Henley Bailey is a photographer and entrepreneur based in the UK. His business, Akara Labs, makes accessories for Leica and Pixii rangefinder style cameras with more on the way, and we had a great chat about professional photography and making things as well as revealing an exciting new product idea!

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A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Scott Evans is a photographer based in the Bay Area of the USA. His portrait and commercial work is fantastic and I loved talking to him about his start in photography, the lenses he loves his favourite photography podcast ;)

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Chris Erickon is a YouTuber, Producer and photographer from the USA who taught me and thousands of others how to get cheap Polaroid film. He’s a passionate creator and came to the show with some great lenses we’ve never discussed before and a lovely story of his Grandfather’s car.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Phil Penman is a world renowned street photographer. An Englishman in New York for 25 years he’s shot major world events, chased weather across the globe and more recently turned his hand to books and workshops.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Danny Bligh is a photographer and videographer based in the USA. He’s a dear friend and was my first guest on Prime Lenses so it seemed fitting to bring him back for the first episode of year 2. We talk all things Canon, Leica and even sneak in some instant film.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Tommy Ga-Ken Wan, a Scottish photographer based in Glasgow who I struck up a conversation with on social media when he picked up a Ricoh GR a few years back. Over the years I’ve admired his work in the arts photographing theatre and dance and some comedy greats. He’s even recently featured in some work himself. Tommy speaks to me not only as a photographer but also as a person who is aware of what they need to keep themselves centred and I really enjoyed this thoughtful conversation with a great photographer.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Jess is a Canadian photographer, my second one of those in fact, whose work I came across via the brilliant I Dream of Cameras. She has shot Formula 1 on film and has a love of fixed lens medium format, something which if the rumours are true, could make a comeback some time this year. I was delighted to talk to someone who thinks carefully about documenting life through a lens as well as being honest in their writing about creative burnout and the pressure we can put on ourselves, something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately too.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

This week my guest is Joseph DiGiovanna, a creative director, filmmaker, photographer and composer based in New York City who is undertaking an amazing project to photograph the New York City skyline over a 30-year period. We meet him as he celebrates 10 years of the project and hopefully you’ll find this conversation to be is a lovely blend of art and science, and exactly the sorts of chats I wanted to have when I started the show.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

This week my guest is Ethan Swope. He’s a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker in Los Angeles covering local and international news including the war in Ukraine, immigration in Mexico and Lebanon, wildfires in California, and civil unrest in the United States and the Middle East. I spoke to him to get an understanding of his work around the recent wildfires in California. If you’d like to donate and help out you can find out more here.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

This week my guest is Alex Taylor of Pennine Heritage, a group who are caring for and celebrating the work of Alice Longstaff. Alice was a photographer who lived in the north of England and made photographs throughout her life. They’ve just released their first book titled End of the Roll.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.