Episode 117 - Mattia Bidoli

About this episode

Mattia Bidoli, a photographer and magician, discusses his experiences in conflict zones and shares insights on photography and pizza.

Mattia Bidoli is photographer and magician who has worked in some of the most dangerous places on the planet. His photography from places experiencing conflict like Ukraine and Gaza are sadly in demand in 2026. I met him at the Raw Photo Festival in May and he was kind enough to talk to me while we were there and give me a copy of his book which I devoured on the journey home. He’s a wonderful human being, great photographer and has very strong opinions about pizza. Sign up to the Prime Lenses newsletter for a mid-week treat. 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.

People in this episode

Host: Iain Farrell

Guest: Mattia Bidoli

Topics covered

• photography
• conflict zones
• interviews
• art
• personal stories

Keywords

• photography
• magician
• conflict
• Ukraine
• Gaza
• Raw Photo Festival
• interview

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: his book

Places: Ukraine, Gaza

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• Episode 116 - Benj Haisch · May 31, 2026 · 58 min
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• Episode 115 - Lydia Winters · May 24, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Episode 114 - Johany Jutras · May 17, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Episode 113 - Cal Holland · May 10, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Episode 112 - Mark Mann · May 3, 2026 · 1h 12m