Prime Lenses

Prime Lenses Episode 136 – Colin Prior
Four decades of Scottish landscapes, the camera he sold and never went back to, and thoughts on the future of photography and AI.
Guest: Colin Prior — Scottish landscape photographer, best known for his panoramas · colinprior.co.uk
In this episode
Colin Prior has spent four decades photographing Scotland’s mountains, much of it on a Fuji 6x17 panoramic film camera, and he opens this conversation with the one thing he says to everyone: it’s not what’s in the picture, it’s where it takes you. From there we talk about the eye path, which he’d like you to think about instead of leading lines, and why he’ll take a few stray white dots out of a frame. He explains why he sold the camera that got his early work noticed and never went back, and he’s blunt about the world it left behind: magazines that no longer pay, video eating stills, and inkjet ink that costs more than a good whisky. His case for books, and for handing yours to a publisher and a designer, runs through the middle of the episode. We finish on AI, an AI-made Odyssey, and the book he’s been working on for ten years and isn’t in a hurry to finish.
Highlights
~9:00 “Leading lines” is the wrong idea. Colin calls it the eye path, and he’s happy to remove a few stray white dots to protect it.
~15:00 If you have to ask yourself whether you got the picture, you didn’t.
~16:20 Why he sold the 6x17 camera behind his panoramas, and why stitching digital panoramas never tempted him.
~22:20 The brain stores a still image as a single moment. Video, he says, goes in one ear and out the other.
~24:50 Inkjet ink that costs more than a 21-year-old single malt, and the case for letting a lab do your printing.
~29:10 Why he has never self-published: you sell to the choir and the congregation never sees it.
~40:20 On his workshops: the camera stays in the bag while he walks the landscape looking for evidence.
~56:30 The book he has been making for ten years, and why he doesn’t want an end date.
Chapters
0:00 Cold open: “It’s where it takes you”
~0:20 Iain’s introduction
~1:20 October light, and four winters without snow
~5:30 Why landscape? Birds came first
~9:00 The eye path, rogue highlights and what editing really is
~14:00 Self-taught, and what failures teach
~15:40 Selling the Fuji 6x17
~21:00 Magazines, video and the brain that stores single moments
~23:50 Megapixels, prints and the inkjet problem
~27:40 Books: design, distribution and why not to self-publish
~37:20 Running workshops: critiques, and the camera that stays in the bag
~42:00 Thinking in layers
~44:40 Undisturbed places, Skye as a theme park, and Munros
~49:00 Trends, 500px and colour in print
~53:10 AI, and the AI-generated Odyssey
~56:30 The ten-year book and the underground archive
~59:50 Where it takes you, and where to find Colin
~1:01:40 Outro
Mentioned in this episode
People
Colin Prior — the guest; Scottish landscape photographer, best known for his panoramas · colinprior.co.uk
Joe Cornish — landscape photographer and a friend of both Colin and Iain · joecornish.co.uk · ~3:50
Graham Niven — Nethy Bridge photographer and an earlier guest (Prime Lenses Episode 131), whose conversation led Iain to Colin · Niven Photography & Arbor Gallery · ~6:00
Ansel Adams — Colin’s comparison for digital dodging and burning · The Ansel Adams Gallery · ~13:20
Music, film and video
Behind the Lens — the Sigma video series Colin and Joe Cornish made together, which Iain mentions enjoying · Colin’s write-up · PetaPixel on the series · ~31:20
The 2.5-hour AI-generated Odyssey movie is 2.5 hours too long — the Verge review Iain read that morning, of the AI film Odysseus: The Fall · The Verge · ~53:30
The Odyssey — Christopher Nolan’s 2026 film, released around the same time · Wikipedia · ~53:30
Tools and products
Fuji GX617 — the 6x17 panoramic film camera behind Colin’s panoramas, with the 90, 180 and 300mm lenses he mentions · Specifications · ~15:40
500px — the photo-sharing site Colin was once told to put his panoramas on · 500px.com · ~51:10
Companies and institutions
The Royal Photographic Society — Colin says he told its president that nobody will print while printing costs this much · RPS Distinctions · ~26:30
Waterstones — Colin on why photographers’ books need mainstream distribution, and what the shelves look like now · waterstones.com · ~29:10
Places
Isle of Skye — the Quiraing, the Old Man of Storr, the Fairy Glen and the Fairy Pools, and Colin’s view that Skye has become a theme park · VisitScotland · ~45:50
Schiehallion — the mountain above Kinloch Rannoch in a friend’s photograph, with sheep creating the eye path · Wikipedia · ~9:50
Find Colin’s work
Colin Prior’s website
Books and calendars
Group tours and workshops
Colin on Instagram

135. James Popsys
What if the goal isn't to make photography easy - what if the difficulty is the whole point?
Guest: James Popsys. Photographer, YouTuber and author based in Snowdonia, North Wales · jamespopsys.com · YouTube and Instagram: search "James Popsys" (P-O-P-S-Y-S)
In this episode
James has been on my list of dream guests for ages, so I was thrilled to finally sit down with him. We start, as these things do, with lawnmowers and film scanners, before getting into the real story: a marketing job in London, weekend photo walks, a conceptual composite of the London Eye as a bicycle wheel, and a move to Sydney that somehow led to a YouTube channel he started almost by accident in New Zealand. James talks about guarding his own individuality by deliberately not watching other photographers' videos, connecting the dots backwards to find the worldview running through his work, and what it took to commit thousands of prints to paper for his book Human Nature. We get into his one-lens, one-body philosophy, why he thinks difficulty is a feature of photography rather than a bug, and why he'd still rather be surprised by an ordinary place than get the photo 3,000 other people already have. He's off to East Greenland in a few days to experiment with a more hybrid, video-forward workflow, and this conversation is a lovely primer for anyone who wants to know how he got there.
Highlights
[Opening] Film scanners, darkroom chemistry, and a cold open about finding surprise in unremarkable places
[Opening] A very serious digression into battery-powered lawnmowers
[First third] The London Eye as a bicycle wheel, and the Sydney-to-YouTube origin story
[First third] "You can't connect the dots going forward" - finding the worldview that was there all along
[Middle] Making Human Nature: watching the zeroes stack up on a 15-metre printer
[Middle] The horses-through-the-window print, and why James is a "one body, one lens" traveller
[Middle] A Leica SL3's peeling grip, and 21-year-old Leica R8 and R9 bodies that still work
[Second half] Guarding individuality by not watching other people's videos
[Second half] AI, disclosure scandals, and why nobody's asking for more of it
[Late] Street photography, Britt Bradley's Gen-AI-vs-wet-plate test, and heading to East Greenland
Chapters
Positions are approximate. The transcript has no timestamps.
Opening Cold open: finding surprise in unremarkable places
Opening Film scanning setups and darkroom chemistry
Opening Kit Young's 400-roll film habit
Opening North Wales weather and the lawnmower tangent
First third James's origin story: London, Sydney, and an accidental YouTube channel
First third Connecting the dots backwards to find a worldview
First third Guarding individuality; avoiding other photographers' and podcasters' work
First third Human Nature: starting the book, and the RISD-style question of what comes after book one
Middle Printing day: watching thousands of pounds turn into ink
Middle The horses-through-the-window print and limited-run prints
Middle A 140kg Canon PRO-2600 printer in the house
Middle Exhibitions, introversion, and whether James should "try anything once"
Middle Why a photo feels finished when it's printed
Second half The New York school-bus photo, 40mm, and shooting at "imperfect" times of day
Second half Not doing YouTube gurning thumbnails
Second half Dabbling in filmmaking and switching to DaVinci Resolve
Second half One body, one lens, and heading to East Greenland with Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove
Second half Gear rules, a Leica SL3's peeling grip, and the Leica R8/R9
Late AI disclosure scandals and the Ricoh promotional-material controversy
Late Britt Bradley's Gen-AI vs wet-plate test
Late Running a business to sustain people, not to maximise returns
Close Where to find James, and lawnmowers revisited
Mentioned in this episode
People
Thomas Heaton - landscape photographer and one of the first photography YouTubers James watched early on · YouTube · [First third]
Joe Allam - travel and street photographer and YouTuber James cites as an early influence · joeallam.co.uk · [First third]
Nigel Danson - landscape photographer and friend who reassured James his printer inks would last for years · nigeldanson.com · [Middle]
Ed Smith - photographer local to me, mentioned for his exhibition work · [Second half]
Josh Edgoose - London street photographer known for finding humour in the everyday, featured in a video with Sean Tucker that stuck with me · Fujifilm profile · [Second half]
Sean Tucker - photographer and YouTuber who filmed the Josh Edgoose video I mentioned · [Second half]
Jack Lodge - former guest and South Coast photographer known for returning to the same spot across every season · [Second half]
Cal Henderson - former guest whose film street photography I mentioned · [Second half]
Britt Bradley (Nitrate Fox) - former guest and wet-plate collodion artist who posted a Gen-AI-vs-real comparison that fooled me completely · Lens Culture profile · [Late]
Kit Young - former guest, film photographer who buys film in 400-roll packs and views his work exclusively as prints · [Opening]
Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove - landscape photographer and workshop leader James is running an East Greenland trip with · jvn.photo · [Second half]
Books
Human Nature by James Popsys - his first photo book, self-published in 2024, exploring the relationship between man-made structures and nature · [First third]
Tools and products
Valoi Easy120 - the film scanning rig Iain is using and James is considering · Valoi · [Opening]
Ilford XP2 Super - the black-and-white film James shoots that develops in a standard colour C-41 process · Ilford · [Opening]
Kodak Portra - the colour film Iain is buying more of · [Opening]
Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-2600 - James's 140kg, 24-inch-wide print studio-in-a-house · Canon · [Middle]
Leica SL3 - the camera James used briefly before its grip started peeling · Leica · [Middle]
Leica R8 / R9 - Iain's 21-year-old film SLRs, one fitted with a 10-megapixel digital back · [Middle]
Panasonic Lumix GX1 - a small Micro Four Thirds camera James recently rediscovered with an added viewfinder · [Second half]
DJI Osmo Pocket - the compact camera both James and Iain use for lightweight, all-in-one shooting · DJI · [Second half]
Peak Design sling - the camera bag both James and Iain independently landed on · Peak Design · [Second half]
DaVinci Resolve - the video editor James switched to after leaving Adobe's subscription model · Blackmagic Design · [Second half]
Ricoh GR - the viewfinder-less compact camera at the centre of a promotional-material AI controversy · Ricoh · [Late]
Places and events
Ammassalik / Tasiilaq, East Greenland - where James is headed days after this recording, to experiment with a hybrid stills-and-video workflow · jvn.photo workshop listing · [Second half]
New Zealand - where James shot his first, unplanned videos before starting his YouTube channel · [First third]
Chinatown, London - setting for the Josh Jackson/Josh Edgoose street photography video James remembered · [Second half]
Quotes
I found most joy in getting something that I think is really interesting in a place that isn't particularly interesting.
James Popsys, [Opening]
The idea of one day can quite easily slip away, can't it?
James Popsys, [Second half]
What if we just ran the business to sustain the people that work there and that's it, and we didn't worry about maximising returns?
Iain Farrell, [Late]
Mentioned but not linked
"The name of the car is a little bit." [Close] - the transcript's final line is garbled and I couldn't reconstruct it. Please check the audio.
Rico / Ricoh promotional-material story [Late] - James says he "heard" about this but didn't know the details; I couldn't independently verify which campaign is meant.
The Hasselblad competition "coke bottle" story [Late] - referenced in passing; I couldn't confirm the specific competition or year.
GoPro disclosure controversy [Late] - mentioned without a name attached, so I couldn't research or link it.
Credits
Hosted and produced by Iain Farrell.
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What do you do when the best trip of your life makes every photo after it feel smaller?
Guest: Daria Zlobinski. London-based photographer, macro and nature obsessive, never without a Leica · Instagram: @dariazlb (main) and @d.zlobinski (photography)
In this episode
Daria messaged me a while back to say she was burned out and worried she was falling out of love with photography, and would I like to talk about it. That sounded like exactly the right kind of Prime Lenses conversation. We start at the beginning: windsurfing holidays, her dad's cameras, a Tumblr surf blog, and a RISD summer workshop where everyone else photographed people and she found a plant house. Then the harder part: how an Antarctica trip set a bar she isn't sure she can reach again, what Instagram rewards versus what she actually loves, and the small, silly challenges that got her shooting again, from an iPhone walk in Regent's Park to Sunday mornings at a farmer's market. Along the way: a Leica Q3 that got rained on, a salt-crusted Canon 5D Mark II with a black strip across the sensor, the sound of a Leica R9 shutter, and a pop-up show she'd love to hold in the Barbican Conservatory before it closes. And yes, we carried on talking after I said we'd finished.
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Chapters
Positions are approximate. The transcript has no timestamps.
Opening Cold open: the iPhone challenge
Opening Intro and why Daria is here
First third Windsurfing, her dad's cameras, Tumblr, and a Canon 60D
First third RISD workshop, the plant house, Henry Horenstein
First third London, consent, and carrying a Leica everywhere
First third Travelling as a different version of yourself
Middle Q3 vs D-Lux 8 in Iceland
Middle My kitchen, a Spider-Man web made of wool, and Day One
Middle 200,000 photos, iCloud panic, and stock photography
Middle Prints, books, and making something just for you
Middle Slop reels, likes, and doing it for yourself
Middle Postcards, cyanotypes, and slow mail
Second half Burnout, comparison, and the self-criticism cycle
Second half Photo walks, small challenges, and Sunday farmer's markets
Second half Scotland trip talk, spontaneity, and projects that assemble themselves
Second half Photographers who shaped her, and Dolly Parton
Second half The pop-up dream and the Barbican Conservatory
Late The 5D Mark II story
Late The R9 and its shutter, favourite cameras, retro lenses, and Osmo Pocket video
Close Where to find Daria, and the customary extra ten minutes
Mentioned in this episode
People
Henry Horenstein - photographer, RISD professor, and author of Animalia, the book that clicked for Daria · Wikipedia · [First third]
Stephen K. Schuster - New York photographer behind City Kids, a years-long project photographing teenagers · Tribeca Citizen on the exhibition · [Middle, second half]
Mike Chudley - photographer and YouTuber who made a book just for himself after his China trip · Episode 124 · [Middle]
Anthony Prince Leslie (AP) - photographer and filmmaker I'd spoken to the day before · Episode 133 · [Middle]
Books and reading
Animalia by Henry Horenstein - close, abstract photographs of animals taken out of context (Pond Press, 2008) · UMass Dartmouth exhibition page · [First third]
City Kids by Stephen K. Schuster - the self-published book of the project (2025) · Le Grand J · [Second half]
Tools and products
Leica Q3 - the full-frame compact Daria carries and that got rained on in Iceland · Leica · [Middle]
Leica D-Lux 8 - the small zoom compact that became her Iceland camera · Leica press release · [Middle]
Canon EOS 5D Mark II - her dad's well-travelled camera, used in Antarctica and Iceland · Canon USA launch release · [Late]
Leica R9 with Digital-Modul-R - a film SLR turned 10-megapixel digital camera, my recent madness · DPReview on the announcement · [Late]
DJI Osmo Pocket 3 - what I use for all my video · Launch coverage · [Late]
Day One - the journal app I use for its "On This Day" memories · dayoneapp.com · [Middle]
Foto - the photo-sharing app behind the global Foto Walks · fotoapp.co · [Second half]
Companies and institutions
RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) - where Daria took her first academic photography workshop · RISD Photography · [First third]
Places and events
Barbican Conservatory - Daria's dream place to show her work; it closes at the end of 2026 for a multi-year restoration · Barbican · The Guardian on the plant cutting giveaway · [Second half]
Foto Walks - the worldwide day of free photo walks; I host the Inverness one · Walks info · My chat with Michael Howard of Foto · [Second half]
Week of Walks - my own week of listener photo walks in July · Day one · [Second half]
Park Hyatt Tokyo - the Lost in Translation hotel, reopened after a 19-month renovation · TravelMole · [Second half]
Quotes
It's okay to stand out from other people.
Daria Zlobinski, [First third]
It has 3 million views. And for the past couple of months, it just garnered me like 300 followers or whatever.
Daria Zlobinski, [Middle]
If I make a plan, 99% it won't work out. So that's why I'm very spontaneous.
Daria Zlobinski, [Second half]
Mentioned but not linked
Daria's Instagram accounts [Close] - @dariazlb (main) and @d.zlobinski (photography). Spoken in the episode; I couldn't verify the profile URLs by search, so add the links by hand.
Brett Henriksen [First third] - Daria's RISD professor who introduced her to Horenstein; the spelling is unconfirmed.
"Lucas" [Middle] - former guest who has worked with scientists drilling ice cores; surname not given.
"Richard" [Middle] - former guest, Dutch, based in New York, who sends postcards through a small Patreon; surname not given.
"Torsten" [Late] - someone I talked to about the R9 with digital back; surname not given.
"Philip Reinhardt" [Late] - former guest who shot the Winter Olympics with a borrowed R9 and digital back; the spelling needs checking.
"The Carrier Print Club" [Middle] - my print club starting next month; the name in the transcript looks garbled.
"LSA" [First third] - the group Daria reached out to for event photography; possibly LSE.
"Kodak channel" [Middle] - the Antarctic spot Daria says she left a piece of her heart; possibly the Lemaire Channel.
Grandma's old "IXUS" camera [Late] - a 7-megapixel compact; probably a Canon IXUS.
Support the show on Patreon.
More about this show:
A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

My guest this week is Anthony Prince Leslie, a photographer and filmmaker from Brooklyn. He has made a name for himself shooting behind the scenes footage for films like The Drama and Spider-Man Brand New Day. I wanted to speak to him to learn all about shooting behind the scenes on a modern movie set, and on film. This conversation involves some fairly hard-core cameras of the stills and moving picture variety and an impromptu fit check so you might want to watch this one on YouTube.
Mentioned in this episode
People
Zendaya — connected AP to The Drama and later to Spider-Man: Brand New Day · Wikipedia
Law Roach — celebrity stylist AP worked with on the Bringing It Forward series, including a Tommy Hilfiger campaign · Wikipedia
Tom Holland — star of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, who told AP he loved the sound of his camera on set · Wikipedia
Sadie Sink — mentioned as the subject of new images AP is preparing to release · Wikipedia
Destin Daniel Cretton — director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, credited by AP for giving him access on set · Wikipedia
Greg Williams — behind-the-scenes photographer known for his work on the James Bond films, cited for a Matt Damon film image printed in Hollywood Authentic · gregwilliams.com
Films and projects
Spider-Man: Brand New Day — the film AP shot special unit stills for; his medium-format and Bolex images from set are the reason Iain invited him on · Wikipedia
The Drama — A24 film starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, directed by Kristoffer Borgli, that first connected AP to feature productions · Wikipedia
Sugar Honey Iced Tea — AP's own feature film in development, about gentrification in Brooklyn, which he now plans to shoot on film
Bringing It Forward — AP's editorial series with Law Roach, including the Tommy Hilfiger campaign that helped lead to his film work
Gear and tools
Mamiya RB67 — AP's favourite stills camera, prized for its square format · Wikipedia
Bolex H16 — his hand-cranked 16mm film camera, used to steal moments between takes on set · Wikipedia
Fujifilm GFX 100 — his discreet, medium-format digital go-to for campaigns and editorials · fujifilm-x.com
Leica M11 — his everyday carry camera, paired with a Zeiss 35mm lens · leica-camera.com
Leica R9 with digital back — a film-era body converted to a 10-megapixel digital camera, which AP recently discovered · Wikipedia
ARRI 416 — the Super-16 camera AP calls his "graduation" from the Bolex, used briefly on the Spider-Man set · Wikipedia
Alexa LF — the large-format digital cinema camera at the top of AP's wish list · arri.com
Canon IXUS 75 — his low-key point-and-shoot for staying discreet on set · Wikipedia
Companies and institutions
Equator Studio — AP's creative studio and full-service production company · equator.studio
Rapid Eye Dark Rooms — the London film lab AP trusts for colour development and scanning · rapideye.uk.com
Kodak London — Kodak's UK film processing lab, credited for fast, high-quality 16mm and 8mm turnaround
Panavision — camera rental house that supplied and serviced AP's cameras on set
Hollywood Authentic — the large-format film photography magazine that printed Greg Williams' Matt Damon image · hollywoodauthentic.com
Music
"Interrogation (Skit)" by A$AP Rocky, from the album Don't Be Dumb — the source of the episode's title line · Wikipedia
Support the show on Patreon.
More about this show:
A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.