The Photowalk

Neale James
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  • Visual Arts
  • Updated weekly

The Photowalk is a mailbag-driven podcast where we walk and make pictures together, and meet with special guests along the trail. For anyone who likes to take pictures. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

  1. 1 day ago

    #543 The day we chased the moon

    Following this week's solar eclipse, which brought a partial eclipse to the UK, much of Europe and parts of North America, we return to The Photowalk archive for one of the most extraordinary stories ever told on the show. Photographer Jon Carmichael wanted to photograph a total solar eclipse from 39,000 feet aboard a commercial airliner. That meant calculating where the Moon's shadow would fall, finding a flight capable of meeting it, and somehow securing exactly the right seat. What followed is a remarkable story of planning, persuasion, good fortune and photography, beginning with the influence of a geography teacher and eventually leading to an image bought by Elton John. Even if you've heard Jon tell parts of this story elsewhere, including in his TED Talk, this is one worth pulling up an imaginary bar stool for and hearing again. It's a genuine dine-out-on-it-for-the-rest-of-your-life story about being in precisely the right place, several miles above the Earth, at precisely the right moment. Also today, from our Facebook community, Pascal Bernandon shares Shared Loneliness. Over in the mailbag, Per Birkhaug finds his photographic 'why' with a little help from three reindeer, while Gert Van Cole wonders why so many photographers stray into other creative pursuits. Plus, our new feature Moments officially begins, with next week's guest, travel photographer Ewen Bell. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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. BUY THE NEW SHOW ZINE, REFLECTIONS

  2. 31 Jul

    #542 Discovering your why

    What is your why? It seems like the simplest question, and it's one I ask every guest, yet it's almost always the one that reveals the most. Why? Not just why do you make photographs, but why do you create, why do you keep going, why does any of it matter? In this special edition of The Photowalk, I turn that same question towards the people who walk with me each week through the show, you! Alongside thoughtful messages from the mailbag, you'll hear audio archive reflections from past guests. This is a show about purpose as much as photography. About the reasons that shape our work, our choices and, sometimes, the direction of our lives. It might just leave you thinking about your own why. I'm joined by my good friend Giles Penfound for part of the walk, to talk about his own why, and his recent road trip across Australia. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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. BUY THE NEW SHOW ZINE, REFLECTIONS

  3. 24 Jul

    #541 Stories from beside the road

    We pass roadside memorials every day. A cross, a handful of fading flowers, a photograph weathered by the sun. Most of us glance at them for a moment before driving on. Photographer Miranda Remington did something different. She stopped. What began as a simple act of curiosity became a deeply personal project, introducing her to families who continue to care for these places of remembrance and sharing the stories behind them. In this conversation, we explore photography's unique ability to preserve memory, the trust required to tell someone else's story, and why some acts of love don't end with goodbye. It's a remarkable reminder that every memorial marks not just a loss, but a life that continues to be remembered. Plus, in the mailbag, Adam Flack and Mark Mackay reveal their dream portrait photographers, though one choice may require a time machine. Dan Langer finds himself inadvertently ruffling military feathers, Gordon Oliver shares a rabbit hole that completely hijacked my evening, and Mark Christensen has found the new collective noun for a 'gaggle' of photographers. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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. BUY THE NEW SHOW ZINE, REFLECTIONS

  4. 17 Jul

    #540 The biggest street story in London

    This week, The Photowalk explores the story of Notting Hill Carnival through the people who have lived it, photographed it and helped shape it over the decades. My lead guest is photographer Wayne Crichlow, co-author of Carnival of Resistance, a remarkable new book documenting Carnival through the eyes of those who know it best. Along the way, our conversation takes some unexpected turns. We meet London documentary photographer Sam Shervington, whose grandmother, Barbara, was there during Carnival's formative years, and Wilf Walker OBE, a music promoter whose story spans from the early days of Notting Hill Carnival to the fields of Glastonbury. Also today, we talk of Charlie Phillips, whose camera created one of the most important visual records of London's Caribbean community. We look back at the Mangrove Nine, discover the traditions behind J'ouvert and Jab Jab, and meet some of the people whose lives have become woven into the history of Carnival itself. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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. BUY THE NEW SHOW ZINE, REFLECTIONS

  5. 10 Jul

    #539 "A life worth living"

    This week, the conversation with Harry Borden moves beyond the portraits that made his name and into the ideas that continue to drive him. We talk about his "why", his growing YouTube channel and the deeply personal 4 Hugs Wide project. Harry also reflects on the detached retina that changed his outlook on life and speaks openly about a particularly difficult period, so just a gentle note that this part of the conversation touches on mental health. It's an honest, thoughtful and optimistic discussion with one of Britain's most respected portrait photographers. From the mailbag, we have some Hoptimism from Denmarkland too... and with an H. All will be revealed in a letter from Hegaard the Dane. If you don't believe in the power of a photograph, then Jim Farmer just might change your mind with today's opening letter. Chris Rawlings puts photography, AI and digital art into the same boxing ring with a question that's sure to divide opinion. We've got some biscuit tin answers to the question, "Which photographer, past or present, would you choose to make your portrait?" Valerie Jardin returns with this month's Teach Me Street, where she's very happily disappearing into a world of black and white, and the last letter of the show has a tortoise theme. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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. BUY THE NEW SHOW ZINE, REFLECTIONS

  6. 3 Jul

    #538 Heard. Seen. Believed.

    Harry Borden has spent more than four decades photographing some of the world's most recognisable faces. His portraits of actors, musicians, business leaders and every UK Prime Minister from Margaret Thatcher onwards have appeared in publications including The Observer, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Magazine and Vanity Fair. But behind those well-known portraits is a photographer equally drawn to quieter, more personal work. In the first of a two-week conversation, Harry joins me to talk about photographing celebrities, captains of industry, and Prime Ministers; how he approaches portraiture when the clock is ticking; and why curiosity has always mattered more than reputation. We also begin exploring some of the personal projects that have shaped his career, before next week's episode turns more towards the story of Harry himself. The mailbag is in particularly good form this week, too. Michael Assmann writes a thoughtful and moving letter about fatherhood, Paul Holdorf shares a photo essay on darkness. Sandro Correia wonders how to rediscover his love of photography. Paul Eaves pens an unexpectedly poetic tribute to his washing machine, we unveil a brand-new Biscuit Tin Question, bring the latest quarterly photo assignment to a close, and hand over the next challenge to none other than portrait photographer Platon. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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. BUY THE NEW SHOW ZINE, REFLECTIONS

  7. 26 Jun

    #537 A field full of stories: SPECIAL

    What makes someone spend years restoring a traction engine, collecting children's bicycles, or keeping an old British car on the road when most of us would have given up long ago? This week, The Photowalk heads to the Dene Rally, where members of our community join me for a weekend of photography, conversation and a series of photographic challenges. We meet those who dedicate their lives to the magic of steam, there are family stories attached to classic cars, cowboys looking for new horizons in sleepy Hampshire, spooky fairground attractions, portraits with strangers and a story that proves the power of legacy negatives. Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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.

  8. 19 Jun

    #536 The Scottish Retreat Special 2026

    This week, The Photowalk returns to the Scottish Highlands for a special show recorded during our latest 2026 retreat in Scotland. Together, we follow the Black Water as it gathers pace through the woodland gorge at Rogie Falls, find historic scenes in Cromarty, explore the wartime shoreline of Roseisle Beach, and spend time beside Loch Maree, one of Scotland's most celebrated lochs, where the mountain of Slioch rises directly from the water, just shouting for pictures to be made! Along the way, there are conversations about photography, friendship, creativity, large-format cameras, and the unexpected power of writing, not simply as a way of recording thoughts, but as a way of discovering them. Joined by Lynn Fraser, Michael Assmann, John Anderton and Giles Penfound, this journey takes you through a part of Scotland that has become deeply woven into the story of The Photowalk.  Read more about our photographic adventures on our photography travel website, The Journey Beyond. 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.

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About

The Photowalk is a mailbag-driven podcast where we walk and make pictures together, and meet with special guests along the trail. For anyone who likes to take pictures. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Information

  • Creator
    Neale James
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    559
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Loading Zone
  • Show Website
    The Photowalk

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