FEATURING STREET PHOTOGRAPHERS MARK FEARNLEY & VALÉRIE JARDIN

The mailbag returns today alongside my guest Mark Fearnley, a London-based street photographer known for his minimalist, fine art approach to urban storytelling, where lines, light, and shadow play leading roles. With a background rooted in the arts, his shift to photography felt like a natural extension of how he sees the world. In this episode, Mark shares the story of how he found his visual voice, why the city of London in particular remains his ever-changing canvas, and how his work challenges the traditional idea of what street photography should look like. Alongside creating striking, often cinematic imagery, he also spends time guiding others, not just in technique, but in learning to observe with intent.

Also, in the monthly feature Teach Me Street, Valérie Jardin answers what ‘makes an image,’ and unpicks how photographers can recognise that they have captured something really quite special. Plus, Extra Miler Dennis Linden sets a new assignment for the month.

From the mailbag two Chris’s, Articulate and Parsons celebrate the sights and sounds of our Indian special, Charles Mason reminds us of the power of hands, and how much hands say about us in a portrait, plus Lin Gregory has important and special thoughts about safety for women photographers on the paths we tread.

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

Lin Gregory shares through Substack, important thoughts about women’s safety when walking in our wonderful countryside: Safety in Nature. Also subscribe to Lin’s Substack and see her stunning photography on her website.

Henri Cartier-Bresson had an instinct for being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, making pictures that feel as alive today as the moment they were made.

Fan Ho was a Chinese photographer, film director, and actor. From 1956, he won over 280 awards from international exhibitions and competitions worldwide for his photography.

Mark Seymour is a documentary photographer known for capturing real, emotional stories with honesty and depth.

ONE LOVE is Valérie Jardin’s black-and-white photography project celebrating the LGBTQ+ community by capturing moments of everyday life. Using natural light and a candid approach, the photography project documents unposed moments of families, couples, and individuals immersed in activities they love.

Mixam is a UK-based self-publishing company that offers high-quality, affordable print-on-demand services, allowing authors and creatives to produce and sell books without upfront costs or inventory commitments.

Brendan Ó Sé is a multi-award-winning mobile and street photographer from Cork, Ireland. He runs mobile photography workshops at home and abroad, working with institutions like Google, the National Museum of Ireland, and the Glucksman Gallery.

Phil Penman is a British-born, New York-based photographer whose dynamic street and documentary work captures the raw pulse of city life with cinematic intensity and a deep respect for human stories.

Metropolis is regarded as a pioneering science-fiction film, being among the first feature-length ones of that genre. Filming took place over 17 months in 1925–26 at a cost of more than five million Reichsmarks, or the equivalent of about €21 million.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (German: Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens) is a 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife (Greta Schröder) of his estate agent (Gustav von Wangenheim) and brings the plague to their town.

Peek inside the camera bags of talented photographers and filmmakers worldwide, in Shotkit.

First released in 1977, ELO’s ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ turned Jeff Lynne’s Beatlesque vision into pure sonic sunshine, a technicolour anthem that’s become one of pop’s most enduring feel-good classics, from vinyl to film scores. The video is below in the video library.

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

MUSIC LINKS: The Watershed sang and wrote today's playout song The Sun in my World. 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

MARK FEARNLEY

Photographs (above and below) copyright Mark Fearnley. Not to be reproduced or used without express permission from the photographer.

CHARLES MASON

A quiet study of hands over time, from those the photographer captured in his early career to his own, now becoming the subject. See more of Charles’ work on his Instagram.

TEACH ME STREET FEATURE WITH VALÉRIE JARDIN

SUE BYRNE’S IMAGE

Valérie Jardin creatively reviews photographs sent in each month during the show. Send yours in to be included in the monthly feature - and if your picture is selected, you win an eBook of your choice from Valérie’s extensive library.

PHIL PAINE

Phil Paine asks for feedback on how to capture a photograph from one position, having recently had to alter the way he makes photographs on the street due to a mobility issue. Valérie talks of the power of finding one spot and remaining there to observe.