Talking to photographers from around the world, offering an insight into their photographic journey to inspire us all. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. 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. 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. 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. INTERVIEW WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. INTERVIEW WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. INTERVIEW ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. INTERVIEW THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. INTERVIEW IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. INTERVIEW WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. INTERVIEW DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. INTERVIEW UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. INTERVIEW THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. INTERVIEW WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. INTERVIEW CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. INTERVIEW STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. INTERVIEW PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. INTERVIEW POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. INTERVIEW QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. INTERVIEW TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. INTERVIEW THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. INTERVIEW VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. INTERVIEW EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. INTERVIEW A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. INTERVIEW MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

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. 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. June 14, 2026 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Emma Varga INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Emma Varga approaches photography as a site of construction rather than observation. Her images do not attempt to stabilize the world; they work against it. Across her practice, the photograph becomes an unstable surface where material, biological, and conceptual systems intersect. Working between Budapest and London, and informed by her studies in Art and Science at Central Saint Martins, Emma develops a language that moves between disciplines without settling into either. What defines Emma’s work is not only its subject matter, but its method. The image is built, not taken. In WHENUA, microscopic cross-sections of animal tissue are removed from their scientific context and reconfigured as visual structures resembling topographical abstractions. These forms resist singular interpretation, shifting between interior and exterior, organism and terrain. The body is no longer contained; it extends into the world, collapsing distinctions between biology and geography, origin and environment. In MOLD, this inquiry unfolds through time. Lumen prints made with plant material are exposed over weeks, allowing decomposition to become an active agent within the image. By refusing fixation, the works remain in flux. Light operates not only as illumination, but in collaboration with time, producing images that are contingent and ongoing. The photograph is no longer a record of a moment, but a process that continues beyond the artist’s control. Underlying her art projects is an engagement with the grotesque as a mode of perception. Emma employs it not for shock, but as a structural language through which vulnerability, control, and violence can be examined. Her images sustain a tension between attraction and disturbance, requiring the viewer to confront their own thresholds of recognition. Emerging from a Central and Eastern European context, this sensibility carries historical weight, enabling a direct engagement with complexity without simplification. Her use of scientific tools, particularly microscopy, does not reinforce scientific authority but instead exposes its limits. Systems that seek to classify and define the body are unsettled, opening her work toward a posthuman position in which boundaries between human and non-human begin to dissolve. Emma allows decay, damage, and intervention to shape the image. Photography, in this context, becomes capable of holding instability rather than concealing it. Her work does not resolve. It insists on uncertainty. Within this framework, Emma Varga repositions the photographic image as a dynamic field shaped by material processes and conceptual inquiry, an active, unsettled space that resists closure. It is from within this position that our conversation unfolds, tracing the origins of her practice, the evolving relationship between art and science, and the ways in which material, time, and perception continue to shape her approach to photography. “I got my first camera when I was four years old, so photography has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I think that early relationship to image-making was very instinctive at first. Over time, that impulse developed into something much more conceptual. Photography became not just a way of recording what I saw, but a way of thinking and questioning how images work. That is what led me toward the kind of practice I’m developing now.” IN CONVERSATION WITH EMMA VARGA TPL: Your work moves between microscopic observation and landscape-like formations. How do you understand scale as a conceptual tool, particularly in destabilizing the distinction between interior biological structures and external environments? EMMA: Scale is really important in my work because it lets me shift the body between different states of reading. When something microscopic starts to resemble a landscape, it becomes harder to tell where the body ends and the environment begins. I’m interested in that instability because it makes the body feel less fixed and more part of a bigger material and environmental system. TPL: You allow organic processes such as decomposition and environmental interaction to shape the final outcome. How do you negotiate control within a process that is inherently unpredictable? What does it mean to you to create photographs that resist permanence and fixed meaning? EMMA: I don’t really try to control the process itself, I control the thinking at the start, and then I let the process lead me from there. My practice overall is rooted in destruction, construction, and deconstruction. I’m interested in making work and then undoing it, or breaking it apart and rebuilding it in a different form. My last piece, sculpture titled “The Horse Wasn’t Real Until I Killed It”, worked like that too. I casted my own body, then sliced it up and rearranged it to explore questions like what is my body and when does it stop being mine. If I cast it, then cut it apart, then rebuild it, what actually remains of the original body? We were about to take it to an exhibition and just a few hours before installing it someone stole two pieces of it. I had to improvise, decided that I’ll make that part of the concept - and in the end that actually made the work better. TPL: There is a strong tension between visibility and invisibility, particularly in how hidden biological structures are brought into view. What interests you about revealing what is typically inaccessible to the human eye? EMMA: What interests me is that revealing what is usually invisible adds another layer of meaning. In Vox Victimae, I explore how living beings become victims, and including phase photographs of the apoptosis of the HeLa cell line helped me show that this process also happens at a cellular level. The microscopic images let me draw parallels between human and animal bodies, and suggest that under the microscope, at a cellular level, you can no longer clearly distinguish between them. © Emma Varga, WHENUA / roots of a tree on a ground (2025) © Emma Varga, WHENUA / a riverbank (2025) © Emma Varga, WHENUA / the fork of a river (2025) © Emma Varga, WHENUA / storm in the Sahara Desert (2025) © Emma Varga, WHENUA / mud tracks in the melting snow (2025) © Emma Varga, WHENUA / a frozen lake (2025) © Emma Varga, WHENUA / a glacial lake (2025) TPL: There is also a persistent interrogation of anthropocentrism in your practice, particularly through the merging of human, animal, and environmental forms. How does your work engage with posthumanist thought, and do you see your images as proposing an alternative ontology of the body? Emma: I do think my work engages with posthumanist thought, especially in the way it questions the idea of the human as separate or central. I’m interested in what happens when the boundaries between human, animal, and environment start to blur, because that makes the body feel less fixed and more relational. In Vox Victimae, for example, I used microscopic images and animal references to look at victimhood across species, and to suggest that at a cellular level the body is not as clearly divided as we might think. I wouldn’t say my images propose a fully fixed alternative ontology, but they do open up another way of thinking about the body. Instead of seeing it as a stable human unit, I’m interested in it as something relational and unstable - something that can be classified, damaged, transformed, or reduced. What matters to me is that this isn’t only about human and animal as separate categories, but about bodies more generally, and about who gets to be sacrificed and who gets to make the sacrifice. That is also where the work engages with anthropocentrism: it tries to unsettle the assumption that the human is always the measure of everything else. TPL: Your practice brings art and science into close conversation, allowing both fields to inform the way you observe, question, and create. How do you define this space within your practice? EMMA: I would define that space as an artistic practice informed by science. While I’ve grown up around science and scientific ways of thinking, my approach remains rooted in art. I’m interested in how scientific methods, tools, and image-making technologies can be integrated into artistic processes. What matters to me is the way these approaches meet within a single body of work, allowing different ways of observing and thinking to inform each other. That intersection is what continues to shape my practice. I’m interested in what happens when the boundaries between human, animal, and environment start to blur, because that makes the body feel less fixed and more relational. TPL: If your work had a scent, would it be closer to a laboratory, a forest floor, or something else entirely? EMMA: Unfortunately, my work sometimes does have a smell during the process. When I think about the still lifes in Natura Morta or the grotesque tree with chicken heads in Vox Victimae, those materials had a very strong smell, so if the work had a scent, it would probably be something unpleasant, maybe closer to rotten meat than a laboratory or a forest floor. TPL: What is something about your work that you think people misunderstand? And do you enjoy that misreading? EMMA: I think people sometimes read the grotesque in my work as something purely shocking or dark, when it is actually more ambivalent. For me, it is a great way of provoking thought, because it can hold discomfort, humor, strangeness, disgust and beauty at the same time. TPL: Are there particular artists, thinkers, or even disciplines outside of photography that have shifted your approach over time? EMMA: István Örkény has had a huge influence on me. I see him as a major figure of the grotesque, and his work feels completely singular, not just in Hungary but internationally too. His writing has shaped the way I think about the world, and more broadly, my sense of seeing has also been shaped by a Central and Eastern European reality, where the grotesque is often part of everyday life and perception. © Emma Varga, Mold II (2024) © Emma Varga, Mold III (2024) © Emma Varga, Mold IV (2024) © Emma Varga, Mold V (2024) © Emma Varga, Mold VI (2024) © Emma Varga, Mold VII (2024) © Emma Varga, Mold VIII (2024) © Emma Varga, Mold IX (2024) TPL: Is there one piece of equipment, tool, or material that you consider essential to your practice - something you couldn’t imagine working without? EMMA: Light is probably the thing I rely on most. As a photographer, light is essential, it’s what I primarily create images with. Since moving to the UK, I’ve become even more aware of my dependence on sunlight, because its absence has made me notice how much it affects my mood and energy. TPL: When you think about the future of your practice, what excites you most to explore next? EMMA: What excites me most is building a deeper research trajectory around my latest photobook, Vox Victimae, and using it as a starting point rather than an endpoint. That project began to open up questions about how living beings become legible as victims, and I want to push that inquiry further into the systems, images, and narratives that shape those conditions. I’m also increasingly interested in expanding the boundaries between art and science, especially now that I’m studying on an MA Art and Science course and have more access to resources and can work with more specific tools and methodologies. What excites me is not just producing images, but developing a practice that can move between different forms of knowledge and mediums. TPL: On days when you step away from the camera, what are you getting lost in, and is it ever really a break from thinking visually? EMMA: When I step away from the camera, I’m usually drawn to literature, theatre, and being in nature. Those things help me reset, but they also continue to feed the way I think visually. I don’t really experience them as a full break from making images, because I’m still observing composition, atmosphere, materiality, and how a space or a story produces a feeling. Hiking, especially, gives me a kind of visual and mental openness that often leads back into the work in unexpected ways. So even when I’m not actively photographing, I’m still thinking through images - just in a different form. PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

LIFE THROUGH MY LENS British documentary photographer Jason Shipley finds inspiration in the people he meets and their life struggles. LIFE THROUGH MY LENS August 7, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Jason Shipley INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Jason Shipley is a passionate British documentary photographer from Kingston upon Hull. He finds inspiration in the people he meets and their struggles, which he often documents in long-term series. Jason shared a story with us in the Magazine about British miners and how the miner strikes of the 1980s have affected their lives. His photographs have been featured in such renowned places as the British Museum. Jason's life is filled with photography - full time. We took this opportunity to ask him about it. “I was born in Kingston upon Hull. I grew up here and I’m still living here. It's a working class city built from the deep sea fishing industry. I have been interested in photography since I was 17 (that was in 1987). We had an old 35mm camera that nobody used, I used it the most. My mother had a lot of photos, family portraits mainly. It just appealed to me, catching and saving a moment forever.” IN CONVERSATION WITH JASON SHIPLEY THE PICTORIAL LIST: Jason, where do you find your inspiration to photograph? JASON SHIPLEY: I find it on the street with the people I meet and the struggles people have, it sends me in different directions. TPL: Do you have a favorite genre of photography, and if so, what about it appeals to you? JS: My favourite genre of photography is documentary, mostly social. It’s the gritty essence, but street is my sidekick. TPL: Has your style of photographing changed since you first started? JS: My style has changed a lot, I started in portraiture and flash photography, studio and street. TPL: Do you have a favorite place(s) to photograph? JS: My favourite place to photograph has to be anywhere outdoors. As long as it has humans involved. TPL: Who are your favorite artists? JS: John Bulmer, Don McCullin, Jane Bown, and Raymond Depardon Photography for me is not looking, it's feeling. If you can't feel what you're looking at, then you're never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures. - Don McCullin TPL: How did you think of your long-term documentary project about the miners? JS: I’ve always backed the underdog. I feel the miners deserve recognition for the work and struggles they endured down the mines. Pit life was extremely difficult, as a boy I remember the strikes, on TV, I always would cheer the miners on. After 30 years the miners still check up regularly on each other for health and social related issues, I have never seen such comradeship from any bunch of workers. During the UK lockdown they even called me to see if I was in good health! I'm totally amazed and proud that they thought of me in some ways as part of the team. Editor's note - Read the story 'Comrades Forever' using the links at the end of the interview. TPL: What camera/s do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? JS: My preference in cameras is Nikon for portraits, street photography Fuji xt3 and 35 mm Nikon F5, for landscape Hasselblad 500cm 120mm. TPL: What characteristics do you think you need to become a good photographer? Any tips or advice for someone just starting out? JS: My honest answer - In photography if you are willing to learn and are a little crazy, and you have an artistic eye, you can learn as much as you want. I believe you constantly learn new techniques throughout your career. I experiment a lot. TPL: Are there any special projects, other than the long-term documentary on British miners, that you are currently working on? JS: I am currently working on a vulnerable youth project, it’s a commission from the youth service. I´m also working on the council estate project in Hull, also a commission. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I am… JS: When I’m not out doing documentary work I’m usually doing street photography. I’m prolific - I’m out shooting now, I shoot every day, when I’m not out shooting I’m sleeping or in my dark room.” PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

THE BIGGER PICTURE To Stefan Hellweger, human presence in photos adds interest, and he enjoys walking about the streets of his home town and documenting life. THE BIGGER PICTURE July 3, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Stefan Hellweger INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Photographer Stefan Hellweger finds inspiration in art, science, music, and the photography of others. He thinks that having a personal or emotional connection to a scene or subject helps to get good pictures, if you can translate that emotion into your photographs. To Stefan, human presence in photos adds interest, and he mostly enjoys walking about the streets of his home town and documenting life. Beyond that, content is important to him, and he seeks to use his photography to draw attention to particular causes or issues. If your pictures are not good enough you weren't close enough. - Robert Capa “This might be the most quintessential quote for everybody in street and documentary photography. Although I think it is often misunderstood. It is not only about physical closeness (which is a good thing in these genres) but being closely related to the scene and the atmosphere you are about to show in your photographs.” IN CONVERSATION WITH STEFAN HELLWEGER TPL: Stefan, when did you start getting interested in photography? SH: Like probably many I was taking pictures of traveling, parties, family events and so on all my life. First with analog film cameras, later digital but always in auto mode. The passion grew when I bought my first camera with easy access to all the basic settings for exposure, a Fujifilm X-M1. It was very soon when I realized two things. First, almost every shot gets instantly more interesting if it shows some kind of human presence. Second, learn how to use every camera setting to your benefit and read as much as you can about composition. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? SH: In art, science, music, other photographers...Pretty much everything that surrounds me in daily life. To name one thing specifically, maybe news. When reading newspapers or seeing the news on TV or the internet I often ask myself what moments I would like to capture if I were there. TPL: Do you have a favourite genre of photography? SH: Definitely street photography and documentary photography. But although I am really not good at it, I also enjoy seeing good landscape photography, which is quite hard to find in my opinion. TPL: Has your style of photographing changed since you first started? SH: When I started doing street photography I was scared as hell to get too near to my subjects. I accepted that it is part of the game to be near the people you are taking pictures of, and so I got closer and closer. Meanwhile I try to take a step back again and get more of the context into the frame as well. TPL: Do you have a favourite place(s) to photograph? SH: Not in particular. I think you can take great pictures almost anywhere. Just make the best of it. Even if you hate a place. Hate is a strong emotion. Use it in your photography and show the viewer why you hate that place. TPL: Do you prefer to photograph alone or with friends? SH: That depends on my mood. I love going out shooting with one or two friends, usually from the Munich Street Collective. But there are also times when I have to put my headphones on and roam around on my own. Almost every shot gets instantly more interesting if it shows some kind of human presence. TPL: Often you focus really closely on people in your street photography. How do you go about it? SH: Actually it is just something you have to get used to. A lot of people won't even realize that you are taking pictures of them when you are that close. TPL: Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? SH: Definitely 35mm, in my case, as a Fuji shooter the Fujinon XF 23mm f2.0 TPL: There are so many different rules about what you can and cannot photograph in different countries. Are you ever worried about legal issues when taking street photos in Germany? How do you deal with it? SH: I try to simply not care about it. I never got in any trouble, and even if people don't want to have their picture taken you can still delete it. TPL: What characteristics do you think you need to become a 'good' photographer? Any tips or advice for someone just starting out? SH: Patience and persistence. It can be a little bit frustrating walking around in a city for a whole day and not to get even one good shot, but that's just part of the game. Then there will be days when you get one shot after another. Try to find your flow with some "easy" shots like silhouettes and work your way up from there. And try to stick with the classic focal lengths for street photography between 28mm and 50mm. When starting out it is tempting to use a telephoto lens, but it is actually quite hard to take good photographs with long focal lengths in this genre, most shots will just look like you are a creep. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on? SH: I'm thinking about how I could help the Black Lives Matter movement with photography. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… SH: Love being outdoors with my dog, thinking about this and that.” PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

THE FINNS Simo Väisänen's Finnish street and documentary photographs speak to the viewer very directly and sometimes leave room for questions and wonder. THE FINNS October 23, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Simo Väisänen INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Simo Väisänen is a Finnish self-taught photographer. He is mostly interested in people, places and details. His love for old Finnish black and white movies, Italian neorealism and Akira Kurosawa's and Sergei Eisenstein's productions have partly influenced his photographic style. His street and documentary style photographs speak to the viewer very directly and sometimes leave room for questions and wonder. For this interview Simo shared with us some photos from two of his series, "The Finns" and "Almost Photography". “I was born and raised in Kuopio, Finland in the middle of the beautiful Finnish Lake district. After my studies in Oulu, Helsinki and Jyväskylä Universities I got a position in Mikkeli, which is also surrounded by big lakes. Both Kuopio and Mikkeli are situated in Central Finland. I am a Special Education Teacher and Teacher of the Deaf. My interest in photography started as a school boy. Me and my kid brother once got an Agfamatic 100 Sensor camera for Christmas. We really put that camera through its paces and the images we took were pure expressionism. Later, during my studies in Oulu I bought a second hand East German miracle called Praktica Super TL with a 50mm lens. I used that mainly to take photos of my family and friends. After that photography has been an essential part of me.” IN CONVERSATION WITH SIMO VÄISÄNEN THE PICTORIAL LIST: Simo, please tell us what is it that you want to express through your photography? And what are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? SIMO VÄISÄNEN: Photography is almost always associated with a reproduction of reality. To me photography is making known my thoughts or feelings. The reality of the world we live in becomes the reality of how I use my visual language or how I feel about a specific idea or subject. Daido Moriyama once said ”Photography is the expression of our desires”. That’s how it is. Light is photography. Photography is painting with light. If the light is uninspiring or dull I just don’t shoot. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? And do you have a favourite place to photograph? SV: I believe I could say my passion for photography is my constant source of inspiration. I usually shoot for a theme and try to visit somewhere new to get out of my comfort zone. Favourite place to photograph? Could say anywhere. But I could travel to the end of the world and feel frustrated if the light and the environment didn’t inspire me. TPL: Do you think place matters? Do you try to show a sense of place in your photos? SV: Any place is good enough If I find the place interesting and inspirational enough. To me a sense of place is a feeling or perception I hold. That’s why my photographs differ from all others. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists? SV: My love for old Finnish B&W movies, Italian neorealism and Akira Kurosawa’s and Sergei Eisenstein’s production partly explain why I photograph as I do. And if you don’t understand Daido Moriyama or Junichiro Tanizaki you don’t know me. TPL: You have shared with us a story about the Finnish circus. What gave you the idea of doing a photo series on the circus? SV: I’ve always loved circus. It all begun when me and my kid brother hadn’t even started school yet. Our Mum took us to a circus which had come to our home town Kuopio in Finland. It really took me back to my childhood memories when our daughter was old enough to be taken to circus. It was then I realised I must start recording the present that one day will be the past to my daughter. Finland is the most kick-ass country in the world! TPL: The circus is a place of colour and light. How come you chose to use black and white for your photo essay? Especially since your photos in your Instagram gallery are otherwise often colourful. How do you decide what should be presented in black and white and what in colour? SV: If you look closely you’ll notice that only 62 of my 309 images in my Instagram gallery so far are colour images. That alone proves I’m a B&W guy. As you said circus is a place of colour and light. The light, however, is never constant and therefore you must start using high ISO values. That leads to colour noise. I shoot B&W for all classic reasons. It’s a creative choice. When you shoot for black and white, you challenge yourself to remove the distraction of colour. These include colour casts and differences in colour temperature (ambient light sources), as well as specific colourful elements that are strong, which may reside in the background or take away from your story. I even set my camera for B&W. That results in B&W photos on my LCD and in my viewfinder and allows me to better see lighting, shape and form. I reserve colour mainly for travels, family snapshots and random weddings and funerals. The light must really be something special if I otherwise start shooting in colour. Of course I recognise a good colour photograph when I see one. TPL: When you go out on the streets, do you have a concept in mind of what you want to shoot, or do you let the images just "come to you", or is it both? SV: I’ve always thought that the world is full of images just waiting for us to come and get them. When I hit the streets my main target is people, but I won’t spit on any other potential good image either. The more you shoot the luckier you get. And the luckier you get the better images you get. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? SV: There’s a tool for every task. When I hit the streets I want to be as inconspicuous as possible and use wide angle primes. Getting close to the subject has never been a problem to me. My The Finns Series is a proof of that. When I don’t have to worry about being noticed a 24-70mm f2.8 zoom is my tool of choice. I jumped on the mirrorless wagon very early on. Currently I use Nikon mirrorless cameras and lenses. The future is absolutely mirrorless. I’m a Nikon Z Creator. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the artistic world before photography? SV: Music has always been a part of me. My register in a male choir was Second Tenor but unfortunately I had to leave the choir because of my work. I just couldn’t find time enough for evening rehearsals or weekend courses far away from my hometown. However, I haven’t forgotten singing completely. When the house is empty I turn into an operatic tenor. Otherwise I sing in the shower to my family’s delight. Believe you understand. TPL: Are there any projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? SV: I constantly add images to my old photo series. Don’t know for sure yet but I’d like to devote next winter to winter images of Finland in black and white. That would also involve going to the woods. I used to be a nature photographer before mirrorless cameras so that won’t be a problem for me. First and foremost photography is something that makes me feel happy. I couldn’t imagine life without it. When I see a good final image on my computer screen or as a print, the emotion is often physical. In addition to this very personal side I want to expose my work in public. All artists need publicity. If my images make people feel even a tiny bit the way I felt when I made the image, I’m happy. I don’t actually believe in photo exhibitions. I really hope I could publish a book at least in five years. Exhibitions come and go. Photo books last forever. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… SV: When I am not out photographing I like to spend time with my family, listen to my favourite music or read books. Sometimes I have to forget music and books completely because of editing my images. But as I said before, post-processing can be devastating, it can be revelatory, it can actually be great fun." PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

TRUE LIFE IMPRESSIONS Matthias Godde's meticulously curates photographs that blend observation with introspection, resonating with profound emotional depth and infused with wit, irony, and occasional absurdity. TRUE LIFE IMPRESSIONS June 14, 2024 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Matthias Gödde INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Welcome to an exploration of the photographic world crafted by Matthias Gödde, a photographer whose work delves deep into the raw essence of human emotion with unparalleled authenticity. Matthias' photography transcends mere documentation; his photographs serve as windows into the very souls of his subjects, inviting viewers to contemplate the complexities of the human experience. Eschewing contrivance and artifice, his images offer unadulterated glimpses into the everyday moments that define our lives. For him, it's the people who inhabit these spaces that truly breathe life into his compositions. Through meticulous curation and a keen eye for detail, Matthias crafts series that resonate with profound emotional depth, blurring the lines between observation and introspection, infused with wit, irony, and sometimes even absurdity. Reflecting on his journey into photography, Matthias traces his passion back to a childhood encounter with a book on photography techniques. Despite initially grappling with the technicalities, the allure of capturing the visible world through chemistry left an indelible mark on him. Fueled by a voracious appetite for visual exploration, he immersed himself in the works of luminaries past and present, drawing inspiration from the rich kaleidoscope of artistic expression. With over four decades of experience behind the camera, he continues to evolve his craft, drawing inspiration from a diverse range of subjects and themes. From street photography to urban landscapes, his work remains rooted in the tradition of new color photography while embracing the ever-changing landscape of contemporary visual culture. Join us as we explore the mind of Matthias Gödde, delving into the inspirations, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped his remarkable photographic journey. “Today I see myself as an author photographer. A term that was coined in the 80s by the art critic and curator Klaus Honnef. I have been working on very different topics for years. If, like me, you have been taking photographs for 45 years, this is a tried and tested means of having different seedlings to trigger your gaze and perception again and again. My roots lie in the new color photography of the 80s with its street and urban landscape photography is something I still feel strongly connected to today.” IN CONVERSATION WITH MATTHIAS GÖDDE THE PICTORIAL LIST: Hello Matthias…welcome to The Pictorial List! Let's start by telling us about yourself. What would you say first drew you to photography? MATTHIAS: Looking back, I had no choice. When I was 10, I came across a small book about photography techniques from my older brother. It was one of those long summers that, as a child in the 60s, made the holiday season seem endless. So, with an abundance of time, I read several chapters about film processing and how to put negatives on paper in a darkroom. At the time, I didn't really understand much of what the content of the book was trying to tell me. However, the magic of the latent image that can preserve the visible world with the help of a little chemistry has remained to this day. Reading this book was the seed that took several years to sprout. There was a drugstore in town that sold darkroom supplies, but my pocket money wasn't enough. However, that same year I bet my entire pocket money on the main prize at a lottery booth at the fair and won a Kodak Instamatic 133, which became my companion on school trips. My interest was directed towards art by an uncle who painted and knew how to copy old French and Flemish masters. An intensive engagement with painting and graphics began. I got everything I could find in illustrated books about it from the city library. Because of the desire to see, I could never get enough. This also later impressed my parents, who enabled me to study visual communication at the age of 17. Here the seed sprouted and germinated. It took less than 4 weeks, and I was just hanging out in the photo workshop. The university library was a mecca for good monographs about American and European photographers. My eyes didn't get a break. In a small circle of like-minded people, we met at the cinema at least twice a week. Taken together, the best preparation for refining your own vision. TPL: How do you think your background in visual communication has influenced your perspective as a photographer? MATTHIAS: It was something like a Studium Generale. I was just 17 years old and came from a middle-class family and a small-town environment. The company of teachers and students, many a little off track, looking better than I knew it, was pure inspiration. The freedom to try out different creative disciplines alongside theoretical subjects such as art history and perceptual psychology are formative influences. Getting to know different aesthetic positions opened up a field of possibilities that still resonate today. TPL: What role does storytelling play in your photography, and how do you balance narrative with visual aesthetics? How do you approach the process of capturing the essence of human emotion in your photographs? MATTHIAS: This is a good question but not an easy one to answer. Many of my photos are still strongly influenced by the aesthetics of cinema. This is where the roots and key to my photography lie. It is these moods and the rhythm that are inherent in films and literature. When I look at documentary photos, I always make up a story about them. I see the scenes with their history and their future. Of course it's all fantasy. This creates new images in your head. Photos are the congealed part of a story. TPL: What advice would you give to aspiring photographers who are looking to develop their own unique artistic voice today in photography? MATTHIAS: Neglect the flood of digital images. Check out photographers' monographs. There is more excellence here. TPL: Can you share any memorable anecdotes or stories from your experiences as a photographer? MATTHIAS: In the 90s I drove across northern Italy with a friend to photograph the wonderful grave sculptures in cemeteries. After a week we had a day at the beach. When we got back to the camper, it had been broken into and our equipment and all the exposed films had been stolen. We only took our 35mm cameras with us so we wouldn't miss any subjects on the beach. However, large and medium format cameras were also among the stolen goods. We then visited the same cemeteries again to repeat the recordings. A fallacy. Photographs are always tied to a singular event. All newly taken pictures were missing something. The magic of the first perception was lost. TPL: Looking back on your journey as a photographer, what are you most proud of accomplishing, and what do you hope to achieve in the future? Any projects or ideas you are excited to explore? MATTHIAS: When I look back, all the photos form a quartet of memories of my life. I mix and re-arrange the images every now and then. It's always a different version of me. This quartet is still missing a few cards. Let's see which ones come along. When I look back, all the photos form a quartet of memories of my life. TPL: Can you share any insights into the technical aspects of your photography, such as your choice of equipment or preferred shooting techniques? MATTHIAS: I took analogue photographs until the 2000s. 35mm, medium format and large format were used depending on the subject. Today it is mainly digital full format and medium format cameras. A Mamiya 7 was my constant companion for a long time. A viewfinder camera has the great advantage that you can look beyond the subject and are not immediately limited to a section that excludes everything else. Even with digital cameras, I rarely look through the electronic viewfinder. I keep an eye on the scenery via the screen. TPL: Could you describe your creative process from conceptualization to execution when working on a new series? MATTHIAS: It's more of a chaotic approach. If you, like me, have been photographing for many years, you'll always end up with images that suddenly fall out of the camera outside of your own redundancy. Vague fragments that slowly develop as sediment into something that can be walked on. I often feel bored with certain topics. Perception is an open system. TPL: How do you choose your subjects or scenes to photograph, and what draws you to them? MATTHIAS: It's something like a matrix. They are reflexive and anticipatory reactions. A mélange of everything seen from dreams, books and films filtered through heart and experience. TPL: What is your takeaway from the work you do? In what ways has your photography evolved over the course of your career, and what factors have influenced these changes? MATTHIAS: In the analogue phase of photography, it was hardly possible to give the images a special look beyond the choice of film material and photo paper in post-production. The possibilities today are comparable to painting. The color grading and the selection of papers and printable substrates seem limitless. The way of taking photos, however, is almost unchanged. It seems to be something native to the language. If you haven't learned to dream in another language, your worldview and world experience are set. TPL: If you could work with any photographer for a day, from any time period, who would that be and why? What would you want to learn from them? What would you like to share with them? MATTHIAS: There is this saying: “A real voyage of discovery does not consist in seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes.” I would want to have a very long conversation with him about how he thinks about life. After all, we don't photograph what we see, but rather what we are. TPL: When you're not creating your visual stories, what does Matthias Gödde do for leisure? MATTHIAS: Waiting for the time when I can create visual stories. PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

A LOVE SONG TO THE AMERICAN WEST We have the pleasure of seeing and hearing the visual stories created between photographer, Ross Taylor and musician, Russick Smith. As the wind sweeps through the landscapes the notes of a cello fill every void. A LOVE SONG TO THE AMERICAN WEST A WONDROUS NOTE September 6, 2023 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Ross Taylor FEATURING cellist Russick Smith INTERVIEW Karen Ghostlaw Pomarico Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE We have the pleasure today of seeing and hearing the visual stories created between a photographer, and a musician. As the wind sweeps through the landscapes the notes of a cello fill every void. How does a photographer elicit sound, allowing us to see the music, as our ears interpret what we see? Photographer Ross Taylor is based in Denver Colorado, focusing his eyes through the lens on the ordinary, engaging the viewer to observe more. Ross frequently documents events that have led to human trauma, he finds that through his visual storytelling he can help mitigate grief. Ross explains. “I seek to create work that reveals and lends new insight into common experiences, In hopes of creating a deeper understanding of the human condition through visual representation.” Living in Colorado has inspired a new series, a love song to the American West. The musical scores are composed and realized in the western landscapes of the United States, performed by cellist Russick Smith. Together Ross and Russick journeyed nearly 3000 miles, across Colorado and Utah hoping to create a new awareness for geological fragilities that are suspect of the preservation challenges of the devastating effects of climate change. Through a heightened sense of wonder seen in this photographic series they hope to inspire new respect for these spaces. Russick Smith and his cello bring life to the landscape. Whether performing for audiences high above, like a bird nesting in the trees, Russick plays the accompaniment to the rushing waters of the estuaries cutting through the landscape, carving through the canyons. Together they synthesize the elements, visualizing the music and allowing a deeper, more meaningful connection to be made. Russick adds insight into the creative and critical thinking processes they shared. “Many of the unexpected circumstances that we encounter throughout our lives are negative, possibly traumatic experiences. Those experiences have a tendency of mounting internally, fostering a cynical mindset that can ultimately become the default lens through which we view the world. To counter these negative surprises, and thereby the cynicism which they foment, my goal is to generate simple and meaningful moments to prove that the world can be unexpectedly beautiful - that to interact with the world-at-large does not just mean susceptibility to trauma but also vulnerability to joy.” Russick recently lost his father and finds these performances help him heal the trauma of losing a loved one. He shares his loss and inspiration. “Once, as I sat up in an aspen grove, I played what I would’ve played if I could have sat with him and played him out. I had clipped a picture of him into a tree below, nobody knew it was there. It was the last thing I took out of his place when I cleaned it out. I felt like it was the first tree performance, and he was looking up at me, still helping. When I am helping people see the beauty of this world, I am continuing his legacy. And when I’m playing, no matter where, I’d like to believe that the music is still reaching him; that maybe it finds its way to places at which I could only wonder, to wherever he’s hiking now. Doing these things, the way I’m doing them, I know that he was proud of me and, hopefully somewhere, still is.” Together Ross and Russick have transformed the American West landscapes, with a symphony of music, allowing the aperture to open providing the viewer with a front row seat to the visual stories that embody the elements through sound. We have been invited to reveal more of the magic they create in this interview with Ross Taylor that may lead to more understanding of their visualization and their inspiration. “The narrative we consistently pursued was one of unexpected joy, as that counterbalance to cynicism. While you don’t see it in some of these images, there were sometimes people who stumbled upon us as we made these images. To see their faces, light up and the joy they held in watching him perform was so wonderful. I think that’s at the heart of it - creating something ostensibly just beautiful for its own sake, that’s what we are trying to do.” IN CONVERSATION WITH ROSS TAYLOR THE PICTORIAL LIST: Thank you Ross for taking us on your journey through the landscapes of the American West. How did the two of you find each other? What was the connection before this project? ROSS TAYLOR: Thank you so much for this opportunity. It’s an honor to be here. I first learned of Russick from an article in The Denver Post, where I saw an image of him in a tree. It was amazing - I’d never seen anything like it (or him) and wanted to learn more about him. I contacted him via social media, and we later met for coffee. I learned some about his unique past - in part, that he used to work on tall ships along the East Coast and was used to climbing with harnesses high above a ship. I asked if he’d be open to a collaboration over the next year and, thankfully, he agreed. TPL: Taking a journey over so many miles can be a bonding experience, or distancing one. What were some of the ground rules? Was working together and living together a key to this project? If so how and why? RT: You’re right. We spent a lot of time together, not just in the making of the images, but in the preparation of them. We also don’t live in the same city (we live roughly an hour and a half from each other), so coordinating these sessions required a lot of planning. During these sessions, we grew a lot closer together, which was key since collaboration was at the heart of this project. We spent scores of hours either together in a car, in a hotel or on location and the ability to get along was critical. Our one ground rule, per se, was that the images had to be made in unexpected spaces in nature, and whenever possible, in remote locations. In short, we wanted as much distance between the expected norms of cellist performance as possible. The idea was to invoke a heightened sense of wonder as a result. TPL: Introduce your series, ‘A Wondrous Note’, to us. When and how did this project first manifest for you? What is the full story behind the project? What was the inspiration? RT: The project began in fall of 2021, our first session together was along a mountain pass outside of Breckenridge, Colorado in an Aspen grove. It was there, seeing Russick high above in an Aspen tree mixed with the brilliancy of the fall colors, that I felt we were onto something. I think the story behind the project is multi-layered. I’ve worked as a photojournalist for a long time, and I’ve covered some very intense and traumatic issues along the way. For me, this portrait series was a type of counterbalance to some of this work. I wanted to give myself permission to ostensibly create work that was beautiful and could spark joy, and Russick felt the same. As noted in this piece, Russick’s father passed away unexpectedly not long before we began this series. He was quite close with him, and his father instilled a deep appreciation for nature. While I can’t speak for him fully, I do know that he thinks of his father often when he plays in such locations. As a team, we both also wanted to create a sense of wonder in these images, through the connection of his performance and the stunning backdrop of the American West. TPL: Talk to us about your method and experimentation before the final images in your project. Did you know how you wanted the project to look? How long did each image take to create? RT: Russick has lived in Colorado a long time, so that helped in our understanding of the region. His insight, paired with my understanding of visuals, helped us scout out locations and time of day/lighting, etc. Regarding the aesthetic, we wanted no imprint of human activity (buildings, power lines, etc.) and a theme of remoteness throughout. Most images usually took a day (more or less) as we normally would photograph around sunset and just had time for one scene (typically). The actual photographic part was usually a window of about 30 minutes to one hour. TPL: What camera did you use? How much equipment did you bring, what did you use? What was Smith’s equipment? RT: I used a Nikon D850 with a 24-70mm, 35mm, or a 50mm, typically. I often brought a 8-foot ladder, or a step ladder when needed. Russick brought a cello that he uses for outdoors and he hand-built his tree harness! It’s really impressive. TPL: What importance does storytelling or key themes hold for you? RT: For me, storytelling ties us together. It helps bridge gaps and offers connections through a shared experience and heightened understanding. When you mix this with unexpected moments of joy and beauty in the natural world, I think the experience is also more deeply shared. I wanted to give myself permission to ostensibly create work that was beautiful and could spark joy, and Russick felt the same. TPL: Was there a time of day you aimed for? Music is played in time, did time dictate the music? RT: We usually photographed at sunset, and we had to make sure weather conditions were appropriate (not too cloudy, etc.) He played usually improvisationally and he’s exceptionally good. It was a joy hearing him play. TPL: Did you keep a journal, a sketchbook, did the music and photography inspire words? What stories did you share over a campfire? RT: I didn’t keep a journal, but we did work out some of the wording you referenced earlier in the piece. It took some time for us to distill the project idea. And while we didn’t have a campfire, we spoke often and at length about some of the deeper issues we’ve faced in our lives, and how creating work like this can be therapeutic. I’ve very grateful for those conversations. TPL: What were some of the surprises along the way? What was your 'take away'? RT: I think almost each session had a surprise, mainly in seeing Russick perform in such stunning places. It just so unusual, seeing and hearing him perform with stunning backdrops. It’s also really fun seeing people who come across us. One woman we ran across in a slot canyon in Utah told Russick it was the most moving performance she had ever seen. My 'take away' from this is that it’s ok to want to create work that has the potential to be therapeutic, in whatever form that may be. TPL: What do you want the viewer to 'take away' from the visual stories? RT: Our hope is what we talked about above, namely that the images can spark some unexpected wonder and joy in the viewer. I know creating these images did this for Russick and me. TPL: What have you learned about collaborating on projects? Share some of your wisdom about making these honest connections through photography and music. RT: Collaboration was key here. I couldn’t have done this without him, obviously, and the same for Russick. Together, we created something beautiful, in my opinion. Making these images was an honor. To hear Russick playing high in an Aspen tree, in a lonely desert landscape or with the backdrop of mountains at sunset, was just such a privilege. I don’t take it for granted and will always be grateful. Thanks so much for allowing us to share these images, as well. It means a great deal. TPL: “When I am not out photographing… I love to be outside exploring Colorado and the surrounding western states. I also really love to hike high elevation mountains - anything above the tree line is where I like to be.” PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

A SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE West Yorkshire photographer Peter Bartlett has a long standing interest in capturing the sense of time and place dating back to the 1970s. A SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE October 30, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Peter Bartlett INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE West Yorkshire photographer Peter Bartlett has a long standing interest in documentary photography dating back to the 1970s. This has evolved into a portfolio that documents everyday life against a backdrop of the ordinary urban landscapes of northern England over the last fifty years. Since his retirement in 2006, Peter has immersed himself in photography, undertaking many different projects, exhibiting his work internationally, gaining several hundred acceptances and receiving numerous awards. In 2010 he was awarded a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society (LRPS). A long term project photographing Manchester’s Northern Quarter included a body of work that gained Peter an Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society (ARPS) in 2018. Peter has self-published several books of his work including the titles ‘Shards of West Yorkshire’ volumes one & two, ‘The Northern Quarter’, ‘Various Covered Vehicles’ and ‘Empty Premises’. October 2020 saw the publication of Peter’s 2019 project ‘A Day at the Races’ through ADM Publications. “I was born in Stockport in Greater Manchester and have lived in different parts of the North of England all my life. I now live near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. My first experience of photography dates back to the age of around ten when I was given a Halina 35x for Christmas. With this camera I learned about exposure and how to process and print black and white films with the help of my father who was a keen amateur photographer.” IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER BARTLETT THE PICTORIAL LIST: Peter, you told us that your interest in documentary photography dates back to the 1970s. Could you tell us more about that? PETER BARTLETT: As a hobby photographer, most of my images were ‘one-offs’ as opposed to parts of themed sets, but throughout the 70s and 80s I was always fascinated by the work of leading photojournalists and looking back at old prints and images I can see the influence these photographers had on my work. After a break from photography in the 90s I bought my first DSLR in 2003 - initially my images were fairly eclectic but I was drawn to street photography, making a conscious commitment to that genre around 2010. In recent years this has evolved into themed projects, many of which have become self-published books on the Blurb platform. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration to photograph? PB: I'm an inveterate people watcher, so wherever I go, whether I have a camera with me or not I watch, observe and see potential images - not only people but also the urban landscape around them. I guess my inspiration is everyday life. TPL: You did not grow up in an Internet-based age. (None of our team did either.) How do you feel about the various social media photo platforms that have made sharing photography with a large audience so easy? What advantages and disadvantages do you see in this? PB: I have used Flickr for many years and more recently Facebook and Instagram. Each platform provides a means of sharing my images and perhaps more importantly viewing the work of others. Sadly Flickr is a shadow of what it was and I have never really been comfortable with Facebook. When I signed up to Instagram just over two years ago, I was sceptical, but the platform won me over quickly and opened up a number of wider opportunities including contribution to an online exhibition during lockdown, the publication of ‘A Day at the Races’ and of course, this feature. So, mainly positive although I do have concerns about some of my images being lifted and used by others without permission. But, I guess that’s one of the risks of online life. TPL: In general, what do you want to express through your photography? And what are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? PB: Now, most of my photography is project based, each image is part of a larger piece of work. Depending on the project, I guess my principal objective is to capture a sense of time and place. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? PB: My serious interest in photography evolved during the 1970s and I recall enjoying the early work of Martin Parr along with Chris Killip, Chris Steele-Perkins, Tony Ray-Jones and Homer Sykes. In the late 1970s I was hugely impressed by a major Cartier Bresson exhibition at the V&A Museum in London. Shortly after that I bought a copy of Ian Berry’s book ‘The English’, which I browse now. I’m sure much of this will have stayed with me. I'm an inveterate people watcher, so wherever I go, whether I have a camera with me or not I watch, observe and see potential images - not only people but also the urban landscape around them. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? PB: Initially I used a DSLR for street photography, usually with a prime lens. Ten years ago, I moved to the micro four thirds system. I’ve had several Olympus bodies and currently use a Pen F with small prime lenses (usually 28mm, 34mm, and 50mm full frame equivalent). I do have other lenses including zooms but use these much less. I also use the Ricoh GR range (currently a GRiii) with its fixed 28mm equivalent focal length. The move to a more compact kit enabled me to capture images that would have been impossible with a larger camera. TPL: Your photos show people in your home country, the UK. Do you have a favourite place to photograph in? PB: As a student I studied the Industrial Revolution and have always been fascinated by the remnants of those times in the Northern post-industrial communities, where I have lived all my life. So, I love to make images against the backdrop of post-industrial landscapes in the communities across the North of England. TPL: When you go out on the streets, do you have a concept in mind of what you want to shoot, or do you let the images just "come to you", or is it both? PB: Yes and no. I usually work on several projects at a time. Typically, I’ll have a specific project in mind when I go out to photograph, but I’m constantly on the lookout for images that will fit within other projects, as well as subjects that may be the inspiration for a new project. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? PB: When I moved to a project based approach I hoped that I might create a body of work that captures something of the lives, times and activities of ordinary people in the part of the UK where I live. It will, perhaps, be for others to decide whether I achieve that objective. Five years seems a long time! The impact of Covid-19 has been significant for me. I’m over 70 years of age and during the spring lockdown I took stock and recognised that the world has changed and things are not likely to return to the way they were. I have no desire to shoot images of people in masks, nor do I think that at my age it will be wise to spend time in busy places shooting street images with a wide angle lens. So I anticipate that my work will focus on urban and post-industrial landscape along with images of quirky subjects that catch my eye. That said, I’m sure that a fair number of images will continue to include people! TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? PB: The images that illustrate this interview are from my project 'Shards of West Yorkshire'. In 2016 I embarked upon this long term street photography project hoping to capture something of the essence of the post-industrial communities of West Yorkshire. My plan had been to continue shooting until the end of 2020 and self-publish five books, each of around 65 images. The intervention of Covid-19 in March brought an early conclusion to the planned shoots. Two books have been published (Vol.1 & Vol.2). I am currently working on Vol.3 and expect to publish this in the New Year. I do have sufficient images for a fourth book, whether there is enough material for a fifth book is something I’ll consider after Vol.4 is published in late 2021. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… PB: Listen to music (jazz and classical) and spend time with my family." PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

SOCIAL STUDIES Argentinian photographer Victoria Gonzalez Garcia finds inspiration in her environment and explores social themes. SOCIAL STUDIES July 31, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Victoria González Garcia INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Victoria González García is an Argentinian photographer currently based in Madrid. Born in Buenos Aires, she studied Social Communication at the University of Buenos Aires, then went on a student exchange scholarship to the Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain. She specialized in Photography, Film and Political and Social Video at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain and is currently studying through distance learning for a diploma in Social Photography (The Camera as a Tool for Social Research) at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We interviewed her for The Pictorial List. “Photography was always a part of my life, the Kodak reels and cameras. I remember that when I was little I loved posing for photos, my parents recorded my childhood and that of my sisters, our life, the acts at school, when we lost our first teeth, Christmas, holidays and every episode that marked something important for us or for our family. At 21 years old, I started to get interested in the photographic world and decided to start studying, so my parents gave me my first analog reflex camera as a support and incentive.” IN CONVERSATION WITH VICTORIA GONZALEZ GARCIA THE PICTORIAL LIST: Victoria, where do you find your inspiration? VICTORIA GONZALEZ GARCIA: I find it in life, in everyday life, in what surrounds me. But I am also restless and curious, it motivates me to learn new things all the time, whether it is discovering photographers, getting to know their work and careers, watching documentaries about photographic projects, knowing the history behind them, going to exhibitions, festivals, meeting people of that world and exchanging concerns. Trying new things, getting out of my comfort zone, shooting and giving myself up to the mere process of creation. TPL: Do you have a favourite genre of photography? VGG: I am very interested in the social, the documentary, and of course this is due to my social training. I want my camera to be a tool that helps me to visualize stories that can raise awareness or at least leave people thinking about some issues, be they social, political, cultural or ideological. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? VGG: Saying I have a favorite artist or photographer would be a lie. I like many. For example, William Klein, Vivian Maier, Annie Leibovitz, Henri Cartier Bresson, Diane Arbus, Sara Facio, Paz Errazuriz, Adriana Lestido, Marcos López, Chema Madoz, Man Ray, etc., the list would be endless! I cannot say that only one has inspired my style, I think all of them have, and even some that I have not named above. Both photography, painting and cinema have set a precedent for me and have forged my style. TPL: Do you have a favourite place to photograph? VGG: No, I have no favorite places, all places can be great. I think more what defines it is not the place itself, but the connection with what you are photographing and what is generated around that relationship. Art is not a mirror to reflect the world, but a hammer with which to hit it. ~ Bertolt Brecht TPL: What characteristics do you think you need to become a 'good' photographer? Any tips or advice for someone just starting out? VGG: I think you can have the best camera in the world, but if you don't have a good eye, you don't have anything. I feel that the best advice I can give to those who are just beginning in the art world of painting with light, is to practice, to shoot a lot, to investigate, to study, that if something does not turn out as you would like, do not be discouraged, keep going, practicing. At least that's what I keep doing. A phrase that I say a lot when asked about this is "practice makes perfect". TPL: What camera(s) do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? VGG: I have two favorite cameras, my digital camera and my analog camera that has a 50mm lens which I usually use in my digital camera, exploiting all the artistic possibilities that it can offer me. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the arts before photography? VGG: No, never, the artistic world was always there and I was on the opposite side of the road, contemplating those things, from different fields that fascinated me. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on? VGG: Yes, I am presenting 'Intervenidas', my first photographic and illustrated project carried out collectively among women that was born during the quarantine. It is a small series of my photos, which I sent to six women illustrators of different nationalities, so that without parameters or prior artistic criteria, they would “intervene” in them, trying to cross styles and two disciplines, photography and digital illustration. TPL: “When I'm not out photographing, I... VGG: I am thinking of the next photo I want to take.” PORTFOLIO INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

GRATUITY INCLUDED Chris Suspect is a street and documentary photographer whose work specialises in capturing absurd and profound moments in the quotidian. GRATUITY INCLUDED October 9, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Suspect INTERVIEW Melanie Meggs Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Chris Suspect is an acclaimed street and documentary photographer whose work has been exhibited around the globe and has won numerous awards. His photography captures the absurd and profound moments in everyday life, as well as the results of his deep dives into various subcultures. He is currently the chairperson of the Focus on the Story Festival in Washington, DC, and a guest lecturer at StreetFoto San Francisco and Street Photo Milano. His work has been published in the form of a book titled Suspect Device, which is held in the Leica Galerie Archives. In this interview, we delve into Chris Suspect's relationship with photography and uncover the stories that have shaped his approach to the craft. We explore the creative processes that inform his work, the events and experiences that inspire him, and the impact photography has had on his life and career. “Photography has literally taken me around the world. My first publication, Suspect Device, in 2014, brought me to Photokina in Germany where my work was included in a massive exhibit on music photography. This was part of Leica’s presence at Photokina, and they flew me to Germany to participate. While there, I shared my work with several German gallerists, and those connections brought me to Tbilisi, Georgia, for an exhibit of the same work as part of the Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival. While this was going on I was also entering my street photography work into several street photography competitions in Miami, San Francisco, London, Brussels, etc. I often was a finalist in these events and over time I have been asked to present my work in these locations. All of this served as a springboard to other opportunities, which led me to Romania, Italy, the Middle East, etc. It’s been a nice and surprising journey.” IN CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS SUSPECT THE PICTORIAL LIST: Chris please tell us more about yourself. What led you to photography? CHRIS SUSPECT: I am from Hyattsville, MD, just over the border of Washington, D.C. While the DC area has been my home for most of these years, I have lived in Moscow, Bangkok and Copenhagen. In addition to being a photographer, I am also a musician, video producer and podcaster. My interest in photography started in my early 20s. I was not a photographer at that time but a bass player for a punk band called The Suspects. I used to go to the library to browse photo books and then make copies of the photos I liked for band flyers. I was primarily interested in war and crime photography because these kinds of graphic images lend themselves to great promotional posters for the kind of music we played. Fast forward 15 years and I wound up getting my first point and shoot camera to document the birth of my son. I read the manual and would go out on my own and try to see what I could do creatively with the camera settings. I had no idea I was doing “street photography” at the time, I was really looking to recreate the style of images I used for flyers many years ago. After some positive feedback on Flickr, many stolen images by bloggers, and requests by a few magazines, I decided to get more serious and started to pursue photography by enrolling in a colour photography class as a continuing education student at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. TPL: What excites you about the photography you are creating? CS: Ultimately what inspires me is that I do photography for myself. When I started out I told myself I did not want to do photography for money or earn a living off of it. In the past, I have started many creative ventures, for example music publishing, videography, and podcasting, that have turned successful and have become a job. Meaning, I started doing work for clients. What ultimately happens in each case is that I found myself doing work more for the money than for the sake of doing the work itself. This sucks the passion for it right out of the process for me. I think by not caving in to the lure of financial gain, I have been able to maintain my passion for my photographic work. It doesn’t matter if I make money or not. That is not what photography is about for me. Just the ability to create what I want to create, whether successful or not, is what keeps me going and still excites me to this day. TPL: How do you choose your subjects and your projects? Also tell us a bit about your two previous published books? CS: Almost everything for me begins with a serendipitous act. Often I don’t choose a project, it finds me. For example, I have a body of work called Faith that explores gay African Americans and their relationship with religion. This came about by witnessing a car accident in Washington, D.C. I photographed the scene and gave copies of the images to the person who was hit by the car. Months later this person called me up and asked me to shoot a party. Knowing he was black and gay I thought it could be interesting, as I had never been to a party like that before. This experience opened up a whole new world to me that eventually led me to shooting underground African American Baptist Church services. Going to Romania for the VSLO photography and visual arts festival is what led to working on “Old Customs.” I wasn’t planning on starting a project when I went there, but once I got interested in their youth culture I just kept pulling on those threads and pursuing it, doing my best to make sense of what I was doing. At the start of 2020 I made a New Year’s resolution to publish 4 books, 1 for each quarter of the year. Old Customs is book number 3. The previous books are Gratuity Included, a collection of wild party-type photos from over the past 8 years that reads like a fever dream or an Alice in Wonderland-type sequence, and Leather Boyz, a deep dive into the gay BDSM culture in Washington, DC. The fourth book will likely be a return to my roots with an emphasis on music photography. All of these other books are black and white. Old Customs is the only one in colour. TPL: What was the process of getting the people in Vama Veche to be open to you photographing them? Can you describe your creative process in your project/book OLD CUSTOMS that you shared in our stories? CS: A lot of photographs in the book are straight street photography style observations, so I basically just shot freely, like I do in any public space situation. Unlike a lot of countries in Europe, Romania seems more open to candid photography. As far as the conceptual mirror shots go, that came about by meeting people through the photography festival I attended and who were open to my ideas. There are a couple of exceptions where I just met people on the beach or in the town and they were willing to be part of the project. What’s interesting is when I share an image of a mirror shot from my phone, people become really intrigued and open up to the idea of being a subject. It helps that you do not see the person’s face so it allows for anonymity as well. TPL: Do you have a favourite quote/lyric/saying that resonates with you the best? CS: Yes I do! The quote is, “In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind.” This was said by Louis Pasteur, the great French biologist, chemist and microbiologist. Even though he is referring to the process of scientific discovery it also applies to the art of photography. How do you prepare your photographic mind? You take classes, you read photo books, you study the masters, etc. Having all of this photographic history and knowledge in the back of your mind while you are out shooting helps you to better identify interesting situations and challenges, things you may miss if you don’t study this sort of background material. Once you get to this point, you can really start to develop your own unique visual identity or voice. Just the ability to create what I want to create, whether successful or not, is what keeps me going and still excites me to this day. TPL: What do you want to express through your photography? What are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? CS: A lot of what I am trying to express is really dependent on the project or goal. For example “Old Customs” is partly about expressing the feeling of freedom. However, there are numerous photographic tropes and elements that I often return to or explore. One of these is trying to have the viewer feel as if they too are in the midst of the action. I like to get close and I want the viewer to be part of it. Another is humour, I am a sucker for visual puns and juxtapositions. I think gestures can be very telling. And light is very important. I always try to consider the role and meaning of light (or lack of it) in my images to convey a feeling or an intentional interpretation I want to bestow on the viewer. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? CS: I am inspired by many different photographers and artists, from Lee Friedlander and Dawoud Bey to Barbara Kruger and Jeff Wall. All of them have opened my eyes to different approaches and techniques. I often “borrow” or reinterpret ideas from various photographers from time to time depending on my end goals. For my black and white work I am definitely inspired by people like Weegee, Anders Petersen, Larry Fink, Daido Moriyama, and Robert Frank. In my colour work I often look to folks like Joel Sternfeld, Alex Webb, Harry Gruyaert and Ryan McGinley. TPL: Has your style of shooting changed since you first started? CS: I don’t know if it has changed as much as it has been refined. I first gained notice as a music photographer, then as a street photographer and documentarian. I have since moved on to personal diary type work and I am now exploring ideas of conceptual work. I think all of these genres or styles for me still contain the principal elements of my photographic voice. They just get adapted to the genre I am shooting in. If you study the work of Lee Friedlander you will notice his particular viewpoint weaves itself through a wide variety of styles, from street photography to landscapes and nudes. The same holds true for numerous other photographers that have had a long and varied career. TPL: How does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? CS: I have two cameras that I have stuck with throughout the years, mainly for their form and image quality. I have a Leica MP and Ricoh GR II. And, I usually stick with a 35mm or 28mm focal length depending on what I am shooting. Both the Leica and Ricoh are unassuming cameras. I always use my Leica during the day and sometimes at night when I know I am going to be shooting something with purpose. The Ricoh I often take with me at night when I have no real plans. It’s just super handy and can produce fantastic images with the on camera flash aesthetic you see in a lot of Japanese street photography and fashion photography from the 90s and 2000s. As far as focal length goes I use the 35mm during the day and the 28 mm for when I am in close quarters and want to capture as much of the scene as possible. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? CS: Once the COVID-19 nightmare is over I’d like to return to shooting and travelling more. This has really been a tough year for me photographically as all of my work involves people. I have been thinking about what I’d like to explore and I have some ideas of what I’d like to pursue. But for now my main goal is working on this current books project. I hope the ground work that I am laying in 2020 with these publications will offer me more opportunities in the future for exhibits, travel and workshops. I also have a few more book ideas that I already have content for. So essentially in five years I hope to be doing more of the same while broadening my photographic practices. TPL: “When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… CS: I love cooking so I am always working on new recipe ideas and food combinations. I also enjoy playing music with friends and neighbours. And, I am a fitness freak to some extent. I exercise almost everyday, whether running or lifting weights." PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

RELICS FROM THE PAST Philip Butler documents the architecture of urban spaces in the United Kingdom, often with a focus on relics from the past. RELICS FROM THE PAST November 13, 2020 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Philip Butler INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Philip Butler grew up on the south coast of England and is now living in Malvern, Worcestershire. He began shooting with his father's analogue camera, but moved on to digital photography in 2016, when he began documenting the remaining Art Deco architecture in the UK. His is most interested in architecture photography and a wide angle view of urban spaces. Philip has also had a long-standing fascination with low-light photography and capturing urban scenes after dark. Although the photographs he shares are devoid of people, signs of life are often present in the things people leave behind or the lights they leave on. Philip’s photographs have been published in a number of different magazines and newspapers, including C20 Magazine, RPS Journal, La Vanguardia, Digital Camera, The Modernist and The Guardian. “Discovering the joy of DSLRs in 2016, I started documenting surviving 1930s Art Deco architecture in the UK. I’ve always been captivated by the progressive buildings of the inter-war years. The architects at the forefront of the Modernist movement took such a huge leap in both concept and aesthetics, and their designs have really stood the test of time. However, it became apparent to me at this time that many fine examples had long since been demolished, while others were in poor states of repair. Documenting them with my camera quickly became a project that felt both important and rewarding. This resulted in my 2019 book 'Odeon Relics'.” IN CONVERSATION WITH PHILIP BUTLER TPL: Philip, please tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in photography? PB: I was born in Devon but grew up on a farm near Hastings on the south coast of England. I’ve moved around a fair bit but settled in Malvern Worcestershire about 15 years ago. I developed an interest in photography as a child. I’d try to capture anything from life on the farm to dioramas of my toys (which inevitably came back from TruPrint totally out of focus!). When I left home for university, my dad who had a brief fling with amateur photography, trusted me with his Olympus OL1 and a bag of lenses. Studying in Derby, I spent many happy weekends out in the Peak District trying to capture dramatic scenes of steep gradients and uncompromising rock landscapes on 35mm film. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? PB: It depends on the project. My most recent series Small Hours was inspired by cinematography and music created at night. Both filled me with a with a desire to distil and capture the atmosphere after dark with my camera. Inspiration can come from a number of different places though, sometimes without any obvious link. Witnessing the artistic achievements of others often motivates me to get the camera out or plan my next photographic excursion. TPL: Do you have a favourite place(s) to photograph? PB: When it comes to the architectural documentary projects I usually occupy myself with, London is always high on my list. The number of surviving structures and ease at which I can transport myself around the city always make for a fruitful day’s shooting. Elmdon Building, Birmingham Airport. © Philip Butler Boston Manor (from the ongoing Underground project). © Philip Butler TPL: What do you want to express through your photography? And what are some of the elements you always try to include in your photographs? PB: I guess the answer would depend on which project we’re talking about. With the 1930s architecture, it is fired by a desire to highlight both how progressive these buildings were in their time, and to draw attention to the neglect and decay that has so often marred their appearance over the decades. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? PB: The documentary side of my photography is heavily influenced by architectural photographers of the past such as John Maltby and the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher. The need to capture and document the buildings accurately without fuss. However, I’m also a low light-photography fanatic and find myself drawn to contemporary colour photographers working on similar projects. My 'Odeon Relics' book was inspired partly by Will Scott’s Seaside Shelters project. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? PB: I’m not that interested in equipment, just so long as I have the right tool for the job. My current camera is a Canon 6DII. I primarily shoot on a tripod with a geared head and 24mm tilt shift lens. Even when shooting handheld 24mm is my preferred focal length. I’m fond of creating a widescreen urban landscape in my shots. Individual details don’t often interest me that much. TPL: When you go out on the streets, do you have a concept in mind of what you want to shoot, or do you let the images just 'come to you', or is it both? PB: Both, depending on the project. The architectural shots are quite rigid. I have usually scoped the location in advance on Streetview and checked the position of the sun in advance. As such, I’ll know exactly where I’m going to stand to create the shot. Of course, I’ll often take some other angles while I’m there, but 9 times out of 10 I’ll end up using my pre-planned angle. Other projects like 'Small Hours' are completely the opposite. Spontaneous outings to see what I can capture. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the arts before photography? PB: For about 15 years music was my main creative outlet, but the novelty wore off as I reached 30 and my interest in photography drew to the fore. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? PB: I hope to continue along the same lines as the past few years, expanding the ongoing catalogue of 30s buildings while experimenting with other, looser personal projects on the side. I hope to continue publishing the occasional book of my work too, as that’s always a very enjoyable experience. Monks Lane Filling Station (from Filling Station Closed). © Philip Butler Former Odeon cinema, Leicester (from Odeon Relics book). © Philip Butler TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? PB: Until Covid-19 hit I was working simultaneously on two projects. One entitled FILLING STATION CLOSED looking at pre-war garages and filling stations, the other focusing on London Underground stations from 1920-1950. Both have been put on hold for now, but I hope to pick them up again next year. TPL: "When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… PB: Spend time with my family. I have a wife and two young daughters. We try to make the most of the rural location we’re in, walking and enjoying the great outdoors. I also have a 1976 Mercedes-Benz. So occasionally I’m found covered in oil, wielding a spanner and shouting obscenities at something or other!" PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. THE ARCHITECTURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Chad Coombs’ Polaroids are small psychological scenes where identity, memory, culture, and belief push against each other. 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. 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. WHAT REMAINS, WHAT EMERGES Laetitia Heisler transforms risk, memory, and the body into layered analogue visions — feminist rituals of seeing that reveal what endures, and what quietly emerges beyond visibility. WHAT WE ARE, WHAT WE DO Culture lives where art and community meet, and in this space Alejandro Dávila’s photographs reveal the unseen labor and devotion that sustain creation. ANALOGICAL LIMBO Nicola Cappellari reminds us that the photograph’s power lies not in what it shows, but in what it leaves unsaid. THREADS OF MOROCCAN LIFE Through gestures of work and moments of community, Kat Puchowska reveals Morocco’s overlooked beauty. IT STARTED AS LIGHT…ENDED IN SHIVERS… Between intimacy and estrangement, Anton Bou’s photographs wander — restless fragments of light and shadow, mapping the fragile terrain where self unravels into sensation. WITH EYES THAT LISTEN AND A HEART THAT SEES For decades, Rivka Shifman Katvan has documented the unseen backstage world of Broadway, capturing authenticity where performance and humanity intersect. DIPTYCH DIALOGUES Through the beautiful language of diptychs, Taiwanese photographer Jay Hsu invites us into a world where quiet images speak of memory, resilience, and hope. UNKNOWN ABYSSINIA In Ethiopia, Sebastian Piatek found a new way of seeing — where architecture endures, but women in motion carry the narrative forward. THE PULSE OF THE STREET Moments vanish, yet Suvam Saha holds them still — the pulse of India’s streets captured in fragments of life that will never repeat. WHAT DO WE WANT? More than documentation, David Gray reveals the human pulse of resistance and asks us to see beyond the surface of unrest. CRACKED RIBS 2016 Cynthia Karalla opens up about the art of survival, the power of perspective, and why she believes each of us holds a monopoly on our own narrative. STREETS OF KOLKATA Ayanava Sil’s reveals Kolkata’s soul, capturing moments with empathy, presence and humility while offering deep insight into both city and self. PERIPHERAL PLACES A project by Catia Montagna that distills fleeting encounters and spatial poetics into triptychs - visual short stories that capture the in-between, where meaning often hides. POINTE-AU-CHIEN IS NOT DEAD Through Wayan Barre’s documentary, we are invited not only to see but to feel the lived realities of a community standing at the crossroads of environmental collapse and cultural survival. QUEER HAPPENED HERE Author Marc Zinaman sheds light on the valuable contributions that LGBTQ+ individuals have made to the cultural and social fabric of New York City. TRACES OF TIME Marked by an ongoing visual dialogue with time, memory, and impermanence, Zamin Jafarov’s long-term projects highlight the quiet power of observation and the emotional depth of simplicity. THERE MY LITTLE EYES Guillermo Franco’s book is an exploration of seeing beyond the obvious. His work invites us to embrace patience, curiosity, and the unexpected in a world that often rushes past the details. VISUAL HEALING BEYOND THE DIAGNOSIS Betty Goh’s photography exemplifies the transformative power of visual storytelling, where personal adversity becomes a canvas for resilience, illuminating the connection between art, healing, and self-reclamation. EVERYDAY BLACKNESS Parvathi Kumar’s book is a profound tribute to the resilience, and contributions of incredible Black women from all walks of life, making it a vital addition to the conversation around International Women’s Month. A VOYAGE TO DISCOVERY Fanja Hubers’ journey in photography is one of continuous exploration, balancing documentation with artistic self-reflection. MARCH FORWARD Through photography, Suzanne Phoenix creates a space for representation, recognition, and resistance — ensuring that the voices of women and gender-diverse people are seen, heard, and celebrated.

THE SPIRIT OF A PLACE Ulka Chauhan is somewhat of a wanderer. Always on the go to wherever personal and photography travel takes her, capturing the essence of each place. THE SPIRIT OF A PLACE January 15, 2021 INTERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY Ulka Chauhan INTERVIEW Karin Svadlenak Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link SHARE Indian photographer Ulka Chauhan is somewhat of a wanderer. Always on the go to wherever personal and photography travel takes her. Her love for the medium began in the 80s when her dad gifted her a red Olympus camera. Having rediscovered her love for photography, Ulka has travelled to various cities and villages in India to capture the spirit of each place. But instead, has been captured by the intensity of the people. Her work has been exhibited at the Meraki exhibition held at the Nine Fish Art Gallery in Mumbai in 2019. In the current pandemic times, her explorations are of candid moments on the streets of Mumbai, London and Zurich. “Through my street work, I hope to inspire people to see the extraordinary in all the ordinary moments that take place in our backyards. And through my documentary work, I hope to spark conversations about topics that interest me. I like the human element in my work. Sometimes it is the silhouette of a person. But more often than that, I like to get close to my subjects and try to capture their expressions and emotions.” IN CONVERSATION WITH ULKA CHAUHAN THE PICTORIAL LIST: Ulka, please tell us about yourself. How did you become interested in photography? ULKA CHAUHAN: Originally from India, I have lived in Bombay, Boston, New York, Cape Town and Zurich; and currently divide my time between Bombay and Zurich. My love for photography began in the early 80s when my dad gifted me a red Olympus camera. I was down with chickenpox and was in home quarantine, but I enthusiastically photographed everything in sight. Since then, a camera has been my constant companion over the years. But about a year and half ago, I had a turning point when I went on a photo tour to Masai Mara. It was there in the vast open plains of Africa that I got bitten by the photography bug. I love photography because it has helped me find my voice. It has been a refuge for me during difficult times and a safe space to explore a multitude of emotions of motherhood, conflict, hope, love, isolation, and resilience. TPL: Where do you find your inspiration? UC: Apart from the inspiration I find online, I love looking at photo books. I have a small but growing collection of them. I also love connecting with the photography community. I get a lot of ideas from speaking with my peers and mentors. I am also fascinated by the art world. I love going to galleries and museums so that to me is a tremendous source of inspiration. My other source of inspiration is closer to home, my mother and my two daughters. They are not only my biggest fans but also my toughest critics. I learn a lot from their honest and unfiltered feedback. TPL: Do you have a favourite place to photograph? UC: I love being able to shoot in both India and Switzerland. Both these contrasting worlds - one of chaos, the other of calm - keep me motivated and inspired. TPL: Do you have any favourite artists or photographers you would like to share with us, and the reason for their significance? UC: I started out loving Ansel Adams’ landscapes and Steve McCurry’s travel portraits. Then David Yarrow for wildlife and now Vivian Maier and Alex Webb, amongst many others for street photography. Two master Indian photographers whose work I look up to - Raghu Rai, who was a protégé of Henri Cartier Bresson. And Dayanita Singh whose work is in the permanent collection of Tate in London and MoMa in NY. Two master Swiss photographers whose work I absolutely admire are René Groebli and René Burri. Apart from the masters, I also look at contemporary photographers for ideas and inspiration. In the art world, I love the surrealism of Salvador Dali, realism of Edward Hopper and the pop art of Andy Warhol. TPL: Does the equipment you use help you in achieving your vision in your photography? What camera do you use? Do you have a preferred lens/focal length? UC: Yes I strongly believe that equipment plays a big role in your overall photography experience. I’ve always had an emotional connect with the Leica brand because my dad was a huge Leica fan and I came to acquire his last Leica camera. More recently, I bought the M10R. I use a 35mm and 28mm lens. This rangefinder system has changed the way I photograph. Being a completely manual system, it really forces me to slow down and shoot more mindfully, which I enjoy. I also really like the sense of community amongst the Leica photographers. All the Leica photographers I have connected with so far have been very friendly and supportive. The lens looks out to the world…it also looks within you. The photos I take are a reflection of who I am. TPL: What happens when you walk the streets with your camera? Do people respond positively to you, or do you sometimes get negative reactions? If yes, how do you handle it? UC: When I’m out on the streets capturing candid moments, or even when I’m shooting environmental portraits, I sometimes come across people who do not want to be photographed. In this case, I try to explain the purpose of what I’m doing and I respect their wishes. But these negative reactions are seldom…I don’t take them personally and also don’t let it discourage me from photographing. TPL: Have you ever been involved in the artistic world before photography? UC: I worked in advertising on Madison Ave, NY. I was in the client management side of things and was the point of communication between the client and the art directors and rest of the creative team for the accounts that I worked on. I feel this has played a big role in developing my sense of aesthetic. TPL: You have a photo series on domestic workers in India, from which we have included a few photos here. Could you tell us how you came up with that idea? UC: My domestic workers series titled 'The Real Homemakers' is an ongoing project which evolved from a desire to document the inner workings of households in urban India. There are a lot of books, TV Series and Films about domestic help in the Edwardian Era in the UK and the Segregation Era in the US. While this system has diminished in most countries over the century, it survives and thrives in India even today. India’s affluent and middle class households are equipped with full-time staff and/or part-time help that keep the homes functioning like hotels. They perform a range of services from childcare, cooking, serving, dishwashing, cleaning, laundry, driving, gardening and guarding. They play such an integral role in the homes - they are in fact the real homemakers. TPL: What are some of your goals as an artist? Where do you see yourself or hope to see yourself in five years? UC: I hope to continually evolve as a photographer and to create work that is meaningful and touches others. I would like to reach others through publications and exhibitions. My dream is to publish a photo book of my work over time. I am also very fascinated by short documentary videos that have a combination of still and moving images as a medium for storytelling; and I am currently in the process of learning the basics of filmmaking. TPL: Are there any special projects you are currently working on that you would like to let everyone know about? UC: I have an idea for a documentary project in Zurich which is still in the initial phase of conception. I’m currently working under the guidance of a Swiss reportage photographer to develop that further. I also have two documentary project ideas that I’m exploring with a Lisbon-London based photographer. TPL: When I am not out photographing, I (like to)… UC: I love going to galleries and museums. I love going to restaurants, cafes and bars. I love spending time with family and friends. I also enjoy connecting with other photographers. PORTFOLIO WEBSITE INSTAGRAM read more interviews >>> 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. 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