If you have ever felt technically capable but creatively lost, this conversation shows you how one photographer turned a decade of pictures, and the hardest years of his life, into a body of work that is unmistakably his own.
In this episode I sit down with Rory King, an Australian photographer who works in black and white, prints by hand in the darkroom, and turned 10 years of images into his photobook 'Gumsucker', published by Charcoal Press after he won the 2023 Charcoal Publishing Prize at the Chico Review. We talk about how photography found him, the darkroom as an emotional practice, his mental health struggles that nearly ended his life, and what it actually takes to find your own photographic voice.
Other things we discussed:
Why he refuses to scan film and prints everything by hand
Photographing the same friends for over 10 years
Handing close to 2,000 scans to his publisher and not seeing Gumsucker until years later
The bushrangers and Ned Kelly project he first presented at Chico
Whether the photography and publishing world is elitist and gatekept
How to share your work and find community
The role of family, friends, and sad music in his recovery
Momentum, and why taking the picture matters more than the picture itself
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more.
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