The MOOD Podcast

In this episode you'll discover why beauty in photography is made by your attention, not found in your subjects, and how reading your own form reveals the photographic voice you've been searching for elsewhere. In this Moments of Mood, I sit with one idea from my recent conversation with photographer and writer Tim Carpenter: that beauty in a photograph is form, not subject matter. Drawi...

If you have ever felt technically capable but creatively lost, this conversation shows you how one photographer turned a decade of pictures, and the hardest years of his life, into a body of work that is unmistakably his own. In this episode I sit down with Rory King , an Australian photographer who works in black and white, prints by hand in the darkroom, and turned 10 years of images into his ph...

In this solo episode of Moments of Mood, you'll learn why the flood of AI images is about to make real, human photography more valuable, not less, and how to find the voice that's unmistakably yours. I break down what AI really means for emerging photographers, starting with VSCO's "your eye can't be generated" campaign and the paradox that the same company also build...

In this episode you'll learn how to tell whether your photography is actually art, why chasing technical perfection is holding your work back, and how to develop a photographic voice that's unmistakably your own. This week Matt chats with Ridwan Didot , a fine art documentary and wedding photographer from Indonesia who runs the studio Native Visual and approaches commercial work with the...

Matt sits down with photographer, writer, and educator Tim Carpenter , author of 'To Photograph Is to Learn How to Die' and photobooks such as 'Local Objects', 'Little' and 'Christmas Day, Bucks Pond Road', for a deep conversation on the philosophy beneath the photographic image.  In this episode you will learn a way to understand why the form of a photograp...

Matt talks with psychologist Zahra Ciardi , founder of Ascendant Bali , to explore the inner life of the creative person: why so many photographers feel their work isn't truly theirs, the limiting beliefs that keep artists stuck, and how to put your work into the world without being ruled by validation. By the end of this episode you'll understand why your photography stops feeling like...

Cristina Mittermeier is a National Geographic photographer, co-founder of SeaLegacy, and author of " Hope ." Her work has been featured in National Geographic's series " Photographer " and in publications around the world. Cristinais the photographer who coined the term "conservation photography," co-founded SeaLegacy , and made the starving polar bear image seen...

In this episode, Matt sits down with Rich-Joseph Facun , a celebrated American documentary photographer, former photojournalist of 15 years, and founder of the independent publishing imprint Liars Corner.  In this conversation we discuss his three monographs: Black Diamonds, Little Cities, and 1804, the ethics of street and portrait photography, photographing strangers in Trump-era Appalachia, wal...

In this episode, Matt sits down with Miriam Schulman , professional artist, art business coach, host of the Inspiration Place podcast, and bestselling author of Artpreneur (HarperCollins). Miriam left Wall Street after 9/11 to build a six-figure art business and now teaches photographers, painters, and visual artists how to price their work, sell art online, attract collectors, and build a sustain...

In this Moments of Mood episode of The MOOD Podcast, Matt returns after a road accident left him physically immobilised for several weeks, unable to photograph, travel, or work, and uses that enforced stillness to examine one of the quietest but most destructive reflexes in modern photography: the need for proof. What happens to your photography, and to you as a photographer, when the images you m...

In this episode, Matt sits down with Magnum photographer Mark Power for a wide-ranging conversation about long-term documentary photography, creative process, and what it means to spend 14 years photographing America as a foreigner. Mark discusses the origins of his landmark five-volume series 'Good Morning, America' , why he's drawn to photographing the ordinary and overlooked rath...

Listen to part one here Watch part one here ________________________ In Part 2 of this special Chico Review 2026 episode, Matt continues documenting his week inside one of photography's most respected portfolio review events. Featuring conversations with Odette England, Daniel Arnold, Tim Carpenter, Matthew Genitempo, Jesse Lenz, and Lindokuhle Sobekwa — plus fellow attendees pushing the edge...

The Chico Review destroyed my confidence. Then built it back... THIS IS PART 1 OF A 2 PART FEATURE ON CHICO REVIEW 2026 - SEE PART 2 NEXT WEEK. I arrived at the Chico Review 2026 thinking my work was ready. 10 formal reviews, 25 reviewers and speakers, publishers, curators, photographers and more — I was scrapping half of it by the end of day one. This is the first installment of 2, about my hones...

In this episode of The MOOD Podcast, I sit down with writer Brad Zellar, whose deep relationship to photography, photo books, storytelling, and visual culture makes this one of the most thought-provoking conversations I’ve had on the show. We talk about the future of photography, why obsession matters more than concept, the role of text in photo books, what makes an image unforgettable, how portfo...

In this episode of Moments of Mood, I explore why self-awareness is the missing foundation behind meaningful photography. After spending a few days at a silent retreat in Bali, I began reflecting on something I’ve seen repeatedly in my own work, in conversations on the MOOD Podcast, and in our book club discussions. Many photographers spend years learning techniques, buying gear, and consuming end...

Joe McNally, legendary professional photographer best known for his work with National Geographic, Life, and major commercial clients, and for his mastery of lighting and flash, joins me on the show to discuss an array of topics.  We go deep on the future of photography, how the industry has changed from magazines to the digital era, what AI is really doing to trust in images, why craft is the fou...

Tina Signesdottir is a Norwegian fine art portrait photographer and Hasselblad Master, known for natural light portraits with rare emotional intimacy. In her first ever podcast appearance, Tina speaks candidly about the origins of her work, the role photography played in survival and self-expression, and what it actually takes to build images that feel real in a world flooded with content.  We go...

In this episode, I sit down with photographer Pie Aerts to unpack the philosophies, struggles, and decisions that have shaped his work over the last decade. Pie is a documentary and wildlife photographer whose practice sits at the intersection of human presence, conservation, and long-form storytelling. He is also the founder of Prints for Wildlife , a platform that has raised over $2.5 million fo...

What if your best work starts with a quiet cup and a clear mind? We kick off the year with an honest, unscripted 'Ask Me Anything' episode that explores how small rituals, sharper definitions, and a steadier inner compass can change both your art and your days. From an early morning espresso and two loyal dogs to the decision to ignore empty metrics, I trace a path from presence to bette...

In this episode of The MOOD Podcast, I sit down with photographer, writer, and mentor Wesley Verhoeve for a grounded conversation about photography process, confidence, and learning how to make meaningful work without waiting for permission.  We talk about why so many photographers struggle with self-doubt, why overthinking stalls creative progress, and how showing your work and sharing your proce...

The year didn’t teach us to shoot faster. It taught us to go deeper. We close out 2025 by stitching together the most resonant moments from a season of hard questions and honest answers: why “quick fix” education fails creatives, how pricing for profit transforms freelancers into owners, and where empathy turns a portrait from performance into truth. Art stays at the centre. We explore ambiguity a...

In this episode - the last guest episode of 2025 - I sit down with photographer, publisher, and curator Jesse Lenz for one of the most expansive and honest conversations I’ve had on the show - fitting to end the year with such a nice gift-wrapped present.  What begins as a discussion about photography and photobooks quickly becomes a deeper exploration of obsession, taste, community, and what it a...

Nobody cares about your photography. We don’t need more of 'any old' photographers. Yet survival as culture and society with soul is completely dependent on work that matters . In this episode of Moments of Mood , I explore why indifference is the default in modern photography, what it actually means for someone to care about your work, why chasing attention is often the fastest way to l...

British photographer and environmental storyteller Nick Brandt joins the show for a raw, expansive conversation on art, climate collapse, sentience, and the role of photography in an age defined by distraction and decline. Across projects such as Inherit the Dust , This Empty World , The Day May Break , and his latest chapter The Echo of Our Voices , Brandt builds constructed realities that merge...

Bryan Schutmaat  is a photographer, publisher, and quiet poet of the American West. Known for books such as Grays the Mountain Sends, Good Goddamn , and Sons of the Living , Bryan’s work explores the uneasy tension between land and people, myth and memory, endurance and hope. He is also co-founder of Trespasser Books, a small but powerful imprint shaping the future of modern photobooks. In This Co...