Documentary Photography Review Podcast

In this episode of the Documentary Photography Review podcast I'm speaking to Laurence Watts – Visual Content Manager at the NGO Action Aid UK, responsible for commissioning stills imagery and video content for the organisation.

This is the first time I’ve interviewed someone who is not a photographer, and my intention is to explore more of what’s involved in being a current-day documentary photographer, beyond exploring stories and taking images – things like engaging with picture editors, getting funding, working with audio, and much more.

With Laurence I speak about what he looks for in a photographer when commissioning someone, the need to diversify your skills, how to get seen, and much more.

In this episode I speak to Agata Skowronek – a photojournalist and video journalist from Germany, now based in Berlin having recently moved back there after spending the past 8 years based in Turkey, and working throughout the Middle East.

The interview is pretty long, but assure you it’s worth sticking it out, as Agata has a wealth of experience to share – from her recent collaboration and successful crowdfunding campaign with Simon Hipkins, who I interviewed in the last podcast, to her thoughts on the evolving landscape of photojournalism and how and why she intends to focus more time and energy on personal projects, and less on assignments – with a particular focus on the experiences of refugees and asylum-seekers from Syria and Iraq in Germany.

This is the first attempt to use Skype in a long time, but I learnt from my previous mistakes and instead of recording the Skype conversation itself, we both wore headphones and recorded our own voices. Agata then forwarded me on her recording, and I merged it with my own during post-processing. The result is good quality audio throughout the interview, which is great!

Now that I know this is a viable and effective method of conducting an interview, I will be reaching out to more photographers outside of the UK, which I’m really looking forward to doing, and have wanted to do for some time.

On top this, as of the next episode I will also start interviewing people other than photographers – such as picture editors, sound recordists and funders - more information on this at the end of the podcast, and be sure to subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud so you don’t miss out.

Show notes as always are available on the Documentary Photography Review website at documentaryphotoreview.com/interviews and navigate to the page for this episode.

In this episode I’m speaking to documentary photographer and filmmaker Simon Hipkins.

Simon has worked professionally in photography and film for 15 years, and has worked as a director/producer, cameraman and editor for documentaries for the BBC and Channel Four.

In 2013 Simon was named as one of the winners of the Magenta Foundation’s Emerging Photographer Awards for his photostory on the town of Ostrava in the Czech Republic.

His recent multimedia project, The Circle, created in collaboration with another photographer and a sound artist on internally displaced people in Iraq was a finalist for the prestigious Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize.

In our conversation we talk about Simon’s experiences in creating the Circle – how they went about creating and presenting the work, as well as discussing how they are obtaining funding to sustain the project.

Simon and his collaborators have recently completed a successful crowdfunding campaign, and so we talk a bit about the strengths of this form of funding, and its role and benefits in getting unreported and under-reported stories a greater audience.

We cover a lot of topics, so there’s plenty for everyone, and show notes with more information on Simon, and links to the people and organisations we mention can be found at documentaryphotoreview.com/interviews.

In this episode of the Documentary Photography Review podcast I speak to photographer Freya Najade.

We talk about Freya’s work with a particular focus on her Strawberries in Winter project, which explores modern farming practices that ensure seasonal produce is available in European supermarkets all year round.

We also talk about the value of portfolio reviews and competitions when starting out as a documentary photographer, and doing so throughout your career in a strategic fashion.

I personally have never paid for a portfolio review myself, but I have to say Freya’s words have convinced me they are of real benefit, but agree that there is a real need to choose carefully and strategically when deciding who you obtain a review from, and to maximise the benefit gained for the money spent.

We also discuss the need to build a network to promote and support your evolution as a photographer – both offline and online, and benefits of doing so – from gaining feedback to helping to make a crowdfunding campaign a success.

Shownotes as always can be found at documentaryphotoreview.com/interviews and then navigate to the page for this podcast.

In this episode I am speaking with Eduardo Leal – is a Portuguese documentary photographer focusing on social and environmental issues across South America, along with politics and traditions within the region.

I first came across Eduardo’s work during a graduate exhibition at the London College of Communication, where his work Forcados was on display.

Since he graduated Eduardo has spent a lot of his time in South America, and has a particular attraction to life in Venezuela.

In the interview we discuss Eduardo’s work and his practices and how he goes about obtaining commissions.

This interview is with Iesha Small – a documentary photographer who picked up a camera just a few years ago, in order to help navigate her way through a particularly difficult time in her life.

In her project, entitled Mindshackles, Iesha has been exploring mental health – in particular documenting the experiences of those suffering from depression.

In the interview we discuss the Mindshackles project and the impact it’s having, as well as Iesha’s more recent venture into multimedia production.

Iesha has achieved a lot in a very short space of time - despite working fulltime as a teacher, having a young family, and being self-taught in photography.

To those who might be struggling to initiate their first project, Iesha’s work and all she has achieved is proof that, despite significant time and energy constraints, it can be done and done well. The key thing is finding the right story for you to explore – one that you can work on despite other commitments, and one you are passionate about. These two things will hopefully ensure you overcome any barriers – real or perceived, and see it through to its conclusion.

In this interview we talk to French photographer, educator and facilitator, Ingrid Guyon.  Ingrid grew up in France and moved to London in 2001 to pursue her interest in photography and social anthropology.  Ingrid’s passion and work lies in participatory photography and we talk at length about her work in this field and her rejection of other forms of photography, research and documentation, believing that those being photographed, written and talked about must have a voice.  We talk about what participatory photography means to her, setting up Lambeth based organisation, Fotosynthesis, and the challenges of working in this field.  We also talk about the shifts in photography since the digital revolution, and why she remains passionate about traditional photographic techniques and engaging people in these.

In this podcast we talk to Cinzia D’Ambrosi about her photographic work Transitional, in which she documents people stuck in various forms of temporary, emergency, housing in London, Slough and Chichester. She tells us about her journey into documentary photography, starting as a painter and moving into photography after her first degree. She recently went back to do a Masters at the London College of Communication, where she was especially interested in understanding the ethical position of a documentary photographer. Cinzia has a very personal approach to her photography and tends to work on long terms projects; for Transitions she has spent over 2 years getting to know the residents, spending time talking with them and building relationships. She wanted to portray a set of images that breaks the stereotypes associated with the homeless or those in temporary accommodation. She chose a partially participatory approach to Transitional - working with the people she was photographing to choose the final edit of images, and leaving out any they were not happy with. Cinzia talks about the learning curve of self-publishing a Blurb book and her approach to visually laying out the story in book form.

In this episode, instead of Rebecca and I interviewing a documentary photographer as we normally do, I will be informing you of a new spin-off production.

I wanted to bring a more visual form to the interviews carried out for the podcast, and also to tap into other platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo, and so I have started to produce a video podcast of sorts to accompany the audio podcasts.

These will include a brief video introduction from the photographer themselves, after which they will go on to narrate a slideshow of their work.

I hope to produce video podcasts in tandem with the future audio podcasts – so you can watch a 5-10 minute introduction to the work, and then listen to a more in-depth audio interview to learn more about the project, the story being explored, and the photographer themselves.

Or of course you can always listen to the podcast first, and then visit the YouTube Channel to see the body of work for yourself, with narration from the photographer to give you insight into the stories behind each image.

Ultimately it will hopefully provide everyone with a more engaging experience, and an opportunity to learn more about the story and the photographer.

In this Documentary Photography Review Podcast we talk to Sicilian photographer Roberto Zampino about his recent documentary photography project ‘Piscaturi’.  Roberto tells us what drew him to photography and why he now brands himself an ‘out there’ photographer. We then talk in depth about Piscaturi, which documents changing fishing practices in the villages in Sicily; developments in technology, over-fishing and depleting stock numbers mean that traditional practices are being eroded in favour of larger catches. Roberto discusses his motivations behind the project, his experiences working with the fishermen and the challenges of staying objective as a vegan! He also talks about the physical and photographic challenges of working at sea, the politics of fishing and what the future holds for this body of work.

In this Documentary Photography Review Podcast we talk to Tim Mitchell, a London based documentary photographer.  Tim tells us about his journey into photography through music and the visual arts, and the challenges and positive aspects of developing as a self-taught photographer. Tim often works collaboratively with academics, and we discuss this method of working and how it can add depth to both the academic and photographic body of work. 

Created in collaboration with social scientists, Tim’s recent project, A Fish Out of Water documents the breaking of a ship, the RFA Grey Rover, over two years in a dry dock in Liverpool, UK.  Referred to as ‘the workhorses of globalisation’, ships slowly but surely transporting materials, influence and power across the globe. They then require huge amounts of energy and force to be dismantled at the end of their working lives and the vast quantities of hazardous materials contained within the ship become reanimated, problematic and dangerous. Once disturbed, the very materials that protected life now become a threat.  An important element to this recent body of work was the use of time-lapse photography, a challenging but powerful visual tool.

In this Documentary Photography Review Podcast we talk to freelance documentary and reportage photographer Hannah Mornement. We discuss her journey into photography and the influence of her fine art background on her image taking. Hannah talks about her personal and historical projects in Italy and Antarctica and how to keep going when ‘everything goes wrong’. We discuss at length her recent project, Food Bank Britain, in which she worked with the Trussel Trust to document food banks and food poverty in the UK. We talk about the increasing and worrying trend in the need for food banks in this country, and the lack of awareness about this ‘hidden hunger’. Hannah discuses gaining access and trust to food bank users, her decision to photograph the food itself and produce an accompanying newspaper, and the ways in which she wants to take the project forward.

In this Documentary Photography Review podcast we talk with Claudia Leisinger, a London based freelance portrait and documentary photographer. We discuss Claudia's journey into photography; her well travelled childhood and its influence on her image-taking and the challenges of juggling a family and photography.

The interview focuses on her project The Last of the Fish Porters. We discusses the story of the fish porters at Billingsgate Market and the changing face of London, as well as the photographic challenges, aesthetic choices and her use of multimedia.

In this Documentary Photography Review podcast we talk with Jonathan Goldberg about his two projects centred on Transition Towns/the Transition Network.  Transition Towns are a response to issues such as climate change, peak oil and economic instability and centre around creating resilient and self-reliant communities.

One project broadly documents the activities of the Transition Town in his neighbourhood, Kilburn, whilst the other focuses on Grow Heathrow, a part of ‘Transition Heathrow’. Grow Heathrow are a group of people are living in a collective, self-reliant community out at Heathrow.

We discuss Jonathan’s personal interests in environmental and social issues, his experience of staying cold nights with the community living at Heathrow and reflect on the challenges of documenting a community in transition.

We also discuss his evolution as a photographer and recent success using film; Jonathan’s ‘Shake the Tree’ won the 2013 Environmental Photographer of the Year prize for Best Short Film.

Kazi Riasat Alve is a young photographer based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He studied business at the University of Chittagong and in Dhaka, but became interested in photography when a friend gave him a hand-me-down Nikon D40. His specific interest in documentary photography came after seeing works of master photographers such as Josef Koudelka, Daido Moriyama, Alex Webb and Raghu Rai. He has participated in a documentary photography workshop conducted by Agence Vu’ photographer Pieter Ten Hoopen and is enrolled in the documentary photography mentorship program under prominent Bangladeshi documentary photographer Saiful Huq Omi at Counter Foto.

His photography has received recognition by various global organizations, most recently in the 2013 Ian Parry Scholarship where he was a awarded ‘Commended’. His photographs has been exhibited in many parts of the world including London’s Somerset House, as part of the Sony World Photography Awards, and at MOTHER London gallery in conjunction with the Ian parry Scholarship, above. His work has also been exhibited in Singapore, Australia, Romania, India, Slovakia and his home country Bangladesh. Recently he is also featured in The New Yorker Magazine’s “Photo Booth” as one of the emerging photographers of the world.

His works also published in many prestigious international publications including Sunday Times Magazine, The New Yorker Magazine, and Documentary Photography Review magazine and leading local newspapers of Bangladesh.

Alve's portfolio: www.lightstalkers.org/kazi-riasat-alve

In our interview with Antonio Olmos we discuss his journey as a photographer from Mexico to London, and the changes he has seen over his many years in the business, including the switch to film and the role of the mass media in disseminating photographic stories. In his latest project, The Landscape of Murder, Antonio documents the scenes of the murders that have taken place within the M25 in the past two years. He visited each sites within a few days, taking an image of what was there, from flowers, to crowds of people, to nothing but red tape. Antonio talks about working on London based stories, his philosophy and approach to photography and his belief in the importance of being analytical rather than technical.  In our discussion of The Landscape of Murder we discus Antonio’s methods and composition, his decision to use a Google map and a blog, and the unexpected places and victims of these murders. His images challenge stereotypical views of London and question why these murders often go underreported.

A conversation with photographer Lucy Piper, who has recently graduated from Falmouth University's Press and Editorial Photography undergraduate course

[FULL INTERVIEW] In this, the first Documentary Photography Review podcast, we interview Lewis Bush about his journey into photography, his work as a professional photographer, and focusing on his documentary project, Canvey Island, which he completed during his MA at the London College of Communication.

Photographer Lewis Bush talks to us about his journey into photography, his work as a professional photographer, and his personal documentary photography project - Canvey Island in England