FEATURING PHOTOGRAPHER AND CYBERPSYCHOLOGIST RUTH GUEST

This week’s guest is Ruth Guest, a photographer and cyberpsychologist who’s spent a lot of time thinking about what’s really going on when we make pictures in a world that never seems to stop producing them. We explore the topics of losing your spark with photography, the pressure of everything we see online, and what happens when you start copying others without even realising it. It’s less about cameras and more about what’s happening in your head when you pick one up. We also touch on why we shoot in the first place, whether it’s for work, for memory, or just to hold on to something that matters, plus what changes once those images are shared with the world. If you’ve ever questioned your own reasons for taking pictures or felt a bit lost in all the noise, this is an episode for you.

In the mailbag this week, Jeff Smeraldo writes in about photographing family and why it matters more than we often realise, especially when it comes to legacy. Hegaard the Dane is stepping into what he calls a “proper grown-up job,” which somehow leads us to news of a brand-new meet-up. Dennis Linden introduces a YouTuber who came to photography later in life, someone who didn’t follow the usual path, and the photo assignment returns, set by photographer and artist Gael Hillyard.

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

Join us on the Black Isle near Inverness, for the Scotland ‘26 retreat, staying on a working soft-fruit farm with Highland views. The retreat includes small creative workshops, from photogravure printing to sound and writing sessions, plus plenty of time to walk, talk and make photographs together.

Enjoy HALFWAY TO MAYBE, Monday, Wednesday and Friday on your favourite podcast player apps: APPLE, SPOTIFY, AMAZON MUSIC, or by adding the RSS FEED to your podcast app of choice.

Chloe versus History, YouTube channel, embracing ai to tell stories on a budget and in a way that might otherwise be impossible. Be sure to also visit the shorts.

Definition: AI slop (also known simply as slop) is digital content created with generative artificial intelligence that is perceived as lacking effort, quality, or meaning, and produced in high volume as clickbait to gain an advantage in the attention economy. Full article here.

Definition: Claude AI is an artificial intelligence assistant, similar to ChatGPT, designed to understand questions, generate human-like responses, and help with tasks like writing, research, and problem-solving.

Brandon Stanton, the mind behind Humans of New York, built a global following by pairing simple street portraits with honest, often disarming snippets of people’s lives.

Ruth Guest set up Humans of Dublin, helping shape a version of the Humans of format that reflects Dublin’s people through candid portraits and conversations.

See Ruth Guest’s Substack.

Returning to Photography, the workbook that is mentioned withing my discussion with Ruth Guest today.

Released in 1983, the Nikon FE2 was a compact, electronically controlled 35mm SLR that pushed boundaries with a fast 1/4000s shutter speed, reliable aperture-priority automation, and compatibility with Nikon’s long-standing F-mount lenses, making it a favourite among serious amateurs and professionals well into the late film era.

Lee Miller moved from fashion model to fearless photojournalist, documenting the Second World War with an unflinching eye, including her stark images from the liberation of Dachau and the haunting portrait of herself in Hitler’s bath.

The Camino de Santiago is an ancient network of pilgrimage routes across Europe, drawing people not just for the journey to Santiago, but for the headspace that comes with walking it day after day.

Sally Mann is known for her intimate, sometimes unsettling, large-format photographs of family, landscape, and mortality, often rooted in the deep, complicated history of the American South.

Aaron Siskind turned away from documentary work to create bold, abstract images of walls, textures, and found details, where peeling paint and cracked surfaces begin to feel almost like language.

MUSIC LINKS: Ziv Moran wrote today's playout song Born in the river. 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.