The MOOD Podcast

The year didn’t teach us to shoot faster. It taught us to go deeper. We close out 2025 by stitching together the most resonant moments from a season of hard questions and honest answers: why “quick fix” education fails creatives, how pricing for profit transforms freelancers into owners, and where empathy turns a portrait from performance into truth.Art stays at the centre. We explore ambiguity as a strength, and you’ll hear how long-form projects and photo books benefit from time and distance, how technique and tone evolve across a decade, and why music, language, and psychological safety can unlock authentic portraits. We examine the record-making power of photojournalism and face its mental health tolls with tools that actually help: self-care rituals, supportive networks, and realistic recovery in hostile environments.Threaded through everything is a humbling sense of place—grief and hope living side by side, and nature reminding us the story isn’t finished. If you’ve felt the pull to slow down, to price honestly, to build community, and to let your work breathe, please take stock and listen. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs depth over dopamine, and leave a review telling us where you’ll choose craft over shortcuts in the new year._____________________________________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_ayLearn with mehttps://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemyMy Newsletterhttps://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletterWebsite:www.mattjacobphotography.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

In this episode - the last guest episode of 2025 - I sit down with photographer, publisher, and curator Jesse Lenz for one of the most expansive and honest conversations I’ve had on the show - fitting to end the year with such a nice gift-wrapped present. What begins as a discussion about photography and photobooks quickly becomes a deeper exploration of obsession, taste, community, and what it actually means to build a life of artistry that lasts. Jesse speaks candidly about art not as a career path, but as something closer to devotion; something you shape your life around rather than extract from.Here's what we talk about:Why art is an addictionDiscovering photobooksWhy most projects failEditing and sequencing of artMaking work for yourself before others Charcoal Press and publishing workChico ReviewLongevity over visibilityFollow Jesse and his incredible work:Website: www.jesselenz.comInstagram: @jesselenzCharcoal Book Club: www.charcoalbookclub.comCharcoal Press: www.charcoalpress.comChico Review: www.chicoreview.com_____________________________________________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_ayLearn with mehttps://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemyMy Newsletterhttps://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletterWebsite:www.mattjacobphotography.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

Nobody cares about your photography. We don’t need more of 'any old' photographers. Yet survival as culture and society with soul is completely dependent on work that matters.In this episode of Moments of Mood, I explore why indifference is the default in modern photography, what it actually means for someone to care about your work, why chasing attention is often the fastest way to lose meaning, and the deeper responsibility artists have in a world drowning in content.Listen if you're interested in:Being tired of chasing validation and wonder why no-none sees or takes notice of your workWhy nobody is waiting to care about your photography, but how you can create from a deeper place that invites care.What “caring” really means in art and visual storytellingWhy meaning matters more than visibilityHow photobooks create depth in a disposable image cultureThe 5 conditions that make people genuinely care about photographyWhy slow, intentional work outlasts viral success____________________________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_ayLearn with mehttps://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemyMy Newsletterhttps://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletterWebsite:www.mattjacobphotography.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

British photographer and environmental storyteller Nick Brandt joins the show for a raw, expansive conversation on art, climate collapse, sentience, and the role of photography in an age defined by distraction and decline. Across projects such as Inherit the Dust, This Empty World, The Day May Break, and his latest chapter The Echo of Our Voices, Brandt builds constructed realities that merge portraiture, environmental narrative, and human resilience. This conversation moves through philosophy, ethics, creative fear, the collapse of attention, and the emotional cost of a lifetime spent documenting loss.We discuss:Nick's core philosophy.Why the project 'The Day May Break' exists.How historical worldviews shaped modern cruelty.Climate change as human injustice.The tension between beauty and devastation.The conceptual and emotional logic behind 'The Echo of Our Voices'.The collapsing photobook and print ecosystem.AI as an existential threat.Why Nick refuses to create purely for audiences.The impact of social media on photography as a whole.Medium format film vs digital.Advice for emerging photographers.Follow Nick and his incredible work:Website: www.nickbrandt.comInstagram: @nickbrandtphotographyThis episode is sponsored by Strata Editions - use discount code 'MOOD' for 10% discount on their store - visit strata-editions.com to shop and see their collections._____________________________________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_ayLearn with mehttps://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemyMy Newsletterhttps://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletterWebsite:www.mattjacobphotography.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay

Bryan Schutmaat  is a photographer, publisher, and quiet poet of the American West. Known for books such as Grays the Mountain Sends, Good Goddamn, and Sons of the Living, Bryan’s work explores the uneasy tension between land and people, myth and memory, endurance and hope. He is also co-founder of Trespasser Books, a small but powerful imprint shaping the future of modern photobooks.In This Conversation We ExploreWhy photography feels so lonely and how community changes everythingBuilding meaningful creative connections in a solitary craftThe making of Sons of the Living and the stories behind the imagesNavigating narrative, ambiguity, and emotional truth in photographyWhy photobooks still matter and how sequencing shapes meaningThe philosophy behind Trespasser and independent publishingCuriosity, discipline, and the struggle to stay creatively aliveThe American dream, the American West, and the reality between themHow to make work that does something rather than pretending it doesThe inner journey of becoming an artist with a distinct point of viewFollow Bryan and his incredible work:Website: www.bryanschutmaat.coInstagram: @bryanschutmaatThis episode is sponsored by Strata Editions - use discount code 'MOOD' for 10% discount on their store - visit strata-editions.com to shop and see their collections._______________________________________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_ayLearn with mehttps://mattjacobphotography.com/voice-alchemyMy Newsletterhttps://mattjacobphotography.com/newsletterWebsite:www.mattjacobphotography.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay