On this episode of The PHYS Podcast, Tyson Martin welcomes back photographer and friend Ansley Stewart for a fascinating conversation about photography, history, memory, and the unexpected stories hidden inside a forgotten box of Kodachrome slides.

Based in Houston, Texas, Ansley has become known for photographing lonely landscapes, overlooked places, and environments that seem suspended between past and present. His work is rooted in curiosity, observation, and a desire to uncover beauty in locations often ignored by the rest of the world.

But this conversation takes a different turn.

What began as a routine visit to an estate sale became an extraordinary journey into the past when Ansley discovered a box of Kodachrome slides containing decades of family history, community events, personal milestones, and forgotten moments frozen in time.

Rather than simply collecting the slides, Ansley committed himself to preserving them.

Using a Leica M11 paired with an adapted macro lens, he and his wife began the painstaking process of digitizing thousands of images, researching locations, identifying individuals, and piecing together the stories hidden within the collection.

What they uncovered was remarkable.

The photographs revealed connections to significant moments in Texas history, including images of a woman later inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame, family gatherings spanning generations, Baylor University basketball teams competing during the late 1940s, rare photographs documenting the construction of a Baylor football stadium, and countless glimpses into everyday American life.

The collection also led them into darker chapters of history, uncovering connections to events associated with serial killer Dean Corll, further demonstrating how photography can preserve both the beauty and complexity of the past.

At the center of the project is a simple but powerful mission: to identify the family connected to these photographs and return their visual history to them.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Ansley Stewart's continuing journey as a photographer documenting forgotten places
• The incredible discovery of a lost Kodachrome slide collection at an estate sale
• How he uses a Leica M11 and adapted macro lens to digitize historic slides
• The process of researching photographs and uncovering hidden stories
• Connections to Baylor University, Texas history, and community life across generations
• Why preserving family photographs matters in the digital age
• The role photography plays in protecting cultural and personal history
• The emotional impact of reconnecting lost memories with living families
• How a single box of slides became a mission to preserve a legacy

This episode is a captivating exploration of photography's role as both art and historical preservation.

Ansley's project reminds us that photographs are more than images. They are pieces of history, fragments of memory, and visual records of lives that might otherwise be forgotten. Every slide contains a story, and every story deserves the chance to be remembered.

Whether you're a photographer, historian, archivist, genealogist, Leica enthusiast, or someone passionate about preserving family history, this conversation offers valuable insight into the power of photography to connect generations across time.

Sometimes the most important photographs aren't the ones we create today—they're the ones we rescue from being lost forever.

Visit Ansley Stewart:
Instagram: @ansleythestewart
Threads: @ansleythestewart
Website: www.ansleystewart.com