Reuben Wu is a multidisciplinary artist who explores new ways of telling compelling stories about the world we inhabit.

His work with aerial lighting and long-exposure photography has defined a singular style in contemporary landscape photography and belongs in the Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the MoMA.

His practice spans fine art and creative collaborations with brands.

Reuben was born in Liverpool to parents who had immigrated from Hong Kong. Following their guidance, he pursued Industrial Design at university, though his academic focus often took a backseat to DJing, collecting records and enjoying Sheffield’s vibrant music scene.

After graduating, his passion for music led him back to Liverpool’s creative community, and with Daniel Hunt, Mira Aroyo, and Helen Marnie, he formed the band Ladytron in 1999. Their first single earned Single of the Week in the NME. Soon they were signed to a label and invited on a world tour, at which point Reuben left his job at an industrial design consultancy to dedicate the next decade to music.

When Ladytron took a break, Reuben again faced the challenge of reinvention. Though uncertain, he committed to pursuing photography professionally. After years of persistence and occasional strokes of luck, he established himself in the field, bringing his own visual perspective shaped by his design and musical background.

Reuben works globally and lives in Chicago, USA.

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Richard Sharum is an editorial and documentary photographer based in upstate New York. Mainly focusing on socio-economic or social justice dilemmas concerning the human condition, his work has been regarded as in-depth, up-close and personal.

Selected exhibitions have occurred in Kyoto, Japan, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Reggio Emilia, Italy, New York City, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, and his work has been added to the permanent collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and The Wittliff Collection, as well as others.

Richard's commissions include those by The Meadows Foundation, Centers for Community Cooperation, Harvard Law School, Student Conservation Association, Children's Medical Center (Oncology), Children's Cancer Fund.

His publications include those by LFI (Leica International), British Journal of Photography, LensCulture, The Atlantic, Texas Monthly, Publico (Portugal), El Pais (Spain), Observer (UK), The Wall Street Journal, B+W Photo Magazine, Huck Magazine, Glasstire, PATRON, Creative Review, among others.

Richard has published two photobooks, Campesina Cuba and Spina Americana, both with GOST. His third, American Homicide, will be released early in 2027, also by GOST. The last two of these titles will be joined in 2028 by American Avenue, to form a trilogy of books entitled Of Thee I Sing.

He is represented by The Hulett Collection, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On episode 290, Richard discusses, among other things:

• His goal of reaching a wider audience among the general public.
• Team window vs. team mirror
• His new book American Homocide
• The fascination for true crime among the public
• How murder affects all the groups involved
• Getting access to the detective squad he embedded with
• The portrayal of violence on screen
• His obsession with time
• The need to be empathetic and open
• The impact of being exposed so many murder victims
• The murder detectives he got to know and photograph
• Corresponding with the perpetrators
• Part three of his planned trilogy, American Avenue
• The state of the photobook industry and the unfairness of the current system

Referenced:

• W Eugene Smith
• Sebastião Salgado
• James Nachtwey
• Larry Towell
• Leonard Freed
• Susan Meiselas
• Gordon Parks

Website | Instagram | Lecture at Columbia

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Iva Sidash is an independent documentary photographer and visual storyteller from Ukraine. Born in 1995, she focuses on deeply personal narratives shaped by the realities of war. Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she has documented intimate stories of fragility, resistance, and memory that unfold behind the frontlines.

Her work merges artistic sensibility with documentary practice, revealing the human experience through a lens of emotion, nuance, and resilience.

A graduate of the International Center of Photography in New York, Iva is a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers and Women Photograph. She is the recipient of the 2024 Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant, a Women Photograph fellowship, and the Chris Hondros Award at the Eddie Adams Workshop.

Her photographs have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, INSIDER, Der Spiegel, and The Financial Times. Her exhibitions span both solo and group presentations across the United States and Europe, highlighting her growing
international recognition as a compelling voice in documentary photography.

On episode 291, Iva discusses, among other things:

• Daily normality in Kyiv
• How a car accident led her to street photography
• How she transitioned from street photography to documenting the war
• The power of trying to portray life during wartime
• Ethical concerns
• Her project What Is Unseen and what the title means
• Winning the Ian Parry Grant (and being in that ‘family’)...
• …And the Chris Hondras award
• Going to the ICP in New York
• Her story there about injured Ukrainian soldiers undergoing rehabilitation on Staten Island
• Future plans for other projects she’s interested in, including diaristic work

Become a A Small Voice podcast member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of 200+ previous episodes for £4 per month.

Need a website? Or someone you know does? EXCLUSIVE LISTENER OFFER: 15% off when booked by Christmas 2026! Go here.

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