Friday's guest rejoins me, to set a photo assignment for a new week and if you listened to the previous Photowalk (episode 352) you may be expecting a particular style of creative camera use. The assignment is a challenge set for the next seven days; a way to think differently about how you approach making your pictures. We'll both be fascinated to see what you come up with, so email what you make to the show via the contact page. Supported by our Patron Extra Milers  and MPB.com

#353 The Assignment: Bill Ward

The Photowalk is a mailbag-driven podcast where we walk and make pictures together, and meet with special guests along the trail. For anyone who likes to take pictures. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

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Today, I’m joined by documentary photographer John Angerson, described as one of Britain’s most creative and versatile photographers, on a walk along an ancient wall in Silchester, England. This wall, part of a once-thriving Roman town, nearly led Silchester to become England’s capital. We talk about his long-term project, Love Power Sacrifice, where for 20 years, John photographed a cult-like religious organisation called the Jesus Army. Also, how the most normal of scenes can be the site of the most extraordinary photo stories and how John gained the most incredible access to one of NASA’s space shuttle flights. It being the first Friday in the month, former guest John Dolan will be setting a new one-word assignment for June and there is news about our Photowalk adventure to Delhi, the Taj Mahal and Jodhpur in 2025. Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

#436 Love Power Sacrifice and other stories

Today, it’s a show with a difference. It’s officially a week off, though I’d miss you if we didn’t chat, so I’ve compiled a short sequence of past pieces that have featured on the Patreon channel’s MORE and EXTRA MILE editions. It’s an opportunity for those who don’t belong to this additional community within The Photowalk show to hear what I promote at the end of each week’s podcast. I thought you might like to peek behind the scenes, as it were. All will be explained within the introduction to the show and I’ve dusted off the time teleporter to take us both back to editions nearer the very start of this podcast, when we had but a handful of supporters - so hopefully some of this will be fresh to the ears of even those who have been Patrons for some time. Back as usual next week as we walk together on The Photowalk. In the meantime, steady yourself for stories about nudes, a trip into my spider-infested attic and why you should never trust me in a room full of I.T. leads and plugs. And more stories besides. Oh, and if you’d like to join our community and hear the hundreds of archived audio pieces of our Patreon channel, or simply want to understand how to support this show or what Patreon actually is, then follow this LINK HERE. All will be dutifully explained. Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

#435 Nudes, spiders in attics, I.T. disasters and more...

Renowned for exploring industrial landscapes and abandoned architecture, Christopher Payne delved into the forgotten corners of America's built environment for projects like Asylum and North Brother Island, to the latest, most advanced technologies that build the country now in his latest book, Made In America. What goes on in a shipyard that builds nuclear submarines? Chris has seen and photographed it. From the mailbag, photographing a stranger changes Steve Reeves' outlook on life, Jeremy Durham on 'what we do,' Neil Ford is pondering the question, 'why post on social media,' and Michael Mixon is coming out of a creative lull, though has some words of quiet genius when it comes to why we make pictures. Plus it's the last call for those joining in with this month’s assignment. Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

#434 The last unknown place in New York City

Ian Randall is a sports photographer whose journey into the genre was as unexpected as it has been impactful to his life. Fate led him to photography, a twist of destiny in a life abruptly disrupted by an unwelcome visitor: cancer. His story resonates deeply with anyone who has faced this formidable foe, whether personally or through the lens of a loved one's struggle or loss. And his superpower? It seems to be a single photograph. From the mailbag, Rikki Bunder finds solace sleeping under the stars in the outback, Casey Sisterson learns the hard way that bison can be quite stubborn subjects to photograph, and Gert Jan Cole offers a glimmer of hope for those intrigued by film development but intimidated by the thought of chemical processes. Plus, we're introducing a new segment dedicated to showcasing the incredible poetry shared with us.  Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

#433 Asleep for FOURTEEN years!

Storyteller Al Brydon is a walker with a camera enraptured by the landscape and human interaction with it. He's published and exhibited internationally, and his projects may surprise you, including his fascination with graveyard bins and an encounter with a phantom cat. Also today from the mailbag: a Route 66 adventure, the best natural medicine that we ALL have access to, Mexico in an RV, a story witnessed by a centuries-old tree, and synchronised picture making on our trails. Plus, it being the second Friday of the month, street photographer and mentor Valerie Jardin is here with Visual Stories. This month, we’re talking about the humour dogs bring into our lives photographically. Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB.com who sponsor this show and the Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

#353 The Assignment: Bill Ward

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