The Photowalk
Neale James
Recent Episodes
REFLECTIONS is a short-form feature within The Photowalk podcast, offering thoughtful observations on a creative life and the themes that we often discuss on Fridays, including perfectionism, impostor syndrome, comparison, confidence, and more. It's a pause at the start of the week to recalibrate, recorded in the studio between the walks.
Each Monday, you'll find Reflections on The Photowalk podcast feed, providing a creative reset to start the week. From Tuesday to Friday, it continues exclusively on our member-supported channel, The Extra Mile, for those who walk a little further with us.
From Terry Wogan to "my five-year-old could do that," a bemused look at how creatives are spoken to, and spoken over.
My sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.
Robert Gumpert joins me on the show from San Francisco, where he's spent decades photographing the parts of life most of us never see unless we work there, live there, or get pulled into the system. Hiring halls on the docks and the interview rooms inside the county jails have all been part of his working world.
His long-running project Take a Picture / Tell a Story was the one that initially caught my attention: a portrait made after a recorded conversation with someone in custody, giving a literal voice to people awaiting trial.
We also talk about his photographs of mariners heading out to sea, and his book Division Street, published by Dewi Lewis. That work looks at life under the flyovers and in the city's corners, where people without a home live just two blocks from some of the wealthiest startup companies on earth.
Alongside my conversation with Robert, Gene Westburg is back from last week with a follow-up question about street v travel photography. Fred Ash also returns, and Michael Brennan has posted something that will, I'm sure, spark a few ideas for anyone thinking about bringing their work to life in print. There are some thoughts about THE ONE feature and an invite to come to Scotland in 2026.
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.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.
REFLECTIONS is a short-form feature within The Photowalk podcast, offering thoughtful observations on a creative life and the themes that we often discuss on Fridays, including perfectionism, impostor syndrome, comparison, confidence, and more. It's a pause at the start of the week to recalibrate, recorded in the studio between the walks.
Each Monday, you'll find Reflections on The Photowalk podcast feed, providing a creative reset to start the week. From Tuesday to Friday, it continues exclusively on our member-supported channel, The Extra Mile, for those who walk a little further with us.
Today, a reflection on Martin Parr's life, his eye for the everyday, and the legacy he leaves in British documentary photography.
Also see Charlotte Jansen's obituary in The Guardian.
My sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.
In between the letters and features, my guest today is Laura Gates, a fast-rising documentary sports photographer. We talk about the pitches where stories begin, the momentum behind the women's game, and the moments on and off the field that meet Laura's curious lens.
She self-published her first book and sold more copies than many photographers manage through traditional publishers, which speaks to the strength of her work. We also talk about confidence when you are starting out as a photographer, the realities of building a creative business, and the place of women in sport as the wider picture continues to grow and evolve.
From the mailbag today, Gene Westburg writes about the calm he's found walking with a camera and a four-legged friend, Alex Boone sends in the picture that defined his 2025, made on a trusty smartphone, and Fred Ash throws me a why question to wrestle with, plus street photographer Valérie Jardin guest-writes a Friday Reflection and considers how AI may affect street photography.
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.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.
REFLECTIONS is a short-form feature within The Photowalk podcast, offering thoughtful observations on a creative life and the themes that we often discuss on Fridays, including perfectionism, impostor syndrome, comparison, confidence, and more. It's a pause at the start of the week to recalibrate, recorded in the studio between the walks.
Each Monday, you'll find Reflections on The Photowalk podcast feed, providing a creative reset to start the week. From Tuesday to Friday, it continues exclusively on our member-supported channel, The Extra Mile, for those who walk a little further with us.
I met someone called Marsha last week, which has inspired this reflection about listening.
My sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.
WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.