Episode 109: Amy Toensing & Matt Moyer (Documentary Film)

Amy Toensing began her professional career in 1994 as a staff photographer at her New Hampshire hometown paper, The Valley News. She then worked for the New York Times Washington D.C. bureau covering the White House and Capitol Hill during the Clinton administration. In 1998, Toensing left D.C. to obtain her Master’s Degree from Ohio University, School of Visual Communication. A regular contributor to National Geographic magazine for over twenty years, Toensing has photographed and reported on cultures and topics around the world. Toensing teaches photography to kids and young adults in underserved communities, including Burmese refugees in Baltimore, young photojournalists in Pakistan and Syrian refugee children in Jordan as well as to photojournalism majors at Syracuse University.

Matt Moyer is a photojournalist and filmmaker who focuses on social and cultural issues. Moyer has photographed multiple feature stories for National Geographic magazine and is currently a National Geographic Explorer. His assignments have taken him from the war zones of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the DRC to the holy sites of Egypt, and the ranching communities of the Western United States. Moyer has worked on assignments for New York Times,The Washington Post, The Independent, The Guardian, and National Geographic Traveler. Moyer’s short documentaries have been featured by National Geographic Society, Vision Workshops, and the PBS Newshour online.

Amy and Matt are also a married couple who just released a documentary film called Inheritance, which is playing at the DC/DOX festival at Landmark E Street theater in Washington, DC 0n June 15th. The film follows a family in Pomeroy, Ohio who deal with the legacy of drug addiction. We are taking a deep dive into the film this week. How does a photographer’s eye influence a film? Some of the nuts and bolts of the process of long-term documentary projects (11 years!) and how to work within a family/community as a respectful documentarian. Amy and Matt share some of their amazing experiences during this long project.

Previous Episode: Andre Chung      Next Episode: Jessica Gallagher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe on your preferred platform! Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pandora | Podchaser | TuneIn | Deezer | Anghami | Youtube Music | RSS