We are on a mission to discover new photographers, and the most pictorial and interesting photo stories out there. SPOTLIGHT / EMMA VARGA London UNITED KINGDOM AARON RUBINO ABBIE BRIGGS ABDULLA SHINOSE CK ABHAY PATEL ABHISHEK SINGH ADAM SINCLAIR ADESH GAUR ADRIAN PELEGRIN ADRIAN TAN ADRIAN WHEAR AGATA LO MONACO AHMET HOJAMYRADOV AJ BERNSTEIN ALAN THEXTON ALEJANDRO DAVILA ALESSANDRO GIUGNI ALEX FRAYNE ALEX GOTTFRIED BONDER ALEX RUTHERFORD ALEXANDRA AVLONITIS ALEXANDROS ZILOS ALEXEY STRECHEN ALICIA HABER AMY HOROWITZ AMY NEWTON McCONNEL GET ON THE LIST © John St.

The Pictorial List is a global online magazine exploring the beauty and complexity of all things photography. CODE GIRL ART EXHIBITION May 30 to July 26 This exhibition positions GIRL as structure, as manifesto, and as blueprint. It moves beyond representation, unfolding as a system that shapes how work comes into being, finds its place, and is experienced. THE VILLAGE A workers’ neighbourhood becomes a living archive as Virginia Cassano photographs the people, streets, and memories that continue to shape Villaggio Piaggio. Latest features BOOK BETWEEN SEA AND SKY Through walking and flight, Massimo Lupidi reveals Cinque Terre as a landscape shaped by attention, endurance, and the intimate bond between land and human life. INTERVIEW MUTABLE MORPHOGENESIS By merging scientific methodologies with photographic experimentation, Emma Varga creates images that challenge fixed distinctions between human and non-human, visible and invisible. INTERVIEW THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. PICTORIAL STORY ARE THOSE WINDS Along Istanbul’s northern edge, Ci Demi photographs the last water buffalo herders as they keep working, remembering, and staying put while the city closes in. INTERVIEW WHERE WE BELONG Community storytelling lies at the heart of The Pictorial List’s mission, and Marlon Ramos’ photographs reflects the spirit of the place we now call home. PICTORIAL STORY COLORS OF HUZUN Through fragments and gestures, Pedro Vidal traces Istanbul as shared melancholy lingers in everyday life, the city unfolding slowly and refusing to settle into a single, definitive understanding. PICTORIAL STORY OUT OF PLAY An exploration of abandoned interiors in which Marco Lugli examines how objects, light, and space carry memory beyond human presence, establishing absence as a condition of material continuity rather than loss. PICTORIAL STORY REIMAGINING TALIESIN Form gives way to flux in Amy Newton-McConnel’s photographs, where architecture unfolds as a field of shifting relations and perception moves with light, geometry, and time. PICTORIAL STORY WHERE THE MUSIC BEGINS Before the strings, Jeevan Akash Jayavarthanan leaves the movement of the street for the rhythm of the workshop, where time holds, hands work, and each moment forms what will later be heard. PICTORIAL STORY LAND, LABOR AND THE GOLDEN FIBER In West Bengal’s jute fields, Rajesh Dhar examines the systems of land and labor, tracing how a single material sustains communities and informs a changing ecological future. PICTORIAL STORY WITH GRATITUDE AND DEVOTION A quiet and intimate account of devotion in Zaraza, Venezuela, Rafael Ayala Páez reflects on faith, memory, and community through photographs and words that honor the enduring power of small gestures. PICTORIAL STORY SILVER AND BREATH Within this fragile space between looking and being seen, Eva Christina Nielsen has developed a practice that is both restrained and deeply attentive. INTERVIEW GUIDED BY A WHISPER Guided by reflection and the quiet presence of art history, Isolda Fabregat Sanz makes photographs that resist certainty and invite the viewer to remain inside the act of looking. PICTORIAL STORY RUPTURE REPAIR REMNANT In this reflection on rupture, Donna Bassin invites us to consider how grief settles into the body and the image, and how the slow work of witnessing becomes a form of repair. PICTORIAL STORY DELTA DUSK John Agather weaves image and text into a single current, tracing how music, memory, and daily life continue to move through the Mississippi Delta. TÜRKIYE Rpnunyez offers a thoughtful portrait of a country shaped by history, culture, landscape, architecture, and everyday life. New York, New York! PICTORIAL STORY NYC SUBWAY RIDERS BEFORE THE INVASTION OF SMARTPHONES Hiroyuki Ito’s subway photographs reveal a vanished intimacy. INTERVIEW FABRIC OF NEW YORK VISUALS Elle Clarke lives NYC — snapping its heart and hustle with her smartphone, one real city moment at a time! INTERVIEW NOD OF RECOGNITION B Jane Levine’s portraits give a playful wink — inviting a nod of recognition to the hidden stories we all carry inside. INTERVIEW NEW YORK IMPROVISATIONS Fast-moving, off-kilter, witty, raw and classic film noir define Bill Lacey's photography. PICTORIAL STORY MERMAID MAGIC AJ Bernstein captures the magic of the Mermaid Parade—where fantasy, freedom, and community come together in a sea of color and joy. INTERVIEW GOTHAM MEMORIES Jeff Rothstein clicks, time unfolds — capturing the heart of the city in timeless frames, from 1969 to today. PICTORIAL STORY TAKING THE PLUNGE Carol Dronsfield takes the plunge with the Coney Island’s Polar Bears, capturing the chill, the thrill, and the heart. INTERVIEW THE AUTHENTIC GAZE Amy Horowitz says “Don’t Smile”— and in doing so, captures the real and wonderfully unscripted faces of New York City. VOLUME ONE- NEW YORK BUY NOW EXHIBITION CODE GIRL May 30 to July 26 2026 Opening Party May 30 @ 5pm This exhibition positions GIRL as structure, as manifesto, and as blueprint. It moves beyond representation, unfolding as a system that shapes how work comes into being, finds its place, and is experienced. MORE INFO © Woobie join the Pictorial Community >>> Follow us on Instagram #thepictoriallist @thepictorial.list Load More ALTERED PERCEPTIONS There is a deliberate precision in Dan Florin’s work that reveals itself over time, both in the image and in the process behind it. Interviews you may have missed REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE Camille J. Wheeler documents Austin's streets, with a particular focus on its homeless community. COMEDIANS Steve Best documents the British comedy scene, backstage and on stage, the highs and lows, and the joy of being a comedian. QUARANTINE IN QUEENS Neil Kramer's humorous and compassionate lockdown diary has gone viral. ENROUTE TO THE PINES Robert Sherman shares his documentary series about drag queens celebrating the 'Invasion of the Pines'. SERVICE INTERRUPTION Wojciech Karlinski documented Poland train stations during the pandemic, highlighting their formal and aesthetic side. VOICES OF THE NILE Voices of the Nile by Bastien Massa and Arthur Larie is a project documenting the relationship of Ethiopians with the Blue Nile. BREAKS FROM REALITY The magic only dreams are made of become reality for viewers as they engage in the poetic imagery of Mariëtte Aernoudts. BEYOND THE STORY Through her documentary photography, Christina Simons is compelled to tell the stories of those who are unable to do so themselves. © Russell Cobb Stay up to date Subscribing to The Pictorial List means joining a community that values visual storytelling. You will get exclusive content, inspiring pictorial stories, thoughtful interviews, book reviews, and more — delivered weekly to your inbox. Media Partners

FILM FILL THE FRAME March 15, 2021 FILM FILM Tim Huynh WORDS Bill Lacey SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Fill the Frame follows eight contemporary New York City street photographers. The film takes an in-depth look at their work as photographers and as individuals, documenting their journey up to this point. In the the summer of 2018, there was a window of opportunity for Director Tim Huynh to embark on his passion project. Traveling from Hawaii to New York for this production was no easy task for Tim, with the bulk of the funds coming from personal savings and time away from his family. In the summer of 2019, Tim's Kickstarter campaign raised the $17,385 needed to bring his film and these stories to life. The popularity of street photography is greater than ever. Witness the absolute daily deluge of posts on Instagram from all corners of the world. Almost everyone has a camera - whether a classic film Leica, the latest Fuji or Sony mirrorless, the institutional Canon or Nikon, or the venerable iPhone smartphone. The act of taking a picture seems as common today as breathing, albeit done safely behind a mask these days when on the street. It is not uncommon to hear statements that a billion pictures a day are being uploaded to Instagram - a number impossible to verify from the source, but after a few swipes through your feed wouldn’t be all that difficult to accept. Which leads me to the question that Michael Ernest Sweet asks in the new documentary film Fill the Frame, “has everything been photographed?” You probably know the answer to that already. And given that, why does one bother? Fill the Frame will help you understand why you should, by exploring the experience of an assortment of very talented New York street photographers framed (no pun intended) against an exploration into the history of the genre and the masters who defined it. "To me the photos were not enough, the person also needed an interesting story to share." - Director Tim Huynh By choosing New York City as the backdrop for the film, director Tim Huynh creates the perfect canvas from which to paint the portrait of the artist engaged in a journey of discovery to find meaning in the chaos of a city rich with complexity and beauty. The main cast consists of Dimitri Mellos, Jonathan Higbee, Julia Gillard, Lauren Welles, Mathias Wasik, Melissa Breyer, Melissa O’Shaughnessy, and Paul Kessel. All the photographers presented come from distinctly different backgrounds but share an uncontrollable passion and purpose to click the shutter. Huynh follows these photographers around on the street, documenting their approach, letting them tell the story in their own words. And these stories are engaging. There will likely be one or two that you’ll particularly relate to, whether it be one aspiring to be a photographer from an early age to one picking it up late in life, discovering the passion almost by accident. There’s also something wonderfully refreshing in the way Huynh wraps these stories with expert commentary on the history of photography by Sandra Phillips, Colin Westerbeck, Jeff Mermelstein, Richard Sandler, Matt Weber, Meryl Meisler, and Michael Ernest Sweet. After having to abandon my daily trip to NYC one year ago as the pandemic hit, this film was a much needed ‘pick me up’. It reminded me of why I love the city, why it is one of the best places on the planet to practice the art of street photography. Each photographer offered an honest and inspiring perspective. I think the best compliment I can offer to each of them is “I wish I took that shot”. Fill the Frame will get you thinking about your photography, will give you some fresh ideas, will inspire you to get out and shoot. And while the controversies will rage on about what approach to street photography is legitimate or not, is film better than digital, is it all worth it in this oversaturated social media existence, Fill the Frame is a love letter to something we hold near and dear to our hearts. Oh, and if you really didn’t know the answer to Michael Sweet’s question, it’s “probably”. I take that to mean there’s still room for at least one more shot. Director, Producer, Editor: Tim Huynh Director of Photography: Jessica Gallegos Assistant Camera: Ayden Byrnes BTS Photographer: Eugene Lee Sound Design: Pacific Music Productions Website - https://www.filltheframefilm.com Media materials provided by the filmmaker VIEW TIM'S PORTFOLIO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

BOOK COMEDIANS March 4, 2022 BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Best TEXT Karin Svadlenak SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Steve Best is a comedian and a photographer, combining both these passions into a fascinating career. He is also a twin. "My twin brother is ten minutes older than me. Time, I'm told, for my mum to have a cup of tea in-between deliveries," says Steve. Growing up in Surrey in England, Steve now lives and works in London with his wife, son and daughter. Steve has been on the British comedy circuit since 1992 and in that time he has been lucky enough to work with and make friends with a lot of comedians. He is welcome in any green room, camera and all. "So me having a camera doesn’t make me a photographer to them, but just a comedian with a camera," Steve explains. He has an extraordinary talent to capture those rare moments that tell a compelling story with sensitivity, realism and humour. This ten year project has been close to Steve's heart and he has previously published two books 'Comedy Snapshot' and 'Joker Face' with over 1000 comedian portraits. Steve has just released his third book COMEDIANS, a high end coffee table book, and Steve shares with The Pictorial List some of those selected shots. "I've been documenting my scene, the comedy scene, backstage and on stage, the highs and the lows, the camaraderie and the competition, the loneliness and the isolation, and the outright joy of being a stand-up comedian." COMEDIANS is a limited first edition beautiful fine art photographic documentation of the United Kingdom comedy circuit. Pages: 240 pages Size: 230mm x 300mm portrait Pages: 170 gsm silk stock Cover: HardBack All copies signed by Steve. You can buy the book on his website - www.stevebest.com We also had the pleasure of talking to Steve to find out more about his new book, himself, his comedy, and his photography. READ INTERVIEW CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

BOOK TRAVELLERS & THE APPLEBY HORSE FAIR January 27, 2023 BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY David Gilbert Wright TEXT David Gilbert Wright SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Deep in the heart of the County once called Westmorland, near to the Lake District lies the small town of Appleby, nestled on the side of a valley straddling the River Eden. The Settle to Carlisle railway runs through this town, being one of the stops on it on what is known as the most scenic railway journey in England. Appleby has become known for the horse fair that first came into being in 1685. It is the biggest horse fair of its kind attracting thousands of people. So what actually happens at the fair? Travellers, Gipsy and Roma come from across the British Isles in the week preceding, a fair that is usually held in June. They travelled to Appleby using both motorised and horse drawn vehicles. Horses and ponies of all kinds, sizes and breeds arrive at the town to be exhibited, shown off and sold. The traveller community pitch up there bow-tops, motorhomes and mobile caravans in up to severn fields outside of the town boundary. They have been doing this now for centuries and as such, it has become a time when they meet and renew friendships, acquaintances and business bonds. I first became aware of the Appleby horse fair in the early 1980s quite by chance and in a totally different context. I was travelling India engaged in a different photographic project. I arrived in the desert town Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. It was the home of the Pushchair Camel Fair. It was here that a local told me of the horse fair in England. Many years passed before I got around to photographing it. I had seen other photographers’ pictures of the fair. They concentrated on the show parts like ‘The flash’, which is where those selling their horses ride them at speed up and down the hill into the town. Another well photographed scene is the horses being ridden around the River Eden. I realised that one aspect of the fair seemed to be relatively under photographed. It was the actual trading aspect. This involved getting the horses ready by washing and grooming and then doing the deal. It all takes place way out of town in the quiet roads and farm tracks near Gallows Hill and the Long Marton crossroads. Here you can find, if you are lucky, groups of mainly men sizing up the horses, haggling and eventually sealing the deals. Listening in to one deal, I heard the man suggest a horse was past it in order to keep the price down, while the other argued that it was capable of pulling a trap at speed. Each tried to position the price until a compromise was reached. Bluff and bravado were key and eventually they would spit on their palms and seal the deal with a handshake. (I was witnessing something that had not changed for centuries). Traveller, Gypsy and Romany people have for a long time been heavily involved with horses. They take them seriously and care for them greatly. However, these people have traditionally been regarded with suspicion when they arrive in a town or village. Why is that? Humanity has moved through a number of phases from its origins as hunter-gatherers. The advent of arable farming brought a need to settle and enclose the land to protect the crops. As production increased so did the need to trade surpluses. Settlements grew into market towns and the enclosure of more and more land put pressure on those still moving their livestock to give up that lifestyle. It is easy to see how the communities would regard such people as 'other' or outsiders. To protect their own way of life, settled people started to invent stories about the travellers as untrustworthy. Crimes were attributed wrongly to them. Even in recent times, we were told "Don't trust a tinker!" My grandparents were collectively grouping anyone who seemed to fit the bill of living in a caravan and moving around the country. The business of buying and selling horses was the province of men. Caring for the horses, exercising them and learning the ropes are what the young boys do prior to their rite of passage. Becoming a man to these families involves many things but one thing that is apparent is that horsemanship is in the blood. This can be seen during the fair as boys and girls come and go along the country lanes, riding the horses. Look closer and you realise that most ride 'bareback' with just a pair of reins. And the speed! What is it about the young? They seem to love speed. Galloping along with the wind in their faces, they are natural riders. Another thing you cannot help noticing is the boys sport very smart, hairstyles. Shaved around the back and sides and long on top, neatly combed and greased back. As they ride past or stand holding their horses they chat to each other, unaware of the way girls are looking at them. The fair is not just a place where people renew friendships and trade horses. It is where the emerging adolescents begin their journey into relationships and adulthood. Teenager boys would brag about how fast their horses were in the way that teenagers in our wider society talked about their cars. Teenage girls, who were just coming of age would be dressed so glamorously you might be mistaken thinking that you were at a prestigious fashion show. Their aim, I was told was “to get the attention of the of the lads” and they certainly did that! Pressure has been on the Authorities to curtail or even end the Horse Fair. However, the reasons put forward are dubious. The Police have stated that given the size of the fair with up to 10,000 visitors, the level of crime is extremely low with only 7 arrests in 2021, mostly for drunkenness. Only 29 tonnes of litter was left in 2021, much from the small businesses and all was cleared at no expense the ratepayers. Indeed, many local businesses benefit from the fair. It would be wrong to stop the Appleby Horse Fair for unsubstantiated reasons. It seems to be more a case of prejudice than actually evidence. PORTFOLIO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

BOOK GROUNDED May 3, 2021 BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY Samantha Brown TEXT Samantha Brown INTRODUCTION Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Samantha Brown is a British-Canadian photographer, and a digital nomad. Over the last year Samantha has documented the pandemic, mostly from the back of her campervan named Juno, whilst travelling safely in line with local lockdown restrictions. GROUNDED is her first book. How does a pandemic affect a physical place, and our sense of self within it? That's the question that Samantha pondered on a ten month, socially distanced journey in 2020. Departing India prior to the grounding of flights in March, Samantha documented the empty streets of Bristol during the first lockdown, before venturing to Europe via a deserted ferry as restrictions eased. Along the way, she encountered an out-of-season, out-of-time atmosphere that haunted every landscape, allowing her to explore themes such as alienation, loneliness and the isolation of travel. GROUNDED is a photo book of visible beauty towards a deeper well of immersive, indefinable emotion filled with promise and hope. Every page is a joy to look at by itself. The book can be understood as a travel memoir, too, inspiring those who are wanting to begin a similar journey. Grounded is presented as a special boxed book with a signed 10x8" print. Available exclusively from www.artdecomagpie.com (ADM Publishing). First edition run of 150 copies. Published: April 2021 by ADM Publishing Book - 70pp softback book on 170gsm paper. 350gsm cover with matt laminate. Perfect bound. Digitally printed. 253mmx203mm. ISBN: 978-1-9997596-3-6 READ INTERVIEW CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

BOOK TÜRKIYE June 28, 2026 BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY Rpnunyez TEXT Rpnunyez INTRODUCTION Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link When I first encountered the work of Rpnunyez in 2022, I knew instinctively that his vision was different. It was not only the strength of his photographs that moved me but also his words: “We can differentiate ourselves by race, color, language, wealth and politics, but consider what we have in common...we all bleed red.” In those last four words I understood the heart of his practice. His photography is never about categories or divisions. It has always been about the shared pulse of human life. Through our close dialogue over the years on The Pictorial List, my admiration for his work has deepened, as has my respect for the photographer he is. Rpnunyez is a photographer who approaches his subjects with honesty and integrity. What stays with me is not only the photographs themselves, but the values that make them possible. They encourage us to look closely, to think critically, and to recognise ourselves in the lives of others. He is guided by the conviction that a photograph should not extract or reduce, but allow another’s presence to be seen. In this way, his work reveals not only the face of a person, but something of their inner life, something of the country they inhabit. For me, these books Volume 1 and 2, are a gift. To read them, to reflect upon them, and to share in dialogue with Rpnunyez about their making has been an honor. They are works I will always carry with me, not only for what they reveal of Türkiye, but for what they reveal of the photographer who has given so much of himself to see it clearly. Usually, when a new project comes up, people often ask me how the idea for that new project came about. When they ask that question, I always sense that they are asking about the precise moment when the idea arose or what event triggered it. There is never a single, original idea behind my projects, except for the need to convey through them a simple but powerful sentence: “We may differentiate ourselves by race, colour, language, wealth and politics; but consider what we have in common: dreams, laughter, tears, pride, the comfort of a home and the desire to love. If I could photograph those universal truths...” This masterful reflection by Wayne Miller has always been with me, serving as my personal and professional compass. And, for better or worse, I have always held the deep conviction that I need nothing else. There is no original idea, but there is evolution, both personal and professional. The ABYSSINIAN DIARIES project took me to modern-day Ethiopia and to Kapuscinski’s book The Emperor; this masterful book led me to The Shah or the Excess of Power by the same author, and that led me to PERSIAN DIARIES; during the development of this long-term project, I discovered the poetry of Mevlana, and this led me directly to the mysticism of the whirling dervishes of Konya, where, while developing the project, I discovered contemporary Turkish society and the immeasurable figure of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, whose legacy remains in the current republic. Suddenly everything fell into place and the current project took shape as a book. From a strictly professional point of view, I have always tried — whether rightly or wrongly — to keep a certain distance from trends or other photographers, with the clear aim of keeping my instinct intact. So, there are relatively few masters to whom I owe my way of living photography, but their influence is evident every time I pick up the camera or begin a new project. From Ansel Adams I learnt what I know about analogue photography, and his teachings guided me in my first darkroom. Wayne Miller inspires me with the professed humanist dimension of his work, the undeniable emotional power conveyed by his shots, and the impeccable tonal range of his greys. Marc Riboud never ceases to amaze me with the impeccable, austere and seemingly simple composition of his images. Leonard Freed inspires me with most of his work, whose photographs are masterfully composed. What inspires me most about Larry Towell is his handling of perspective and volume within each frame and, of course, the humanistic dimension of his work. To all of the above, I can only add one more thing: after tens of thousands of shots, I am guided purely by this idea: knowing where not to look and where not to point my lens. So simple, so complicated. TÜRKIYE: a secular republic under the shadow of the minaret (Vol I & II) is not only a portrait of a country but also a reflection on how societies live with complexity, negotiating between past and present, belief and secularism, continuity and change. In these pages, Türkiye appears both singular in its particulars and universal in its questions, reminding us that the truths of a nation are inseparable from the lives of its people. Visit Rpnunyez's website to buy his books. WEBSITE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author/s, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

EXHIBITION QUIRKYVISION June 8, 2022 EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHY Meryl Meisler TEXT Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link When you talk about influential women in the field of photography, Meryl Meisler certainly comes to mind. Her lifetime achievements radiate the energy and dedication she has devoted to her practice through her passion found in photography. The Norita camera fits Meryl like a glove, it has become the tool for her intuitive, spontaneous, and authentic look at the world she engages. “Being a photographer, I have gained a sense of purpose and the importance of being open-minded to familiar and previously unknown. It reinforces my sense of personal perception and meaning through experiences, places, people, meetings, and emotions. I am here for a reason.” - Meryl Meryl remembers growing up seeing a camera in her grandfather's and father's hands always documenting their lives. Neither of them were photographers but the camera was an integral part of their very existence, and Meryl became very familiar with it at an early age. Meryl was seven when she got her first camera, and it was the beginning of her journey as a photographer. She describes her biggest influence as photography being just a part of her life. It wasn't until her visit to MoMA in the Fall of ‘73, when she saw a Diane Arbus Exhibit and described it as a, “moving experience, like witnessing photography for the very first time.” Meryl was enrolled in her first photography class in 1973 at the University of Wisconsin, where the professor Cavalliere Ketchum introduced Meryl to the ‘French Connection’, the work of Jacques Henri Lartigue, Brassaï, and Lisette Model. Meryl shares their influences, “Lartigue’s decades-long visual diary of playful family and friends, Brassai’s effervescent and daring Paris by Night, and Model’s upfront street and performers inspired my visual diary of family, friends, work, and nightlife celebrating with the snapshot aesthetic. Wanting to study with Model was reason enough to move to NYC in 1975.” After receiving her degree from the University of Wisconsin, Meryl returned to New York and studied with renowned photographer Lisette Model. Meryl shares a pivotal moment, “I think the main thing I learned from her was that it was the image, the story; it wasn’t the technique. It wasn’t specifically the lighting, but it was the genuine gut feeling of a photograph. And I thought the most important thing that she gave me was just to go forth, go forth and keep doing what you’re doing because it’s real. She only gave positive comments. I only took one class with her, I did other ones, but it was very pivotal.” The ‘French Connection’ does not stop there, as Meryl explains, “Flash forward to 2012; Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, a French filmmaker, living in Bushwick and owner of BIZARRE, a drag/burlesque club, discovered my work while researching his new neighborhood. BIZARRE published “A Tale of Two Cities Disco Era Bushwick” (2014) and “Purgatory & Paradise SASSY ‘70s Suburbia & The City” (2015). Sauvaire helped me edit “New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco” (Parallel Pictures Press 2021) from concept to finish. French director and journalist Sophie Peyrard, did the first review of my books in a French magazine, Lui. After that, she made a film about my work for ARTE. You can view the film on YouTube. Sophie Peyrard introduced my work to Fany Dupêche, Project Director, who invited me to participate in Festival Portrait(s). Merci beaucoup!" Meryl adores live theater, and like Shakespeare believes “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely the players”. These are the sets Meryl lives in, how she experiences life, this is her inspiration to create the unique portraits with truth and authenticity. Meryl did not walk onto her sets as a photographer, but as a player in the same game, that just brought their camera along. She was not always photographing but simply participating and having fun. Her fellow players opened up to her, and this is when the magic happened. She engages subjects that some are uncomfortable with, and with open arms, an artful eye, and contagious smile, her enthusiasm and humor instantly makes for a genuine connection, allowing for the magic to take place. I know this for a fact. I have been fortunate to experience this connectivity and magic. We met one evening at a NYC Women Street Photographers get together hosted by Gulnara Samoilova. I was walking across the room of very impressive women photographers when I walked to get some wine, our paths crossed. “Meryl Meisler” as her hand extended, I stumbled for my words, who am I? I mumbled Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico. “Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico” Meryl repeated with such enthusiasm, “With a name like Ghostlaw, you need no other name! Just Ghostlaw!”, and in that moment I stepped into my skin. Meryl embraces people for who they really are, perhaps inspiring them to be everything they could be. Meryl captures the “joie de vivre”, a sense of the excitement of the moment, accepting and admiring the uniqueness in all of us. She does not try to change anybody she photographs, but falls in love with who they truly are. Meryl describes her work, in retrospect, “I have come to realize that for me, photography is a form of visual memoir. I photograph the people, places, things, and things that call my attention and usually lift my spirits. My work traverses documentary, performative and street photography.” Meryl spends much of her time in her new darkroom in her home making beautiful silver gelatin prints from negatives when not out shooting with her three Noritas, a Japanese medium format camera and optics. Her babies are near and dear to her and are a unique attribute to the way she shoots, and very much indicative of her personality. Meryl has grown from her dedication and commitment to the field of photography. “Being a photographer, I have gained a sense of purpose and the importance of being open-minded to familiar and previously unknown. It reinforces my sense of personal perception and meaning through experiences, places, people, meetings, and emotions. I am here for a reason.” We are grateful to Meryl for her candor and authenticity not only in her photography, but in the way she embraces the world around her. We look forward to the next ‘French Connection’. For more inspiration, have a look at their website, and follow them on instagram. Be inspired and get their books, and if you have a chance to see their work in person, it is a must! There is a good chance you will see Meryl there, say hello and experience the magic for yourself. This is the perfect time to share with you the latest addition to Meryl’s ‘French Connection’, her Press release from her up and coming exhibition at the tenth Portrait Festival in Vichy France. Meryl Meisler: QUIRKYVISION PORTRAIT(S) Festival A Photography Encounter in Vichy, France June 24 to September 4, 2022 Every day, 10:00 to 19:00 Saturdays 10:00 to 22:00 from July 14 – August 15th Meryl Meisler's QUIRKYVISION will be installed at Le Palais des Congrès de Vichy during the PORTRAIT(S) Tenth Annual Festival in Vichy, France, from June 24 through September 4, 2022. Impertinent and humorous, Meryl Meisler plunges us into a captivating city and time, 1970s and 1980s New York. Her shots celebrate disco evenings and strip-tease clubs, her Jewish family and Long Island suburb, or life in a public school in one of the roughest Brooklyn neighborhoods. Inspired by Diane Arbus and Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Meryl Meisler, who was born in 1951, studied with legendary photographer Lisette Model while documenting her own life, with her camera screwed to her quirky eye. It was only when she retired from being a teacher in 2010 that she began releasing her archives, which led to the creation of this event. As a time capsule of New York in the seventies and eighties, her shots are a simultaneous celebration of discos and strip clubs, her Jewish family and Long Island suburb, or NYC public school life in one of Brooklyn’s toughest neighborhoods. Impertinent and comical, Meryl Meisler captures in black and white or color moments of pure joy at the center of daily hardships, plunging us into a fascinating time and city. This tenth Portrait(s) Festival in Vichy will celebrate the arts in the plural and have a lot of surprises. The Grand Casino will be transformed into a temple of photography, with exhibitions, conferences, and projections before moving into the public space, in this spa city by the Allier River. The thirteen exhibitions feature work by Christophe Acker, Charlotte Boudon, Omar Victor Diop, Henrike Stahl, Marie Magnier, Meryl Meisler, Éric Poupy, Kourtney Roy, Komath Studio. Brigitte Patient. Christian Tagliavini. Alain Willaume, and photography by ninth-grade students at the Collège des Célestins. Come on a delightful photographic wander through Vichy, virtually or in person! Note: Meryl Meisler will be present at Portrait(s) Vichy on June 24th and June 25th. PORTFOLIO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

BOOK THE PROVINCIAL May 21, 2021 BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY Antonis Giakoumakis TEXT Antonis Giakoumakis INTRODUCTION Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Photography for Antonis Giakoumakis is creation, communication, and storytelling. It is about not wanting to forget that moment, seeing pictures in spaces...moving, listening and observing. It may not be objective, but it can be a constant reminder that the world is not what we see. What to write about the Province and even more for my own Province, since emotions are often contradictory within me. Conflicting emotions. Good memories and sad memories. So I let my photos "speak" (to the extent that they can), in an attempt to capture an inner need to re-capture past images that often pass through our eyes or appear coincidentally in front of us. We see them walking around the old neighborhoods with low houses, courtyards, trees casting their shadows on the street, my eyes are filled with images. The memories are coming! "In a photo that is nothing more than a presence...of an absence!"(K. Dimoula) From one end of the country to the other. Buildings old and new, which signify the human presence even if it does not exist. The absence around us sometimes becomes intense but redeeming. It seems to be true but also imaginary. The scene is empty but the traces are a lot. They say that..."The only reliable witness we lived, is our Absence!" So contradictory but at the same time so clear. The old one, with the modern one. Roads full of livelihoods, kids to play, a hum but also absolute peace! The shops, the workshops, the meeting places, the taverns and the traditional cafes! Human faces are sometimes cheerful and sometimes gloomy. Carefree? Casually? Inaccessible? Familiar? The upper and lower neighborhoods...I reminisce with some nostalgia what was before and wonder if it was permanently lost. From one end of the country to the other, Greece is the same everywhere and at the same time…so different! The words of poet Dinos Christianopoulos touch my mind and heart. ITHACA I do not know if I was consistent or the need to get away from myself, the narrow and small Ithaca with its Christian associations and its choking ethics. However, it was not a solution; And I've been rolling from street to street ever since having wounds and experiences. The friends I loved are gone and I was alone, trembling that no one saw me that I once talked to him about ideals... Now I'm back with a last-ditch effort to look flawless, whole, come back and I am, my God, like the helpless one who leaves truth, bitter, and turning around to the father the good heart, to live in the bosom of a private apostasy. I bring Neptune inside me, that always keeps me away and even though I can still approach, will Ithaca find the solution for me? PORTFOLIO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

BOOK ISOLATION PORTRAITS August 14, 2020 BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY Suzanne Phoenix TEXT Melanie Meggs SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Late in March 2020 Coronavirus entered the common vernacular of Australians. Our borders were closed, and social distancing rules started, followed by the state government of Victoria closing ‘non-essential’ services. The places we gathered including pubs, clubs, festivals and sports were shut down. For Victorian photographer Suzanne Phoenix who is usually documenting live music and performances, festivals, street photography and daily life, her entire occupation ground to a halt. Spending the first few weeks in fear of who was going to die, and every moment being consumed by the virus, daily walks were a sanctioned luxury where Suzanne could go outside and be in nature. On one of her daily walks, Suzanne met people from two households who let her photograph them. A man seated in his driveway who volunteered that he hadn’t had a drink for ten days and a woman massaging a sick chook that was wrapped in a tea towel. These encounters gave her the idea to document local households if she was able to reach them on foot. Subsequently, Suzanne made a series of intimate portraits and the Project “Isolation Portraits” was hatched. The photographs were made starting on 18th April and capture households located in the Upper Yarra, an area of the Yarra Valley that finishes at the very edge of greater Melbourne. Safety precautions and social distancing measures were kept, and all photos of the households capture people just as they were in isolation, no one dressed up for their photographs. Suzanne’s project documents an eclectic community, including drag kings, cowgirls, families, and their many and varied pets. Photography for Suzanne has always been the love of her life, learning the importance of photographs from her family, especially her grandmother. “My Nana was terrible at it, always with a thumb over the lens, a shadow, or missing the subject completely,” Suzanne says fondly of her grandmother. “I now adore and treasure her photos, they are completely surreal, you couldn’t make these photos if you tried.” Photographing since before she was ten years of age, she got more serious about it around 2012. Suzanne is a self-trained photographer, learning through artist master classes with Stephen Dupont and being mentored by Kate Baker for several years. For Suzanne, this project was a way of re-engaging with her local community after a traumatic experience in 2019, when her trust was betrayed and it significantly impacted her connection with her hometown. “This created its own challenges and many conversations were had along the way, some that I would have preferred to have avoided. But it has enabled me to reconnect and reclaim my place in my community,” says Suzanne. Connecting with the people and places gave Suzanne access to lives that before Covid-19 she normally would not have had a chance to be a part of, and she saw new opportunities that could open the door for her to work in more depth with in the future. “I just asked people," she recalls. “I started with people I knew personally and people I knew via online relationships. As I carried out the project I would ask each household to make a referral of one person or family they thought would be interesting and interested. The experience was overwhelmingly positive and although it had its complexities, like any photographic project might have, it has been very rewarding.” Diversity and inclusion are always a priority for Suzanne as a photographer, and she struggled with this aspect of the project from a number of different viewpoints, as the Upper Yarra Valley is not a very diverse demographic from a cultural and linguistic background. Suzanne also wanted to include people who were not having a positive experience of isolation. Always conscious of the fact that the area has some of the highest statistics of family violence in Victoria, she knew that naturally the people in these situations were very unlikely to want to participate in the project. She was concerned along the way that she might not be able to appropriately represent the breadth of the experiences of the community. She created a framework for the project for herself and a brief for the subjects, which covered consent and Suzanne’s intention to produce a self-publication and an exhibition. “My desire was to release a magazine within the month following the completion of the work that would preserve everyone’s thoughts about this unique period of time as it was being experienced, rather than written about in hindsight,” she says. “I was adamant that every household would be included in the magazine and that no one would be left out, unless they opted out, which some did. This meant I needed to do everyone justice and create images that were both publication worthy and that the people were comfortable being made public.” From an artistic practice viewpoint, Suzanne’s preference is to work with a small camera and lens and getting up close to people, as she has a fascination for focusing on small details. The pandemic meant that she needed to modify her approach in this project, to keep her distance and use a large camera with a long zoom lens. Suzanne remembers the feeling of being alive, normal and grounded when she shot that very first portrait of the series after weeks of not photographing people. She photographed a total of seven households on that first day. Suzanne recalls being exhausted, “people wanted to talk, as for most in this project I was one of the few people who visited them at their home during isolation.” She wanted to try to keep her shoots to no more than half an hour, purely due to Covid considerations. Her process of arriving at a household, most of whom she had never visited before, and with people she had never met, making people feel comfortable and finding where to make the portraits, all in less than thirty minutes in retrospect now sounds a little crazy to Suzanne. Suzanne photographed more than 60 households in total and made a series of portraits that included more than 120 people and dozens of animals. Every household was provided with a selection of images and Suzanne’s preferences for use for their approval. Running alongside this, everyone was encouraged to write of their isolation experience. These texts were included in the magazine without any editing. Suzanne selected a quote from each person’s words as a highlight in the magazine and in doing so was very mindful of creating a prevailing focus or feeling of each person. Meeting all sorts of people, Suzanne learned a lot about their lives and heard stories of trauma and how isolation was impacting their mental health. At the end of the second stage of the shooting on 30th June 2020, she felt privileged to have so many households involved, but was quite physically and mentally exhausted. Through her photography Suzanne has a ‘knack’ for storytelling, her portraits have a quietness and secrecy about them, but at the same time they are dynamic and send a powerful message. When asked about this, Suzanne says that she respects people's privacy even when she photographs them, creating a safe space so they can show her something of themselves. “I think I see them, and they see me.” Consent is critical to Suzanne. She is skilled at meeting people where they are at, and sees herself as an honest, strong and confident person, which enables trust. As a result of this project, Suzanne’s personal relationships with people she already knew, or knew of, have deepened, and she has made a few new friends throughout this project. Ned, The Wobbly Wizard, stands out as someone who has enlightened and inspired Suzanne the most, so much so that she told him he was her new muse. At the time Ned was living in a tent in the forest and he certainly challenged her assumptions on COVID-19 being a more difficult time for those living in similar situations. He shared that the restrictions were making life better, he was not being moved on and hassled by people and could stay in one place. As he jovially told Suzanne, “finally personal space is in fashion!” Since that first shoot Suzanne has created nudes in the forest and river with Ned, a first for both of them. Without a doubt, Suzanne’s “Isolation Portraits” has proven to be a success. The first magazine was launched online as part of Yarra Valley Writers Festival and soundbite podcasts are being created in collaboration with YVWF also. All these outcomes help raise the profile of the small region of the Yarra Valley. “Ultimately,” explains Suzanne, “I wanted to document the lives of the community through this global pandemic for historical purposes.”Within a couple of months of its release over 100 copies of the magazines had been purchased by the local community and from people all over the world. All of the portraits have been printed as transparencies and exhibited in windows of four local businesses. Being able to exhibit these images, when all galleries are closed, is a rare opportunity and among the feedback Suzanne has received, people have told her that they feel like they are connected and can see their community again. The self-published magazines “Isolation Portraits 1” and “Isolation Portraits 2” by Suzanne Phoenix can be bought online through Suzanne's website. Suzanne is currently working on “Isolation Portraits” - Stage 3 while Victoria is in stage 3 and 4 restrictions. The Pictorial List will be thinking of all Victorians as they go through this tough time ahead. Stay safe. PORTFOLIO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

EXHIBITION CITY OF IMAGES October 16, 2020 EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHY Karin Svadlenak TEXT Karin Svadlenak SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link For the third year in a row, the small town of Baden near Vienna has become an outdoor photography gallery. Billed as the largest European photography festival, the exhibitions are spread all across downtown Baden's streets and parks. In times of the Covid-19 pandemic, there could not be a more ideal setting for a "museum visit" than to stroll around in the open air, enjoying the outstanding photography and the greenery, stopping in between for coffee and cake in one of Baden's many coffee houses. I visited on a warm September afternoon, when people were still lounging about on picnic blankets and in outdoor cafes. Baden is a small town just 26 km south of Vienna with a long history as a spa town because of natural thermal springs in the area. Architecturally the old part of town is also very pretty, featuring villas and buildings built largely during the Biedermeier period, after a fire in 1812 destroyed much of the old city. Because of the hot springs and the woods surrounding it, it has always been a popular destination for recreation seekers coming from Vienna, including the imperial family. In the 19th century, a railway connection was built to Vienna, making it easily accessible for thousands of Viennese, and this connection is still running today. The tram-like Badner-Bahn makes it from the Vienna Opera to downtown Baden in about an hour. But apart from the pleasant hiking, walking, and bathing opportunities, once a year in the summer, the city itself becomes a work of art. The photo festival La Gacilly-Baden turns Baden's already quite pretty streets, squares and parks into a veritable feast for the eyes. The Baden photo festival is now in its third year, originated by Lois Lammerhuber, one of the most important contemporary photographers in Austria, as a twin exhibition to the one held at La Gacilly in Bretagne, France every year. In La Gacilly, this photo festival has been celebrated since 2004. The photos shown in Baden are those shown in La Gacilly the previous year. This year's motto in Baden is "Never Give Up" - could there have been a better title for an exhibition in this pandemic year 2020?! The motto includes two narrative circles: “Renaissance” and “All Eyes East”. Renaissance or rebirth stands for the commitment and awareness of the exhibiting photographers to dedicate their work to our planet, but also for hope: the hope for change, for a better world. The view towards the East (East from Europe, that is, and also the political "East"), refers to the remarkable creative turnout of contemporary photography in Russia and former Soviet Union states. The displays of the exhibition provide insights into the diverse and historically rich east of Europe. With a plea for peace, tolerance and togetherness, the two festival narratives are visualised by 31 photographers, a photography collective of the Lower Austrian State photography guild and 13 schools. There are 2000 photographs on display, and I can show only a small fraction here. The French festival originator Jacques Rocher is the son of Yves Rocher, who managed to create a global cosmetic brand with organic products with his company based near the village of La Gacilly. Back in 2004 Jacques Rocher realised his idea of a photo festival in La Gacilly, dedicated to the subject of people and the environment. "Major environmental and social challenges lie at the heart of the La Gacilly Photo Festival and have shaped its programme for 17 years now, raising awareness and enlightening the world through the photographer’s lens," says Jacques. The exhibited photo series have a strong humanistic orientation, showing humans in their home environment, but also showing the impact humans have on earth, often in quite disturbing ways. The images are a socially relevant merging of artistic photography and photojournalism. Apart from the high quality artwork and the topical interest, the photo festival is so delightful because of the way the art is integrated into and interacts with constructed and natural elements of the city. A tree shadow falling on a building-sized photograph, filtered sunlight illuminating exhibition paths, and coffee shops and picnic spots throughout the city, from which the viewer can admire the photography and take in the special ambience at leisure. To see all of the exhibitions takes several hours, and so it is a good idea to take it in small doses and return, a second, perhaps a third time, to absorb it all. The festival extends over a length of 7 kilometres, divided into a “garden route” and a “town route”, so you had better put your walking shoes on. Embedded into the lovely rose garden, right next to the Orangerie at Doblhoff park, are amazing large reproduction of colour photographs taken in tsarist Russia. The rose garden itself is also worth a visit during the flowering season, with some 900 species of roses blooming at different times. Apart from the work of well established photographers, the festival also makes room for contributions of some emerging talents in partnership with Fisheye Magazine. This initiative is showcasing new photographic output on the theme of New Frontiers. There are also works of local amateurs from Lower Austrian schools and from the guild of photographers on view. One of the homegrown contributions to the festival is the exhibition DU BIST KUNST. Using the hashtag #dubistkunst (you are art), an Austrian art TV programme (kulturMontag) teamed up with renowned Austrian art museums and called on photographers to join with their creations. A set of quirky reinterpretations of classic masterpieces is exhibited in Doblhoffpark. Think Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and co. The photo festival La Gacilly-Baden is on view until 26 October 2020. It is open air and free of charge to visit. For anyone in or around Vienna, or near the original location in France, I highly recommend a visit. You will be astonished, impressed, saddened, delighted, and amused. PORTFOLIO CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.

GALLERY BUILDING A SOLID FOUNDATION November 15, 2023 GALLERY PHOTOGRAPHY Martin Parr Foundation TEXT Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico SHARE Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link For over 50 years British photographer Martin Parr has explored humanity, documenting his observations through the lens of a camera that has helped define a generation of British culture. He has exposed the way societies globally live their day to day lives, how they play, work, consume, communicate, revealing connections or disconnections to community. The years of experience focusing through the lens of a camera created an awareness and desire to support photography in more meaningful ways. In the fall of 2017, the Martin Parr Foundation opened their doors in Bristol, United Kingdom. I asked Martin where the idea and motivation came from, to create the Martin Parr Foundation. “For over 20 years I have been collecting prints and books. More recently, I have started specializing in British photography, and I decided I needed a foundation to launch this so I could officially collect them, find a building to exhibit them, build an archive, build a library, and that is what happened. And in 2017, we opened the current site where we are at now. I had an office in London with maybe 4 people working there, we all helped look for buildings in Bristol. About 6 months of looking, we found our new home. The Foundation started a charity, and the charity bought the Foundation’s building. I have another building in Bristol that I have had for ten years in fact, and we are continuing to expand. We are about to purchase a building next to our current one.” Martin Parr and his foundation have a mission, and together with his inspirational Board of Trustees, they are devoted and work diligently to accomplishing the Foundation’s Mission Statement. MARTIN PARR FOUNDATION SUPPORTS EMERGING, ESTABLISHED AND OVERLOOKED PHOTOGRAPHERS, WHO HAVE MADE AND CONTINUE TO MAKE WORK FOCUSED ON BRITAIN AND IRELAND. WE PRESERVE A GROWING COLLECTION OF SIGNIFICANT PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS AND STRIVE TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHY ENGAGING AND ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL. WE ARE COMMITTED TO MAKING THE MARTIN PARR FOUNDATION A PLACE FOR EVERYONE AND TO REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF BRITISH AND IRISH CULTURE. Speaking with Martin, he shared more about their collection and what the Foundation specializes in. “We specialize in post war British and Irish photography, and photographers that have worked here from abroad. I feel British documentary photography is very good, it's underrated, so I feel it is my job in a sense to build a collection of this, I am not the only one that has a good collection, James Hyman Gallery in London has a good collection, the V&A has a good collection, the Tate has come into photography of course much later, but are sort of making good progress, so I am not unique in this. I think we have every book of interest post war about British photography that has been published.” Martin put together a heavy hitting select group of driven individuals, with the same goals in helping him and the foundation achieve their short-term and long-term goals. The Martin Parr Foundation is a family foundation with nine present board members including Martin, his wife and their daughter. They all have specific focus and talents that combined are the engines that drive the foundation to achieve their short-term goals. They are committed to providing their combined resources to successfully realize their long-term goals for the future. When I asked Martin what were some of the challenges he faced along the way and how did he overcome them. Remarkably Martin has not had any challenges really. The team works seamlessly with diligence to create a valuable resource of sustainability for British and Irish photography. It is what drives and inspires them. “We have over 500 members, a terrific response from the public, we do a book fair. Everything else is looking pretty good actually, so the challenge of finding an audience has been met very successfully. We do a bit of social media organizing, we have a very good social media person, most of the outcome is done for free. We are aiming of course to find other photographers, people interested in photography, and I think we have done that all pretty successfully.” In 2021, the Martin Parr Foundation launched a photographic bursary to support Black, Asian and minority ethnic photographers in the United Kingdom, extending their outreach embracing even more unrecognized talented visual storytellers, helping to diversify, support, and represent a broader range of brilliant photography. I asked Martin what was the inspiration for the commitment of the foundation to support emerging and unrecognized photographers. How do you find them, how do they find you? “As I mentioned before, I think British photographers are underrated, and some of the more established names have not received the recognition they deserve, and young new emerging photographers need to have shows in public spaces. We are very happy to give a photographer their first show, it's always a great thrill to do that, and to see the show very well received, and to see them go on and take part in the whole business of being a British photographer. People write to us and send us books all the time, and I'm always on the lookout for emerging photographers. We are in social media and magazines, constantly looking for new people who are interesting to get in touch with.” When the Martin Parr Foundation supports an artist, it is a process of enabling the artist to grow by giving them the support they need. It is a long-term relationship they nurture, and it is rewarding to the photographer as well and to the trustees and members of the foundation. “We help them make a selection, we help them print it out, we have a very good PR person who is getting very good publicity for all our shows. So, we basically apply all the skills we have here, especially when they are emerging photographers, so they can benefit from having a very professional, very interesting, good solid show, with a good response.” I wondered if all the work for the foundation over the years and all the photographers Martin has encountered have had any impact on the way he engages his own photography. “Not really, no it's an add on, which I'm very happy to have, you know I’ve been a photographer for all these years, and I have all this energy so I can invest it in other things as well. And also trying things for new, trying things that are a challenge, that is always fun. Getting the foundation up and running, getting the membership, getting the audiences for our talks, our book festival, etcetera.” As photographers it is a daunting task to organize a system to archive our work. Can you imagine this task being left to our children, or our siblings. I inquired about why the foundation has taken the responsibility of some photographers' archives. Food for thought for all photographers as we collect vast libraries of photographic information and materials. “This is a big problem that all the photographers of my generation, have to face, what are they going to do with their archives, so yeah, there is no x, y or z here, not like in America, so you just have to do it, organize it for yourself. It often falls on the children of the photographer, so that is one thing I wanted to avoid, when you have one daughter, I didn't want to lumber her with the task of sorting it all out.” I asked Martin what have been some of the Martin Parr Foundation's high points as well as any low points over the years. “We just had our book festival which had thousands of people through, we had nine talks. We had another joint photobook festival with BOP, Books on Photography. More people than ever before attended, there were more talks than ever before, and all talks were full. Then we had a quiz on Saturday night at a local bar that was very well attended, so everything has been great. That's one of the high points really, just to see all these people come here. No low points really at all.” When I asked Martin what some of the long-term and short-term goals of the Foundation are, he told me, “More of the same, both to both.” They will continue to secure the photographic legacy of British and Irish photographers, while inspiring and supporting new visual storytellers that will create a new dialogue for the future of photography. “Being a collector of many things, especially photo books. I asked what was the first book in his collection, and Martin immediately replied, “‘The Americans’ by Robert Frank. It is one of the great books of the 21st century. And ‘A Day Of’, by Tony Ray-Jones.” Daido Moriyama would also be in the top ten authors and books in his collection. Martin explained how it is not just the photographs that inspire him, but it is the whole package, the way the artists developed the concept of the book, the paper, layout, binding, all play a role in what makes a book special and rare. Straightforward and simple like Robert Frank ‘The Americans’ as well as the more complex works by Daido Moriyama, all bring inspiration through the combination of how they feel, how they work as a complete thought process, because the photographs are just brilliant.” I asked Martin Parr what he does with the moments he is not out helping to change and support the world of photography, and what gives him personal pleasure in his time off. “Well, I like to go out to eat, I like having walks, which is somewhat limited due to my having Myeloma. I can't walk as far as before, but on nice breaks, I go with my wife. We've been together for 48 years I think now, which is a long time.” Martin is as committed to his family as he is to his work. He relies on their valued contributions to the foundation and enjoys the life they have made together and shared. The Pictorial List would like to thank Martin Parr for his time and candor answering our questions and enlightening us about what the Martin Parr Foundation is diligently working to achieve. Photography is a process driven form of expression. From learning the process of capturing light through apertures for different lengths of time, to the process of turning a negative into a positive. As photographers we process our critical and creative thoughts focusing through the lens for our definition of that expression. We are grateful for organizations like the Martin Parr Foundation, that help support photography and photographers of the past as well as genuinely mentor and create new opportunities for photographers of the future. VIEW WEBSITE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author/s, and are not necessarily shared by The Pictorial List and the team.