The Togcast Photography Podcast

Just a very quick update from Sam to let you know when we'll be back in January and who we've got lined up for the next few episodes.

Thanks for listening as ever, and we'll be back with you very soon with lots more photography chat.

TheTogcast.com

On this show we welcome arguably the foremost British Documentary Photographer of his era; Martin Parr. With over 100 books to his name, a photographic foundation and having formerly been the president of Magnum Photos, they don’t come much bigger than this. His imagery is quirky, humorous, sometimes uncomfortable but definitely his own! Over his career Martin has peered into the peculiarities of humans, especially the British and our past-times including leisure and travel.

Amongst a myriad of topics we chat about his career, the importance of persistence and finding your own personal vision based on the connection to your subject. Sometimes controversial, his opinions are robust and hopefully stimulating for the listener, whatever genre of photography you enjoy.

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Thanks as ever to WEX Photo Video & Fotospeed for supporting the show. We’ll be back in January 2020 with our next guest Jack Lowe discussing ‘The Lifeboat Station Project’.

On this show we catch up with landscape pro photographer Lizzie Shepherd. Lizzie is based up in North Yorkshire and specialises in landscape, nature and travel with some occasional commercial photography. Her work is exhibited at the Joe Cornish Gallery in Northallerton and has appeared in various photography magazines. We chat with Lizzie about how she became a full-time photographer, her eye for ‘unremarkable’ scenes, finding time to shoot for herself, the joy of teaching and much more.

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Exhibition Info: 'Home' at The Higgins, Bedford

• Photography Exhibition: 3rd December 2019 – 29th March 2020
• Outside Settlement Gallery, Free Entry

Bedford Homeless Partnership proudly presents a mixed media exhibition by artists with personal experience of homelessness. This promises to challenge perceptions, provoke discussion and raise awareness of what ‘home’ really means to people on the streets, in hostels and refuges.

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Many thanks to WEX Photo Video & Fotospeed for supporting the show. We'll be back in 2 weeks with former Magnum Photo's president Martin Parr.

This episode was recorded live at FotoFest 2019 in September and features 4 top UK photographers across a range of genres. In the landscape sector we have Rachael Talibart and Nigel Danson, Tom Way covers wildlife and Martin Parr from a documentary point of view. We get into some hot photography topics and take questions from the live studio audience. We cover lots of aspects of being a photographer, creating your own unique work and much more.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks time with our next guest Lizzie Shepherd.

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The Togcast is hosted by Sam Gregory and Paul Sanders. The show is supported by WEX Photo Video and Fotospeed.com

David Ward is one of Britain's most notable landscape photographers. His eye for shape and form is without equal and produces work that is startling in its clarity and intensity. We caught up with David at his 'Overlooked' exhibition which is currently on display at the Joe Cornish Gallery. We chat about his visual motivations, theories about composition and dealing with the smaller details. This is a deep dive into his photographic pursuits, what drives them and how he sees the position of landscape photography in the wider context of art.

"David Ward's camera looks deep into the landscape; revealing texture, detail, rhythm and subtleties that most of us miss." - Joe Cornish

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In the show we featured an exhibition by Margaret Soraya called ‘Quiet’ at the Bosham Gallery running from October 5th - 14th December which celebrates the untouched beauty of the remote Scottish Isles and how solitude and quiet is a catalyst for creativity.

There are various events running alongside the exhibition including a wild swimming talk and taster session! For full details check out the show notes where we’ve listed the dates and events.

3rd Nov - Quiet dip at West Wittering beach - a wild swimming talk and taster 

4th Nov - Ladies day workshop  - “ Finding solitude through photography” 

5th Nov - Introvert / extrovert questionnaire day at Bosham Gallery 

30th Nov - Artists talk and afternoon at the Bosham Gallery “ Finding your own creative space” 

We also mentioned the ‘Distinctly’ exhibition at the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum on the Wirral on until 24th November: “This show takes a unique approach to the depiction of Britain and its distinct landscapes, industries, social and economic changes, cultural traditions, traits and events as seen through the eyes of ten of the most significant and impactful established and emerging photographers working in Britain over the last six decades.

The exhibition looks at the gentle, the humorous, the starkness, the beauty and the realities experienced and captured by the photographers around their lives living and working in Britain.

Artists: Martin Parr, Chris Killip, Marketa Luskacova, John Myers, Tish Murtha, Niall McDiarmid, Daniel Meadows, Ken Grant, Robert Darch & Kirsty Mackay.”

Thanks as ever to WEX Photo Video & Fotospeed for supporting the show. We’ll be back in in a couple of weeks time with the live Q&A from Fotofest 2019 featuring Martin Parr, Rachael Talibart, Nigel Danson and Tom Way.

We're back with a new episode and we catch up with the enigmatic Chris Nowell. Chris served in the military from 2001 to 2007 in tours of Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. During a tour in Afghanistan he was badly injured in a rocket attack on his base and suffered severe head injuries, extensive skull fractures and brain damage. This neurological damage resulted in sight loss. Amazingly, with help from Blind Veterans UK and local photographers, he has forged a path into the world of landscape photography despite his challenges with partial vision. Paul chats with Chris in more detail on the show and finds out about the positive impact photography has had on his life.

Thanks as ever to WEX Photo Video & Fotospeed for supporting the show. We’ll be back in in a couple of weeks time with David Ward discussing his new exhibition at the Joe Cornish Gallery and much more.

In this episode we catch up with professional wildlife cameraman Tom Walker. Tom’s video credits include scenes in hit wildlife documentaries such as Planet Earth II, Autumnwatch, Coast, Wild New Zealand and many more. His passion for the great outdoors and the landscape started with landscape photography and we chat about his transition into moving images and the lifestyle and work of a professional cameraman.

Alongside this we discuss the challenges both technically and mentally of being on location for months on end waiting for spectacular animal behaviour or indeed witnessing natural wonders of the world. We touch on hot topics including the impact of climate change and tourism, alongside some tips for how to break into this industry.

Tom is also a passionate landscape photographer and we discuss his free approach to this shooting style.

Thanks as ever to WEX Photo Video & Fotospeed for supporting the show. We’ll be back in in a couple of weeks time with Chris Nowell to discuss his transition into photography after spending time in the military where he suffered life changing injuries.

NEWS & EXHIBITIONS:

• Exhibition #1: This is an exhibition of a group of photographers from the Peak District displaying their work at the Nicholson Museum and Art Gallery in Leek from 14th September to the 9th November. The exhibition is called “Call of the Wild”and you can find out more on the Enjoy Staffordshire website: (https://www.enjoystaffordshire.com/whats-on/call-of-the-wild-exhibition-p1059661) - Thanks to Matt Oliver for getting in touch via our Instagram page and letting us know about this one.
• Exhibition #2: This is actually one we’ve spotted and wanted to mention. It’s called ‘The Northern Eye Photography Festival’ based in Colwyn Bay and it features a number of speakers on the weekend of Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th October. It features, amongst others, John Bulmer one of the pioneers of colour documentary photography and Dan Wood who is a documentary and portrait photographer whose work we enjoy. You can find out more via the website: northerneyefestival.co.uk
• Exhibition #3: David Ward has some new work on display at the Joe Cornish Galleries  in Northallerton. Images from his new series ‘Overlooked’ are being featured from 7th Sep to 14th Dec. More info via joecornishgallery.co.uk

This is the second live Q&A session from the Connected 2019 exhibition. On this panel we feature the legendary John Blakemore, Professor Tim Allott and our very own Sam Gregory. This is a great Q&A session which features a nice mix of some heavy-hitting topics and plenty of practical advice.

Amongst other points we discuss whether landscape photography is stuck in something of a time-warp, what our relationship with the land is and how we might (or might not!) be able to use photography to convey messages, be they emotional or political. We also cover some practical topics including getting inspiration and shooting in projects as well as a little about curating and understanding your own work and motivations. There’s plenty to get your teeth into in this episode!

Episode Timings:

00:48 - Introduction

05:15 - Main Q&A Section

49:28 - News & Exhibition Section

52:02 - Next Guest Info (Tom Walker - Wildlife Cameraman, Planet Earth II)

News & Exhibition Info:

• A new exhibition of seascape images called ‘Where the Land Meets the Sea’ which is presented by a group of photographers (Phil Edwards, Lisa Mardell, Jo Pannifer) called ‘Light & Form’, it’s being held at New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham. It runs from September 17th – 28th 2019 (Closed 22nd and 23rd)
• Elizabeth Roberts (editor B&W Photography Mag + Episode #62 guest) has some new images showing at ‘The Old Forge, South Heighton’ over the next 3 weekends as part of the ‘Art Wave’ festival which is artwavefestival.org in Sussex featuring artists & makers.
• FotoFest at the University of Bath is coming very soon on Sunday Sep 8th featuring Martin Parr, Rachael Talibart, Tom Way and Nigel Danson. More info via fotofest.co.uk

Thanks as ever to WEX Photo Video & Fotospeed for supporting the show. The Togcast is hosted by Sam Gregory & Paul Sanders.

Based in Wellington (NZ) Richard Young is a full-time landscape and wildlife photographer. Originally from the UK, Richard’s photography has been recognised in numerous competitions, including awards at The International Landscape Photographer of the Year, The Fine Art Photography Awards, The International Photography Awards. Richard also won the ‘Best Landscape Photograph’ at the Banff Mountain Photography Competition.

His works sell as fine art prints from his gallery in Wellington and have been widely exhibited across New Zealand, Canada, America and England in both solo and group exhibitions.

He has spent time hiking and climbing in some of New Zealand’s most remote and wild places, capturing photographs of awe-inspiring and unspoilt places. Richard has also travelled extensively, including across Africa, building a reputation as a fine wildlife photographer as well as adding to his landscape portfolio.

Many thanks to WEXPhotoVideo.com and Fotospeed.com for supporting the show. We'll be back in 2 weeks with a Q&A session from the Connected Exhibition featuring our very own Sam Gregory on the panel, alongside John Blakemore and Prof.Tim Allott.

The Togcast is hosted by Sam Gregory & Paul Sanders, find out more via TheTogcast.com

In this episode we chat with wildlife & landscape photographer Tom Mason (www.tommasonphoto.com). Tom is passionate about the natural world and has carved out a career as a photographer & journalist specialising in wildlife. His work takes him around the world but he’s equally at home getting to know the wide range of species here in the UK.

We chat with Tom about his early beginnings living on a farm and discovering photography, through to the importance of respecting your subject and the natural world in general. He is driven by a desire to constantly improve and to push the boundaries of his own limitations. We cover some of the hot topics in wildlife photography including the ecological challenges of travelling and also some of the ethics with wildlife photography and the boundaries of responsible behaviour.

Thanks as ever to WEX Photo Video & Fotospeed for supporting the show. We’ll be back in two weeks time when we catch up with New Zealand based landscape photographer Richard Young.