OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019126
THESIMPLEPLEASUREOFGETTINGTOKNOWPEOPLE
The caretakerat ChimiLhakhang(Templeof the DivineMadman),
in Punakha,Bhutan.A traditionaldancerperformsin Kerala,South
India.This man is playingthe violinto keepthe evil spiritsaway
from the Cusárare Mission in Copper Canyon, Mexico.DEDICATETIME
Time is an essential ingredient in photography.Of course,
thereareexceptions.Creatinganimagewithdepthoftenmeans
forminga connectiontoa subject.I previouslyworkedonanas-
signmentwiththeJu|’hoansitribeof theSanpeoplein Botswana’s
MakgadikgadiPans,whowerekeentotalkabouttheirtraditions,
changing waysof life,and theimpact ofdiamondmining and
wildlifetourism.Wespenta daytogethertalking,usuallywiththe
camerasittingontheground.
Intheremotehillsinthenorthof Thailand,I metwithvarious
hilltribes,includingtheRedLahu,stayingintheirhomes,meet-
ingtheirfamilies,findingouthowlifeinthisregionwaschang-
ing.Therewasplentyoftimetotalk.Wesharedwhisky,aswellas
ideas,stories,anddetailsaboutourlives.Spendinghoursordays
withpeopleyou’rephotographingmeansyou’reabletolearna lot
more,ratherthanjusthurriedlydashingoffshotswithoutanyreal
insight.
I usuallyworkbyexplainingmyreasonforbeingthere,and
first off ascertain if people are comfortable withbeing photo-
graphed.Then,theobjectis to try tobecome invisible,partof
thescenery.Withthisapproach,it is easierto get natural shots of
peopleastheygoabouttheirdailylives.PHOTOGRAPHYWITHPURPOSE
PerhapsbecauseI’veneverparticularlylikedhavingmypho-
totaken,I’malwayssensitivetohowa personmightfeelinmy
spotlight.Butit’ssurprisedmeovertheyearshowaccommodat-
ingpeoplecanbeif youtreatthemlikea person,interactingina
genuinewayinsteadofjustshovinga cameraintheirface.
Manypeopleareoftenquitekeentohavetheirstoriestold.I’ve
coveredsubjectsrangingfromhumantraffickingtoforcedevic-
tionstowildlifeconservation,andpeopleappreciatetheexposure.
Afewyearsago,I travelledintothePeruvianAmazontomeet
theAsháninkatribewhowerefightingtosavetheirland,faced
withplansfora majorhydroelectricdamthatwouldhaveflooded
750 squarekilometresofforest.Communicatingviaa translator,
wesharedfoodanda pink,fermentedyucca-baseddrink,talking
abouttheirlives,families,andtiestotheforest.It wasessential
toestablisha relationshipwiththeAsháninka,andtheresultwas
imagesthat communicatedsomethingpersonalabout thetribe
andwhattheystoodtolose.
InElSalvador,I photographeda mancalledWilburCastillo,
who’dbeena childsoldierinthecountry’sCivilWartwodecades
priorandhadstruggledwithlifesincethen.After spendingan
hourorsotalkingandtakinghispictureoutsidethevillagehall,he
thankedme.Hetoldmenoonehadeveraskedhimanyquestions
abouthislifeorexperiencesbefore.
Thosekindsofstories,forgottenorignoredbytheworld,are
oftenthemostsatisfyingtoworkon.Beyondsimplytakingpic-
tures,gettingtoknowpeople is one of the great pleasures of being
a travelphotographer.BREAKDOWNBARRIERS
Lastyear,I leda photographytourtoAlbania.Inthecityof
Gjirokastër,clientsweresettotask:toproducea seriesofphoto-
graphs of a local person. They were given technical advice ontak-