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The PHYS Podcast

The PHYS Podcast

Written by: The Wrong Crowd Collective
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The PHYS Podcast is where creativity, storytelling, and human experience meet. Hosted by Tyson Martin, the show features conversations with photographers, filmmakers, artists, adventurers, and storytellers from around the world. Through honest discussions on creativity, resilience, mental health, and the power of visual storytelling, each episode explores the stories behind the people who inspire us. Listened to in 107+ countries, The PHYS Podcast reminds us that creativity has the power to connect, heal, and transform lives.The Wrong Crowd Collective Art
Episodes
  • Ep 123 - Steve Evans: 30 Years of Portraits, Forgotten Stories & Life in the Ottawa Valley

    Ep 123 - Steve Evans: 30 Years of Portraits, Forgotten Stories & Life in the Ottawa Valley
    Oct 20 2026
    On this episode of The P.H.Y.S Podcast, I sit down with Steve Evans, an award-winning Canadian documentary and portrait photographer based in Wakefield, Canada, whose remarkable project, Life in the Ottawa Valley, has been more than 30 years in the making.Steve's photography has earned international recognition, including Editor's Choice in the Life Framer Photography Competition, finalist recognition from LensCulture, and Bronze Finalist recognition at the Exposure Awards.But what makes his work so special isn't the awards or recognition.It's the people.While so many photographers travel the world searching for interesting places and extraordinary subjects, Steve found something remarkable right in his own backyard.Armed with a camera, a recorder, and a genuine curiosity about the people around him, Steve began travelling through Ontario's Ottawa Valley, knocking on doors, introducing himself to complete strangers, and asking if he could hear their stories.What followed became a decades-long photographic record of a place, its people, and a way of life that has slowly been disappearing.Farmers, homesteaders, hunters, married couples, and people who had spent their entire lives in the same communities. Many were elderly. Some had never been photographed before. Others couldn't understand why anyone would want to take their picture in the first place.But Steve saw something worth preserving.He wasn't looking for celebrities, extraordinary accomplishments, or dramatic events. He was interested in ordinary people living ordinary lives, and the incredible stories that often go unheard simply because nobody takes the time to ask.Inspired by photographers like Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, August Sander, and Diane Arbus, Steve developed a documentary approach built around patience, trust, conversation, and respect for the people standing in front of his camera.There's something almost timeless about his portraits. The old wood-panelled rooms, worn furniture, family photographs, calendars, wood stoves, and faces that seem to belong to another era. You can spend ages looking at a single image, discovering little details that tell you something about the person and the life they've lived.But what really gets me about Steve's work isn't just the photography.It's the conversations.Steve has spoken about wishing he'd had the opportunity to sit down with his own grandparents before they passed away, to ask about their lives and hear their stories. Through this project, he found himself having those conversations with other people's parents and grandparents.And sometimes, the people he visited were simply grateful that someone had shown up and wanted to listen.That's a pretty powerful thing.In a world where we're constantly chasing the next photograph, the next destination, or the next piece of content, Steve's work reminds us that photography can be about something much more meaningful.It can give someone a voice.It can preserve a memory.And it can remind people that their lives matter.In this conversation, we get into documentary photography, approaching strangers, earning trust, photographing people in their own homes, and what happens when a project you thought might last a couple of years becomes a commitment spanning more than three decades.We also explore the photographers who inspired Steve, the importance of preserving local history, and why the connection you make with someone can be just as valuable as the photograph you walk away with.Visit Steve Evans⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lens Culture ArticleVisit The Show:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Web⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support The Show:⁠⁠⁠Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Go Fund Me⁠⁠⁠Affiliate Link:⁠Harlowe
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    36 mins
  • Ep 122 - Ryan J Leone On NYC Photography, Film, Digital & Finding Your Own Way

    Ep 122 - Ryan J Leone On NYC Photography, Film, Digital & Finding Your Own Way
    Oct 13 2026
    New York City has been photographed a million different ways. So how do you make something that actually feels like your own?On this episode of The PHYS Podcast, I sit down with Ryan J Leone, a New York City photographer and filmmaker working across film and digital photography, commercial projects, editorial assignments, events, and behind-the-scenes content.Photography in New York is a different animal. There's inspiration on every corner, but there's also no shortage of people with cameras trying to make their mark. Finding your own style, building relationships, getting paid for your work, and keeping that excitement you had when you first picked up a camera isn't always easy.Ryan works across different sides of the industry, from the slower, more deliberate process of shooting film to the demands of digital photography and commercial production. It's a world where you need to be creative, adaptable, and ready to figure things out when the plan goes sideways.One thing I appreciate about Ryan's approach is that he shares more than just the finished product. Through his behind-the-scenes content and photography tips, he gives people a look at the work that goes into making photographs. The decisions, the techniques, the equipment, and the stuff that doesn't always make it onto Instagram.We get into photography, filmmaking, the differences between film and digital, working with clients, and what it takes to build a creative career in a city that never really slows down.But what interests me most is the person behind the camera.What keeps someone creating? How do you find your own voice when you're surrounded by so much incredible work? And how do you make a living doing something you love without losing the part that made you fall in love with it in the first place?In This Episode:Life as a photographer and filmmaker in New York CityShooting film versus digital and why both still matterCommercial, editorial, and event photographyFinding inspiration in everyday momentsThe work that happens behind the scenesBuilding your own style instead of following trendsWorking with clients while protecting your creativityThe business realities of being a working photographerSharing knowledge and helping other photographers improveFinding opportunities and building relationshipsStaying motivated when creativity becomes your jobWhy the best camera is the one that makes you want to go shootThere's a lot of noise in photography these days. New cameras, new technology, social media algorithms, and endless opinions about what you should be shooting and how you should be doing it.It's easy to forget why you started.Sometimes you just need to grab a camera, get outside, meet some interesting people, and make photographs.Because at the end of the day, nobody else sees the world quite the way you do.Visit Ryan J Leone:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠Web⁠Orchid House Studios:InstagramThreadsWebVisit The Show:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Web⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support The Show:⁠⁠Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠Go Fund Me⁠⁠Affiliate Link:Harlowe
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Ep 121 - Noel McIntyre - The Photograph Is Only the Beginning

    Ep 121 - Noel McIntyre - The Photograph Is Only the Beginning
    Oct 6 2026

    Noel McIntyre has one hell of a résumé. But that’s not really why I wanted to talk to him.


    Noel is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker based in Mullingar, Ireland, whose work crosses documentary, reportage, street photography, filmmaking and sport.


    He’s been named IPPVA Irish Reportage Photographer of the Year three years in a row, his work has been selected for multiple Leica Mastershots, and in 2026 he placed third in the World Sports Photography Awards.


    His documentary work around Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann became a bestselling book and is now held by institutions including Trinity College Dublin, Oxford’s Bodleian Library and Cambridge University Library.


    Then there’s “Frenzy.”


    In 2025, the photograph was selected for Ireland’s Higher Level Leaving Certificate Art examination, where students were asked to critically discuss Noel’s work alongside some pretty ridiculous company, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.


    That’s all incredibly impressive.


    But I wanted to know about Noel McIntyre, the photographer.

    What makes him stop and raise the camera?


    How does he know when there’s actually a story in front of him?


    How do you photograph real people without taking away the thing that made the moment interesting in the first place?


    And after years of shooting, creating films, winning awards and building a career, what still makes him want to pick up a camera and go make something?


    That’s where this conversation goes.


    We get into documentary photography, street photography, reportage, filmmaking, Leica cameras, visual storytelling, Irish culture, creative instinct, approaching people, building a body of work, and why the best photographs are rarely just about what’s happening inside the frame.


    Noel has the awards and the résumé.


    I was more interested in the human being behind all of it.


    This is my conversation with Noel McIntyre on The P.H.Y.S Podcast.


    Visit Noel McIntyre:

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads

    Web


    Visit The Show:

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠Web⁠⁠⁠⁠


    Support The Show:

    ⁠Patreon ⁠

    ⁠Go Fund Me⁠
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    1 hr and 18 mins
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