Matt Powell Humanitarian Photography :: Blog

Just out the back door…

This was my first visit to Bangladesh.  I stayed at a mission hospital documenting the work of missionary doctors and the need for more volunteers.  Hospitals are always challenging- not because of poor lighting.  I have a lot of pictures from this trip that I want to share, so I’ll break them up into a few different posts.  Here’s the first…People.

Here’s my answers to some interview questions I was recently asked for a friend’s project on social networking and it’s effect on the creative professional.

For professional purposes I use Twitter and I do some blogging. I use Vimeo to post & share my production work.  I’m also an avid RSS reader.  I only use Facebook for personal purposes.  (I’ve got to have fun somehow!)  However,  at one point I did use Facebook advertising for a local publication that I helped to start up-  in the short time that we used it, it drove more traffic to our website than any other source- it was a highly effective form of advertising our publication’s website.

I think Twitter can be a great way to stay connected to clients & keep your brand in front of them.  Of course that’s only if your “clients” are following you.  But regardless, whatever new work you are involved with- you can instantly broadcast that to your community of followers.  And I’ve found that good tweets spread virally- making it an effective way to extend your network & get your work viewed.   Most importantly for me it’s a great tool for building a social network of like-minded people and for staying involved in the life & work of other creatives who inspire me.

Humanitarian photography is my true passion - perhaps more a labor of love than a “business” at this point.  And I use my blog primarily to communicate to other photographers and individuals interested in humanitarian work- rather than for communicating with “clients”.   I expect this to change as my career & goals evolve, but as of now my blog is just as important as my portfolio, maybe more so.  Of course I want my portfolio to be seen, but perhaps more importantly I want to communicate my creative process and what I’m thinking and experiencing- as well as show my new work from each assignment.
My wedding photography blog is simply a way to post recent work- I personally like the blog format better than a portfolio gallery, so I tend to update it more often.  But weddings are very part-time for me, I’m far from an expert on that.

I’d have to say blogging, then I’d say Twitter.  For my video work- Vimeo is an absolute must.

Definitely.  It cannot replace local communities, but it means that I, living in a very small town, can at least have some communication with other like-minded creatives- as opposed to having almost none.  Basically everyone I’m connected to on Twitter are people whom I never would have connected with in any other way.  It’s a professional tool for me.

It’s just one more thing that ties us to our computers- or our iPhones- but it’s just a trade off from the traditional marketing techniques of the past.  It’s still marketing- it’s just happens more (& differently) now.

As for my humanitarian photography, my strategy is first to invest the proper time and money needed to develop a good quality website that will do adequate justice to my body of work. Then I also invest the time needed to maintain a blog at least semi-regularly.  I take the time to consider the goals and readership of my blog and try to generate appropriate content.  I’ve done some writing & public speaking too.   I think it helps to do something in addition to photography to set yourself apart- whether that’s design, filmmaking or writing.  It also helps that I am part of a relatively small niche of photographers to start with.  It’s a pretty small pond in other words, which should point to the importance of defining your style & your market.

8. What future do you see in social networking?

It is the future of communication.  I think all electronic communication is going this direction.

For further reading, here’s a few articles I’ve come across lately on the topic:

The Stockland Martel Blog

The Travel Photographer

Problogger.com

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.

Last Letter Documentary from Last Letter on Vimeo.

I just returned from a quick trip to China.  It was my first time there & I found it impressive in terms of its’ urbanism and sheer mass of humanity.  This trip was all business for me with little time for personal shooting.  So I utilized my new iPhone camera to the max.  I did this partly out of necessity, simply because most of what I saw was through a passing car window, but I also took this as a creative challenge.

As they say, “the best camera is the one that’s with you”, and this practice made me appreciate that truth more than ever….of course it also gave me a greater appreciation for a Canon 5D and a 50mm 1.2 …and that’s got to be worth something.  Here’s a few of my iPhone favorites followed by some of what I learned…

Some friendly people in the Market.

I had the chance to interface with people in a way that I often do not when carrying my SLR.  I got an overwhelming sense of awe at the 1-billion-plus unique personalities in China- let alone in the entire world.  Not a one of them the same- just amazing!

This practice forced me to focus on “seeing” a good picture.  Even if I couldn’t fully capture it with the camera in my hand, I actually “thought” about it, when normally I would just start shooting.

My friend Bill had his camera, so I was able to explain to him how I would shoot a scene.  How often do I attempt to articulate that?  Rarely.

With so little technical control, I was forced to consider what subjects I am drawn to photographing and why.

Walking through an Asian market at dusk with nothing but a cell phone camera made me strangely feel naked.  I kept looking around and thinking, “If I only had my camera!”  So what drives this compulsion to experience a foreign place through a camera lens?  I’m not sure, but it definitely feels healthy to do so without one occasionally.

Strictly Business... that's me.

Some travel shots from Timbuktu that didn’t make the portfolio cut.  It was such an amazing location, I just have to post more pictures.

A big thanks to my colleague Paul Sherar for doing the HDR work on this image.

As someone who shoots weddings on the side, I’ve started to believe that really good wedding photographers are some of the best shooters on the planet.  Now here’s a project that just might prove me correct.   14 wedding photographers on assignment in Tanzania to document the relief projects of Thirst Relief.  I’m excited to see the images that come from this.  You can follow their blog here. Looks like they will also be doing a bridal fashion shoot on location, with images to be published in the Spring 2010 edition of Grace Ormonde|Wedding Style Magazine.  What an innovative way to obtain high quality images and further a good cause!

Evidently Thirst Relief’s founder & president Jim Hicks is a wedding photographer himself, visit his website here.