Episodes

  • 247 - Ed Sykes

    247 - Ed Sykes
    Jan 1 2025

    Ed Sykes is a photographer and visual artist based in London.

    Ed’s practice focuses on landscape and changes to the environment as a result of natural processes and human activity. This approach is in conjunction with a re-working of photographic materials and a disruption of traditional photographic production. The processes and effects of climate change are often replicated during the image making process itself. The series 1000 Degrees used a blow torch to melt photographic negatives at a heat similar to the furnaces that propelled the Industrial Revolution. The work Hanging By A Thread pushed this same notion to the picture frames which were sourced secondhand and then the wooden surrounds were charred in a similar way to the subject matter of wildfires. Other approaches have involved sanding and abrasion echoing the effects of coastal erosion and also the use of soluble paper, the dissolution of an image in water, mimicking flood damage.

    Ed was the recipient of an Arts Council grant for the project Eco Matters and Sustainable Processes. This saw Ed travel along Britain’s east coast and to some of Europe’s fastest eroding coastlines, embedding a new creative approach to climate change, environment and the anthropocene. In 2021 he was nominated for Prix Pictet Award with1000 Degrees, a response to the historical, industrial exploitation of natural resources in UK.

    In episode 247, Ed discusses, among other things:

    • Early days on The Independent
    • Going to Somalia for ‘Operation Restore Hope’ and being disillusioned by it
    • Moving towards portraiture for magazines…
    • …and fashion
    • Having to take a day job and the feelings that brings up
    • Resetting, getting a 4x5 and doing it ‘without compromise’.
    • Environmental themes and concerns
    • Darkroom practice
    • His Arts Council grant to pursue the project Eco Matters and Sustainable Processes
    • Using plant-based developer and Agfa Record Rapid paper for the project Rock
    • Accepting and embracing mistakes as part of the creative process

    Referenced:

    • Brian Harris
    • Kalpesh Lathigra
    • James Nachtwhey
    • Paul Lowe
    • Chris Steele Perkins
    • Delilah Sykes
    • Rodrigo Arantia

    Website | Instagram

    “As a photographer, you want something that drives you on. You need to find something that is close to your heart. And if you have that, you’re gonna go the distance. You’re gonna persevere, you’re gonna get up at four in the morning with the slim chance of getting one picture, because it’s important to you.”

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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • 246 - The Year In Review 2024

    246 - The Year In Review 2024
    Dec 18 2024

    Featuring:

    • Richard Kalvar
    • Natalie Keyssar
    • Lorenzo Castore
    • Edward Burtynsky
    • Mitch Epstein
    • Nicole Tung
    • Linda Troeller
    • Valerie Belin
    • Michael Ackerman
    • Julia Kochetova
    • Chloé Jafé
    • Debi Cornwall
    • Louis Quail
    • Abdul Kircher
    • Diana Matar
    • Kiana Hayeri
    • Robbie Lawrence
    • Agnieszka Sosnowska
    • Polly Braden
    • Stephan Vanfleteren

    • Become a full tier 1 member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of previous episodes for £5 per month.
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • 245 - Paris Photo Fair 2024 Special

    245 - Paris Photo Fair 2024 Special
    Dec 4 2024

    Featuring:

    • Bieke Depoorter
    • Jesse Lenz
    • Lucas Foglia
    • Sergio Purtell
    • Richard Sharum
    • Mark McLennan
    • Alex Webb
    • Rebecca-Norris Webb
    • Michal Iwanowski
    • Dragana Jurisic
    • Lisa Barlow
    • Toma Gerzha
    • Gregory Halpern
    • Mark Steinmetz
    • Maxime Riché

    Website | Instagram

    • Become a full tier 1 member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of previous episodes for £5 per month.
    • For the tier 2 archive-only membership, to access the full library of past episodes for £3 per month, go here.
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • 244 - Stephan Vanfleteren

    244 - Stephan Vanfleteren
    Nov 20 2024
    Stephan Vanfleteren's career began as a staff photographer for the Belgian newspaper De Morgen. He continued to contribute to its weekend magazine as a freelancer until 2009.His radical black and white social documentary work covers the disappearing phenomena of everyday life in his homeland, Belgium. Over the years, Stephan has worked in conflict zones such as Kosovo, Rwanda and Afghanistan and he is a six time winner of the prestigious World Press Photo awards among a number of other international prizes.Stephan's intense portrait photography captures the essence of humanity in subjects ranging from the ordinary man to top politicians, sports idols and celebrities.He has exhibited in Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London, Liverpool and Verona and his books include: Elvis & Presley (Kruse Verlag, 2001) a road trip across America dressed as Elvis Presley with photographer Robert Huber; Flandrien (Mertz, 2005) on the Flemish obsession with cycling; Belgicum (Lannoo 2007) an enigmatic portrayal of Belgium and Portret 1989-2009 (Lannoo 2009). His most recent books are Atelier published by Hannibal Books, an ode to the ability to observe, represent, elevate, and ultimately, connect, and Present, a journey through his oeuvre, with expansive personal reflections and stories from three decades of encounters and photography, from street photography in world cities like New York to the genocide of Rwanda, from storefront façades to the mystical landscapes of the Atlantic wall, from still lifes to intense portraits, and Charleroi – Il est clair que le gris est noir.In episode 244, Stephan discusses, among other things:MemoryPhotographing (older) menSkin… and lightCutting his teeth in the newspaper worldFlandrien bookRwandaBeing scared of successStill getting nervousAtlantic WallThe intensity of collaboration with a subjectBeing perceived as a ‘traitor’ for shooting colourHis project with Robert Huber, Elvis and PresleyDead animalsPhotographing his dad post mortemMoving to digital from filmCharloi residency and his book Charleroi – Il est clair que le gris est noirReferenced:SebastiãoSalgadoJames NachtweyGilles PeressRobert Huber Website | Instagram“I was very scared of success. That was maybe my luck. Success was something I had difficulty dealing with. People are complimenting you on your work at the beginning and I’m just accepting that but it was difficult. And it helped me because I never arrived. I was on my way and the doubts were still there. If you think you know how to do it, it’s time to leave. Sometimes if I think ‘ok, I can do that pretty well, Of course other people can do it better, but it’s time to change, to have another approach…’ So I had that in the early beginning, that feeling that I have to change. I love to begin something new.” Become a full tier 1 member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of previous episodes for £5 per month.For the tier 2 archive-only membership, to access the full library of past episodes for £3 per month, go here.Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.Follow me on Instagram here.Build Yourself a Squarespace Website video course here.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • 243 - Unseen Festival 2024 Special

    243 - Unseen Festival 2024 Special
    Nov 6 2024

    Featuring:

    • Javier Hirschfeld Moreno
    • Francesco Zizola
    • Melissa Schriek
    • Chilli Power
    • Self Publishers United
    • Bryan Schutmaat
    • Tiffany Jones
    • Atong Atem

    Website | Instagram

    • Become a full tier 1 member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of previous episodes for £5 per month.
    • For the tier 2 archive-only membership, to access the full library of past episodes for £3 per month, go here.
    • Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.
    • Follow me on Instagram here.
    • Build Yourself a Squarespace Website video course here.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 10 mins
  • 242 - Polly Braden

    242 - Polly Braden
    Oct 23 2024
    Polly Braden is a documentary photographer whose work features an ongoing conversation between the people she photographs and the environment in which they find themselves. Highlighting the small, often unconscious gestures of her subjects, Polly particularly enjoys long-term, in depth collaborations that in turn lends her photographs a unique, quiet intimacy. She works on long-term, self-initiated projects, as well as commissions for international publications.Polly has produced a large body of work that includes not only solo exhibitions and magazine features, but a number of books published by Dewi Lewis, including Holding The Baby (2022), Out of the Shadows: The Untold Story of People with Autism or Learning Disabilities (2018), and China Between (2010), and two published by Hoxton Mini Press: London’s Square Mile: A Secret City (2019) and Adventures in the Lea Valley), (2016).Polly teaches regularly at The University of Westminster and London College of Communication (LCC), she is a winner of the Jerwood Photography Prize, The Guardian Young Photographer of the Year, 2002, and the Joanna Drew Bursary 2013. Polly is nominated by Hundred Heroines 2020 and she has exhibited at numerous venues internationally. Her most recent solo exhibition, of her project Leaving Ukraine, just ended at the Foundling Museum in London, where it was on show from March 15th to October 20th 2024. In episode 242, Polly discusses, among other things:Exhitibition at the Foundling Museum, Leaving Ukraine and how it came aboutSome of the people she focussed onHolding The Baby , her project on single parentsJena’s storyWhy she has started working with film projectsHer introduction to photographyHer first trip to China: “an exercise in isolation”Her project on Chinese factories and their workersGreat Interactions book on people with learning disabilitiesHer current project she’s working onSecuring funding, building partnerships and being an entrepreneurReferenced:Patrick SutherlandCheryl NewmanKatz PicturesBecky Sexton Website | Instagram “I’m not someone who wanted to just jump in, point a camera at someone and walk away. I think I’ve always been someone who wanted it to feel very collaborative. Whether you’re on the street and you’ve made eye contact and you feel like someone’s ok with it, at the very basic level, to now as I get older, when I’d be as interested in someone doing all the work and me just being a vehicle through which someone can tell their story.” Become a full tier 1 member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of previous episodes for £5 per month.For the tier 2 archive-only membership, to access the full library of past episodes for £3 per month, go here.Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.Follow me on Instagram here.Build Yourself a Squarespace Website video course here.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • 241 - Agnieszka Sosnowska

    241 - Agnieszka Sosnowska
    Oct 9 2024
    Agnieszka Sosnowska was born in Warsaw, Poland and was raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She earned a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and a MFA from Boston University. She is currently an elementary school teacher. She lives on farmin East Iceland. She is recognised for her self portraits that span 30 years. Currently she is working on series that embodies her life as an immigrant in Iceland. She uses the camera to take inspiration from a land that is otherworldly.“I grew up in Boston and traveled to Iceland 25 years ago on a whim”, says Agnieszka. “I fell in love and remained. With my Icelandic husband I chose to live in nature, not visit it. This decision has not been without tests. Together we have made a life that I feel we are only beginning. Everyday, I search for corners of quiet. When there, I stop and listen for a long time. These places exist around our farm, with friends, and the students I teach. These places are my everyday. They are my everything.”Agnieszka has been the recipient of a number of grants, including a Fulbright Scholars Fellowship to Poland and an American Scandinavian Fellowship to Iceland. She was awarded the Hjálmar R. Bárðarson Photography Grant by the National Museum of Iceland. Her series was awarded the Director’s Choice by the Center awards in 2017 and she has been in the Top 50 of Critical Mass on three occasions. Her work has been exhibited in the National Museum of Iceland and the Reykjavik Museum of Photography. She is represented exclusively by Vision Neil Folberg Gallery in Jerusalem.Earlier this year, Agnieszka released her debut photobook, För, published by Trespasser Books and already sold out.Her collaboration with Icelandic poet Ingunn Snædal, entitled RASK, is currently being exhibited at the Reykjavik Museum of Photography until Decembet 2024.In episode 241, Agnieszka discusses, among other things:Early years travelling to Communist PolandWanting to assimilate into the USA as an immigrantEarly education in photography at Mass. ArtHer early interest in self-portraitureNot having a plan… but being a hard workerThe trip to Iceland that changed her life……and her decision to move thereA description of where she livesThe hardest thing to adapt to being the WintersThe first things she started to photograph thereSelf-portaiture and the suckiness of documenting ageingThe freedom of realising that you don’t have to work on distinct ‘projects’‘Myth of a Woman’ - her attempt at exploring the experience of womanhoodCollaborating with her students on portrait sessionsThe last picture in the bookHer collaboration with Icelandic poet Ingunn Snædal, RASK, currently an exhibition at the Reykjavik Museum of PhotographyReferenced:Cindy ShermanMargaret JohnsonLaura McPheeIngunn SnædalBarbara BosworthWebsite | Instagram“I wanted to grow. I just didn’t know how. And I think the only way you grow is not by thinking about it but by doing it and making the mistakes. And I made a lot of mistakes. And thank God I did because in doing the mistakes I started to get more to having the self-portraits be more real. And that’s really hard to do. Especially I think as me having done it for so long, and also getting older in front of a camera, as a woman, it’s hard.” Become a full tier 1 member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of previous episodes for £5 per month.For the tier 2 archive-only membership, to access the full library of past episodes for £3 per month, go here.Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.Follow me on Instagram here.Build Yourself a Squarespace Website video course here.
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • 240 - Robbie Lawrence

    240 - Robbie Lawrence
    Sep 25 2024
    Robbie Lawrence is a London based Scottish photographer and director represented by Webber Represents. Robbie is acutely attentive to the way images tell a story. Working with a painterly softness and sensitivity to his subjects, he deals in detail and nuance. From portraiture, travel and documentary to editorial work, he places the human experience front and centre to create thoughtful, abstract images, with an emphasis on narrative.Recent books include Blackwater River and A Voice Above The Linn published by Stanley/Barker. Stills gallery in Edinburgh hosted the first UK institutional solo exhibition by Robbie in 2022, bringing together a snapshot of life post-Brexit across Scotland’s cities, rural locations and coastal towns.Robbie’s new book, Long Walk Home, was just released (September 2024) by Stanley/Barker.Clients Include: UN, Apple, Nike, Hermes, Gucci, The New Yorker, Du Monde, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, I-D and many others. In episode 240, Robbie discusses, among other things:His recent assignment at The OlympicsHis internship in Paris and his time in New YorkHis relationship to painting and writingBuilding a career to encompass commercial and personal workHow working commercially can be a ‘relief’.His ‘macrojournalistic approach’His first book project, Blackwater RiverHis second book, A Voice Above The LinnCollaboration with poet John BurnsideHis new book about the Highland Games, Long Walk Home.Why he threw away three years worth of work and began againWorking digitally with ‘manual’ lensesThe difference between myth and historyA reading from John Burnside’s essay in the bookReferenced:The Tokyo Olympiad, Kon IchikawaThe French, William KleinJohn BurnsideRenton’s rant on why it’s ‘shite being Scottish’ from the movie Trainspotting Website | Instagram“I like the variety […] I like being on set. You become more like a director. As a photographer you’re almost the emotional heartbeat of a set. It’s interesting because at school and university I really found exams hellish from an expectation point of view. Like, I would put myself under a lot of pressure. And I would describe some of those more pressurised commercial jobs almost like a school exam where you expected to produce something of quality under a very tight time constraint. As a physical experience it can feel similar, and I suppose maybe it’s just experience that I can now recall moments where I’ve overcome those kind of stresses. So I like the shift.” Become a full tier 1 member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of previous episodes for £5 per month.For the tier 2 archive-only membership, to access the full library of past episodes for £3 per month, go here.Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.Follow me on Instagram here.Build Yourself a Squarespace Website video course here.
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    1 hr and 20 mins