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_bermanThank 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 Get full access to Foto at fotoapp.substack.com/subscribe
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Foto 025 - Betina La Plante
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 PennThank you to our sponsor State Film Lab! If you're in the US, consider State Film Lab for your film processing and scanning needs. Get full access to Foto at fotoapp.substack.com/subscribe
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Foto 024 - Jean Andre Antoine
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* 📰 NY Times Article on Jean❤️ 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 Get full access to Foto at fotoapp.substack.com/subscribe
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Foto Podcast 023 - Greta Rybus
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. Get full access to Foto at fotoapp.substack.com/subscribe
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Foto Podcast 022 - Elliot Ross
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 ElliotWeb - elliotstudio.comInstagram - instagram.com/elliotstudioFoto - @elliotstudio Thanks to our Sponsors! State Film Lab and MUSEA. Get full access to Foto at fotoapp.substack.com/subscribe
A photography podcast featuring interviews with photographers, artists, cultural thinkers, and technologists. We also launched a photography social platform - https://fotoapp.co fotoapp.substack.com
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