British photographer and environmental storyteller Nick Brandt joins the show for a raw, expansive conversation on art, climate collapse, sentience, and the role of photography in an age defined by distraction and decline. Across projects such as Inherit the Dust, This Empty World, The Day May Break, and his latest chapter The Echo of Our Voices, Brandt builds constructed realities that merge portraiture, environmental narrative, and human resilience. This conversation moves through philosophy, ethics, creative fear, the collapse of attention, and the emotional cost of a lifetime spent documenting loss.

We discuss:

• Nick's core philosophy.
• Why the project 'The Day May Break' exists.
• How historical worldviews shaped modern cruelty.
• Climate change as human injustice.
• The tension between beauty and devastation.
• The conceptual and emotional logic behind 'The Echo of Our Voices'.
• The collapsing photobook and print ecosystem.
• AI as an existential threat.
• Why Nick refuses to create purely for audiences.
• The impact of social media on photography as a whole.
• Medium format film vs digital.
• Advice for emerging photographers.

Follow Nick and his incredible work:
Website: www.nickbrandt.com
Instagram: @nickbrandtphotography

This episode is sponsored by Strata Editions - use discount code 'MOOD' for 10% discount on their store - visit strata-editions.com to shop and see their collections.

_____________________________________

Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!

Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel (link below) where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as my social media, so make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Threads and TikTok or check out my website for my complete portfolio of work.

YouTube:
www.youtube.com/@mattyj_ay

Learn with me
https://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemy

My Newsletter
https://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletter

Website:
www.mattjacobphotography.com

Socials:
IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

Bryan Schutmaat is a photographer, publisher, and quiet poet of the American West. Known for books such as Grays the Mountain Sends, Good Goddamn, and Sons of the Living, Bryan’s work explores the uneasy tension between land and people, myth and memory, endurance and hope. He is also co-founder of Trespasser Books, a small but powerful imprint shaping the future of modern photobooks.

In This Conversation We Explore

• Why photography feels so lonely and how community changes everything
• Building meaningful creative connections in a solitary craft
• The making of Sons of the Living and the stories behind the images
• Navigating narrative, ambiguity, and emotional truth in photography
• Why photobooks still matter and how sequencing shapes meaning
• The philosophy behind Trespasser and independent publishing
• Curiosity, discipline, and the struggle to stay creatively alive
• The American dream, the American West, and the reality between them
• How to make work that does something rather than pretending it does
• The inner journey of becoming an artist with a distinct point of view

Follow Bryan and his incredible work:
Website: www.bryanschutmaat.co
Instagram: @bryanschutmaat

This episode is sponsored by Strata Editions - use discount code 'MOOD' for 10% discount on their store - visit strata-editions.com to shop and see their collections.

_______________________________________

Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!

Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel (link below) where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as my social media, so make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Threads and TikTok or check out my website for my complete portfolio of work.

YouTube:
www.youtube.com/@mattyj_ay

Learn with me
https://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemy

My Newsletter
https://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletter

Website:
www.mattjacobphotography.com

Socials:
IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

Kent Andreasen, a Cape Town-based photographer and filmmaker, joins me to talk about his new photobook Memory Bank (published by Witty Books), which tells the story over a decade shaped by doubt, discipline, and a complicated relationship with memory.

Our chat together moves from South Africa’s creative landscape to therapy, trauma, and to this book that feels like a fever dream stitched into sequence.

We discussed:

• The real story behind the attack that inspired Memory Bank
• How trauma transforms into art
• The tension between truth and memory in photography
• South Africa’s complex creative landscape
• Finding authenticity in commercial work
• How AI is challenging what it means to “see”
• Why photography is still a tool for healing

Order Memory Bank at the Witty Books website here: https://witty-books.com/Memory-Bank-Kent-Andreasen

Follow Kent and his work:
Website: www.kentandreasen.com
Instagram: @kentandreasen

This episode is sponsored by Strata Editions - use discount code MOOD for 10% discount on their store - visit strata-editions.com to shop and see their collections.

______________________________

Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!

Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel (link below) where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as my social media, so make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Threads and TikTok or check out my website for my complete portfolio of work.

YouTube:
www.youtube.com/@mattyj_ay

Learn with me
https://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemy

My Newsletter
https://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletter

Website:
www.mattjacobphotography.com

Socials:
IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay