FEATURING DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER MARK SEYMOUR

Today I visit and walk with British photographer Mark Seymour, who made his name as an award-winning wedding photographer. However, his passion for photography as a medium led him beyond the wedding aisle and onto the streets of the world, where he now documents culture, tradition, and the human experience through travel, documentary photography and workshops. In this episode of The Photowalk, we talk about his transition from weddings to reportage, the power of visual storytelling, and Ronnie’s Story, a deeply personal and important body of work that not only changed Mark as a photographer but also brought vital awareness to dementia.

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

Mark Seymour’s project shot for National Geographic in Kolkata.

Jimmy Choo portrait by Mark Seymour, giclée print. Part of the National Portrait Gallery’s archive.

As discussed on the show today, Henri Cartier-Bresson ventured to the hilltop town of Simiane-la-Rotonde and created one of his most beautiful and gentle images.

67-year-old Roy Broadley lives in a small rural village in Hampshire called Cliddesden where he has one of only a handful of shops called Kites up. A project shot by Mark Seymour.

The (Box) Brownie was a basic cardboard box camera with a simple convex-concave lens that took 2+1⁄4-inch square pictures on No. 117 roll film.

Rolleiflex is a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werke.

Larry Towell is a Canadian photographer, poet, and oral historian. Towell is known for his photographs of sites of political conflict in Ukraine, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Standing Rock and Afghanistan, among others. In 1988, Towell became the first Canadian member of Magnum Photos.

Alain Laboile is a French photographer and sculptor. Born in Bordeaux in 1968, he bought a digital camera in 2004 to document his sculpture, but later became focused on his family instead.

Constantine "Costa" Manos was an American photographer known for his images of Boston and Greece. His work has been published in Esquire, Life, and Look. He was a member of Magnum Photos.

Raghu Rai is an Indian photographer and photojournalist. He was a protégé of Henri Cartier-Bresson, who nominated Rai, then a young photojournalist, to join Magnum Photos in 1977.

Patrick Lichfield was a British photographer renowned for his elegant portraits of royalty, celebrities, and fashion icons, including official photographs of the wedding of Charles and Diana.

Bob Carlos Clarke was a British-Irish photographer known for his provocative and highly stylized images, blending eroticism, fashion, and dark glamour.

John Stoddart is a British photographer known for his striking celebrity portraits, capturing icons like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Pierce Brosnan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger with a bold, cinematic style.

John Swannell is a British photographer renowned for his striking fashion, portrait, and royal photography, capturing icons like Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II.

The Hope Foundation for Street Children is a charity empowering disadvantaged children in Kolkata, India, through life-changing programmes and services.

Cliveden House is a historic English country estate in Berkshire, known for its lavish architecture, political gatherings, and famous guests, including Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, and Meghan Markle, who stayed there before her wedding to Prince Harry.

In March and April 2025, Photowalk listeners have a special offer for a pair of fantastic LOWA boots, so if you need NEW boots to walk that trail, then you’ll be pleased to know that using code PHOTOWALK on www.lowa.co.uk – you can receive 25% off a price of boots or shoes up to the end of April 2025. We’re also GIVING AWAY a pair of LOWAs to UK listeners who send in a great picture story from the walks you take along the trail. Due to shipping, we can only accept entries from the UK this time around - send your letters and pictures to stories@photowalk.show

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

The ENCOUNTERS workshop in April.

MUSIC LINKS: Elijah Aaron sang and wrote today's playout song Where we go. Music on the show is sourced primarily from Artlist and also features in Michael Brennan’s Spotify playlist GoFoto.