No episode playing
A photography podcast featuring interviews with photographers, artists, cultural thinkers, and technologists. We also launched a photography social platform - https://fotoapp.co <br/><br/><a href="https://fotoapp.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">fotoapp.substack.com</a>
In this episode, Michael talks with Nina Berman, a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and professor whose work interrogates the relationship between power, militarization, and the American experience. Over a career spanning three decades, Nina has consistently focused her lens on systems of violence and their aftermath, from war zones to police training grounds to the staged patriotism of political spectacle.
A Guggenheim Fellow, two-time World Press Photo winner, and professor at Columbia Journalism School, Nina is also the author of three major books: Purple Hearts – Back from Iraq, Homeland, and An Autobiography of Miss Wish. Her photographs have been exhibited in venues such as the Whitney Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
In this conversation, she discusses how her work has evolved from portraits of wounded veterans to broader investigations into how militarized thinking permeates everyday American life. She reflects on the ethics of long-term documentary work, the emotional cost of sustained witnessing, and why photography remains a vital civic act.
This is a powerful episode with one of the most uncompromising voices in American documentary photography — a conversation about courage, clarity, and using your camera to look directly at the systems that define our time.
🔗 RESOURCES & LINKS
* 🌐 Website: ninaberman.com
* 📸 Instagram: nina_berman
Thank you to our sponsor State Film Lab! If you're in the US, consider State Film Lab for your film processing and scanning needs.
Reminder: We’d love for you to join us on Foto as we pubiclly build a new photo-sharing app for the world. Foto is on Apple and Android. Direct links are on our website fotoapp.co
In this episode, Michael sits down with photographer Betina La Plante to discuss her instinct-driven approach to portraiture and the significance of connection in her work. Betina shares how she discovered photography, why she avoids overplanning, and how being fully present with her subjects enables her to capture something deeper and more genuine.
They discuss her early inspirations, how her background shaped the way she sees, and why she embraces simplicity—both technically and emotionally—in her images. This is a conversation about listening, navigating a moment intuitively, and trusting the creative process.
🔗 RESOURCES & LINKS
* 🌐 Website: betinalaplante.com
* 📸 Instagram: @betinalaplante
* 🖼️ Foto: @betinalaplante
* 📖 Inspiration: Irving Penn
Thank you to our sponsor State Film Lab! If you're in the US, consider State Film Lab for your film processing and scanning needs.
In this episode, Michael sits down with NYC photographer Jean Andre Antoine to talk about his long-running Polaroid portrait series, his start in analog photography, and how the scarcity of instant film has become a constraint that fuels his creativity. They also discuss what it means to be present, how photographing strangers daily has shaped Jean’s understanding of people, and the deep emotional highs and lows of working in the street.
🔗 Resources & Links
* 🌐 Jean’s Website: jeanandreantoine.com
* 📸 Instagram: @jaaphotos
* 📍See him on the street: Prince Street, NYC — between Broadway and Crosby
❤️ Thanks to our Sponsors!
State Film Lab - A wonderful place in Lousville, Kentucky to get your film developed and scanned! High-quality scans at a reasonable price point.
MUSEA Lab - Museum-Quality Printing, Matting, Framing, and Albums
In this episode of the Foto Podcast, we sit down with Maine-based photojournalist and documentary photographer Greta Rybus, whose work blends deep observation, human empathy, and a reverence for nature. Greta shares her journey from growing up in Idaho to working as a full-time freelancer in Maine, covering everything from environmental stories to the opioid crisis to long-term projects rooted in land and community.
We talk about her approach to photographing complex issues with compassion, the emotional challenge of pairing photography with writing, and why she believes slowness, curiosity, and presence are more important than ever in storytelling. Greta opens up about her personal project documenting Nash Island’s wild sheep and the people who care for them, and how that work reflects her larger values around sustainability, collaboration, and finding other ways to live.
This episode is a calm, reflective deep dive into what it means to build a photographic life around care—for people, for place, and for story.
🔗 Resources & Links:
* 📸 Greta’s Work: gretarybus.com
* 📷 Follow Greta on Foto: @gretarybus
* 🖼️ Instagram: @gretarybus
* 🗞️ Read about her New York Times piece: “Meth Comes for Maine”
* 🐑 Learn about Nash Island
* 🫧 Check out her “Hot Springs” Book
* ✍️ Substack newsletter: The Photosynthesist
➡️ Download Foto on the App Store or Google Play — no ads, no crop, no chaos —just a thoughtful space for photography and community.
In this episode of the Foto Podcast, we’re joined by photographer and longform journalist Elliot Ross, whose thoughtful work bridges storytelling, ecology, culture, and human rights across the American West. From growing up on a remote farm in Colorado to assisting legends like Annie Leibovitz and Mark Seliger in New York, Elliot’s journey has taken him from the fashion world to remote caves, wheat harvests, indigenous communities, and ecological restoration zones.
We discuss his powerful projects, such as A Question of Balance and Geography of Hope, which explore issues of water access, climate change, and the cultural histories intertwined with land and community. Elliot opens up about what it means to live a photographic life, how his camera connects him to people and place, and why he believes photography still matters in a world full of noise.
This episode is a thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation on photography, advocacy, and the quiet richness that comes from paying close attention to the world around us.
Connect with Elliot
Web - elliotstudio.com
Instagram - instagram.com/elliotstudio
Foto - @elliotstudio
Thanks to our Sponsors! State Film Lab and MUSEA.
In this episode of the Foto Podcast, we’re joined by New York photographer Angela Cappetta. A lifelong documentarian, Angela Cappetta's work captures the depth and nuance of everyday life with bold honesty and vibrant storytelling. Angela shares the journey from her earliest photos as a child to her years working under icons like Mary Ellen Mark and Arthur Elgort to her celebrated long-term project documenting a family on the Lower East Side.
We discuss her first book, her love for flash photography, and why editing is one of the most emotional and essential parts of the creative process. Angela also opens up about the hustle of life as an artist, the grind of grant writing, what she’s learned from the publishing world, and how weddings became one of the richest visual playgrounds in her career.
This conversation is packed with wisdom, humor, and truth bombs about photography, storytelling, and the reality of being an artist for the long haul.
🔗 Resources & Links:
* 📸 See Angela’s Work: angelacappetta.com
* 📷 Follow Angela on Foto: @angelacappetta
* 📬 Follow Angela on Substack: Angela Cappetta
* 📷 Instagram: @angelacappetta_
* 📚 Buy her book: Glendalis
* 📥 Download Foto now on the App Store or Google Play – no ads, no videos, no crop, and a chronological feed that celebrates real photography.
In this episode of the Foto Podcast, we sit down with Michael Wriston, a Baltimore-based street portrait and long-exposure photographer whose work captures the soul of the city—one person, one building, one streetlight at a time. Michael shares how photography became a grounding force in his life during military night shifts and how it evolved into a way of deeply connecting with the world around him.
We talk about the energy of late-night wandering, what it means to photograph lived-in neighborhoods, and the stories told by forgotten buildings and hand-painted signs. Michael’s work is all about seeing the beauty in what others overlook—and documenting it with empathy, curiosity, and respect.
Whether photographing strangers on their stoops or exploring alleys at 2 a.m., Michael brings a calm, authentic presence to his work that shines through in every frame.
🔗 Resources & Links:
• 📸 See Michael’s Work: michaelwriston.com
• 🖼️ Follow Michael on Foto: @mwriston
• 📷 Follow Michael on Substack: Ten Minute Exposure
• 📚 Mentioned in the episode: Wide Angle Youth Media, Baltimore Photo Space
➡️ Download Foto on the App Store or Google Play — no ads, no videos, no crop, and a real chronological feed. Foto is photography how it should be—focused, intentional, and built around community.
In this episode of the Foto Podcast, documentary photojournalist Justin Hamel shares the incredible stories behind his work on the U.S.–Mexico border. From his early days exploring abandoned buildings in Pennsylvania to documenting the realities of migration, law enforcement, and energy production in Texas, Justin’s photography is grounded in empathy, persistence, and a commitment to truth.
We talk about everything from how a devastating spinal cord injury reshaped his life and, work to the human cost of border policies, the rise in migrant deaths in the desert, and his long-term projects like Almost America, Camino de los Muertos, and Post Office Murals. It’s an honest, moving conversation about storytelling, advocacy, and the power of showing up with a camera.
Resources & Links:
• Follow Justin on Foto
• Follow Justin on Instagram
The Foto Substack and Podcast is a community-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
In this episode, we sit down with Nick Gervin, a documentary photographer from Portland, Maine, whose raw and unfiltered work captures the unseen side of city life. Nick shares his journey from overcoming two traumatic brain injuries to using photography as a tool for recovery and self-expression. We dive deep into his decade-long project, Portlanders, his thoughts on documentary photography, the role of flash in his work, and how skateboarding shaped his visual style. Plus, we talk about his latest project, Mainers, where he’s expanding his lens beyond the city to capture the essence of his home state.
If you love honest, compelling storytelling through photography, this episode is for you.
Resources & Links:
📸 Follow Nick Gervin: NickGervin.com | Instagram | Foto - nick_gervin
📖 Check out his book: Portlanders
📷 Try Foto! Download Foto now on the Apple App Store and Google Play – no ads, no cropping, and a chronological feed that puts photography first!
🎧 Enjoying the podcast? Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow photographers!
Foto is a community-supported organization. To receive new posts and podcast episodes and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
In this episode, Michael Howard sits down with renowned large-format photographer and 2024 Guggenheim Fellow Lisa Elmaleh. Lisa shares her journey into large-format photography, her decision to trade Brooklyn for a remote cabin in West Virginia, and her powerful work documenting life along the U.S.-Mexico border. She opens up about the challenges migrants face, the humanity behind immigration, and how she builds trust through her thoughtful, slow photographic process. This is an inspiring conversation about art, empathy, and resilience.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: This podcast was recorded in early January 2025. On the 20th of January 2025, thousands of people were devastated, that the legal path to asylum closed without further recourse due to executive order "Securing our Borders". The CBP One phone app is no longer functional. Thousands of people have nowhere to go because they cannot return due to cartel violence and other reasons, and many people will be in limbo indefinitely until something changes.
🔗 Visit Lisa's Website - https://lisaelmaleh.com
🔗 Check out Lisa's upcoming workshops - https://lisaelmaleh.com/workshops
🔗 Deep Time Press Zine of Tierra Prometida - https://deeptimepress.com/Promised-Land-Tierra-Prometida-Lisa-Elmaleh
Thanks for reading Foto! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
Foto is a community-supported publication. Consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to support our work and receive new posts in your inbox. The Foto App is separate from our Substack.