A Small Voice: Conversations with photographers and filmmakers

Born in Sofia (Bulgaria), Vladimir Karamazov graduated classical drama theatre at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts. He has a 25 years career as a professional actor and part of the company of the Bulgarian National Theater “Ivan Vazov”. He has performed many roles in theatre cinema and television, but has always loved photography making it his occupation since 2019. He looks for the images, the places, the atmosphere of the plays in which he has performed. And looks for special people with dramatic and interesting stories. Photography helps him understand humanity in its complexity and scale, and reveals the true nature of it. Over the past few years, he has won a number of photography competitions, including from Sony World Photo Awards, the British Journal of Photography and Lensculture.
Vladimir recently published his debut photobook with GOST books, For the Grace of God, which takes takes us into the notorious Belene Prison, located in northern Bulgaria on the border with Romania; the most heavily guarded facility of its type in the country. The work focusses primarily on inmates serving life sentences without parole.
On episode 294, Vladimir discusses, among other things;
First night nerves as an actor.
Thinking only about photography.
The potential for identity crisis as actor turned photographer.
How acting taught him about narrative.
Learning from Anders Petersen.
How he became curious about life inside prison.
And how he found his way into the project.
Solving the question of what a prisoner without parole looks like.
Learning a lesson in forgiveness.
Getting help from George Georgiou and Vanessa Winship.
An insight into the childhoods of prisoners as the source of their criminality.
Not wanting to give his phone number and changing his mind about doing that.
Next project on a prison for young offenders.
A story of hope for a prisoner who was released after 26 years in prison.
Website | Instagram


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Christina Assi is a Lebanese photojournalist and photo editor. After losing a leg in an Israeli tank attack in southern Lebanon in October 2023, she began campaigning for journalists' safety.
Christina was born in Lebanon. Growing up there in the 1990s, she lived through the instability of the civil war that she documented in multiple stories. In 2005 she moved to Doha, capital city of Qatar, with her family. Christina graduated from the Notre Dame University-Louaize in Lebanon with a bachelor's degree in communications and journalism. In 2018, she began to work for Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Cyprus as a photo editor.
On 13 October 2023, while live reporting on a column of smoke on the Israeli-Lebanese border along with six other journalists, she was a victim of an Israeli tank shell attack in Alma al-Shaab. The attack involved two strikes and resulted in Christina losing her right leg.One of the two explosions killed her best friend, Reuters correspondent Issam Abdallah. Five more of their colleagues were wounded. All journalists were wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, clearly marked as press. Christina demands that the attack be considered a war crime.
Since then, Christina became a campaigner for journalists' safety, giving numerous interviews and propelling a rehabilitation programme for people with similar life-altering injuries. On 21 July 2024, with colleague, journalist Dylan Collins, she carried the torch in Vincennes, France, ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic games, representing the journalists who died in the line of duty.
At the end of 2024, the BBC included Assi in its list 100 Women, which recognises the most influential women in the world each year.
On episode 292, Christina discusses, among other things:
Early memories of growing up in Lebanon
Her first job as a photo Editor for AFP in Cypress
Buying her first camera with the prize money from a photography competition
First opportunites with photography assignments
Being sent to Lebanon in the aftermath of the October 7th terrorist attacks by Hamas
The story of the day of the attack that changed her life
Waking up in hospital and trying to make sense of what had happeneed
finding out her close friend Issam Abdallah had been killied
The killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla
Her insight into how inaccessible the world is to wheelchair users
Recuperation and recovery
Documenting herself
Her new relationship with the camera… and letting go of perfectionism
Making a short film about her experience
Her advocacy work for the protection of journalists and demand for accountability
The way in which her experience has changed her perception of the kind of stories she wants to cover
Instagram | CPJ piece (with links)
Episode sponsors:
ThinkTank Photo - New: FocusPoint Crossbody camera bag!
Boat Drinks Studio web design. Claim 15% off a new website. Link in bio.


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Reuben Wu is a multidisciplinary artist who explores new ways of telling compelling stories about the world we inhabit.
His work with aerial lighting and long-exposure photography has defined a singular style in contemporary landscape photography and belongs in the Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the MoMA.
His practice spans fine art and creative collaborations with brands.
Reuben was born in Liverpool to parents who had immigrated from Hong Kong. Following their guidance, he pursued Industrial Design at university, though his academic focus often took a backseat to DJing, collecting records and enjoying Sheffield’s vibrant music scene.
After graduating, his passion for music led him back to Liverpool’s creative community, and with Daniel Hunt, Mira Aroyo, and Helen Marnie, he formed the band Ladytron in 1999. Their first single earned Single of the Week in the NME. Soon they were signed to a label and invited on a world tour, at which point Reuben left his job at an industrial design consultancy to dedicate the next decade to music.
When Ladytron took a break, Reuben again faced the challenge of reinvention. Though uncertain, he committed to pursuing photography professionally. After years of persistence and occasional strokes of luck, he established himself in the field, bringing his own visual perspective shaped by his design and musical background.
Reuben works globally and lives in Chicago, USA.
On episode 292, Reuben discusses, among other things:
His creative family
Industrial design
Musical success with Ladytron
The challenge of reinventio
How his incredible light paintings came about
The role of serendipity.
Website | Instagram
Episode sponsors:
ThinkTank Photo - New: FocusPoint Crossbody camera bag!
Boat Drinks Studio web design. Claim 15% off a new website. Link in bio.


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Iva Sidash is an independent documentary photographer and visual storyteller from Ukraine. Born in 1995, she focuses on deeply personal narratives shaped by the realities of war. Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she has documented intimate stories of fragility, resistance, and memory that unfold behind the frontlines.
Her work merges artistic sensibility with documentary practice, revealing the human experience through a lens of emotion, nuance, and resilience.
A graduate of the International Center of Photography in New York, Iva is a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers and Women Photograph. She is the recipient of the 2024 Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant, a Women Photograph fellowship, and the Chris Hondros Award at the Eddie Adams Workshop.
Her photographs have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, INSIDER, Der Spiegel, and The Financial Times. Her exhibitions span both solo and group presentations across the United States and Europe, highlighting her growing
international recognition as a compelling voice in documentary photography.
On episode 291, Iva discusses, among other things:
Daily normality in Kyiv
How a car accident led her to street photography
How she transitioned from street photography to documenting the war
The power of trying to portray life during wartime
Ethical concerns
Her project What Is Unseen and what the title means
Winning the Ian Parry Grant (and being in that ‘family’)...
…And the Chris Hondras award
Going to the ICP in New York
Her story there about injured Ukrainian soldiers undergoing rehabilitation on Staten Island
Future plans for other projects she’s interested in, including diaristic work


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Richard Sharum is an editorial and documentary photographer based in upstate New York. Mainly focusing on socio-economic or social justice dilemmas concerning the human condition, his work has been regarded as in-depth, up-close and personal.
Selected exhibitions have occurred in Kyoto, Japan, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Reggio Emilia, Italy, New York City, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, and his work has been added to the permanent collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and The Wittliff Collection, as well as others.
Richard's commissions include those by The Meadows Foundation, Centers for Community Cooperation, Harvard Law School, Student Conservation Association, Children's Medical Center (Oncology), Children's Cancer Fund.
His publications include those by LFI (Leica International), British Journal of Photography, LensCulture, The Atlantic, Texas Monthly, Publico (Portugal), El Pais (Spain), Observer (UK), The Wall Street Journal, B+W Photo Magazine, Huck Magazine, Glasstire, PATRON, Creative Review, among others.
Richard has published two photobooks, Campesina Cuba and Spina Americana, both with GOST. His third, American Homicide, will be released early in 2027, also by GOST. The last two of these titles will be joined in 2028 by American Avenue, to form a trilogy of books entitled Of Thee I Sing.
He is represented by The Hulett Collection, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On episode 290, Richard discusses, among other things:
His goal of reaching a wider audience among the general public.
Team window vs. team mirror
His new book American Homocide
The fascination for true crime among the public
How murder affects all the groups involved
Getting access to the detective squad he embedded with
The portrayal of violence on screen
His obsession with time
The need to be empathetic and open
The impact of being exposed so many murder victims
The murder detectives he got to know and photograph
Corresponding with the perpetrators
Part three of his planned trilogy, American Avenue
The state of the photobook industry and the unfairness of the current system
Referenced:
W Eugene Smith
Sebastião Salgado
James Nachtwey
Larry Towell
Leonard Freed
Susan Meiselas
Gordon Parks
Website | Instagram | Lecture at Columbia


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Need a website? Or someone you know does? EXCLUSIVE LISTENER OFFER: 15% off when booked by Christmas 2026! Go here.
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