In this episode of Eyeshot 50mm, Meryl Meisler revisits the roots of a photographic practice shaped by curiosity, resilience, and lived experience. Raised and influenced early on by family photography, Meisler speaks about discovering photography as a languageโone that felt intuitive long before it was fully articulated.
Whether photographing nightlife in 1970sโ80s New York, suburban family gatherings, or the streets of Bushwick, her work resists strict labels, moving fluidly between street, documentary, and personal archive. Central to her practice is editingโrecognizing that surprise and meaning often emerge later, while revisiting contact sheets and negatives. The conversation also touches on identity, humor, and joy as forms of resistance, as well as the ethical balance between presence, permission, and empathy. Itโs a thoughtful reflection on photography as memory, performance, and care.
ABOUT EYESHOT 50MM
An Eyeshot conversation series
Eyeshot 50mm is a long-form conversation series with photographers working across street and documentary photography. Each episode is recorded in dialogue with a guest, expanding on the questions that move their practice. The series is part of the editorial work of the Eyeshot team in Italy.
Eyeshot 50mm #69 | Best of Q3: Five Photographers on Where Their Books Began
Paul Trevor, Richard Bram, Alex Kornhuber, Ximena Echagรผe and Ian Teh return in their own words, on failure, ethics, the street as a stage and the books their work became.
Eyeshot 50mm #68 | David Alan Harvey: Street Photography Inside the Home
Why he stopped waiting on the corner, what it took to be let into a family’s apartment in Norfolk, and the telegram from National Geographic he ended up agreeing with.
Eyeshot 50mm #67 | Gary Knight: Nobody Wins a War
Forty years inside conflict, a rule he still repeats about not trusting what you see too much, and the reason he no longer thinks he should be the one telling those stories.
Eyeshot 50mm #66 | Max Sturgeon: How Flash Changed His Street Photography
American photographer Max Sturgeon, winner of the Eyeshot Open Call in the series category, on breaking the rule that says nobody should look at the camera, on the flash he swore he would never use, and on why a book is not made only of its strongest images.
Eyeshot 50mm #65 | Shin Noguchi: The Shutter as a Greeting
Japanese street photographer Shin Noguchi, juror of the Eyeshot Open Call 2026, on why pressing the shutter is closer to a greeting than to a capture, why he never photographs from hiding, and why coming closer sometimes means having the courage to step back.
Eyeshot 50mm #64 | Lorenzo Catena: Treat Your Photos Like Gold
Roman street photographer and former architect Lorenzo Catena on reading the street in thresholds, the making of Mareterno along the sea of Rome, and why authenticity will outlive the algorithm.
Eyeshot 50mm #63 | Bill Shapiro: On the Other Side of the Submission
Former Editor-in-Chief of LIFE and juror of the Eyeshot Open Call 2026, Bill Shapiro on what a juror actually sees, why a photograph should never need four paragraphs to explain itself, and what has mattered more than talent.
Eyeshot 50mm #62 | Ian Teh: Photographing the Price of Chinaโs Progress
British Malaysian photographer Ian Teh on two decades documenting Chinaโs transformation, the workers behind its staggering scale, and Undercurrents โ Reframed, his new limited edition with Eyeshot.