Whatchallengesdo female
photographersface that perhaps male
photographersdon’t?
Therearemanychallenges, and all of those
challengescanbeovercome. It’s almost like
asecretweapon.When you’re a woman, you
arenotthreatening. You get so much better
accesstosituations because women tend to
bedismissed,andwe are invisible.
Beingawoman,the way we see the world
isdefinitelydifferent. I love injecting my work
withafemininepoint of view. When I started
mycareerasaphotographer, there were
veryfewrolemodels to look up to. That’s
changed.IfIcaninspire more women to pick
upacameraandshare the world in a gentler,
moreemotionalway, then I think the world
willbeabetterplace.
You mentor young female photographers.
What do they need to be aware of?
Society and our own parents are still raising
girls with the mentality that certain things
are not for women – that it’s dangerous, it’s
too difficult, it’s not feminine so don’t do
it. My message to young women who want
to do the kind of work I do is you have to
conquer your fears and silence the voices in
your own head telling you that you can’t do
it. Ami Vitale, who’s a friend, was certainly
an example of someone who was super-
introverted, then she picked up a camera and
went to a war zone. It’s unbelievable.
For me, the journey was very different.
When I follow Paul into the water and it’s
full of sharks, or seas are dark, scary and
cold, I have to ask myself, “Do I want to stayon the boat or do I want to be part of this
adventure?” I know the only way the photos I
want to make are going to get made is if I’m
willing to be in that uncomfortable moment.With climate change, fires in the Amazon
and destruction in the oceans, the world
can look bleak at times. Are you still
optimistic for the future?
Some days are better than others... It’s
getting scary out there. But I’m an optimist
by nature. We need to see those millions of
young people who followed Greta Thunberg
into the streets. We need to give them more
political power. We need a global movement
of people who are empowered, engaged
and angry about the way our planet is being
devastated. I am hopeful.INTERVIEW