Richard Sharum On 600 Deaths And His New Book 'American Homicide', E132

In this week’s podcast episode you'll learn why the photographs you're most proud of are probably the ones hiding you, and what a documentary photographer who has stood at 600 deaths says it actually costs to make work that changes something.I sat down with Richard Sharum, the American documentary photographer behind Campesino Cuba, Spina Americana and the forthcoming American Homicide, all published by GOST Books, to talk about photography as an act of empathy, why he believes the photo industry has abandoned the general public, and what happened to him after a year embedded with 4 homicide squads and 8 prisons. We go from his childhood in a mixed-race, low-income Texas neighbourhood to the night police framed him at 16, the week in a children's cancer ward that raised over $1,000,000, the Magnum editor who threw out 45 of his 50 best Cuba photographs, and the depression that stopped him shooting for a while. Richard is direct about team mirror versus team window, about why he refuses to go to Paris Photo, and about the sacrifice he tells every student to expect before they pick up a camera for documentary work.Other things we discussed:Why he says photography was invented too early in our evolutionHurricane Katrina, 7 months after everyone leftCancer as an equaliser: a $10,000,000 house next to a trailer parkObjectivity is a fallacy; photographing like jazzThe grocery store practice for connectionChildhood photos of victims and murderers in the same bookThe image is the receipt, not the experienceThe famous photographer who admitted lying for accessHow a documentary photographer actually earns moneyOf Thee I Sing: the American trilogy and American Avenue (2028)Find Richard on his website and Instagram: https://richardsharum.com/ https://www.instagram.com/richard_sharum/American Homicide Book:https://gostbooks.com/products/american-homicideMessage me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!Support the show_________________________________Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. Join The Community - extended episodes & bonus featureshttps://www.mattjacob.co/insidersThe App That Transformed My Art & Mindhttps://wakingup.sjv.io/c/7738181/3958771/54965Website:https://themoodpodcast.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay