In this Moments of Mood episode of The MOOD Podcast, Matt returns after a road accident left him physically immobilised for several weeks, unable to photograph, travel, or work, and uses that enforced stillness to examine one of the quietest but most destructive reflexes in modern photography: the need for proof. What happens to your photography, and to you as a photographer, when the images you make never leave the hard drive? When the algorithm stops rewarding your work? When self-doubt creeps in because no one has seen the photograph yet?

Matt draws on a recent conversation with fellow photographer Pie Aerts, a decade-long meditation practice, and the uncomfortable weeks spent away from the camera, to ask whether photography is a destination we're trying to arrive at, or a pilgrimage we're already walking without realising it.

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Support the show

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.

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In this episode, Matt sits down with Magnum photographer Mark Power for a wide-ranging conversation about long-term documentary photography, creative process, and what it means to spend 14 years photographing America as a foreigner. Mark discusses the origins of his landmark five-volume series 'Good Morning, America', why he's drawn to photographing the ordinary and overlooked rather than the spectacular, and how a woman quietly crying at a Don McCullin exhibition changed the trajectory of his entire career. From nearly quitting photography to becoming one of the most respected members of Magnum Photos, Mark shares honest reflections on self-doubt, creative longevity, and the discipline of looking slowly in a fast world.

Other things we discussed:

• Why photography is more democratic than painting and what that means for artists today
• The moment Mark's father finally validated his career, just before his death
• How the Postcards from America project at Magnum evolved into a decade-long obsession
• Why Mark believes the most exciting subjects make the worst photographs
• His thoughts on the word "storytelling" and why he thinks it's lost all meaning
• The stillness and silence he deliberately pursues in every image
• Walking into a room of his heroes at Chico Review and expecting nobody to know his name
• Why he spends far more time looking at photographs than making them
• Editing and sequencing five books as a work in progress without knowing the ending
• What's next: photographing Brighton by bus pass and an ambitious new project in China

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

Support the show

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://mattjacob.co/learn

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https://www.mattjacob.co/archive

Website:
https://themoodpodcast.com

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

Listen to part one here
Watch part one here
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In Part 2 of this special Chico Review 2026 episode, Matt continues documenting his week inside one of photography's most respected portfolio review events. Featuring conversations with Odette England, Daniel Arnold, Tim Carpenter, Matthew Genitempo, Jesse Lenz, and Lindokuhle Sobekwa — plus fellow attendees pushing the edges of documentary, photobook, and fine art photography.

Notable topics:

• What Jesse Lenz actually looks for as a publisher — and why finished work is a turn-off
• Daniel Arnold on 13 years protecting his creative spark and why he dreads making books
• Tim Carpenter's review philosophy: never say good picture or bad picture
• ⁠Odette England on slow processing and what makes her eyes change during a review
• Matt Genitempo's approach to giving reviews and spotting talent
• ⁠The broken economic models of editorial, photobooks, and commercial photography
• "Commercial documentary" as a survival strategy for photojournalists
• How feedback on "poetry vs narrative" shifted one attendee's entire practice
• A photographer who enrolled in photojournalism school at 48 after surviving cancer
• Grief, bookmaking as chemistry lab, and dismantling perfectionism
• ⁠Closing reflection on ego death, creative identity, and thinking about a project like music
• Why the shutter is only 10% of the work — and what happens after
• Practical advice for future Chico attendees: go deep, not wideListen to part one here

Listen to part one here
Watch part one here

________________________

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://mattjacob.co/learn

My Newsletter
https://www.mattjacob.co/archive

Website:
https://themoodpodcast.com

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