk
Today’s guest is Phil Sharp, a portrait photographer whose work has been on my radar for a while, and who was brought back into focus for me through a couple of prompts and a short film made by Sean Tucker. Phil’s approach is considered, patient and personal. He creates a setting where people are given time, often during longer sessions in his London studio, to settle rather than perform. Music often plays a part in that process, helping to establish a mood that is very evident throughout his portfolio. This conversation isn’t about cameras or lighting setups. It’s about how you create...
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Reflections: Should I know you?
The Photowalk
is a short-form feature within The Photowalk podcast, offering thoughtful observations on a creative life and the themes that we often discuss on Fridays, including perfectionism, impostor syndrome, comparison, confidence, and more. It’s a pause at the start of the week to recalibrate, recorded in the studio between the walks. Each Monday, you’ll find Reflections on The Photowalk podcast feed, providing a creative reset to start the week. From Tuesday to Friday, it continues exclusively on our member-supported channel, , for those who walk a little further with us. From Terry Wogan to...
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#511 Stories hidden behind locked doors
The Photowalk
Robert Gumpert joins me on the show from San Francisco, where he’s spent decades photographing the parts of life most of us never see unless we work there, live there, or get pulled into the system. Hiring halls on the docks and the interview rooms inside the county jails have all been part of his working world. His long-running project Take a Picture / Tell a Story was the one that initially caught my attention: a portrait made after a recorded conversation with someone in custody, giving a literal voice to people awaiting trial. We also talk about his photographs of mariners heading...
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Reflections: Farewell Martin Parr
The Photowalk
is a short-form feature within The Photowalk podcast, offering thoughtful observations on a creative life and the themes that we often discuss on Fridays, including perfectionism, impostor syndrome, comparison, confidence, and more. It’s a pause at the start of the week to recalibrate, recorded in the studio between the walks. Each Monday, you’ll find Reflections on The Photowalk podcast feed, providing a creative reset to start the week. From Tuesday to Friday, it continues exclusively on our member-supported channel, , for those who walk a little further with us. Today, a reflection on...
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#510 The Beautiful Game
The Photowalk
In between the letters and features, my guest today is Laura Gates, a fast-rising documentary sports photographer. We talk about the pitches where stories begin, the momentum behind the women’s game, and the moments on and off the field that meet Laura’s curious lens. She self-published her first book and sold more copies than many photographers manage through traditional publishers, which speaks to the strength of her work. We also talk about confidence when you are starting out as a photographer, the realities of building a creative business, and the place of women in sport as the wider...
info_outlineRobert Gumpert joins me on the show from San Francisco, where he’s spent decades photographing the parts of life most of us never see unless we work there, live there, or get pulled into the system. Hiring halls on the docks and the interview rooms inside the county jails have all been part of his working world.
His long-running project Take a Picture / Tell a Story was the one that initially caught my attention: a portrait made after a recorded conversation with someone in custody, giving a literal voice to people awaiting trial.
We also talk about his photographs of mariners heading out to sea, and his book Division Street, published by Dewi Lewis. That work looks at life under the flyovers and in the city's corners, where people without a home live just two blocks from some of the wealthiest startup companies on earth.
Alongside my conversation with Robert, Gene Westburg is back from last week with a follow-up question about street v travel photography. Fred Ash also returns, and Michael Brennan has posted something that will, I’m sure, spark a few ideas for anyone thinking about bringing their work to life in print. There are some thoughts about THE ONE feature and an invite to come to Scotland in 2026.
Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week and Arthelper.ai, giving photographers smart tools to plan, promote, and manage your creative projects more easily.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.