I have a trio of guests on the show this week. Photographer, author and adventurer David duChemin joins me ahead of his full appearance next week for a shorter but powerful conversation that weaves through some of the themes we’ve explored on the show over the past year: presence, obsession, talent, adversity, courage, comparison, and yes, that old imposter syndrome chestnut, all with David’s signature warmth and insight.

My good friend, documentary photographer Giles Penfound, joins me for a walk and shares a disarming way to connect with people you might never normally speak to. If you've ever felt that knot-in-the-stomach hesitation when approaching a stranger and asking, “Can I make your portrait?”, Giles might just have the key to making those conversations feel not only possible but natural, and Valérie Jardin returns for this month’s Teach Me Street, ahead of our summer recording in Paris.

From the mailbag and also on the show, Robin Chun reckons he’s made his picture of the year, William Leonard’s been having camera bag nightmares, Paul Moore’s in a derelict hospital shooting for a client while listening to our supernatural episode, and I’ve a story to share about how homelessness led to a walk… which led to a book… which has now become a film, out next week. If you know the story already, I hope you won’t mind the revisit. It’s a path worth walking again. 

Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

My guest on the Photowalk show today, Liza Gershman, is a travel and food photographer who’s just as interested in the people and places behind the meal as the food itself.

Her work has taken her to over 50 countries, always with a focus on storytelling and travel, whether through the steam rising off a street vendor’s stall or the quiet moments shared at a family table. 

Liza’s path into food photography wasn’t necessarily planned, however. It started with a yes, and grew from there. In this episode, we talk about the role food plays in identity, how travel shapes the creative eye, and the way photography can slow us down long enough to really notice what’s in front of us. 

From the mailbag today, you might want to brace yourself before the first letter lands, Charles Mason is to blame, with a tale involving something he calls photographer’s knee. Craig Wilson’s up a mountain with his camera, Paul Friday’s wrapping himself in cotton wool (the reason will become clear), and Bob Shonkoff has a 4am story that might just have you glancing over your shoulder.

Plus, we reveal the winner of last month’s ‘context’ photo assignment, and there’s a fresh new challenge to get stuck into.

Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Today, an episode where I walk with my guest along the paths of Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. We explore how photography, adventure, and purpose can align to become one path. Photographer Tom Warburton retired early and, rather than settle into a slower pace, decided to walk the length of the River Ganges, over 1,100 kilometres from the glacier source in the Himalayas to its confluence with the Yamuna near Prayagraj. It was a journey fuelled by curiosity, a love of walking, a desire to see life away from the main roads, and to photograph people and culture with care and respect.

Tom had long held an interest in photography, but like many, life’s other responsibilities often came first. So with time finally on his side, he went in search of something deeper, not just images, but understanding. The result? A slow, human journey through rural villages, pilgrimage sites, nature reserves, and towns where he was often the only outsider for miles.

In today’s episode, we walk and talk about what it means to truly travel with intention, to go off the beaten path, to connect with strangers, and to find portraits in moments where trust is built, not taken. This is a story of walking for photography, walking for perspective, and walking, quite simply, for the love of the road. As the walk draws to a close, Tom arrives in Prayagraj just as the Maha Kumbh Mela begins, a once-in-144-years gathering of extraordinary scale and spirit. On the biggest days, over 40 million people converge: sadhus, pilgrims, Naga ascetics, all drawn to the sacred waters where the Ganges and Yamuna meet. And there’s Tom, camera in hand, somehow slipping through the crowds and into the press areas, ready to capture it all.

Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

The mailbag returns today alongside my guest Mark Fearnley, a London-based street photographer known for his minimalist, fine art approach to urban storytelling, where lines, light, and shadow play leading roles.

With a background rooted in the arts, his shift to photography felt like a natural extension of how he sees the world. In this episode, Mark shares the story of how he found his visual voice, why the city of London in particular remains his ever-changing canvas, and how his work challenges the traditional idea of what street photography should look like. Alongside creating striking, often cinematic imagery, he also spends time guiding others, not just in technique, but in learning to observe with intent. 

Also, in the monthly feature Teach Me Street, Valérie Jardin answers what ‘makes an image,’ and unpicks how photographers can recognise that they have captured something really quite special. Plus, Extra Miler Dennis Linden sets a new assignment for the month.

From the mailbag two Chris’s, Articulate and Parsons celebrate the sights and sounds of our Indian special, Charles Mason reminds us of the power of hands, and how much hands say about us in a portrait, plus Lin Gregory has important and special thoughts about safety for women photographers on the paths we tread.

Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to Arthelper, who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

This week, The Photowalk steps into another world. I’ve swapped the familiar footpaths of my English home for the rich tapestry of India, a country that stirs something profound in you from the moment you arrive.

The air feels heavier with story, the colours seem to hum, and every turn in the road holds a scene you’ve not experienced before. India doesn’t just invite you in, it wraps itself around you.

In this special episode, I travel with nine curious photographers through Delhi and Jodhpur, cameras at the ready, to witness many scenes, including the festival of colour, Holi, where colourful powders of the Spring celebration hang in the air, and the streets come alive. 

Alongside co-leader Jason Florio and our Indian guides Shivam and Arvind, I talk photography, travel, and the way India overwhelms every sense: the smell of spice and diesel, the sounds of laughter and rickshaws, the heat, the rhythm, the way that everyday life plays out with a sense of theatre, spontaneous, heartfelt, and unforgettable.

Part postcard, part diary, this is your personal invitation to join me and become the Other Traveller. Because next year, we’re doing it again. Photographers often talk about seeing with fresh eyes, but India doesn’t just give you that. It wonderfully demands it.

Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to Arthelper, 3 Legged Thing and LOWA who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

In this special extended episode, I spend the day with my good friend, documentary photographer Giles Penfound, once the head of photography for the British Army, now a passionate ambassador for the slower, more intentional world of film photography.

We’re in the darkroom together, where Giles takes the film I shot recently in India and brings it to life. If you’ve ever wondered what really goes on in that red-lit sanctuary, or what it means to wait, to watch, and to witness an image slowly emerge from nothing, this one’s for you.

Even if you’ve never stepped into a darkroom, there’s something in this about patience, process, and friendship that I hope might just land with you.

It’s part workshop, part fireside chat, and at times it gets deeply personal. Over a cooked breakfast in a feature I call In the Fryer, I ask Giles some tougher questions, the kind you only ask a friend you trust, and the kind that lead to answers you don’t always expect.

This is a story about time and about why film photography, with all its waiting and wonder, still has something powerful to teach us in a world that wants everything now.

Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to Arthelper and LOWA who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

In this holiday archive special, I’m joined by two remarkable photographers whose work has shaped how we see the world: Joel Meyerowitz and Ed Kashi. Both share how they found their craft, revealing personal stories and the ethos that guides their creative lives. I think, this will stand as one of the most inspirational editions I have edited for the Photowalk show.

Joel reflects further upon his time documenting Ground Zero in the Aftermath project of 9/11. As the only photographer granted unrestricted access, he created a comprehensive archive that stands as a testament to resilience and remembrance to this day. He shares how this experience reshaped his perspective on photography and its role in chronicling history. ​

Ed talks with me about ’The Sandwich Generation,’ a deeply personal project where he and his wife, filmmaker Julie Winokur, documented their journey of moving cross-country to care for Julie's ageing father, Herb, who suffered from dementia. Through this intimate lens, Ed discusses the emotional complexities of caregiving and challenges the common misconceptions about photojournalism, emphasising its capacity to tell profound personal stories beyond the headlines.

This episode is about the narratives that shape our understanding of humanity and the measures of success that go beyond accolades.

Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to Arthelper and LOWA who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Canadian landscape photographer Lee Nordbye hikes climbs, and skates with a camera in hand, embracing what he calls mountain therapy to navigate life and mental health.

In this episode, Lee shares how time in the Rockies helped him following an unexpected career change and a battle with depression. He's now giving back by teaching, guiding, and using his lens to inspire a connection with nature. This is a wonderful conversational meander where we talk about healing, creativity, and the quiet power of the wild.

Also, on the show from the mailbag, Paul Friday’s trying to coax us into photographing underwater, but after hearing what’s coming up, I’m not sure I’ll even risk a paddle in the bath. Chris Smith’s found his own kind of mountain therapy in the Lake District, Chris Hale is getting wistful about a hiking trip with his wife, and Myles Barfield is discovering a quiet comfort wrapped in the morning mist.

Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB, Arthelper and LOWA who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Marcus Bleasdale has spent his life in places most of us would struggle to imagine, photographically documenting conflict zones and communities caught in the crossfire of politics and profit.

In this conversation within The Photowalk show, Marcus talks about the responsibility of witnessing brutal truths, from child labour in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the mining of conflict minerals used in our phones and tech, and how his book The Unravelling, forces us to reckon with the uncomfortable fact that everyday convenience often comes at someone else’s expense.

The mailbag is back and in today’s: Spike Boydell sends in a film link that had me properly thinking about connection. Jerilyn Owen shares how making a self-portrait is helping her learn acceptance. Samantha Ramsay finds something spiritual in photographing hands, while Greg Picone stumbles across a spooky landscape right behind his own backyard. Randy Bullerwell’s been capturing carnival season in Aruba in a way that’s anything but ordinary and Complaints Corner is open again… this time, it’s a case of the wrong pants. Plus, a quick reminder: it’s the final week for this month’s One Word Assignment, set by Claire Thomas.

Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB, Arthelper and LOWA who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

In this episode, I’m joined by Ian Beesley, the acclaimed social documentary photographer whose work has captured the changing face of the North of England for over four decades. From documenting the decline of heavy industry to the resilience of working-class communities, Ian’s photographs are raw, honest, and deeply human.

We talk about memory, place, humour, and the role of photography in giving voice to people and stories often overlooked. It’s a conversation about seeing, really seeing, the world around us and using a camera not just to document but to care.

Also on the show, Valérie Jardin returns for the monthly Teach Me Street feature, and there's a reminder of the latest one-word assignment set by the photojournalist Claire Thomas.

The mailbag returns next week.

Links to all guests and features will be on the showpage, my sincere thanks to MPB, Arthelper and LOWA who sponsor this show, plus our Extra Milers without whom we wouldn't be walking each week.

WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.