Prime Lenses

Reggie Ballesteros, a Filipino-American photographer and former mechanical engineer who teaches photography and works in computational photography at Google. He talks about personalizing gear, translating engineering into clear tutorials, balancing family with wedding work, exploring Leica and pocket cameras, and planning a portrait project on Filipino American creatives.

This week in a special midweek episode, I’m joined by Daniel Milnor of Shifter and Blurb. It’s a great conversation about life, the universe and everything in it. We even talk about some cameras!More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Alan Schaller is a musician turned street photographer based in the UK. His stunning images have won him global recognition, a book deal and legions of fans turn out for his YouTube videos, but Alan also wants to make the world of photography and publishing better and to that end has founded Irys to help create a more sustainable and artist friendly ecosystem. More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Joe Cornish is a landscape photographer and true lover of lenses. Perhaps a little more shy in his younger years than now, you’ll hear him discuss how he came to photography. You’ll also hear some sounds in the background, the occasional kettle and the sounds of tea making. Like last week’s episode with Nina, that’s what it’s like recording on the road and I think it adds if I’m honest :) Joe has an exhibition on at the moment along with another former guest Simon Baxter. You can find out more about the exhibition on the link below. Simon and Joe exhibition on until the end of March.More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Nina Davidson is a photographer from France now based in Scotland with her husband and gorgeous family. Having previously run a bistro in Edinburgh she’s now a full time photographer specialising in fashion and family. She makes beautiful and real feeling images that have gained her an audience online and caught the attention of brands like Leica for whom she was part of a recent campaign. She was good enough to host this recording of Prime Lenses on location and it’s richer for it. More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Omar Z Robles is a Puerto Rican photographer now based in New York City. He has incorporated his background in the performing arts into his photography making beautiful work capturing the incredible physicality of dancers on the streets of NYC. I love his images and I’m not alone, he’s gained quite a following online where he also calls out BS on various photographic trends that he sees as getting in the way of what photography should be. More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Hannah Rheaume is an American photographer who more than anything feels a kinship to animals, and photographing open spaces. She took a chance on an Instagram contest having never left the US before, she won, and fast forward to now she is professionally photographing and leading workshops. She has travelled in her work too from the US and Canada to places like India, Morocco, Taiwan and hopefully at some point in the future, Scotland.More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Bobby Anwar is a street photographer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. We spoke in December fittingly while he was on the street making pictures and taking in a time of year which is much quieter for him. We discussed his work with Oberworth, his start in photography and where he wants to go next. I loved chatting to him and hope you enjoy our conversation.More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Misan Harriman is an award winning photographer, activist and Oscar nominated filmmaker. His work shot to prominence in 2020 after he covered protests following the murder of George Floyd. Since then he has continued to shoot protests and has been outspoken in the face of injustices he sees in the world. I met him at his exhibition titled The Purpose of Light in London and am delighted to have him as my 100th guest on the show. We cover creativity, gear and even a smattering of video game chat so for my money this is perfect Prime Lenses.More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

In this special extra episode I speak to Christelle Enquist of The RAW Society about their upcoming festival on the island of Menorca from the 7th - 10th May this year. You can find out more on their website, but hurry, the island is filling up fast!More about this show:A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.