If You Still Question Your Photography, You Are Not Alone, So Does Matthew Genitempo (Part 1)
If You Still Question Your Photography, You Are Not Alone, So Does Matthew Genitempo (Part 1)  
Podcast: The MOOD Podcast
Published On: Thu Oct 01 2026
Description: THIS IS PART 1 OF A 2 PART CONVERSATION WITH MATTHEW GENITEMPO. I sat down with photographer Matthew Genitempo, the graphic designer turned photographer and publisher behind the photobooks Jasper, Mother of Dogs and Dogbreath.In part one we go deep into Jasper, the photobook he made largely in the forests of the Ozarks as his MFA thesis at the University of Hartford: the critique that told him to stay in one place, the Frank Stanford poems that shaped how he saw the landscape, the men who had cut themselves off from society, and how throwing out his shot lists and learning to shoot a slow large format camera fast changed his photography.If you're a photographer who keeps getting in your own way, your work feels scattered, or your most carefully planned pictures keep coming back flat, Matthew shows what can happen when you stop forcing it, dropping the idea of what your photography should be and trusting it to find its own way.Other things we discussed:Why the photographs that interest him most are the ones he doesn't remember takingMoving from graphic design into photographyWhat Fugazi taught him about doing things his own wayThe 5-minute critique that told him to keep goingThe story behind the mysterious animal photograph everyone asks aboutWhy he sees Jasper as fiction rather than documentaryMatthew's links: https://www.matthewgenitempo.com/https://trespasser.co/https://www.instagram.com/genitempo/Message 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