The Photowalk Neale James

Welcome to a photography podcast where we walk together with a mailbag of stories and pictures.
My guest today, John Dolan, understands and completely embraces the importance of the photographic moment over photographic perfection. The second edition of his best-selling monograph, The Perfect Imperfect, is about to be released, and in it, he invites photographers to look beyond the shot list and find beauty and truth in imperfect moments. He has photographed the most recent Whitehouse Wedding; he is Seinfeld's family documentarian, and he is trusted to record the most intimate and often vulnerable moments for clients including Will Smith and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Also from the mailbag as we walk, making pictures of the beautifully inanimate, the things that we pass by every day and never give a second thought to, a case of mistaken Googling when typing in the letters M A L and I, a letter on dragging yourself out of bed at sunrise, solar eclipses, the winner of last month’s assignment, plus it being the second Friday of the month, street photographer and photography mentor Valerie Jardin joins me for Visual Stories, this month talking about timeless pictures in Paris.
Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Today, a holiday-special interview with the iconic fine art photographer Stephen Wilkes. Since opening his studio in New York City in 1983, he's built an unprecedented body of work and a reputation as one of America’s most iconic photographers, widely recognized for his fine art, editorial and commercial work. Stephen Wilkes talks candidly about being mentored by a photographic great, Jay Maisel, the most extraordinary and at times haunting project on Ellis Island, plus Day to Night, his most defining project, where epic cityscapes and landscapes, portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours, capture fleeting moments of humanity as light passes in front of his lens over the course of a full day. Stephen also sets a new assignment for the month of April.
Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Mary Jo Hoffman is an aeronautical engineer-turned-artist. Twelve years ago she began a daily practice of photographing found nature, no subject too small or ordinary. Now, Phaidon has published her first book Still: The Art of Noticing. This is a story about a creative serendipitous find that has become, a beautiful way to live.
Also today, philosophical YouTuber Sean Tucker answers a question about finding the energy to pursue photography despite daily life competing for space in one's day.
Letters from the mailbag on positivity in spite of physical challenges to make work, finding and photographing the lone tree, and minimalism in a fantastical Norwegian snow white-out.
Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

I'm joined on Surrey's Chobham Common for a photo walk with award-winning photojournalist Jason Florio to announce 2025's Photowalk Show Adventure, which is going to be in India, photographing and riding the urban-suburban and rural countryside trains in and out of Mumbai.
There's an invite to make our adventure YOUR adventure as we explore Mumbai, including the cave temples of Elephanta Island, and enjoy Holi, a Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It's an opportunity to spend time with like-minded photographers and the people of this incredibly vibrant city on the west coast of India. Jason shares stories of this colourful city, plus opens his studio to our inquiring and curious eyes.
Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Photographer Daniel Meadows has spent his life documenting British society, using photographs, audio recordings, and short movies. He is the creative architect of a sublime idea: putting a bed, a darkroom, and a photographic studio into a 1940s double-decker bus, touring it to meet and photograph as many people as he could to document British life, which has become a historic gem.
From the mailbag, Tony Lorenzo, who bought a 1930s family photo from a box in a market, which then became a life-long detective story, is back and this time, he’s been buying vintage pictures in Italy. Also, how to photograph mushrooms in a magical sense and a road trip that’s going to be an absolute life tonic. There’s a reminder of the March assignment and an invite to come to Scotland for a week on retreat.
Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

As I walk with your letters and inspirational stories, I'm joined on the show by studio guest Michelle Valberg, the Canadian Geographic Photographer, Nikon ambassador, and international fellow of the Explorers Club. Michelle has just returned from an adventure voyage photographing wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula, navigating icebergs and rough seas to make extraordinary photographs.
Also on the show from the mailbag, stuck in a watery rut in East Africa whilst seeking The Maasai, escaping the clutches of imposter syndrome, March's assignment and mentor Valérie Jardin shares photographic project workflow.
Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.