FEATURING PHOTOJOURNALIST MARISSA ROTH

In this episode, recorded in London, I meet up with friend and photojournalist Marissa Roth, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer whose career spans decades of visual storytelling. We talk about what might be a photographer’s greatest superpower: vulnerability. From her early days at the LA Times to her long-form global project One Person Crying: Women and War, Marissa shares how empathy, courage, and an open heart have shaped her work in conflict zones and beyond. Now building a new life in Europe, she reflects on what it means to start again, to carry stories across borders, and to stay true to the deeper reasons we pick up a camera in the first place.

Also, today, Gary Ramage invites you to take part in the new One Word Assignment.

Email your stories, thoughts, and pictures to the show. If you can optimize/resize photos to 2,500 pixels wide, that’s always much appreciated. If you’d like to support this show and have access to further content and the midweek Extra Mile show, we’d welcome you as an EXTRA MILER. There’s also our thriving Facebook group, a safe place to meet and talk with photographers of all interests, the Photowalk YouTube channel, plus the show is featured on Instagram, VERO and X.

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MORE ABOUT names, words, THE MUSIC and places FROM TODAY’S SHOW

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST BY EMAIL, if you’d like to attend the 500th show recording on Wednesday 30th July, 2025, at Greenham Common, (former airbase) in Berkshire, England.

See more of Marissa’s photographic projects discussed on the show today including Cantata, The Crossing, The Philippines, and Iceland Poppies.

Jim Mortram is a British social documentary photographer best known for his long-running project Small Town Inertia, a powerful and compassionate portrait of marginalised lives in rural England, told with striking honesty and human connection.

Marcus Bleasdale is a documentary photographer who has dedicated his career to exposing human rights abuses and the impact of conflict, using his camera as a force for justice in some of the world’s most overlooked and dangerous regions.

Kodak Tri-X is a classic black and white film beloved by photographers for its rich contrast, distinctive grain, and forgiving exposure latitude, qualities that give images a timeless, expressive character and a sense of soul.

Ted Soqui is a Los Angeles–based photojournalist known for his vivid, on-the-ground coverage of social movements and political unrest, capturing the pulse of the city with raw, compelling immediacy.

Sonoko Sakai is a Japanese American cooking teacher, author, and advocate for traditional Japanese cuisine. Before dedicating her career to food, she worked in the film industry as a foreign-film buyer and producer, representing major Japanese companies including Kadokawa, Gaga, and Nippon Herald. Her passion for preserving and sharing the cultural roots of Japanese cooking led her to become a respected voice in culinary circles, contributing regularly to the Los Angeles Times and other publications. In 2011, she founded Common Grains, an organisation devoted to promoting the cultural and nutritional importance of Japanese food.

A Woman in Berlin is a stark, unflinching diary of survival, documenting the harrowing experiences of a woman during the final weeks of World War II.

Kelvin Brown’s flickr Photowalk inspired group - join by invite by clicking on to THIS LINK.

MUSIC LINKS: Blooming Cellar wrote today's playout song Look good in the sunshine. Music on the show is sourced primarily from Artlist and also features in Michael Brennan’s Spotify playlist GoFoto. For Apple Music users, follow this playlist.

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MARISSA ROTH

Photographs above from Marissa Roth’s One Person Crying: Women and War project. Below further images featuring in our discussion. Photographs copyright. Not to be reproduced or used without express permission from the photographer.