This episode features an insightful conversation with Matt Lawrence, a dedicated wedding photographer in Surrey whose work is characterised by an authentic, unscripted approach to visual storytelling. The discussion delves into the philosophy of maintaining a documentary practice within the fast-paced environment of wedding and event photography, exploring how to capture genuine emotion without the need for forced posing or artificial interruption. Matt shares his perspective on the importance of building a connection with subjects and the quiet discipline required to blend into the atmosphere of a day, allowing the narrative to unfold naturally. The narrative arc moves from his early inspirations in classic film to the modern challenges of preserving a legacy through high-quality, long-form documentary projects.

aul and Dan return after a one-year hiatus to launch Season 2 of the Idle Hands Society. The conversation explores the shifting perspective that comes with milestone birthdays, the challenges of maintaining health as a creative, and the monumental task of editing a twenty-year photographic archive. They delve into the philosophy of sequencing a long-term body of work, the blending of documentary and street photography styles, and the evolving landscape of photographic institutions. The episode concludes with a look forward at Paul’s upcoming documentary project in Greece involving religious rituals and local folklore.

Dan, Paul, Ed Thompson catch up in an inpromtude episode of The Idle Hands Society Podcast. Sorry about the audio blowing out in a few spots; we recorded this gem unplanned using some very basic gear. As we’re getting into the slower months for our work, you’ll see us picking up the pace a little with the podcast.

We catch up after a little break to discuss the end of Dan’s first year at university, our collaborative project Adult Youth Club, the last art of maintaining friendships, and the Homeless World Cup.

Dan waxes lyrical about “LU cinnamon biscuits”, his new website, and his upcoming first exhibition at the Copeland Gallery. We discuss if it’s possible to make pictures about how we feel rather than what we see. Paul also discusses the imminent release of his first zine, Not so far.

Merry Christmas, Idle Handers! I hope you’re all having a good one. We hope you enjoy this episode of the Idle Hands Society Podcast. I’d love anybody reading this to take a moment to jump over to Instagram and leave us a comment on our latest post to let us know you read the show notes. The reason I’m asking is I spend a lot of time pulling all this together, I worry that I’m wasting my time researching and linking if no one is looking at them. Big love, Dan & Paul.

We have a chat about our future guest Alex Prior, we talk about Not So Far going to the printers, Tom Collins input into Paul’s new venture ‘Southerndown Press’, another moan about social media, the importance of personal work in effective marketing, Magnum Photos, Bieke Depoorter’s incredible collaboration with Agata.

Dan and Paul talk about Paul’s current project, Not So Far. Strap yourself in for a looser than usual chat. You can see the photographs he’s made for this project on his Instagram @paulbenceuk.