Photopocene – Details, episodes & analysis

I love it when we get to meet (in an audio way) a photographic artist whose passion for plants melds with their passion for photography.

In this episode with Sammie Masters-Hopkins, you will discover more about the Pictory Garden she is nurturing to help create a circular means of creating images.

Plus there's chat about how we use and discard botanical tokens as part of our calendar-based celebrations and Sammie's burgeoning long-term photographic project based on these traditions.

Listen along to discover much more and then head over to Sammie's website at slmhopkins.com or find her on Instagram at @slmhopkins

And as ever, I'd love to share your eco-conscious photographic story so don't be shy and get in touch via josiepurcellphotography.com/contact

After a six-month sabbatical from the Photopocene podcast, what a great way to start back!

I'm joined on the first episode of 2024 (and episode 40!) by the delightful Rachel Wright, a photographer whose practice mixes other disciplines, processes and collaborations.

She sums this up in her tagline, "photography, mainly".

We not only chat about her interests in relation to challenging habitual ways of seeing the world, but how her work responds to the potential of the arts to deconstruct notions of nature/culture dualism.

Rachel is keen to address the human tendency to see our species as separate from nature, and how this can influence our desire to care for it, with many of her photo series considering the multi-layers and entanglements of life.

We found much common ground in our conversation, such as sand and abstraction, with Rachel's work providing a means for those who view it to contemplate, consider and challenge their notions of nature.

Intuition, curiosity and play all inform Rachel's working style, and are reflected in her images - listen out for Barn Jam too.

Do take a look at her website but if you are close to Diss, Norfolk, head to the Corn Hall on St Nicholas Street (IP22 4LB) from 17 Feb - 16 March to see her work as part of a collectiveTransformative Nature (Conversations) exhibition.

Visit: rachelwrightphotography.com

Instagram: instagram.com/rachelwrightstudio

It is always a joy to chat with photo-artists employing photography in various forms to share their creative response to environmental matters.

Do contact me, Josie, via instagram.com/josieshutterpod or my website josiepurcellphotography.com to apply to take part, whether you are just starting out on your eco-conscious photo journey or have a ton of photo tales to tell.

Join me, Josie Purcell, your host of the Photopocene podcast as I chat with the fabulous emerging freelance photographer, Alice Mason.

Alice has a passion for photographing people which shines through in her work.

She started out studying film at university and experimented with different mediums before falling in love with photography. 

Her work has a strong documentary slant, with topics ranging from the BLM protests, street photography, stylised and thematic portraits and fashion, with representation a key focus. She often works with members of the LBGTQ+ community and/or with models who have black, Asian or mixed heritage.

Along with finding out more about her BLM protest coverage and the importance of telling the story of those you photograph, we also chat about our joint love of festivals and her long-form series, Glastonbury After Hours which looks at what's left behind at such an event.

Other editorial work includes her coverage of the World Naked Bike Ride in London; an event taking place globally in various cities to raise awareness of climate change and her experience photographing the event.

As ever, we talk about how photography has a role to play in shining a spotlight on environmental issues, which are most often linked to humanity in some way. 

Find out more about Alice's work at https://www.alicemasonphotography.com/

Or see her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/alicemasonphotography/ or LinkedIn at https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alice-mason

And if you are heading to Glastobury this year, go see Alice at the Wreck Collective at Green Futures Field. And be mindful, if you take it, take it home if you can't dispose of correctly on-site.

If you'd like to share how your eco-conscious photography in an audio way, please contact me via josiepurcellphotography.com/contact 

Episode 30 with Harry is another delight for the podcast library. 

His career is fascinating, from his time as a photojournalist to his sustainable photography tourism business now. And his passion for photography is apparent.

Harry not only loves the medium, but he also loves sharing it with others too.

I am honoured our conversation prompted his recollection of family get-togethers around a slide projector, back before TV, and loved hearing about his time photographically supporting environmental and social causes in the days before social media.

Now, Harry can be found immersed in his local landscapes, using photography as a means to aid conservation and respect for our natural surroundings. His enthusiasm for natural heritage, the night sky, and much, much more is infectious.

You can visit his website https://harryfricker.uk/ to discover more about his background and his project, The Shadows of Yesterday are the Light of Tomorrow.

To book a workshop, including the one he mentioned with Carolyn Kennett, visit https://www.dioramadays.uk/

You can find Harry on Instagram @dioramadays and on YouTube at Harry Fricker Studios

As ever, do please get in touch if you would like to share your eco-conscious photography story in an audio way via josiepurcellphotography.com

And find out more about the right to roam at righttoroam.org.uk

This is a fab east of England meets west of England episode as I chat with Norwich-based photographic artist, Holly Sandiford.

It's great to learn more about Holly's practice and her passion for experimental photography.

She's keen to stay connected to her natural environment and her work relating to soil health helps her (literally) stay hands-on with the earth beneath our feet.

And it's brilliant to hear about how science and art can collide, with reference to Winogradsky columns and more.

But it's not just her MA and personal practice she is passionate about as Holly is also an educator and runs a community arts project, Arts at Work Norwich, too.

As with other podcast guests, learning about what motivates Holly is fascinating, including how it's important to her that her work remains accessible and can be found in spaces other than the gallery.

You can find out more on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly.sandiford/

And visit https://artatwork.co.uk/ too as there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.

If you'd like to learn about the John Innes Centre, head to https://www.jic.ac.uk/

To enter the Art at Work and Original Magazine competition, visit https://www.originalmagazine.uk/home/pause-for-thought-norwich

If you would like to share your eco-conscious photography on the Photopocene podcast, let me know via https://www.josiepurcellphotography.com/contact   

 

Working in eco-conscious photographic ways is an important aspect of photography, but working to raise awareness of environmental issues that impact the fabric of our societies is vital too. In this episode, I'm joined by photographer Tim Beale, whose work reflects our psychogeographical journey through life. It considers the connections we have with natural and built environments and how these places influence how we live our lives and the life around us. Tim's work The Right to this City documents his photographic research into housing inequality in Bath. It is thought-provoking and challenging and worth finding out more about, along with his other projects. You can see more at https://www.timbealefoto.co.uk/ Plus, Tim is exhibiting as part of the Water's Edge exhibition at St Mary's Priory Church, Chepstow from Monday 18 April to Sunday 24 April and he will be a part of the Photo Frome Festival in June/July at the Station Gallery. As ever, if you would like to share how your photographic work responds to environmental matters, do get in touch via https://www.josiepurcellphotography.com/

Listen along to the latest Photopocene podcast with me, your host Josie Purcell, as I chat with the photographic artist, Elizabeth Woodger. I love how art and science can collide, and photography is the perfect medium for it to do so.  Liz shares her enthralling background as a geologist, with a PhD in paleoclimatology, and how this led to her photographic career. We talk about fossils, curiosity, patience (or lack of), origami, and playfulness in photography while we uncover more about her stunning and varied photographic series and how she moves from studio-based construction to outdoor experimentation. Head over to https://elizabethwoodger.com/ to discover her art. You can follow Liz on Instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethwoodger/ And as ever, if you would like to share your eco-conscious photography in an audio way on the Photopocene podcast, then do contact me via josie@josiepurcellphotography.com or https://www.josiepurcellphotography.com/

If you want to discover more about photography projects which consider light pollution, solography, how history is written into the lines of our land and so much more, then Giles W Bennett's practice is one to look out for.

We chat about how Giles found his way to photography via experimental film, environmental activism and even circus performance, while Giles also touches on how his dyspraxia, dyslexia and ADHD are a part of his creative process.

There's also a lovely surprise to celebrate in our conversation but listen along to find out what that is.

You can discover more about Giles on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gileswbennett/

And read his blogs at: https://gileswbennett.wordpress.com/ or https://gileswbennettlightpolution.wordpress.com/

While one of his MA videos - https://youtu.be/g-J1ypg2nqw - provides more info about Giles' practice and its links to the environment.

You can see his current shows at:

Sunny Bank Mills Ones To Watch 2022 - 19 March to 7 May - Yorkshire - https://www.sunnybankmills.co.uk/arts/gallery/ones-to-watch-2022/

Uni of Gloucester MA Graduate Exhibition 2022 - 24 March to 8 April - Hardwick Gallery, Gloucester - http://hardwickgallery.org/exhibitions/ma-photography-2022-exhibition/

And as always, if you would like to share your eco-conscious photography in an audio way, get in touch with me, Josie, your Photopocene via https://www.josiepurcellphotography.com/photopocene

In this episode of Photopocene, I discuss artwork that makes my brain work.

That's because it is the impactful and intriguing photo collage work of Adam King.

We talk about how environment and ecology are referenced in his images, his creative beginnings in Norfolk, life in London at art school and beyond.

I learn how Argos catalogues played a role in his early, otherworldly photo collages and how charity shop finds are now informing his current creations.

All of this is driven by comment on consumerism, notions of value and appearance, and a chance to see what can evolve from the discarded.

To see Adam's work for yourself, visit his website https://www.adamking.site/

As always, if you would like to share your eco-conscious photography, do please get in touch via https://www.josiepurcellphotography.com/

In this episode of Photopocene, I chat with photography student Claire-louise Pitman.

She candidly spoke about how her health influences her relationship with her environment and her photography, and I certainly learned from her.

With an upcoming end-of-year show in June, her final project brings a new take on the memory box, and this, and other photo series, respond to living with Anosmia.

I hope you enjoy discovering more about Claire-louise's work.

All the links you need...

https://claire-louisepitman.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/clairelouise178/

https://www.fifthsense.org.uk/girl-who-cant-smells-official-anosmia-awareness-day-party/

https://www.gofundme.com/f/plymouth-ba-hons-degree-show-2022

https://www.almudenaromero.co.uk/

As ever, do contact me, your Photopocene host Josie Purcell at https://www.josiepurcellphotography.com/ if you would like to share your eco-conscious photography in an audio way.