Here’s a project that a good friend of mine is working on called Last Letter. It’s some of the more inspiring work I’ve seen in a while. And not only visually. The point is basically to encourage people, particularly Christians, to consider if they are really living for a cause bigger than themselves- and if so, are they willing to die for it? Were are all (hopefully) passionate about something that we know we were put here on earth to do. But are we really willing to live for that cause…much less- are we willing to die for it? Check this video and give it some thought. Then visit their nicely designed website here which includes lots of shorter breakout videos as well.
Here is a GREAT article in the New York Times about how the enormously fashionable relief organization charity: water was started. Scott Harrison was quite simply a missionary photojournalist for Mercy Ships who had a spiritual awakening. I LOVE this story because it clearly establishes the direct connection between visual storytelling and the ability to tangibly help others overseas. This was just one guy with a camera and a serious vision from God. I know of other organizations that were started in exactly this same way, but Scott’s story clearly points out the power we have as concerned photographers to truly make a difference with our passion and our skills. Of course, in the case of charity: water it also points to an appropriate utilization of Web 2.0 marketing techniques- another topic that should interest all of us considerably.
As humanitarian photographers; socially concerned, Christian, or otherwise, we have an enormously powerful set of skills and tools at our disposal. Of course, as David DuChemin frequently reminds us, “gear is good, vision is better”. Therefore we must constantly dig in to discover what we want to say visually, what we want to do with these skills that we’ve been blessed with- then design our plan for making it happen.
Just found this inspiring short-film teaser about clean water for a village in Ethiopia. Amazing visuals. Filled with hope. Shot with a Nikon D90, from the guys at Upstream Visual:
For some serious inspiration head over to the website of Joey L.. Navigate to Personal > Abyssinia, & also check out his Holy Men gallery. This is some of the best field portraiture I’ve ever seen.
Over on his blog he discusses his approach in taking these pictures. He calls them “dignified portraits”. In quotes here:
“I define the way I photograph people as a “dignified portrait,” and certainly used this style in Ethiopia. I feel in order to present something about someone in a photograph, it must be done very carefully and with great respect. I feel the advent of point and shoot cameras and the ease of sharing photography every where in the world (even though I admit this is how I got started and how I survive) can limit ones view of how important an image really can be. The tools and methods I use are not as important as the mindset, but I feel they do well in getting my direction across in presenting the subject.
Most of my images are contrived and posed. I think it is wrong to assume this direction as less realistic than a photojournalistic approach. I believe that ‘purist photojournalism’ is a very strong form of communication, and has its place in the world, but it is not my calling. Every single image not captured by an eye undergoes some kind of process, be it light reacting to the film which renders color and tonality or a digital signal being reassembled and compressed. If you take snapshots wishing them to not look contrived, then they are contrived to be snapshots. Every single image ever taken is contrived in some way or another. No process is purer than another, and no color is a truer color. (I have never seen the world in black and white either. )”
- by Joey L.
By the way- this photographer is only 20 years old, and most of his work is in commercial & advertising.
