FEATURING PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER HARRY BORDEN

This week, the conversation with Harry Borden moves beyond the portraits that made his name and into the ideas that continue to drive him. We talk about his "why", his growing YouTube channel and the deeply personal 4 Hugs Wide project. Harry also reflects on the detached retina that changed his outlook on life and speaks openly about a particularly difficult period, so just a gentle note that this part of the conversation touches on mental health. It's an honest, thoughtful and optimistic discussion with one of Britain's most respected portrait photographers.

From the mailbag, we have some Hoptimism from Denmarkland too... and yes, with an H. All will be revealed in a letter from Hegaard the Dane. If you don't believe in the power of a photograph, then Jim Farmer just might change your mind with today's opening letter. Chris Rawlings puts photography, AI and digital art into the same boxing ring with a question that's sure to divide opinion. We've got some biscuit tin answers to the question, "Which photographer, past or present, would you choose to make your portrait?" Valerie Jardin returns with this month's Teach Me Street, where she's very happily disappearing into a world of black and white, and the last letter of the show has a tortoise theme.

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This episode is also supported by SILVERGRAIN PRESS. If you have photographs sitting on a hard drive that deserve a life beyond a screen, Silvergrain Press creates beautifully made photo books, fine art prints and handcrafted frames. Visit silvergrainpress.com/photowalk and use the code PHOTOWALK for 15% off your first order.

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

A friendly reminder: The links on this page will take you to external websites and platforms, and while I only point you towards places I think are worth your time, I have no control over their content and can't be held responsible for whatever you find when you get there.

Join us in Venice for the Venice ‘26 retreat, photographing a city built on water, light, and ritual as winter settles across the lagoon. Together we’ll wander through early-morning markets, quiet canal edges, hidden monasteries, and the weathered backstreets of Castello and Cannaregio, with time to slow down, take photographs, and build creative confidence in a city that reveals itself gently when the crowds disappear. Places limited.

See Harry Borden’s Survivor series, and further personal projects discussed on the episode.

See Sandro Correia’s work on Shutterbug and Instagram. Sandro wrote a letter to the show, wondering about how to ‘reboot’ his photography at a time when he feels a bit lost creatively.

Margaret Drabble is one of Britain's most respected novelists, known for writing about everyday life, family relationships and the social changes that shaped post-war Britain. Alongside more than twenty novels, she has written biographies, literary criticism and edited The Oxford Companion to English Literature. In 2008, she was made a Dame for her services to literature.

Clovelly is a historic fishing village on the north Devon coast, famous for its steep cobbled street that drops to a small harbour. Cars have never been part of village life, so goods are still moved by sledge, a tradition that has survived for generations. Privately owned and carefully preserved, Clovelly has inspired writers and artists for more than a century and remains one of Britain's most distinctive coastal villages.

Amazônia is one of Sebastião Salgado's most ambitious projects. Created over seven years, it documents the landscapes, rivers, forests and Indigenous communities of the Amazon through more than 200 black-and-white photographs. Alongside the book, a major travelling exhibition and film celebrate both the beauty of the rainforest and the people who have lived there for generations

Affluenza is a book by Oliver James that explores why greater wealth doesn't always lead to greater happiness. Drawing on psychology, research and interviews from around the world, James argues that modern consumer culture can leave people chasing money, status and possessions at the expense of relationships, wellbeing and contentment.

Vipassana meditation is one of the world's oldest meditation techniques, with roots in India stretching back more than 2,500 years. The word Vipassana means "to see things as they really are", and the practice centres on carefully observing the mind and body through sustained attention. It is often taught during silent ten-day residential retreats and is presented as a practical technique that people of any faith, or none, can learn.

Oliver Burkeman is a British journalist and author best known for writing about time, productivity and the limits of modern self-improvement. A former columnist for The Guardian, he is the author of Four Thousand Weeks, which argues that accepting our limited time, rather than trying to control every minute of it, can lead to a more meaningful and less anxious life.

Andrew North is an award-winning British journalist who spent more than two decades reporting from Afghanistan. In 2022, while working on assignment for the UN refugee agency, he was detained by the Taliban and held for several days before being released. His book War & Peace & War uses that experience as a starting point for a wider account of Afghanistan's recent history, told through the lives of the people he came to know over twenty years of reporting.

Dennis Stone was Heathrow Airport's resident photographer for more than sixty years, earning the nickname "the Godfather of Heathrow". From the early days of the jet age, he photographed everyone from film stars and musicians to royalty and world leaders as they arrived and departed. His archive captures not just famous faces, but the changing story of air travel itself.

Books mentioned within the show today. Stolen Focus by Johann Hari explores why so many of us struggle to concentrate in a world full of distractions, arguing that our shrinking attention spans aren't simply a personal failing but the result of wider forces shaping the way we live. Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird is a wonderfully honest book about writing and creativity, while Notes on Hope offers thoughtful reflections on finding optimism when life feels uncertain.

Hoptimists are those cheerful little Danish figures that bob up and down when you touch them, originally created in the late 1960s by Hans Gustav Ehrenreich. The Roligan version is the football fan of the family, dressed for Denmark with its red-and-white supporter hat, ready to bring a bit of bounce, optimism and match-day silliness to the room.

Samuel Beckett and Orson Welles, photographed by Jane bown.

THE BISCUIT TIN QUESTION: WHICH PHOTOGRAPHER WOULD YOU CHOOSE FROM THE PAST OR NOW, TO MAKE YOUR PORTRAIT? SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO: stories@photowalk.show

MUSIC LINKS: The Polarity wrote today's playout song Son of a Beach. 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.

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

THE SHOWPAGE GALLERY

HARRY BORDEN

Photographs above from Harry’s and Mireille Thornton’s Four Hugs Wide project.

JIM FARMER

Jim and his daughter Hannah meet Emmylou Harris and breathe new life into a photo taken 46 years prior!

TEACH ME STREET

CHRISTOPHER PARSONS

NEALE JAMES

Photographs from the path, sketchbook pictures.

VIDEO LIBRARY

The following videos or subjects are referenced within today’s show.

#539 “A LIFE WORTH LIVING”