A Small Voice: Conversations with photographers and filmmakers cover art

A Small Voice: Conversations with photographers and filmmakers

A Small Voice: Conversations with photographers and filmmakers

By: Ben Smith
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Fortnightly in-depth interviews featuring a diverse range of talented, innovative, world-class photographers from established, award-winning and internationally exhibited stars to young and emerging talents discussing their lives, work and process with fellow photographer, Ben Smith. The most recent 50 episodes are on this free feed, 200+ more are in the archive! TO ACCESS THE FULL ARCHIVE OF PAST EPISODES + SPECIAL EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, BECOME A MEMBER FOR £5 PER MONTH!© Ben Smith Art
Episodes
  • 283 - Henri Kisielewski

    283 - Henri Kisielewski
    Jun 3 2026

    Henri Kisielewski is a self-taught photographer whose work is concerned with the porous boundary between fact and fiction in documentary media.

    His practice has been recognised and supported by several grants and awards, and he has exhibited in group shows and festivals internationally. In 2025, he was shortlisted for both the Prix Élysée and Grand Prix Images Vevey.

    In 2021, Henri was employed by Magnum Photos to conduct the first complete review of their historic archive - he remains the only person to have seen the nearly 1 million images within. Informed by this experience, and his studies in human geography, Henri’s work operates at the intersection of real-world issues and their modes of representation.

    His first book Non Fiction was published by Le Bec en l’air in 2024. It was selected by Clément Chéroux as one of his ten books of that year and shortlisted for the Prix Nadar in 2025.

    Henri is also the founder of Soft Eyes, a new photography lecture series which runs three times a year at Reference Point in London. It aims to open up space for community and dialogue outside of institutional frameworks, inviting artists.

    On episode 283, Henri discusses, among other things:

    • How A Small Voice has been part of his photographic education.
    • How he came to assist Magnum photographer, Olivia Arthur.
    • And run a dilapidated hotel for three years.
    • How a year in Valencia changed his life.
    • His decision to spend money on a.) a trip to Ibiza or b.) a camera.
    • Returning to the hotel for his first proper photo project.
    • Learning to edit from Olivia Arthur.
    • How his book project Non Fiction came about.
    • Photography and documentary media’s relationship to truth.
    • The cast of characters who appear in Non Fiction.
    • The amazing story behind his new book project, Agloe N.Y.
    • Post-truth America.
    • The new photography event in London he is curating, Soft Eyes.


    Referenced:

    • Alexander Meurice
    • Erasmus Programme
    • Joan Wakelin Bursary
    • Charlie Engman
    • Bruce Eeesly
    • Melanie Mues

    Website | Instagram

    Become a A Small Voice podcast member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of 200+ previous episodes for £4 per month.

    Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.

    Follow me on Instagram here.

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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • 282 - Richard Young

    282 - Richard Young
    May 20 2026

    Richard Young is a photographer who was once known as the “king of the paparazzi”.

    His portfolio is a who’s who of some of the biggest stars in film, music, stage and popular culture from the past fifty years. From gatecrashing Elizabeth Taylor’s party for Richard Burton’s 50th at the Dorchester to later being invited to photograph her Damehood celebrations. He can count the first photographs of Paul Getty Jr. after his kidnapping as just one of his many scoops.

    He was born in Hackney to a Jewish family and his father ran a hosiery stall in Berwick Street market for more than sixty years. Richard has dyslexia and after being expelled from school at fourteen, he went to Soho and landed a job in fashionable clothes shop frequented by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, David Hockney and Francis Bacon.

    A two-year stint in New York followed, working as a studio assistant at Electric Lady Studios, before he returned to London and found himself in a bookshop handed a camera and told to get on with photographing authors.

    For the past fifty years, he has lived a nocturnal, high octane life of private jets, parties and exclusive events, eventually becoming as much a fixture in the world of celebrity as the people he photographed.

    Richard lives in London with his wife Susan. His photography gallery is in London and has visitors from around the world.

    On episode 282, Richard discusses, among other things:

    • Wanting to escape school
    • Learning that trust is currency
    • Crashing Richard Burton’s birthday party
    • And how the proceeds from the resulting picture bought him his first house
    • How his journey into photography began with a roll of blank film
    • Adventures in New York and Paris
    • Having a guardian angel
    • Still being sent on jobs at 79
    • Turning up to Freddie Mercury’s party in drag by mistake
    • How he navigated the switch to digital
    • Why he reccommends that young photographers experiment with film
    • Photographing flowers …and the east end of London
    • The importance of saying sorry when necessary
    • His gallery in west London
    • How the business has changed

    Website | Instagram

    Become a A Small Voice podcast member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of 200+ previous episodes for £4 per month.

    Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.

    Follow me on Instagram here.

    Need a new website? I will build you one with Squarespace. Details here.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • 281 - Ilvy Njiokiktjien

    281 - Ilvy Njiokiktjien
    May 6 2026
    Ilvy Njiokiktjien is a Dutch photojournalist, filmmaker, podcast host and educator who has been creating and sharing stories for almost two decades. She is based in Utrecht, the Netherlands and is a contributing photographer to VII Foundation. Ilvy is committed to documenting the social and political issues that shape our world. Her work is characterized by a sensitive eye and a compassionate and personal relationship with her subjects. For nearly 2 decades, she chronicled South Africa’s first post-apartheid generation. Ilvy became intrigued by these young adults and portrayed them in her own, personal and intimate style. “Equality is there on paper, but a majority of young people believes white South Africans still have better chances, as the legacy of centuries of inequality is still there.” The result is the project Born Free – Mandela’s Generation of Hope, which sparked a documentary, an interactive website, a book, feature articles, and a traveling exhibition. Her work with Ukraine’s LGBTQ community in March 2022 tells the tale of people’s loves and fears – and their resolve in the face of Russian aggression. Ilvy’s latest project on co-housing follows people who opt to live in non-traditional groups or who welcome extended family members into a shared home. Ilvy was the first woman to win the Dutch Silver Camera Award for photographer of the year and was named the first ever Photographer Laureate of the Netherlands in 2013. In addition to numerous awards from international organizations such as World Press Photo and POYi, Ilvy’s images have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, The Guardian, Stern, Der Spiegel, TIME, and other major outlets. She has exhibited at Visa pour l’Image in France, New York’s Photoville, and museums and festivals around the world. On episode 281, Ilvy discusses, among other things: Her foray into podcasting for CanonThe pattern of her work lifeHow things have changed since she startedCollaboration and the importance of writing and interviewsApproach to personal long-term projectsHer current project about ‘receiving states’Her approach to researchWhy it’s good to reinvent yourselfUsing a simple Google search to generate ideasHer project in South Africa, Born FreeWhy she got kicked out of her internship on The Star newspaperHer interest in ‘interactive long reads’ and the book she made with one of her subjectsThe perils and advantages of social mediaHer family history project and the joint exhibition that came of itThe tendency for younger documentary photographers to be introspective and why that might beHer foray into podcasting - asking her fellow VII photographers four questionsThe importance of failureHer 'dream story' Referenced: Carl De KeyserMatt BlackSara Terry Become a A Small Voice podcast member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of 200+ previous episodes for £4 per month. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides. Follow me on Instagram here. Need a new website? I will build you one with Squarespace. Details here.
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    1 hr and 11 mins
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Been is very good at getting the guests to go through their lives in photography. He obviously does his research and elicits great insights. well worth listening to

a great photography podcast

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