#501 A BORROWED CAMERA BRINGS A NEW LIFE
FEATURING LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER AND WRITER BRAD CARR
On the show today: Brad Carr’s photography isn’t just about making beautiful landscape pictures and being out in nature, it’s about a sense of catharsis, healing and even survival. Growing up in a violent, abusive home left scars that still echo today, but the camera became his way back to himself. What started with borrowing his sister’s camera has grown into a profession and, more importantly, a lifeline. In this episode, Brad shares how landscapes, ancient oaks, and the act of making photographs have helped him create, steadying a life once marked by turmoil.
In today’s mailbag: a letter from Patrick Gerke with poetry and reflections on photography as pure escapism, plus street photographer Ann Luu-Trong shares her “why.” Complaints Corner is open again, and this time it’s my maths under fire (nobody told me adding up was part of the job description!) There’s news of a brand-new end-of-year competition, and it’s the final call to take part in Ibarionex’s September One Word Assignment.
Email your stories, thoughts, and pictures to the show. If you can optimize/resize photos to 2,500 pixels wide, that’s always much appreciated. If you’d like to support this show and have access to further content and the midweek Extra Mile show, we’d welcome you as an EXTRA MILER. There’s also our thriving Facebook group, a safe place to meet and talk with photographers of all interests, the Photowalk YouTube channel, plus the show is featured on Instagram, VERO and X.
As well as our Extra Milers, we’re also supported by our friends at Arthelper.ai who make marketing easier, helps more people find your work, and keeps your voice true—so you can get back to what you love most: making art. Enter PHOTOWALK at checkout to receive 30 days of the pro version free.
PLEASE HELP TO BUILD OUR COMMUNITY BY SHARING THIS EPISODE TO YOUR FAVOURITE SOCIAL PLATFORMS
LEARN:
MORE ABOUT names, words, THE MUSIC and places FROM TODAY’S SHOW
Find your ‘why’ with Brad Carr, build creative confidence, prepare for a major project such as a photobook or exhibition, or expand your landscape photography skillset with tailored mentoring and in‑field tuition.
Joan Didion was an American writer and journalist (1934–2021), famous for her sharp, clear-eyed prose about American culture, politics, and personal experience.
See the work of Ann Luu-Trong, a beautiful perspective of the world, also on Instagram.
In The Meaning in the Making, Sean Tucker weaves personal stories with philosophy and spiritual insight to explore why and how, we all feel compelled to create.
David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day is a sharply funny collection of essays about language, family, and the oddities of everyday life.
Kelvin Brown’s flickr Photowalk inspired group - join by invite by clicking on to THIS LINK.
MUSIC LINKS: Beò wrote today's playout song For the rest of my life. Music on the show is sourced primarily from Artlist and also features in Michael Brennan’s Spotify playlist GoFoto. For Apple Music users, follow this playlist.
CLICK LINKS FOR OFFERS AND SUPPORTERS
THE SHOWPAGE GALLERY
BRAD CARR
Above, a lone tree photographed by Brad Carr. Below, pictures from his latest show.
PATRICK GERKE
Accompanying his beautiful words and poem on the show today, I’d like to share Patrick Gerke’s wonderful view of the world (above and below), as he bears witness to life.
Go north.
Get out the door, and go north.
Or south.
Go anywhere that calls to you.
Just so long as you go.
There’s a tension, a pulling
At the threads of your soul,
As constant and certain as gravity itself.
Follow it.
Leave your mind at home,
You’ll have no use for it
Where you are going.
And what you’ll find there
Can be neither coerced nor contrived.
Instead, open your heart.
Grant it audience to the aria that is life.
Free it to be enamored and enthralled,
To be taken
By the light, the contour,
The humour, the sorrow.
Find that moment,
Untethered and unshackled from the confines
Of expectation and belief.
A moment beyond wonder and awe,
Beyond words and expression.
A truth, absolutely objective and resolute
To you and you alone.
It awaits, uncertain and undecided,
Anticipating confluence divine
To be,
To exist,
However fleetingly.
Bear witness.
Testify to its virtue and grace.
And recognize the importance of your voice
In its very existence.
Worry not.
You won’t miss it.
You’ll be precisely where you need to be
When you need to be there.
There’s no rush,
Everything is on time.
So, go north.
Follow the song of your heart,
And give voice to the truth
As only you can.
Go.
VIDEO LIBRARY
The following videos or subjects are referenced within today’s show.
