THE IDLE HANDS SOCIETY

PEOPLE Mentioned

Ed Thompson

William Eggleston

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Ansel Adams

Diane Arbus

Dina Litovsky

Tim Hetherington

Peter Knapp

Sergei Chilikov

Gueorgui Pinkhassov

Chuck Close

Austin Osman Spare

Daido Moriyama

Sam Battle (Look Mum No Computer)

Lewis Hine

Esther Teichmann

Mr. Motivator

Tom Anderson (Tom from Myspace)

Idle Hands Society

Books & Films Discussed

The Genius of Photography — BBC television series referenced in relation to William Eggleston shooting in France.

In the Garden of England by Ed Thompson — Ed's published photobook (Note: The book was actually published under the title In-A-Gadda-Da-England!), referenced when discussing images that recur across projects.

The Photographer's Playbook — An example of an unlikely photography book that found its audience.

Anarcho-Dandies — Ed's forthcoming photobook drawn from his 2009 medium-format project. (Since the book is forthcoming, I linked to the 2009 slide-show video of the project!)

Ed Thompson's unpublished occult photography manuscript — Seven years in the making, 50,000 words, untitled. (As it is unpublished, I linked back to Ed's official website).

Louis Theroux: The Misogyny Disruptors — Cited as an analogy for the online course-selling culture in photography communities. (Note: The actual title of this 2026 Netflix documentary is Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere).

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk, and @mark_sugden on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

Artists & People Mentioned

Tom Collins

Daniel Arnold

John Putney

Barry Lewis

Tess Morris

Matt Lawrence

The Idle Hands Society Instagram

Books & Films Discussed

The Islanders by Dan Wood

The Valley by John Putney

Daniel Arnold by Loose Joints

Pickpocket by Daniel Arnold

Man Up Directed by Ben Palmer and Written by Tess Morris

Only Murders in the Building

Timestamps & Key Moments

[03:00] Paul shares a harrowing and humorous account of falling ill while travelling through Tanzania, serving as an unconventional "icebreaker" that sets the authentic and grounded tone for the new season.

[08:33] The group reflects on the practicalities of maintaining a creative community, discussing how a dedicated studio space removes the barriers to production that previously hindered their momentum.

[13:58] A discussion on the influence of personal history in photography, focusing on how a photographer's background and unique upbringing prevent their work from becoming a mere imitation of their peers.

[42:58] Mark provides a detailed look at the construction of his Slate Islands mquette, explaining the process of using accordion folds and binding tape to transform digital files into a physical film strip of memories.

[01:05:01] The conversation turns to the aesthetic choices in landscape photography, debating whether the inclusion of a human figure adds a necessary narrative scale or if it functions as an overused visual cliché.

[01:12:44] The trio performs a critical reading of Doug Dubois’s work, questioning the integrity of documentary practice when the photographer chooses to style, dress, and pose their subjects to fit a specific vision.

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk, and @mark_sugden on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

Artists & People Mentioned

Tom Collins

Daniel Arnold

John Putney

Barry Lewis

Tess Morris

Matt Lawrence

The Idle Hands Society Instagram

Books & Films Discussed

The Islanders by Dan Wood

The Valley by John Putney

Daniel Arnold by Loose Joints

Pickpocket by Daniel Arnold

Man Up Directed by Ben Palmer and Written by Tess Morris

Only Murders in the Building

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

Artists & People Mentioned

Barry Lewis (Instagram)

Antony Gormley

David Toop

Elaine Mitchener

Dam Van Huynh

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Idle Hands Society Instagram

Books & Films Discussed

Miami Beach 1988-1995

Blackpool 1984-1989

Vaguely Lost in Shangri-La: Glastonbury in Photographs

Butlin's Holiday Camp 1982

Positive Lives

Pond (Film)

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

People Mentioned

Ryan McDonagh

Brian Carroll

Alice Tomlinson

Nico Froehlich

Paul Bence

Dan Higginson

Idle Hands Society Instagram

Books & Films Discussed

Offline Journal

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

PEOPLE Mentioned

Matthew Lawrence

George Hurrell

Paul Bence

Dan Higginson

Idle Hands Society Instagram

Books & Films Discussed

The Photography Workshop Series: Dawoud Bey on Photographing People and Communities Batman (1989)

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Mitch Epstein: mitchepstein.net

Trent Parke: magnumphotos.com/photographer/trent-parke

Matt Lawrence: matthewlawrencephotography.co.uk

Hashem McAdam: pushingfilm.com

Kai Wong: youtube.com/@kaimanwong

Idle Hands Society Instagram: instagram.com/idlehands

BOOKS & FILMS

American Power by Mitch Epstein: steidl.de/Books/American-Power-0518214654.html

Minutes to Midnight by Trent Parke: magnumphotos.com/shop/collections/books/minutes-to-midnight-trent-parke

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com

Tom Collins - Last Stop Barry Island

Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.

www.idlehandssociety.com