TOTIM Exposures

Where professionals talk documentary photography—technique, ethics, and intent.
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TOTIM Exposures is a forum for photojournalists and industry adjacent professionals to interview featured contributors to the TOTIM app. Each episode covers the photographer’s background, career path, and approach to their work. Conversations focus on photographic technique, the purpose and intention behind each story, and a detailed debrief of how the story was produced and executed. The podcast is intended for anyone interested in the process and challenges of documentary photojournalism. totim.substack.com

  1. VOR 3 TAGEN

    Kris Graves / "LONG SUN DOWN" Podcast

    To Experience “LONG SUN DOWN” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP In episode 021 of Exposures, photographer and publisher Kris Graves discusses Long Sun Down as well as his daily practice across photography, publishing, bookmaking, and art documentation. He also explores the long-term concerns that shape his work: the American landscape, structural discrimination, and the visible and less visible systems that organize land, power, and exclusion. Graves describes his background as a New Yorker with family roots in Montgomery, Alabama, and how repeated childhood trips to the South helped form an early awareness of the differences between regions, histories, and lived environments. Exposures 021 is Hosted by TOTIM Founder/ Director Luke Mertz Kris Graves Kris Graves is an artist and publisher based in New York and California. Graves creates artwork that deals with societal problems and aims to use art as a means to inform people about cultural issues. Using a mix of conceptual and documentary practices, Graves photographs the subtleties of societal power and its impact on the built environment. He explores how capitalism and power have shaped countries -- and how that can be seen and experienced in everyday life. Graves also works to elevate the representation of people of color in the fine art canon; and to create opportunities for conversation about race, representation, and urban life. He photographs to preserve memory. TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    35 Min.

  2. 22. APR.

    David Simon-Martret / Paul Geddis - "Krokodil" Podcast

    To Experience “Krokodil” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP In episode 20 of Exposures, David Simon-Martret speaks with Paul Geddis about the slow, deliberate process behind his and partner Blanca Galindo’s photographic work and the making of Krokodil. The conversation centers on reporting within situations marked by addiction, vulnerability, and fear, and on the ethical demands of photographing people whose lives are shaped by legal risk and social stigma. The episode follows how a work ethic rooted in time and trust expanded into later work, moving from the specific realities of drug use toward larger questions of addiction, social systems, and ecological loss. In discussing their more recent focus on coral reefs, biodiversity and climate, David reflects on the challenge of finding a visual language for slow-moving crisis’ without relying on over-dramatization. The result is a thoughtful conversation between old friends about photographic ethics, visual form, and how documentary work can continue to make people look carefully at difficult subjects. David Simon / Leafhopper David Simon and Blanca Galindo ( Leafhopper) are visual artists working in photography and film based between Barcelona, Spain and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. David studied philosophy at UB and photography at IEFC. Blanca obtained her Media degree at UAB and University of California SB.Their work takes in photojournalism, art photography, fashion, music, NGO commissions and commercial projects. In 2012 David and Blanca co-created Leafhopper, an image based project taking its name from the common cicada, and focused on concept driven long form stories that combine philosophical criteria with powerful aesthetic images creating a reflection on the human and the natural world. In their work as Leafhopper, culture, people, fauna and flora are seen as equal expressions of the natural sublime, creating a common thread across subject matter as seemingly disparate as LGBTQ communities in Malaysia, narco-iconography, coral bleaching and a global study in addiction published in 2019 titled ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. Paul Geddis Paul Geddis is a Barcelona-based journalist, editor, and communications professional whose work spans media, music, culture, and tech. After spending 2007–2015 at VICE Spain, including time as Editor in Chief, he went on to lead content at Sónar Festival, serve as EU Content Lead for Patreon EMEA, and later move into PR. Across those roles, his work has focused on original storytelling, cultural communication, youth audiences, emerging talent, and content-led campaigns that connect strong ideas with wider publics. TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    27 Min.

  3. 9. APR.

    Valerie Plesch / Tasneem Alsultan - "Kosovo, After the War" Podcast

    In Episode 019 of Exposures, Valerie Plesch, in conversation with Tasneem Alsultan, speaks about the long aftermath of war and the human collective scarring that persists after international attention has moved on. In discussing her recently published story, Kosovo, After the War, Plesch describes how her own family history shaped her approach to reporting: her mother’s family fled Vietnam in the final days before the fall of Saigon, and that experience of displacement, resettlement, and inherited trauma continues to inform the stories she is drawn to today. Plesch reflects on her sustained interest in post-conflict and post-disaster societies, and on the particular value of documenting what comes after the formal end of crisis. Rather than focusing only on the spectacle of war itself, she returns to the quieter and more difficult terrain of reconstruction, memory, and survival. In Kosovo, that means listening to women and families still living with the consequences of violence, grief, disappearance, and stigma, and tracing how conflict persists across generations. Valerie Plesch Valerie Plesch is an independent photojournalist, documentary photographer, and writer based in Washington, D.C., where she covers politics, the White House, Capitol Hill, immigration, refugee resettlement, and related issues for editorial and feature assignments. Her work has been published by a wide range of major national and international outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, PBS NewsHour, USA Today, Reuters, NPR, Politico, Financial Times Magazine, Al Jazeera English, and FRONTLINE, among many others. Her long-form documentary work focuses on the aftermath of war and the ways memory, identity, trauma, and displacement continue to shape individual and collective lives. Tasneem Alsultan Tasneem Alsultan is a Saudi-American investigative photographer and visual storyteller whose work explores women’s rights and social dynamics in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. Her work has been published in The New York Times and National Geographic amongst others. Tasneem became the first Arab female Global Ambassador for Canon in 2018, a Catchlight fellow in 2019, was voted the ‘Princess Noura University Award for Excellence’ in the Arts Category and received honourable mention for the Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism. In 2020, she cofounded Ruwa Space, a platform to support visual creatives and offer education and consultation across the Middle East & North Africa. She’s a member of Rawiya women’s Middle Eastern photography collective. TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    29 Min.

  4. 25. MÄRZ

    Jason P. Howe / "Between the Lines" Podcast

    To Experience “Between the Lines” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP In Episode 018 of Exposures Jason Howe reflects on the kind of work that has defined his career: slow, proximity-based photography built through time, trust, and sustained presence. He speaks about his early years traveling through Latin America, his long engagement with conflict photography in Colombia and Afghanistan, and his belief that meaningful images are rarely made in haste. Rather than chasing breaking news, Howe describes a practice shaped by immersion—living in places, returning over years, and preserving his creative energy for work that feels necessary. The conversation also turns to ethics, responsibility, and what photography owes the people it depends on. Howe speaks candidly about the limits of documentary impact, the importance of treating subjects with dignity, and his discomfort with the one-way extraction that so often underpins image-making. That same sensibility shapes his current long-term project in rural Spain, where he is documenting disappearing ways of life as a record for future generations. Exposures 018 is Hosted by TOTIM Founder/ Director Luke Mertz Jason P. Howe Jason Howe is an internationally recognized photojournalist whose work has taken him from the front lines of conflict in Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan to the remote high plateaus of the Pamirs and into rarefied political environments at the highest levels of power. Known for operating with precision and credibility in complex, high-risk settings, he has built a body of work defined by access, range, and sustained visual authority. His photographs have appeared in many of the world’s most respected publications, including The New York Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Le Figaro, and Rolling Stone. His work has also been exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions and presented through festival screenings, reflecting a career that has moved fluently between journalism, documentary practice, and the broader cultural sphere. TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    29 Min.

  5. 12. MÄRZ

    Greta Rico / Sofia Aldinio - "Substitute Mother" Podcast

    We begin 2026 with a six-part series centered around themes of place, movement, and conflict. These issues demand deeper human-centered context, as displacement, political instability, and environmental pressure increasingly define daily life for millions. To Experience “Substitute Mother” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP In episode 017 of Exposures, documentary photographer Greta Rico speaks with Sofía Aldinio about the personal and investigative foundations of her long-term project Substitute Mother. Rico explains how the work began after the murder of her cousin, which revealed a largely overlooked consequence of femicide in Mexico: the children left behind and the women who step in to raise them. Through years of close documentation, Rico examines the social, emotional, and economic realities faced by these families while reflecting on the ethical responsibilities and psychological toll of photographing trauma within one’s own community. The conversation also touches on Rico’s broader approach to documentary practice and the working methods that shape her projects. She discusses how curiosity and research often guide the beginning of her work, as well as the importance of building long-term relationships with the communities she photographs. Rico also reflects on the emotional realities of documentary storytelling and the need for photographers to acknowledge and care for their own psychological well-being while working on difficult subjects. Greta Rico Greta Rico is a documentary photographer and visual storyteller whose work focuses on gender-based violence, human rights, and the systemic effects of inequality in Mexico and Latin America. With a background in journalism and international cooperation, she uses long-form photographic narratives to explore how institutional failures impact the lives of women and marginalized communities. Her work has been supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation, National Geographic Society, and Open Society Foundations, among others. Greta is a member of Women Photograph and has been selected as a fellow with the Magnum Foundation, CatchLight, and World Press Photo’s 6x6 Global Talent Program. Her photography has been exhibited in Mexico, the United States, and Europe, and published in outlets including The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and El País. Sofia Aldinio Sofía Aldinio is a documentary photographer and visual storyteller whose work focuses on migration, climate, cultural identity, and the changing relationship between people and land. Her projects often center on individuals and communities adapting to environmental and political pressure, with an emphasis on intimate, long-form storytelling. Originally from Argentina and based in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, Sofía works across Latin America and the American West. She is a CatchLight Local Fellow, a National Geographic Explorer, and a recipient of support from the National Geographic Society and the International Women’s Media Foundation. Her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, High Country News, and Yes! Magazine, and exhibited in community spaces, museums, and educational settings. In addition to her documentary work, Sofía facilitates storytelling workshops with youth and migrant communities, focusing on self-representation and narrative agency. To Experience “Substitute Mother” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    26 Min.

  6. 18. FEB.

    Tracy Dong / Salgu Wissmath - "Reassemblage" Podcast

    We begin 2026 with a six-part series centered around themes of place, movement, and conflict. These issues demand deeper human-centered context, as displacement, political instability, and environmental pressure increasingly define daily life for millions. In Episode 16 of Exposures, Tracy Dong speaks with Salgu Wissmath about Reassemblage, her photographic study of the Vietnamese-German diaspora in Berlin. Dong situates the project within her family history: her father, a former South Vietnamese lieutenant, was forced to destroy photographs documenting his military service before fleeing as a boat refugee. The absence of that archive shaped her practice, positioning photography as a means of reconstructing memory. To Experience “Movement” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP Tracy Dong Tracy Dong is a Berlin-based, lens-based artist whose work is grounded in memory, resistance, and the poetics of diaspora. Drawing from her Southeast Asian heritage and diasporic lived experience, her practice examines how identity, belonging, and cultural memory are shaped and reshaped across borders and generations. With a principal focus on intimate depictions of marginalized subcultures, she proposes subversion and resistance to oppressive systems through deliberate documentation. Salgu Wissmath Salgu Wissmath is a nonbinary Korean American photographer whose work bridges documentary, editorial, and conceptual storytelling. Originally from Sacramento, California, they are currently based in San Antonio, Texas. Their current work explores the intersections of mental health, queer identity, and faith using a conceptual documentary approach. Salgu’s editorial work has been published in The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Antonio Express-News, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and NPR amongst others. TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    41 Min.

  7. 4. FEB.

    Chona Mwemba / David Larsen - "Movement" Podcast

    We begin 2026 with a six-part series centered around themes of place, movement, and conflict. These issues demand deeper human-centered context, as displacement, political instability, and environmental pressure increasingly define daily life for millions. In Episode 15 of Exposures, Zambian photographer Chona Mwemba turns his attention to a force so constant it often disappears from view: everyday motion. Not migration as crisis but the quiet, continuous circulation of people, labor, culture and influence that binds Zambia together. Developed over several years and across extensive travel throughout the country, Movement observes how people traverse rivers, roads, islands, and rural corridors—and how those movements quietly transmit values, traditions, politics and mutual understanding. Mwemba frames movement not simply as a physical act, but as a mechanism for cultural continuity and social stability. In this conversation, Mwemba reflects on his own path into photography, his instinct to photograph from distance and without spectacle, and his belief that movement shapes how information spreads and how empathy forms. The images resist urgency, instead asking the viewer to slow down and recognize the labor, endurance and dignity embedded in daily transit despite the structural realities. This episode offers a deeper look at Movement as both a photographic series and a social inquiry rooted in observation, restraint and a profound respect for the lived rhythms of Zambian life. To Experience “Movement” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP About Chona Mwemba Chona Mwemba is a self-taught Zambian photographer with a deep love for capturing everyday life moments that cannot be replicated. The rawness and richness of his subjects and their environments serve as a personal reminder to always see the beauty of life regardless of geography. His work has been featured on platforms such as the BBC and The Times (UK). Through his work he strives to portray Zambia in a positive light. With this series of images he aspires to bring to life the beauty and strength of the Zambian people across the country, highlighting their gracious, resilient and amiable nature. David Larsen David Larsen is a South African photographer, journalist, and the founder ofAfrica Media Online, established in March 2000. Based in Cape Town, he focuses on documenting African stories, promoting digital archiving and training photographers across the continent. Larsen is also involved in promoting African photographers through various initiatives and awards TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    44 Min.

  8. 21. JAN.

    Alex Gist / DJ Clark - "A Conspiracy of Guileless Humanity" Podcast

    We begin 2026 with a six-part series centered around themes of place, movement, and conflict. These issues demand deeper human-centered context, as displacement, political instability, and environmental pressure increasingly define daily life for millions. In Episode 014 of Exposures DJ Clark speaks with Alex Gist about A Conspiracy of Guileless Humanity, Gist’s recent body of work developed in northern Bali. The conversation traces the project’s origins, from an initial workshop encounter to a sustained period of immersion inside a small, locally rooted restaurant that quietly resists the norms of contemporary culinary culture. Gist reflects on his path into documentary photography—shaped by years of long-distance bicycle travel, wilderness work, and academic study in religion—and how those experiences inform his interest in ways of living that remain closely tied to land, ritual, and community. The discussion moves through process and ethics: staying long enough for trust to form, the role of writing and voice alongside images, and the distinction between simply documenting a place and embedding oneself within it. The episode also considers the broader conditions facing emerging documentary photographers today, including sustainability, funding, and the value of slow, human-centered work in an increasingly automated media environment. To Experience “A Conspiracy of Guileless Humanity” DOWNLOAD TOTIM APP Alex Gist Alex Gist is a documentary photographer and producer whose work examines socially and environmentally sustainable ways of living, with particular attention to how such practices persist, adapt, or resist modern systems characterized by isolation and consumption. His approach foregrounds communities and individuals whose relationships to land and to one another offer alternative models to dominant modes of extraction and disconnection, positioning these practices as critical responses to humanity’s growing estrangement from the natural world. DJ Clark DJ Clark is a multimedia journalist, educator, and visual storyteller based in Hong Kong. With more than two decades of experience in international journalism, he has worked as a producer, photographer, and video journalist for outlets including China Daily, The Economist, and BBC World Service. Clark is also the director of multimedia at the Asia Center for Journalism and a long-time mentor with World Press Photo and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, where he has trained and collaborated with emerging photographers across Asia and beyond. His work focuses on empowering local voices and advancing innovative approaches to visual storytelling. TOTIM is a new, nonprofit initiative built to support and amplify a global and diverse community of visual storytellers. We rely on your support to bring under-reported stories to light and sustain vital, independent documentary photography. Please consider a charitable, tax-deductible gift. Get full access to TOTIM at totim.substack.com/subscribe

    39 Min.
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TOTIM Exposures is a forum for photojournalists and industry adjacent professionals to interview featured contributors to the TOTIM app. Each episode covers the photographer’s background, career path, and approach to their work. Conversations focus on photographic technique, the purpose and intention behind each story, and a detailed debrief of how the story was produced and executed. The podcast is intended for anyone interested in the process and challenges of documentary photojournalism. totim.substack.com

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    Where professionals talk documentary photography—technique, ethics, and intent.
  • Jahre aktiv
    2025 - 2026
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