Prime Lenses

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.

George Holden is a Street Photographer and YouTuber who has been a regular poster since 2018. Based in Manchester he shoots digital and film and has as of 2025 decided to simplify his kit down to 2 cameras. For now. This was one camera adjacent enough for me to want to get him on the show, he said yes, and here we are :)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.

James Tocchio is the founder of Casual Photophile. For over a decade he has reviewed lenses and cameras and is a staple of photography on the internet. In addition to his love of lenses and photography he also enjoys videogames and motorcycles so if you’re a petrolhead you’ll likely get something out of this episode. 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.

My guest today is Gajan Balan, a photographer and director who has made a name for himself producing films for clients around the world as well as regular viewers like us on YouTube. Gajan and I were able to speak ahead of his unveiling as the worldwide brand ambassador for the Leica SL3-S that was announced earlier this week. He’s been able to travel the world as part of this project and produce a really wonderful film to promote the new camera. Full disclosure, Leica suggested the timing of this episode but as you’ll hear from the conversation we were already in contact and this is in no way a paid promotion, they just put us in touch ahead of the launch. Gajan and I got on great and I can’t wait to speak to him again in future about his next projects but for now please enjoy this first chat.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.

Gabrielle Motola is one of the most complete photographers I’ve ever spoken to. That was the word that popped into my head repeatedly as we were speaking just before Christmas. She is thoughtful, makes thought provoking work and knows Photography is noticing, bringing connection to all her work whether it’s travel, portrait or behind the scenes with a world famous band. I loved our conversation and hope you do 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.

My guest this week is Arun Venkatesan, a photographer, engineer and designer based in the US who writes a really interesting blog about design and occasionally photos and image making. He has recently written about Leica’s font and a friend passed this on to me. I really enjoyed his writing and decided to see if I could get him on the show. He said yes and I’m delighted to share this conversation with you all.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.