I'm so pleased to share my conversation with the thoughtful, fun, and exceptionally creative visual artist, Sophie Sherwood.We spoke about Sophie's passion for community and connection and how they became enthralled with photography, from early college days to how their work now explores the self and nature through light-sensitive materials and sustainable darkroom techniques.Sophie spoke candidly about how the unexpected death of her father has informed their practice on an on-going basis, plus how fun and laughter within the workshops they deliver is important. This is also evident in the funny tales about 'mud' developing and an accidental smelly darkroom incident.We chatted about those who inspire Sophie, their inspiring work as the manager of The Folkhouse Darkroom in Bristol, and how their self-portraiture project makes for a diverse and exciting practice.Keep up-to-date via Sophie's website at sophiesherwood.co.ukYou can also follow them on Instagram: instagram.com/photosophiausI'd love to share your eco-photographic story too - contact me via my website - josiepurcellphotography.com - to take part, whether you are just starting out or have a ton of photo tales to tell.

It's been over a year since my last Photopocene podcast, but what a fantatsic way to start back up again.I had the pleasure of speaking with the very talented Marko Dutka. With an intriguing photography career and now conducting PhD research exploring, through photography, landscape as a dynamic space with a focus on part of the River Severn catchment that I am fascinated by. This one is a great listen and I learnt so much. As always on the podcast, we also discuss photography and its role within eco-conscious practices and how it can influence viewers and action.It would be wonderful if you can visit Marko's upcoming shows - he shares more on all of them towards the end of our chat. His work is not to be missed. And you can visit the Bridgwater Arts Centre during Somerset Art Weeks Open Studios to see Marko's photographs for Immersion from 13 - 29 September. Book a space for his talk there on 20 September too. Head to https://www.bridgwaterartscentre.co.uk/gallery/ for all the details and to reserve a free place. You can also book on Marko's workshop later that month.Keep up-to-date via Marko's website at ⁠https://www.markodutkaphotography.com/⁠You can follow him on Instagram - where you may see more of Lemmy too: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/markodutka/⁠I hope you enjoy the return of Photopocene. Do contact me via instagram.com/josieshutterpod or my website josiepurcellphotography.com to take part whether you are just starting out on your eco-conscious photo journey or have a ton of photo tales to tell.Happy eco-photography until next time!

I love it when we get to meet (in an audio way) a photographic artist whose passion for plants melds with their passion for photography. In this episode with Sammie Masters-Hopkins, you will discover more about the Pictory Garden she is nurturing to help create a circular means of creating images. Plus there's chat about how we use and discard botanical tokens as part of our calendar-based celebrations and Sammie's burgeoning long-term photographic project based on these traditions. Listen along to discover much more and then head over to Sammie's website at slmhopkins.com or find her on Instagram at @slmhopkins And as ever, I'd love to share your eco-conscious photographic story so don't be shy and get in touch via josiepurcellphotography.com/contact

After a six-month sabbatical from the Photopocene podcast, what a great way to start back! I'm joined on the first episode of 2024 (and episode 40!) by the delightful Rachel Wright, a photographer whose practice mixes other disciplines, processes and collaborations. She sums this up in her tagline, "photography, mainly". We not only chat about her interests in relation to challenging habitual ways of seeing the world, but how her work responds to the potential of the arts to deconstruct notions of nature/culture dualism. Rachel is keen to address the human tendency to see our species as separate from nature, and how this can influence our desire to care for it, with many of her photo series considering the multi-layers and entanglements of life. We found much common ground in our conversation, such as sand and abstraction, with Rachel's work providing a means for those who view it to contemplate, consider and challenge their notions of nature. Intuition, curiosity and play all inform Rachel's working style, and are reflected in her images - listen out for Barn Jam too. Do take a look at her website but if you are close to Diss, Norfolk, head to the Corn Hall on St Nicholas Street (IP22 4LB) from 17 Feb - 16 March to see her work as part of a collectiveTransformative Nature (Conversations) exhibition. Visit: rachelwrightphotography.com Instagram: instagram.com/rachelwrightstudio It is always a joy to chat with photo-artists employing photography in various forms to share their creative response to environmental matters. Do contact me, Josie, via instagram.com/josieshutterpod or my website josiepurcellphotography.com to apply to take part, whether you are just starting out on your eco-conscious photo journey or have a ton of photo tales to tell.

This episode with award-winning photographer Jamie House is truly fascinating. Jamie has an incredible practice which melds research, process and diverse disciplines to explore the intersections of art, science and nature through the lens of posthumanism (simply put, the decentralising of humans and accounting for nonhumans). Our conversation goes from an 11-year-old Jamie discovering the joy of experimentation through pinhole photography to his recent creation, GHY-3 an immersive sound installation exploring insect communication and satellites at Goonhilly, Cornwall. There's talk of what inspires Jamie from hidden histories to different realms and new ways of seeing and attentive listening to the world around us. Plus an upcoming book in progress. Jamie is a British Photography Award recipient, and associate lecturer on MA Photography course University of Plymouth UK. He has presented his work at International and National symposia and has exhibited and published widely. Head to centrespace.org.uk/whats-on/ghy-3 for all the details about the upcoming show. You can follow Jamie on Instagram at instagram.com/j_aime_h As ever, to share your eco-conscious photographic practice, message me via Insta at instagram.com/josieshutterpod or head to josiepurcellphotography.com

This podcast conversation has been one I'm so pleased to have had. Please, please do accept the tech glitches in this episode though - I don't know why the airwave Piskies were out and about but I'm sure they won't distract you too much for the wonderful conversation I had with photographer, Tess Zahn. We go from art school to motherhood, from England to Greece, from juggling jobs to carving out time all in pursuit of photographic art. Tess shares some of the artists from myriad art disciplines who have inspired, and continue to inspire her and how life can impact on an artist's sense of being an...artist. Our conversation meanders in many ways, and comes back to how photography can help in relation to environmental matters. You can find out more at tesszahn.com or on Insta at instagram.com/tesszahnphotography Visit the Artwave Festival here: artwavefestival.org And since recording, Tess has learnt that the Bloom Cafe & Hope Centre will close in July due to a lack of funding, so please go visit them in Brighton while you can. As ever, if you would like to share your eco-conscious photography story, drop me an email via josie[at]josiepurcellphotography.com or head to my website: josiepurcellphotography.com/contact

It is a delight to speak with photographer Jo Bradford for this episode of Photopocene, especially as we have known each other for many years but lost touch in the ebb and flow of life. She is super talented and her camera-less images sing with colour. But Jo is also an author, a university lecturer and workshop leader, and has a new collaborative photography book coming out later this year. And, she has robots in her darkroom! Listen along to find out more. Take a look at Jo's work via jobradford.com and greenislandstudios.co.uk or follow her on Insta at instagram.com/jo_bradford If you would like to share your love for eco-conscious photography, simply visit josiepurcellphotography.com

This time, I'm fortunate to chat with the photographer, Maria Primo on the Photopocene podcast.  I have been blown away by her work for El Libro de Arena (The Book of Sand). A fascinating look at a story of a sand dune, intertwined with history and intrigue in a place I know little about other than its well-known name.  The long-term project acts as a "metaphor of the absurd will of humanity to dominate nature while remaining separate from her", while it delves into the social, environmental, and political issues behind the formation of the dune. It's such an honour to learn more about Maria's work, and about Maria herself. I do hope I get to visit her in Madrid one day. Listen in to discover more and then head over to mariaprimo.com or find Maria on Instagram @mariaprimo Contact me via josiepurcellphotography.com to take part in the podcast.

Okay, so this feels a bit strange but to kick off 2023, I decided, as your podcast host, to interview myself. I’ve tried not to ramble and kept the blips in too… Head to josiepurcellphotography.com to find out more and follow me on Insta @josieshutterpod or visit http://www.exposurephotofestival.com/ and join the Tend Collective on 12 Feb.

What a wonderful conversation with photographer, Sarah Connell. It was a joy to discover more about this very creative "hopeful caterpillar" and how she uses analogue photography to explore the natural world and encourage contemplation. She has recently been awarded an Arts Council England grant for a new research project on the Yorkshire Moors, where she'll be employing camera-less techniques and plant-based processes to delve deeper into the world of sustainable photography. Listen along to discover more about our chat relating to the magic of photographic analogue processes, photography as an extractive medium and how we manage our use of it to create art and encourage environmental thinking and action. You can find Sarah on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/always.analogue/ Her website is https://www.sarahconnell.co.uk/ You can see her work on show until 18 September at the York Gallery as part of the Aesthetica Art Prize too.   Do get in touch if you'd like to share your eco-conscious photography in an audio way - https://www.josiepurcellphotography.com/contact