FEATURING DOCUMENTARY SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER LAURA GATES

In between the letters and features, my guest today is Laura Gates, a fast-rising documentary sports photographer. We talk about the pitches where stories begin, the momentum behind the women’s game, and the moments on and off the field that meet Laura’s curious lens. She self-published her first book and sold more copies than many photographers manage through traditional publishers, which speaks to the strength of her work. We also talk about confidence when you are starting out as a photographer, the realities of building a creative business, and the place of women in sport as the wider picture continues to grow and evolve.

From the mailbag today, Gene Westburg writes about the calm he’s found walking with a camera and a four-legged friend, Alex Boone sends in the picture that defined his 2025, made on a trusty smartphone, and Fred Ash throws me a why question to wrestle with, plus street photographer Valérie Jardin guest-writes a Friday Reflection and considers how AI may affect street photography.

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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LEARN:

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

See Laura Gates’ YouTube channel, Instagram, and blog post about finding photography.

The history of Everton FC.

Women’s football in the UK was effectively banned in 1921, when the FA ruled that the women’s game should not be played on association-affiliated pitches. The decision stalled the sport for fifty years, despite huge public interest at the time. The ban was finally lifted in 1971.

Dinky toys are simple die-cast model cars, trucks and vehicles that were made for kids (and collectors) from the 1930s onward.

FC St Helens Women is a women’s association football club based in St Helens, England. They compete in local and regional women’s leagues. The team provides opportunities for women and girls to play competitive football, contributing to grassroots sport in their area.

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

MUSIC LINKS: Louis Island wrote today's playout song Found Ya. 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.