In this episode, I sit down with Wolf Suschitzky, legendary photographer and cinematographer. We met at his home in Little Venice, London, where we talked about his incredible career, spanning over 70 years in both photography and film.

Born in Vienna in 1912, Wolf fled Austria in 1934 as the political climate worsened for Jews. Settling in London, he quickly established himself as a cinematographer and photographer. Over his career, he worked on over 200 films, including Get Carter, Ulysses, Ring of Bright Water, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, and the film adaptation of Rising Damp.

Wolf's early career was shaped by the British documentary movement, working with John Grierson and pioneering filmmakers such as Harry Watt and Paul Rotha. He was cameraman for Night Mail (1936), the iconic documentary with narration by W.H. Auden and music by Benjamin Britten. His cinematography in World of Plenty (1943) helped define the humanistic style of British documentary filmmaking.

Beyond film, Suschitzky was a renowned social documentarian, photographing London's street markets, working-class life, children, and laborers. His work in Charing Cross Road, Soho, and post-war Britain captured the texture of everyday life with rare intimacy.

This conversation offers a glimpse into Wolf's thoughts on photography, cinematography, and the art of capturing reality. Though frail, his mind remained sharp, and his love for his craft was undiminished.

• Biography & Legacy – National Galleries of Scotland

• Books & Photography

• Charing Cross Road in the Thirties – Amazon

• Street Markets of London – Photobook Details

• Exhibitions – Wolf Suschitzky at the Photographers' Gallery

• Get Carter (1971) – IMDb

• Ulysses (1967) – IMDb

• Ring of Bright Water (1969) – IMDb

• Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970) – IMDb

• Rising Damp (1980) – IMDb

• John Grierson (Father of British Documentary Film) – Biography

• Harry Watt (Filmmaker, Night Mail) – Biography

• Paul Rotha (Director, World of Plenty) – Biography

• W.H. Auden (Poet, Night Mail) – Biography

• Benjamin Britten (Composer, Night Mail) – Biography

• Night Mail (1936) – BFI Player

• World of Plenty (1943) – BFI Screen Online

Notable Publications:

• "Photographing Children" (1940): A guide offering insights into capturing the essence of childhood through photography.

• "Photographing Animals" (1941): This book provides techniques and tips for photographing animals, with a foreword by Julian Huxley.

• "Seven Decades of Photography" (2006): A retrospective collection showcasing Suschitzky's black and white prints spanning over seventy years, selected by the artist himself.
  amazon.com

• "Work" (2020): A compilation focusing on Suschitzky's portrayal of labor and working environments, reflecting his deep engagement with social themes.

Notable Exhibitions:

• "A Grand Tour: Amsterdam, London, Paris etc. in the 1930s, 40s & 50s" (2006): Held at The Photographers' Gallery in London, this exhibition featured Suschitzky's works capturing urban life across major European cities during the mid-20th century.
  photography-now.com

• "Wolf Suschitzky – No Resting Place" (2020): Hosted by Fotohof in Salzburg, this exhibition showcased a comprehensive collection of Suschitzky's works, emphasizing his contributions to photography and cinematography.

• "Crawley New Town Seen Through the Lens of Wolf Suschitzky" (February 6 – March 29, 2025): Displayed at Crawley Museum, this exhibition featured photographs capturing the early development of Crawley New Town, returning to the public eye after six decades.
  blogs.brighton.ac.uk

• "Wolf Suschitzky Photography Prize 2023" Exhibition: Organized by the Austrian Cultural Forum London, this exhibition showcased works by winners and shortlisted photographers, celebrating Suschitzky's legacy and influence on contemporary photography.
  acflondon.org

On the 19th of April 2019 I met the legendary Sir Don McCullin—a man whose photographs have shaped the way we see war, suffering, and the stark divides in British society. McCullin, now in his eighties, has turned his lens to the landscapes of Somerset, but his past work in Vietnam, Biafra, Northern Ireland, and beyond remains some of the most powerful photojournalism ever created. This conversation, recorded in April 2019, was never intended for broadcast, but I'm grateful to be able to share it with you now. It's raw, intimate, and filled with the kind of wisdom only a life lived at the sharp edge of history can provide.

I start by tracing McCullin's early life—born in 1935 in Finsbury Park, a rough corner of North London, where class and poverty shaped his world. We talk about his first significant photograph, The Guvnors, a portrait of his local gang taken in the shell of a bombed-out building. That single image, sold to The Observer, set him on the path to becoming one of the most respected war photographers of the 20th century.

McCullin speaks candidly about the moral weight of war photography—what it means to witness human suffering and the impossibility of remaining untouched by it. He recalls the Vietnam War, the famine in Biafra, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the brutal realities he encountered. His black-and-white images are defined by their unflinching honesty and a darkness that isn't just about exposure—it's about truth.

One of the most fascinating parts of our conversation is McCullin's discussion of his time in the darkroom. His prints are legendary for their deep blacks, their richness, and their meticulous craftsmanship. He describes the long hours spent perfecting a single print, the unpredictability of chemistry, and the frustrations and triumphs that come with analogue photography.

In his later years, McCullin has turned away from conflict zones to focus on the landscapes of England, particularly Somerset, where he has lived for decades. He talks about the tranquility he finds in these images but also acknowledges that even in the stillness, there's something unresolved. "England," he says, "is still a battlefield—just a different kind."

We reflect on the state of photography today—the dominance of digital, the fleeting nature of images in the age of Instagram, and the disappearing art of the darkroom. McCullin is, in his own words, "an old donkey in the meadow," but his insights remain razor-sharp.

• Don McCullin's Official Website: donmccullin.com
• Tate Britain Exhibition (2019): tate.org.uk
• Hauser & Wirth's 'The Stillness of Life' (2020): hauserwirth.com
• Palazzo Esposizioni Roma Exhibition (2024): palazzoesposizioniroma.it

Speaking with Don McCullin was a rare privilege. His images have shaped history, and his voice—both as a photographer and as a man—remains one of the most important in the field. If you're moved by this conversation, take some time to explore his work, visit an exhibition, or pick up one of his books.

As always, let me know what you think. If you're listening on YouTube, drop a comment. If you're listening on a podcast app, leave a review. Your thoughts mean the world to me.

This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 193.

This article is all about the importance of a sense of purpose to photographic projects. I argue that it is not enough just put out a few pictures and hope that people 'connect'. Rather that the photographer must nail his or her reputation to each project and dig deep to provide an urgent reason why anyone else should spend time in the company of their photographs.

If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!

Another stroll down Portobello Road on a Friday afternoon with Alex Schneideman. On his mind this week are:

The role of photographers and artists in the new hard-right mainstream political landscape.

• The problems of engaging with the Turner Prize.
• A minor road rage incident.
• Buddhism and self sticks.

Please get in touch with alex at alex@flowphotographic.com or @schneideman331 on twitter.

Please forgive occasionally poor delivery - I've got a lot on my mind...

Thanks for listening...

This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 192.

It questions the value of sharpness as a goal in photography and offers new ways to view photography in a world that values 'high definition' above many other qualities.

If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!

In which your host muses and rambles (simultaneously) down Portobello Road with a hangover draped around his shoulders. Still, between waves of nausea some interesting raw material is mined from the sodden peat of Alex's exhausted brain. 

Have a listen...

Oh and don't forget to rate us at iTunes...

Thanks,

Alex

alex@flowphotographic.com

flowphotographic.com

This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 191. 

It concerns the relationship between photographers and their cameras. 

You can see a fully illustrated transcript of this article on my blog. Click here.

If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!

THIS IS AN EDITED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL PODCAST - MUCH REDUCED IN LENGTH BY CUTTING OUT ALL THE EXTRANEOUS CONTENT. NOW ITS JUST THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION...

On July 8th 2016 I travelled to Oxford to meet Paddy Summerfield in the house he has lived in since he was 18 months old and, more particularly, the house that served as backdrop to his 2014 masterpiece 'Mother and Father' (published by Dewi Lewis). 

Paddy and his partner Patricia Baker-Cassidy live in an Edwardian villa in Oxford's Summertown where they work together to bring a lifetime of photography to the surface.

This year Dewi Lewis has published another collection of Paddy's work, 'The Oxford Pictures 1968-1978' which are a languorous and sexually charged examination of loneliness and self discovery. Paddy has always shot on 35mm and the images in this book are exquisitely reproduced from scans and printed at the legendary EBS printers in Italy which were also the printers of my book, 'Want More' in 2015.

This conversation is easily the longest I have published but it is necessarily so because Paddy is engaging on the subject of photography and candid when he talks about life in general. He is a true photographer in that his life is defined by the images he makes. His energy and ambition to keep publishing his extensive work comes from a desire to represent his world and not, as is often the case, from the ego. 

Please take time to listen to the piece; listen to it win tranches if necessary, as it really is worth the effort.

Alex Schneideman July 2016

All images © Alex Schneideman, 2016

Links

New York Times T Magazine

Photomonitor

CPM Conscientious Photography Magazine

Listen in stereo as I take a second walk down a very sunny Portobello Road. This time I was thinking about:

• Chimping and the new screenless Leica MD, affectation and self imposed perfectionism.
• Harry Gruyaert.
• Jolyon Fenwick and his pictures of WW1 battlefields, 'ZERO HOUR'

and an amazing busker...

Don't forget to get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or checkout flowphotographic.com to learn about our work printing photography at FLOW.

Thanks, 

Alex

This piece appears in the June edition of Black and White Photography magazine. The magazine have very kindly allowed me to record my monthly column, Thinking Photography, for the PHOTOGRAPHICA podcast.

Please checkout more info at the podcast page on my new website, flowphotographic.com.

TRANSCRIPT B+W190 THINKING PHOTOGRAPHY  

ON CONTEXT

ˈkɒntɛkst/

noun

the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood.

 ----------------------------------------- 

To give your work context is to give it meaning to the wider world. Without context our work may seem irrelevant. With context our images connect to the intricate dynamic of human experience enabling people to form a bond with it. The purpose of this piece is to focus on a consideration that we all know to be true, is not often discussed and can have a great impact on our photographic legacy.

In my last article I spoke of the creation of art as being the act of bringing attention to the abstract. This is a good way to start looking at the concept of context; in observing something and making an exposure you have effectively placed your subject in its own context – one that has meaning for you. This initial personal contextualisation gives the impetus required for the photographer to capture the image and give him or her the reason to commit to it. Let's say this is called 'primary context'. At this stage all sorts of nuances, details and fluctuations of meaning are either consciously or subconsciously known by its originator.

Now a selection of images is made perhaps for an exhibition, a book or entering into a competition. At this stage 'secondary contextualisation' is required. As your images transfer from the private world of their inception and selection to the public world of arbitrary engagement those qualities and ideas in your work will be lost unless you can elicit some control over how they are viewed.

The viewing public do not have the visual acuity, time or inclination to engage with your images as you would wish so you must help them by controlling the environment in which your work is seen. The key here is to concentrate the viewer's gaze on your work without distraction. This needs to be done both practically and conceptually. A frame is a 'practical' conxtextualising tool Here the border allows the elements of the image to live in their own world – a world defined and delineated as something different but the wooden surround. A secondary or 'conceptual' context can be described by imagining the power of a solo show at the Tate versus the display of some work in a village hall. The same pictures may be exhibited but to different effect by leveraging gravity by association.

These suggestions are all vital aspects of placing your work in the right 'light', perspective or context. This is a report from the front line of working with photographers over many years but it is not exhaustive. The craft of placing your work in the right context might come to you instinctively or not. It doesn't matter – context is essential when it comes to generating the most effect from showing your work. Context is relevance. It can't be put simpler than that. Ignore it at your peril.

Here are some observations made during my time printing for photographers all over the world. I've had a chance to examine success and failure at close hand and these notes reflect some of the lessons I've learned.

ONLINE

It is too easy to show your images to many people. Flickr, Facebook, Instagram and the like all make the exposition of your work almost automatic. But, unless your pictures are connected to an event or cause, these media are disastrous for preserving the gap between the metaphysic truth of your images and the prosaic mess of the world around them. Your work needs space – space to make its own case. It is much better to use these media to bring people to your own website.

WEBSITES

Picture editors and curators have told my so many times that websites need to fulfill only two functions; clear visibility of images and ease of navigation. That's it. A website does not need to be pretty – simply functional allowing the work to 'speak'.

GROUP VERSUS SOLO SHOWS

When showing prints avoid group shows – they do nobody's work any favours. Instead commit to your images and find a space where they can be shown on their own. Group exhibitions have the benefit of bringing more people in to view your work and they can be effective for people starting out but they are messy, prone to compromise and have the effect of degrading the power of your work especially when your work is adjacent to a weaker display. The aforementioned 'village hall' is a better environment to display your work than risking contamination by acquaintance with poor images.

PRESENTATION

Framing is over considered. You cannot reinvent photography with a stunning frame. Keep it simple and make all your pictures the same size so that the viewer can 'tune out' the ancillary details and concentrate on the actual images.

iPads are great for casually showing your work but we automatically devalue the work on show because screen images are so pervasive in our visual lives.

Hanging pictures is crucial to their impact. Poor hanging will reduce the power of your exhibition by a huge amount. Make sure that frames are neat and clean and hung so that they are dead straight. Failure to do this makes you look like an amateur (I mean this in the pejorative sense!). Neat hanging is more important than correct exposure for the purposes of connecting with viewers.

PORTFOLIOS

A set of prints in a clamshell portfolio box is endures as a good way to show your work. Allow wide borders (go up a paper size to incorporate this) and you get the double benefit of being able to handle prints (matte paper cleans up very well – direct message me and I'll tell you how) and the separation from the environment that every good shot deserves.

CURATING A SELECTION

Loose a third. Some of my clients refer to the process of selection as 'drowning your babies' – a horrific term but one that sums up the process well. Your final selection should hurt. There will be loved pictures left behind because they weaken the 'whole'.

Agree or disagree? Let me know at @schneideman331 or email me at alex@flowphotographic.com

WHY PHOTOGRAPHY AT ALL? 1st column from BLACK + WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE

This is the first of of a regular series which are audio versions of my new monthly column, 'Thinking Photography' which appears in BLACK + WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Every month I take apart, unpack and dissect various ideas about the nature of photography. My column is fairly short and straight to the point. 

Each article is illustrated by some of my photographs.

This article is from May's edition of B+WP and it is looks at the drive to create and therefore to photograph. 

As ever, please let me know what you think.

Alex

alex@asprinting.net

Aileen O'Sullivan represents a double first for Photographica. She is the first woman to feature and she is NOT a stills photographer. Rather Aileen is a veteran director and producer from New Zealand who has worked both sides of the truth line, i.e. she has directed drama as well as hard factual documentaries as well as other work that lands somewhere in between.

I really wanted to make a recording with Aileen because, although, she isn't strictly speaking, a photographer her desire to tell a story using a camera is relevant to the work of stills photographers and I thought I might learn something from this alternative perspective. I was right - Aileen talks intelligently and with great experience about what to takes to develop and follow a story. She is an artist first foremost and our conversation touched on every aspect of what it takes to go to the heart of a story.

Aileen directed the highly acclaimed 'Black Grace' which follows a contemporary indigenous New Zealand dance company on its way to glory in America. Please take a look also at seannachie.com which is Aileen's own website.

And please remember to rate Photographica and visit the website at ASPrinting.net

Thanks for listening,

Alex

In this episode of Flow Photographica, host Alex Schneideman reintroduces the podcast with a fresh vision, tracing his journey through photography—from childhood awe in a darkroom to founding Flow Photographic Gallery, becoming Artistic Director of Photo Oxford and the development of the Pictures from the Garden project.

Alex reflects on:

• The early days of Photographica and its rebirth as Flow Photographica
• A transformative moment in a darkroom that sparked a lifelong passion for photography
• His journey through photography, from assisting in London studios to founding Flow Photographic
• The creation of Pictures from the Garden, a project honouring the late photographer Paddy Summerfield
• The role of publishing in a photographer's career and the importance of books in photographic storytelling

This episode is a personal exploration of what it means to live a photographic life and an invitation to continue the quest for understanding the medium.

• 🌍 Flow Photographic Studio & Gallery – flowphotographic.com

• 📖 James Ravilious – An English Eye – Beaford Archive
• 📷 Paddy Summerfield – Mother and Father – Dewi Lewis Publishing
• 📚 Pictures from the Garden – A collaboration with photographers Jem Southam, Alys Tomlinson, Sian Davey, Vanessa Winship, Matthew Finn & Nik Roche

Featured Photographers:

• Jem Southam – jemsoutham.co.uk
• Alex Schneideman - alexschneideman.net
• Alys Tomlinson – alystomlinson.co.uk
• Sian Davey – siandavey.com
• Vanessa Winship – vanessawinship.com
• Matthew Finn – mattfinn.com
• Nik Roche – nikroche.com

• 🏛️ The Bodleian Library (Holds Paddy Summerfield's archive) – bodleian.ox.ac.uk
• 🎨 The Photographers' Gallery (London) – thephotographersgallery.org.uk
• 📷 Photo Oxford Festival – photooxford.org

• 📖 Want More – Published by Art/Books (Andrew Brown) – artbookspublishing.co.uk
• 📘 Dewi Lewis Publishing (Paddy Summerfield's publisher) – dewilewis.com
• 🎨 Herman Lelie & Stefania Bonelli (Book design)

• 📸 Instagram: @flowphotographic
• 🌍 Website: flowphotographic.com

🎧 Subscribe & Listen: Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

🔔 Support the Show: If you love Flow Photographica, consider sharing, rating, and reviewing the podcast!

Hello, Alex Schneideman here welcoming you back to 'Flow Photographica', a new look podcast that used to be called just 'Photographica'. 

I started Photographica as I start almost everything; to satisfy an urge - or obsession would be a better way of putting it. 

Back in 2016 when I recorded the first interviews podcasting was a relatively new medium and I wanted to see how it worked. I made almost thirty episodes and then I got busy with work and life and, what had started with a clear plan became fuzzy. And with the fuzziness, indecision and with that the dissipation of the creative energy required for this sort of endeavour. 

But much has changed since then, both in the photography world and for me. We had a big old lockdown which for some was a disaster and for others, many artists, was a boon - a time to take stock and to decide what was important. I started a Masters and, having never taken part in further education fulfilled a dream to go to university.

Just before lockdown I moved the Flow studio from Portobello to Kensal Green, less than a mile but a world apart. And with that I opened a gallery dedicated to showing documentary work, Flow Photographic Gallery. 

When you put these two things together as well as a spell as Artistic Director for Photo Oxford (which would never have come about if it weren't for a Masters and a new gallery) then you will find me trying to forge something out of this amalgam while, at the same time, carrying on with my 'day job' at Flow making prints, scans and repro etc.

The upshot of this desire to bring together these threads is this podcast and its renaissance. I love photography. I have loved photography since I was about eight when, in the late Seventies, my father took me to a photographic studio somewhere in London - this company made the catalogues for my father's kitchen supply firm. A kind man in a lab coat took me into a room lit red and smelling overwhelmingly exotic. He showed me to a bench where a strangely tall machine shone a light on to a white board. In this rectangular shape of light I could make out the dim form of a woman, ¾ length but in the wrong distribution of tones that made no sense at all. The shape of her was all that told me this was a person. He switched this image off and placed a piece of paper where the image had been. That strange image of a woman appeared again for a few seconds. The light went off and he removed the paper and placed it in a tray containing a pale liquid. He rocked the tray. In the red gloom a sheet of white paper with nothing on it floated in the liquid. And then a faint image appeared out of nowhere. I began to recognise that the forming image, no denser than a murmur, actually contained infinite and recognisable detail. In this instant I felt the profound magic of photography. As the image continued to form the man removed the sheet and ripped it in two. I was shocked - whoever was in that picture would be terribly upset. He placed one half of the image back in the same tray and the other he put in to a second and then third tray where he left it. 

After perhaps a minute he removed the second shred of paper and followed the process he had with its other half. Suddenly the room was illuminated and he showed me how one piece of paper contained a denser image than the other which had spent less time in the first tray - the developer. 

This was magic. He washed and dried those bits of paper and gave them to me in a glassine slip. Those shreds of paper are long gone but something had indelibly changed in me, in my soul, and from that moment on I wanted to know photography, to be become photographic.  

Later at boarding school, where I had a reasonably unhappy time, there was a darkroom and then photography became a sanctuary. I was a fish out of water - arriving as a plump'ish, Jew'ish boy from London into a sealed community of sons of the landed gentry who knew not only each other but where their own DNA had developed for perhaps a thousand years and more. Like a fish doesn't feel wet I had no idea I was that different to anyone, until I arrived at that remote school, deep in the middle of a beautiful English nowhere. 

My apparent 'difference' and a certain belligerence got me noticed, and not in a good way. I was reminded that being a Jew was a bad thing (it wasn't something I had ever thought about so I didn't know why it meant so much to them) and was physically attacked in ways that would be criminally investigated now, but this was the Eighties and you didn't talk.

The school had a darkroom that was shambolic and unloved. But happily it was neglected on the whole and I discovered that here was heaven. Again that smell of dev, stop and fixer became inextricably linked to a sense of wonder and the potential for deep satisfaction. I spent every minute I could here. 

Nobody taught photography at the school so it was a case of finding your way through trial and error. The number of thin, pink rolls of film I disappointedly pulled from the Paterson reel still sting to this day - the great pictures lost to ignorance. But the joy of developing a roll of film that you could then make an image from; burning and dodging until you got just the right balance, hours eaten by joy and ignorance of the world around you - that darkroom was the making of me. A footnote - I took both O and A levels in photography without one bit of input from the school. I failed both. I left school with one D in English - a technical pass if not a recognised one. Luckily I had never even thought of going to university.

After a few years as a commie chef and generally working in various London restaurants I found my way into photography by assisting in studios in London. I worked with a photographer called Peter Rauter, then a leading advertising photographer who became a great friend and mentor. Peter was hugely talented and frustrated. Despite our friendship and the allure of a successful career in commercial photography I knew this wasn't for me  - However it gave me a classical training in the medium and I got to know the network of labs, now almost disappeared, around London that sprang from the newspaper world around Fleet Street. 

After completing my apprenticeship in studio photography I left - disillusioned and confused. And feeling myself to be a failure - to have had this opportunity to work with amazing equipment, travel the world etc, etc and all for nothing. A dead end. I had fucked up and a life in photography was apparently not for me. I left and did other jobs, never loving my work but falling in love and getting married to Sophie, a bookseller. I hated my work, mainly with computers now, and I was awful to be around. But, in about 2000, Sophie went to a bookfair one weekend and somebody, who knew Sophie well enough to know that her husband had at one time been a photographer, gave her a book to give to me thinking I might like it. It was a casually kind gesture and it changed my life. 

The book was 'An English Eye' by James Ravilious. Not only are the pictures breathtaking and humane, like HCB but with more heart, but he gave his recipe for processing and his photographic technique. Ravilious lived in a small rural community in Devon. From the 1970's to the 1990's his photographic life was spent recording this community with a commission from the Beaford Archive, a local arts centre, and he did this over three decades with the sensitivity of a poet. His photographs were his life. Reading this book, over and over again, I could see that here was a route to return to photography - it was not to make money from commissions but to print for other people - something I had loved doing as an assistant and had gotten quite good at - and to make my own work in the spirit of Ravilious - work about small places and the fellow humans that occupy them. 

That idea to print was the beginning of what would later become known as Flow Photographic and was the regaining of my photographic life. Being free to photograph without the dead hand of a commercial brief was my liberation and allowed me to engage with photography in the way that I had always wanted to - to become as completely a photographic person as it was possible for me to be.

This feeling I have for photography is nothing strange and certainly quite common. It has been my greatest pleasure to meet older and younger people, men and women, who share the raw love for this medium. 

Along the way, and particularly, since I posted the last 'Photographica' episode, the wish I had as an 8 year old boy has turned into a reality. It really is extraordinary what has happened in the last ten years. It started with finally having the balls to look for a publisher for a body of work about consumerism. This was where my luck turned. In 2105 a very lovely man called Andrew Brown, who had been the chief commissioning editor at Thames and Hudson, had recently set up his own imprint - Art/Books. 

They mainly published contemporary art but ventured into photography occasionally. I was introduced to Andrew by the legendary book designing couple and life partnership of Herman Lelie and Stefania Bonelli. Herman said Andrew had seen the pictures and wanted to meet me. In what turned out to be a very short drink in a pub in Maida Vale (In had to pick children up from school) Andrew offered me a publishing deal. 

It wasn't a great deal for me - I'd be lucky to see a penny from years of work but my photographs would be printed and distributed all over the world. 

I couldn't believe it! Idashed from dashed from the pub to the nursery all thinking, fuck fuck fuck! 

That book was Want More and it opened more doors for me than anything else I could reasonably have done to engage more deeply in my chosen nook of documentary photography. 

Note to listeners - if you have a chance to publish a book, do it. So long as you are confidant of the quality of your work and you feel the publishers are working with you, a book of your work will pay dividends , but almost certainly not direct financial ones! Lookijng back there are things I would have done differently. The team that worked on it; Andrew, Herman and Stefania were all so experienced and had worked together a lot. I didn't have the confidence to insert myself as much into the process as I would now. For example, I did not write a text for the book and there were no captions. These are two things I would do differently now. The book was printed at EBS in Verona without any input from me. There is no better place to have a book printed and, even now, the photographs sparkle on the page in beautiful and subtle duotone magic. This was thanks to Herman, and left to my own devices, I would never have known how to get the best out of the printers. So I balance what I missed through inexperience with the enormous expertise that brought the book to fruition. 

There was some decent press for Want More - Elizabeth Roberts, the then editor of Black and White Magazine, a gave the book a good deal of space in the journal. 

I am an eternal and appalling opportunist - it may be the immigrant blood coursing through my veins. I seized the opportunity of having met and got on with Elizabeth. She commissioned me to write a monthly column on ideas behind photography. It was here that I got to make mistakes and develop a way of writing about photography that was mine, rather than a clumsy simulacrum of better writers. 

My work with the magazine survived Elizabeth's departure and I continued to write pieces for several years, morphing the column into a series of essays on influential books of British photo documentary. In fact you can hear my conversation with Don McCullin in the following episode of Flow Photographica. I sat down with the great man to discuss his book, 'In England' and we didn;'t restrict the conversation to that one book - I mean, how could you?

I met Paddy Summerfield and his soon to be wife, Patricia Baker Cassidy in Oxford in 2016. Like a lot of people I loved his book, 'Mother and Father' and when I chanced upon the couple at a friend's book launch in the city, I was star struck. But I got over that and that very night the three of us went for a drink together at some pub that only Oxford denizens could ever find. I've never found it again. I arranged to come back to visit Paddy at his home in north Oxford, the scene of Mother and Father itself. I returned a few weeks after our first meeting with a recorder and we sat down to discuss Paddy's life and work - this turned into Episode 17 which you can listen to now. 

Paddy, Patricia and I became friends fast and I became one of the lucky people to whom Paddy would send frequent pictures to made on his extremely clunky flip phone. When we moved the Flow studio to Kensal Green, Paddy would become the first person to be shown in the new Flow Photographic Gallery. 

A note here, and possibly continuing on the theme of opportunism - In 2018, the arts writer, Hettie Judah, a very old friend, asked me to take pictures of certain places in London known for their connection to London's historic and contemporary artworld and some of the leading artists involved in it. As we skirmished about London Hettie opened a whole world to me that I did not know existed. Art runs strong and deep in London. I kind of knew that but not really as it turned out. In particular the south east of London; Lewisham, Peckham, Deptford held so many tiny art galleries tucked away in improbable places. It was thrilling. One place, Matt's Gallery in Bermondsey, was nothing more than a front room of terraced Victorian house containing a six foot square white cube, neon lit. From this tiny, impossibly residential location the careers of many leading artist had been launched. Concurrently to this project we were moving the studio from where we'd been for 11 years to a new premises in Kensal Green, around the corner from where I live. 

We had to fit out the new premises from scratch and, being exposed to all these extraordinary art spaces, I thought why not build my own, on the walls of the new studio? This became Flow Photographic Gallery and since the first exhibition of Paddy's 'Holiday Pictures' we have given shows to Matt Finn, Izabella Jedrezjik, Ian Macdonal, Deanna Dikeman and, as I write soon to Jem Southam and Barbara Bosworth and Judith Black alongside Deanna again later this year. 

So Paddy, Patricia and my friendship and trust grew and grew. I became a frequent visitor (and photographer) of Paddy and his garden of photographic wonders. And then, sometime around 2021, Paddy became sicker with an illness that was already besetting him when he showed at FPG in 2019. The three of us would sit in the garden, on the white plastic chairs that his book had turned into icons, discussing the future. Paddy wanted to know that the garden would be preserved. We all did. We kicked around different ways of making this happen, everything from asking the National Trust to taking over or giving it to the Martin PArr Foundation - none of these were at all likely to happen. I suggested, as a last resort, that should we fail to guarantee the physical preservation of the garden we could preserve it through photography, and that we ask some photographers who knew Paddy's work to come and visit. Beyond that we didn't have another good idea. 

At the time, I was working on the colour separations for Stanley Barker on Jem Southam's new book, 'Four Winters'. I can remember thinking (highly opportunistically), "if Jem would say yes that would be an amazing start". I sent an email to Jem and received a reply almost immediately, that yes he would love to be involved and had long been a fan of Paddy's. A side note - Jem entered this project without asking who else was involved. I was prepared for this question and would have answered that Paddy himself had wanted Jem to take part, but the question was never asked. Feeling the confidence of one yes from Jem, I went on to ask Alys Tomlinson, Sian Davey, Vanessa Winship, Matthew Finn (who is a friend to be fair) and Nik Roache. Not one of them asked who else was involved. They all accepted without complication or, seemingly, hesitation. I would like to say to all of them now how grateful I am for their engagement in the project that would be come, Pictures from the Garden. It was life affirming that some of our greatest photographers were as great human beings as they were practitioners. I love them all and have made more friends as a result. Thank you Matt, Alys, Vanessa, Jem, Nik and Sian. A side note - I'd like to mention Matt Finn - Matt has both the greatest knowledge of photography and an endless desire to discuss and argue about it. Matt has been a great collaborator and I hope to continue hatching schemes with him for a long time to come.

So with these wonderful photographers busy visiting Paddy and Patricia, often making several visits and with a lockdown Masters burning in my opportunistic pocket, I got a call from the Photo Oxford team who were preparing for the 2023 edition of the festival. 

They asked if I'd be happy to show the work from Paddy's garden which at the time was not complete. I said potentially yes and they said they were still waiting to appoint a new Artistic Director before committing to the show. I asked if I could I apply. So I did and that was that. I had a new role.

By January 2023 the photographers had completed their work and we were contemplating what to do next, mindful of two things; Paddy's failing health and Photo Oxford's spring timetable. Now two more very important people came to the fore; Clare Grafik, Head of Exhibitions at the Photographers' Gallery and Dewi Lewis, the great publisher of photography and, specifically, of Paddy's work. 

Clare I'd met when, on a day of sheet rain in north west London, she turned up on her bike to see Matthew Finn's exhibition at the gallery. She was so enthusiastic about Matt's work and clearly engaged in the subject generally, and, not to mention soaked. 

Clare so impressed me that years later, when I was wondering about how to juggle everything on my plate -  my role as Artistic Director, my day job at Flow, and the ongoing coordination of the Pictures from the Garden. I thought of Clare, wrote to her and to my amazement she said yes and that TPG would back the exhibition at the North Wall in Oxford. And with that PFTG became a Photographers's Gallery exhibition with Clare designing and running it. 

Around the same time I started to talk to Dewi about the possibility of publishing a book of the garden pictures. Dewi had published four volumes of Paddy's work already and had provided him with a public that recognised his work. Dewi and his wife Caroline are legends of photographic publishing. I have had the privilege to spend time with Dewi and I can attest that he is both one of the most feeling and humane people I have met in photography (or anywhere) and has impeccable integrity. 

So Clare put the exhibition together and Dewi put the book together. It was a highlight of my life to spend three days with Dewi in Verona printing PFTG at the very place where my book Want More had been printed many years before.

Paddy survived much longer than people expected him to and made it to both the exhibition and a garden visit made by his friends and fans during the festival in May 2023, just as the trees bore their greenest leaves and daisy's pushed, for the first time, through the roughly mown grass. Paddy gave a speech. Many people cried. 

Paddy died in April 2024. And now, at the time of writing, this being February 2025 I am looking forward to the opening of a major retrospective of Paddy work at the Bodleian Library which now holds his archive. 

Richard Ovenden, the visionary boss of the Bodleian who has turned it into our most active institutional collector of photography, asked me to curate the exhibition with Patricia.

As I write these words it is as if they come from a dream. Can this be me I'm writing about? I continue to work on my own photographic projects, now turning more to film and am surrounded by a photographic world. Thanks to Sophie, my ever supporting wife and the forbearance of my children, I live in photography. 

When I think of the eight year old boy, that day in the strange dark room, I don't feel a bit different. I just can't believe my luck.

There is one question that I can't answer though, and I hope I never will.

How can a machine reflect the human heart?  How can this impossible conundrum exist in our universe with all its laws and particularities? A machine that tells the story of the human heart? On paper its impossible but this is what photography is. A beautiful, sustaining, endlessly fascinating contradiction. Perhaps this is the question I have been trying to answer since that first moment in the darkroom. If so then this is what this podcast is about… The ongoing quest to know more, to become more - photographic. 

Thanks for listening. 

Good bye.

Form London to New York, LA and Manchester plus points in-between James Mooney connects with marginal youth groups to discover the story behind the prejudice.

NOTE - I used the word 'gangs' before and James very quickly asked me to change that pejorative word because it causes so much harm to young people. The term we came up with together is 'marginal' or 'marginalised youth' as this better describes these young people's relationship to society.

James comes from a tough district of Dublin where he grew up with a choice; too join or not to join, that was the question. Now James lives between NYC and London and has made connections with gangs all over the world into which he has gained unprecedented access.

Trust is crucial to Mooney's work and when you listen to him taking about his photography it won't surprise you that he breeds trust wherever he goes. Indeed, when he came into my studio I was immediately intrigued by this softly spoken Irishman and wanted to know more. A big ego would not get you very far in the world of young men who live beyond the normal.

Another facet of Mooney's relationship to his work is that he is incredibly modest about it. The only way you can see his images (at the moment) is through his Instagram,  'pointshootthink'.

Please listen in full to this fascinating discourse on a man's quest to make sense of young people, their alienation and culture.

Thanks,

Alex

AS PRINTING

This episode of Photographica Podcast is about a recent visit to the refugee camp in Calais known as 'The Jungle'.

I went there with the writer, Tom Blass, and our objective was to discover more for ourselves about the crisis that is unfolding just a few miles from our shores. 

This podcast is a description of the trip and the problems facing photographers getting access when restrictive regimes are in place. It is also about the way that the way you, as a photographer, connect to the environment in which you find yourself, defines that kind of work you do.

Lastly, something I didn't mention in the podcast; the role of colour in describing a scene. When I started to look at the pictures that I had shot in the camp I converted some to black and white. Doing this seemed a travesty against the telling of the story of what I had witnessed. I learned the lesson that colour is necessary when trying to depict a scene where the details matter. It is if lesser importance that colour rendition is subjective than to show as much detail as possible of a space that requires serious human contemplation.

You can see more of the pictures at www.alexschneideman.net

If you are affected by the crisis and would like to help please contact Help for Refugees who are supporting people in Calais and other migrant centres.

Thanks for listening,

Alex

I'VE LIVED A THOUSAND LIVES

One bright September morning in 2001 Heathcliff O'Malley was preparing to spend another day among the catwalks of New York Fashion Week for the Daily Telegraph. His phone rang. It was his editor in London saying that reports were coming in about a plane strike on one of the Twin Towers. This call changed the course Heathcliff's life was to take for the next 5 years. From that moment he was engaged in a story which lead from Ground Zero to Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

Heathcliff O'Malley has been a contract photographer at the Daily Telegraph for 19 years. He has covered everything from fashion shows to conflict. He has won numerous press awards and given talks at London's Frontline Club.

In this Photographica Podcast Heathcliff talks movingly and fascinatingly about his work. He describes in details the life of a photographer covering conflicts, the highs and the deep lows. With almost two decades of time spent photographing the world's conflict zones as well as royal weddings, catwalks and sporting events he offers many wonderful insights into the life of a photojournalist.

ABOUT HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY - Heathcliff O'Malley is a photojournalist based in the United Kingdom where he lives with his family and has a long standing contract with the Daily Telegraph . He has travelled worldwide throughout the Americas, Middle East, Europe and Asia, covering Reportage, Portraiture, Fashion and Corporate assignments

Prior to this Heathcliff assisted a number of photographers including the catwalk photographer Chris Moore before moving on to a London based news agency.

Heathcliff's Editorial work has been published in publications as diverse as National Geographic, Nouvel Observateur, Le Monde and the Guardian to name a few . He received an Award in the Photographer of the Year category of the Picture Editor's Guild Awards in 2001 for his work covering the Genoa G8 Summit, 911 and the subsequent War in Afghanistan.

 In 2007 Heathcliff gave a talk and slideshow presentation of his work at the Frontline Club in London focusing on the aftermath of 911 and the War on Terror which he has covered from it's beginning until the present day.

He also appeared with a panel of war reporters during a "Talkback" session with an audience after the showing of Hollywood actor Tim Robbins  "Embedded"  play at the Riverside Studio's in 2004.

In 2010 Heathcliff won a Press Photographer's Year award for a video he shot in Helmand province whilst embedded with the Coldstream Guards.

info taken from Heathcliff's site heathcliffomalley.photoshelter.com

MY HOMAGE TO A BLACK AND WHITE GREAT

An essay on the power of one broadsheet newspaper, The Independent, that did more for the love of black and white photography than any other media outlet in modern times.

Beautifully arranged spreads and layouts honoured the power of great black and white photography from its first edition in 1986. Now the Indie is going online and the end of its print edition is slated for March 2106. 

This podcast pays a person homage to this great innovator and inspiring paper.

Remember - Alex is always on hand if you want to get in touch. You do so by contacting:

WEBSITE www.asprinting.net

PODCAST WEBSITE www.asprinting.net/photographica

FACEBOOK facebook/photographicapodcast

This is a really quick edition to say 'thank you' to our listeners for getting Photographica Podcast into the iTunes' highly coveted 'New and Noteworthy' section. Also we are charting!

Please rate and comment on iTunes so we can consolidate this boost and establish Photographica for years to come.

I'm asking everyone to leave their names so I can namecheck you the next edition by way of a very big 'THANK YOU' from me.

Alex Schneideman

http://apple.co/1nsj2ih

The wistful understanding of the transience of life...

Alex and Gavin discuss:

• The hunt for a personal truth in the larger body of one's work. 
• Shooting exclusively on film. 
• 'Thin Places'. 
• The way a photograph should be consumed. 
• The strange interplay between seemingly unrelated work. 

Gavin Maxwell is a leading film-maker and photographer who has spent over 20 years making natural history, anthropological and environmental programmes for the BBC Natural History Unit and BBC Science.

His Wild China and Japan: Earth’s Enchanted Islands programmes have been viewed by millions of people worldwide. 

Gavin has also co-written two books for Random House, and lectured at the Royal Geographical Society in the UK and abroad. This year one of his large format film photographs of a human skeleton is a finalist Royal Photographic Society International Print competition.

Gavin's website is www.gcmaxwell.com

STAND STILL AND YOU DISAPPEAR

In this episode Alex Schneideman of www.asprinting.net talks to John Tiberi, a photographer who happened upon the early punk scene in London and then shot it from the inside. 

It was the grim, austere mid seventies and John Tiberi was working as an advertising photographer in the Soho studio scene of the day but loved the music he found in the pubs around Ladbroke Grove. When he happened upon Joe Strummer and his band the 101ers John's life took a new turn and he found himself on the inside of a cultural phenomenom which led to him embedding himself, camera in hand with Joe Strummer, The Clash and The Sex Pistols. It was arguably John Tiberi who create the punk movement when he put the 101ers as headline in a gig with the Sex Pistols as the support act.

John became the Sex Pistols tour manager and was instrumental in some of their most famous recordings - but he was, and continues to be, a photographer. His photographs of a very young John Lydon and Sid Vicious are extraordinary studies of youth on the verge of chaos.

I had such a great chat with John and, as is becoming the norm for Photographcia conversations, the philosophy and the ephemeral are just as interesting as the photography itself.

Remember! Send any feedback to me at alex@asprinting.net or leave comments and rate us on iTunes.

I'm working on a proper website where I'll be able to show lots more material to add to the, hopefully, immersive quality of the conversations.

Enjoy!

"WE'RE HERE FOR THE BLINK OF AN EYE"

Babycakes Romero is a photographer who is across many different visual media. His work encompasses - deep breath - animation, videography, script writing, street photography as well as dj-ing and record production. 

Babycakes Romero and Alex Schneideman discuss:

• Approach to street photography
• Encompassing many different media
• Early visual influences
• The nature of time as described by a camera
• Favourite cameras
• The viral effect
• Who gets paid for a viral sensation? Clue - it isn't the photographer.

The first half of this conversation is about is working practises - how he manages to remain productive across so many media. The second half is all about his trial sensation, 'The Death of Conversation' which is a series of street shots that show people lost to the world around them as they gaze lovingly at their smart phones. Babycakes is questioning whether this relationship between human and phone is a good thing. The series stock a chord and, in 2014 and 15 he found himself a regular contributor to news items on the subject and it all culminated in a Ted Talk. In the course of a year his life changed as millions of people clicked on his images. 

Listen to the podcast and get in touch. 

Please rate Photographic on iTunes - it means a lot and you'll get a name check!

If you'd like to discuss printing some of your work contact me at alex@asprinting.net or have a look at www.asprinting.net.

Fed up with winter? Appalled by the grimness of dark days and nothing to (photographically) look forward to?

Then listen to this short podcast that is all about the beauty of shooting in the dark and magic that happens when you push yourself, your skills and your camera over the edge of sanity and find that you not only survive but come up with some photographic gems.

Please listen and let me know what you think. You get in touch by emailing me at alex@asprinting.net.

We'll have a nice website soon at www.photographicapodcast.com where I'll be showing some examples of my images that exemplify the approach to shooting I outline here.

Thanks for listening,

Alex

Michael Woods, documenter of London's bohemian luminaries and Nicolas Roeg's collaborator talks to Photographica about his life's work.

From Soho to Notting Hill Michael Woods is the portrait photographer who has captured the souls of many of London's bohemian demi-monde.

In this episode Michael talks to Alex Schneideman about his work with Nic Roeg, George Melly and Harry Diamond as well as walk us through his favourite cameras and film processing techniques.

Beware swearing from the start but its worth it...

www.photographicapodcast.com will contain a selection of Michael's images but... not quite yet. We're still getting that sorted. 

Contact me at alex@asprinting.net or checkout my printing website, www.asprinting.net.

Lets talk about printing!

Thanks for listening,

Alex

This episode and Photomuse is on the importance of the work of Magnum's longest serving photographer, Ian Berry and, in particular, his 1978 book, The English.

I also outline my hope for a review of English documentary photography about the English. Ian Berry's work has inspired me to attempt to start a conversation about the need for a new look at the value and unique properties of the work of English documentary photography.

Recording note - I taped this monologue on my phone. I think the quality is ok. I'd be very pleased to hear what you think about this as it certainly speeds up the process!

As ever I welcome your thoughts and comments. Please contact me at alex@flowphotographic.com.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Alex

Alex gives a heads-up on a competition he'll be kicking off in which you could win over £600 ($1000 USD) worth of free printing. Subscribe to PHOTOGRAPHICA for more news.

INTRODUCING PHOTOGRAPHICA

In this, the first ever episode of Photographica, Alex Schneideman introduces his new podcast. Alex has 20 years of experience both as a documentary and portrait photographer as well as being a renowned fine art printer working all over the world for artists, photographers, galleries and museums.

PHOTOGRAPHICA welcomes feedback at @ptgapodcast on twitter or you can contact Alex directly by visiting asprinting.net or writing to him at alex@asprinting. net.

Luke Archer is the editor of Loupe Magazine, a printed photography zine which "showcases outstanding images and engaging projects" and is distributed free through various stockists of which Flow Photographic is proudly one.

I was fascinated to understand how such a high quality and free magazine could come into being in a world dominated by commercialism and the cult of celebrity. Here is a magazine that offers a quiet discourse on photography in a way that is missing from many of the mainstream offerings in print and online.

Luke goes into his background and generously offers up factors that have driven him and the other people dedicated to the Loupe project to produce a magazine that punches way above its class in the plethora of photographic publications available. 

Loupe also engages with Instagram in an innovative way, using it to bring submitted work to a wider audience.

Issue 6 is just out - at the time of posting - and you can find copies at any of the stockists listed on their site or check out their Instagram.

Loupemage.com

Insta @loupemage

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  – and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss any aspect of Photographica podcasts or printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!

This conversation between me, Alex Schneideman, and Professor Greg Currie is a discussion about the edges of reality and how that concerns photography and image making.

Greg Currie is Professor of Philosophy and Head of Research at York University. The conversation was inspired by another podcast (Philosophy Bites) in which Greg talked about the nature of film, addressing questions about perception and time in relation to the movies.

I was thrilled that Greg agreed to the recording. I write about ideas and the philosophy of photography every month in B+W Photography Magazine so it was a chance to present some ideas to a man who is ideally suited to engage with them.

Greg's patience with me is awesome and his authority is underlined by the way he engaged calmly with me in what must have been a trying hour for him!

Please listen and let me know if anything occurs to you as a result.

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  – and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss any aspect of Photographica podcasts or printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!

This episode is a conversation between me, Alex Schneideman, and Jonathan Teplitzky, the director of many movies including, Better than Sex, Gettin' Square, Burning Man, The Railway Man and 2017 released Churchill. His TV work includes Broadchurch, Marcello and the upcoming Shakspeare series, Will. Jonathan has directed actors including Timothy Spall, Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Brian Cox, Olivia Coleman and David Tennant.

We discuss how a love of photography led Teplitzky to make movies. Our discussions are wide ranging and involve quite a lot of swearing.

Jonathan is Australian but has lived on and off in the UK for over thirty years.

You can follow Jonathan on Instagram @jteplitzky

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!

This episode takes offers a new view of the relevance of the so-called 'decisive moment' to contemporary photography. 

Ever since Henri Cartier Bresson coined the term to mean that there is moment when all things come together to capture the essence of a particular situation photographers have been drawn, like moths to a naked bulb, to the beauty of the images that HCB printed as proof of his assertion. 

Documentary (or street) photography has come a long way since then and in this episode I seek to update the 'master' famous epithet, drawing us away from that light and on to others that shed more light on the time in which we live.

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!

In this new Photomuse I walk down Portobello ruminating on the issues of the day; I talk about

• The unsettling effect of Trump
• The risk to the area world in Britain's exit from Europe
• The Cambrian explosion of photographic practise
• Against pigeonholing
• The importance of joy to the creation of art
• A new way to exhibit photography designed to affect the viewer viscerally

Please get in touch with alex at alex@flowphotographic.com or @schneideman331 on twitter.

Please forgive occasionally poor delivery - I've got a lot on my mind...

Thanks for listening...

This episode is a recording of my piece for Black+White Photography Magazine issue 194

This piece is all about the over emphasis on the benefits of perfection in photography. 

Photography is a medium that lends itself to perfectionism - ever better options and technology mean that aberrations and imperfections will be 'optional' in the not so distant future. But what effect does this have on the medium's ability to convey the kernel of our humanity? Do ever sharper pictures with perfectly rendered tones lead us to a sense of truth or away from that and into a world where 'values' have moral supremacy?

If you want to take issue with me on something arising from the podcast - don't hesitate! Head over to the Photographic Podcast website and let me know what you think.

Please let others know about the Photographica Podcast by rating us in iTunes  - and your are welcome to leave a comment too. It really is the best way to get the message out.

If you'd like to discuss printing your work you can get in touch with me at alex@flowphotographic.com or visit the Flow Photographic website.

Thanks for listening,

Alex 

PS Thanks to Chad Lelong for the music!