8th July 2026
Last week’s guest, Sam Faulkner, tackles the bonus questions. And it's time for Arles again...
THIS WEEK ON A SMALL VOICE PODCAST MEMBER-ONLY EPISODE...
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And last week’s guest, Sam Faulkner, returns to tackle the bonus questions.
Sample question:
What is the thing you like most about photography or about being a photographer? What is the thing you like the least?
I don’t know whether you remember when we were kids, on TV there was this kids show called Mr. Benn.
Yep. I remember Mr. Benn.
So The whole thing about it was that it was this guy, very kind of straight-laced British guy with a bowler hat and a pinstripe suit, walks into a fancy dress shop, with this kind of strange guy running it. And he tries on a costume, walks out of the back door, and suddenly he’s in a different world. And, for years and years, that’s exactly what I thought photojournalism did for me. I’d, get on a plane. I’d end up in a different world. I’d be, with gangs in LA, and or, in the steppes of Mongolia riding along on horseback with these eagle hunters. Just amazing things, places that only photography could have taken me. Unbelievable. There was one time that I was in one of those situations where I was trying to do two things at once. I was working with Mario Testino, doing some behind-the-scenes stuff for one of his commercial clients, and we were staying at the Chateau Marmont in LA. But at the same time I was trying to finish my project for Esquire Magazine, which was about LA gangs. So I’d spend all day shooting in Hollywood with Mario, go back grab a different camera, and then head to South Central and spend the evening doing a drive-by…
Not a drive-by, hopefully! ...
Not a drive-by. A drive along, with some cops and stuff like that. It’s just seeing those two worlds and having them butt up against each other was, like, always fascinating.
Yeah, it’s literally a perfect example of that of what you’re talking about. I love that. I’ve never thought about it that way. It allows you to be Mr. Benn, basically. That’s what you’re saying. Ah, I think that’s a great way of putting it, for anyone who sort of remembers that program, that kids cartoon we all loved. …And the thing you like the least?
I guess the insecurity. I would love to still be able to make a living out of editorial photography, shooting those stories that I started off doing, getting commissions to go to Afghanistan, Colombia, Mongolia. All those great places that I managed to get to. But yeah, that’s not how it works now.
Also…
The 2026 edition of the Arles photography festival begins this week and runs until 4th October.
Curated under the title Des Mondes à Relire (Worlds to Reread) and featuring the themes of: ‘independence’, ‘journeys’, ‘forms of life’, ‘revisits’ and ‘uncertain archive’, the programme will explore the ways photographs shape, preserve and challenge our understanding of history, identity and collective memory. The festival aims to encourage audiences to revisit familiar narratives and reconsider how images influence the stories societies tell about themselves.
Particular attention will be given to artists and photographic histories from Africa and the Mediterranean region, while exhibitions will also examine themes including migration, representation, archives, ecology and the many forms of contemporary life. The programme will combine major retrospectives and monographic exhibitions with presentations of emerging photographers and experimental practices.
As usual, alongside the exhibitions, the festival’s opening week will feature artist talks, screenings, portfolio reviews, book events and professional gatherings.
This all makes me wish I was going. Alas, I am not this year. Have fun if you are. Don’t forget the sunscreen.
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Have a good time in Arles Ben