FEATURING MUSICIAN, PHOTOGRAPHER AND EXTRA MILER BIL REPENNING

This week’s Photowalk features Bil Repenning, a musician who’s shifting his creative energy into photography. Music has shaped the way he sees the world, and you can hear that within our conversation. Following an accident five years ago, he began building a photographic practice rooted in documentary portrait work, taking the craft seriously as he moves into this next chapter. We talk about the music that shaped him, the radio that shaped us both, and what it’s like to change course mid-career without the fanfare or drama, just a genuine desire to make good work. It’s a conversation about starting later, learning on the move, and finding a new place to stand creatively.

From the mailbag, John Anderton shares a deeply personal story about his mum, Winnie, and the way he chose to document her life as dementia changed their days. What he’s written is a reminder of how powerful it can be to hold on to family stories in more than one way. There’s also a note from Dominique Martel, who’s wrestling with a familiar modern problem: subscription overload! We have this month’s One Word assignment from Liza Gershman, and you’re invited to join the show in Scotland for a new look Scottish Retreat in June 2026.

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.

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MORE ABOUT names, words, THE MUSIC and places FROM TODAY’S SHOW

The Gibson Les Paul is one of the most iconic electric guitars ever made, known for its rich tone and sustain, favoured by legends from Jimmy Page to Slash.

Stephen Ray Vaughan, also known as SRV, was an American musician best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues-rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

Charlie Christian was a game-changing jazz guitarist whose electrified solos helped lift the guitar from the rhythm section into the spotlight. Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma City, he joined Benny Goodman’s sextet in 1939 and, during his brief but brilliant career, laid the groundwork for bebop and modern jazz guitar.

Phil Sharp is a London-based portrait and casting photographer whose work has partnered brands like Apple, Samsung and Adidas—and a handful of stars too. He’s been shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize several times and regularly wins in the Portrait of Britain awards.

Alex Harris is an American photographer and educator whose work has wandered through the American South, Alaska, New Mexico, Cuba and beyond — from Inuit villages to movie sets.

Jason Vinson is a wedding and documentary photographer based in Northwest Arkansas who left a decade-long career in mechanical engineering to follow his passion for capturing real, unposed moments.

Niki Boon is a New Zealand-based family and documentary photographer whose work captures childhood and family life in its wild, unvarnished state: mud, trees, a river-edge, and all. She documents her own life in rural Marlborough and invites others into that honest space with images that feel raw, calm and grounded.

Dan Winters is an American photographer whose images often linger in your mind long after you’ve seen them. He’s shot iconic portraits, scientific explorations, and aerospace stories across publications such as The New Yorker, Wired and National Geographic.

Nina Simone was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter whose work shaped modern jazz, blues, and soul.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French aviator and writer who split his life between the cockpit and the page. He flew early airmail routes across Africa and South America, wrote about the realities of flight in books like Wind, Sand and Stars, and later created The Little Prince, which became one of the most translated books in the world.

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian artist, inventor, and thinker whose work straddled science and art in a way few have matched. He painted The Last Supper and Mona Lisa, and sketched ideas for flying machines long before they were possible.

Gavin Perry supplied this week’s PS inspirations.

Kelvin Brown’s flickr Photowalk inspired group - join by invite by clicking on to THIS LINK.

MUSIC LINKS: Amaryllis wrote today's playout song Sail Away. 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.