[March 5, 2010] Welcome to 10.Q series. This section features interviews to humanitarian photographers, their work and photography for non-profit organizations.
This week 10.Q features Matt Brandon from The Digital Trekker a Malaysia based humanitarian and world/travel photographer.

1. Tell us about you and your photography. What kinds of shooting have you done? Have you worked for any humanitarian organizations/magazines etc.? Could you name any current or former clients?

Thank you Heber for this opportunity. My photography is mostly people and culture oriented. I’ve toyed with different names to describe it like, ethno-photography, or cultural photography or even world photography. But when it all comes down to it, I’m basically a travel photographer that focuses on humanitarian issues and my clients tend to be humanitarian organizations or NGOs. I have shot for magazines and commercial clients, though, that is not my source of bread-and-butter. In fact quite frankly it’s difficult to get enough butter for my bread these days. I also like to teach, and as a result I do two or three workshops a year and that helps pay the bills.

My images tend to focus on people and their environment. I like to break down stereotypes. One of the biggest things that I’ve seen living abroad is, most cultures, if not all cultures tend to be ethnocentric. We view the world through our own rose-colored glasses. One of my goals is to help break down those barriers and stereotypes so people can see other people for who they really are, not who we think they are, or who we are told they are.

© Matt Brandon | www.thedigitaltrekker.com

2. We all know that you don’t get into humanitarian photography to become rich, so what does humanitarian photography mean to you? What’s your vision for it?

I guess I’ve answered this question above. I love working with humanitarian organizations because they share many of the same values that I have. They have compassion and respect for people that want to help. This is something I’d like to be able to do with my images, as well as aid these organizations in telling their story so they can be more effective in their work. If you can’t tell your story then you can’t raise money. If you can’t raise money, then you can’t run a business and help people.

3. How did you get into humanitarian photography? Where did you get the idea to shoot these kinds of people and groups?

I didn’t really, “get into” humanitarian photography. It’s sort of developed up around me. I was already living in India running tours and treks and was already taking the kind of photos that a lot of these organizations need. People saw them on the net or on forums. Soon organizations started contacting me and asking me to shoot for them. The problem was, much of those requests were for pro-bono work. Even today I get more requests for pro-bono than anything else.

4. What are the challenges of shooting for NGO’s or non- profit organizations?

I think as I hinted to above, the biggest challenge is actually getting the client that is willing to pay. I feel that many, if not most NGOs or humanitarian organizations don’t understand the true value of an image. And as a result they don’t place a monetary value on the services that might deliver those images. When times get tough, as they are now, they cut budgets. Often the budget line item that might have photography in it is one of the first ones that gets axed. So the biggest challenge for me over the years has been finding ways to make these NGOs understand and appreciate the value of the image and the photographer.

Sort of a backdoor approach to fight this has been my ability to teach the NGO how to gain their own images via their own workers. It’s an approach that is much like their analogy of “you teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Versus giving him a fish and feeding him for the day.” The idea is to raise up their own workers to be able to help gain images that they can use to tell their stories. But what happens, is as a by-product, they learn the value of the image. Maybe even begin to see the need on occasion to spend the money and pay for the professional photographer.

Another challenge I have, related to this, is the new photographer working in or wanting to work in humanitarian photography. They often offer their services for free and end up damaging the marketplace for themselves and the rest of us in the long run.

© Matt Brandon | www.thedigitaltrekker.com

5. How much do you travel every year? How do you manage your family time?

Not a lot compared to many other photographers. Maybe 2 to 3 months out of the year total. It does affect my family and of course that’s not a good thing. One of the things I’ve been trying to do is to find ways to bring them along. When my daughter was young, we home-schooled and oftentimes my wife and daughter would come with me on assignments. These days my daughter is in school here in Penang and it makes traveling together more difficult. But in the summertime I still like to take my wife and daughter with me. Alou, my wife is a great aid in logistics and organization and can handle money well. Those are three areas that I’m not very gifted in and every photographer needs.

6. Who’s been an inspiration for your photography? How do you stay inspired?
Do you read blogs? If so, which ones would you recommend?

Influence versus inspiration. I think I’ve been influenced most by a several National Geographic photographers like Steve McCurry. My inspiration comes these days from my friends and colleagues. People like David duChemin, Gavin Gough, Ami Vitale and others. These are people that are both extremely talented and share my values. You can not look at their images and not be inspired.

As far as blogs go, I have a host that I look at but only a handful that I actually read daily. The pixelated images the first. David’s blog is like an online classroom extremely helpful. A humanitarian photographer, or any photographer for that matter, would be crazy not to put that on their main list of blogs to read. I read other blogs that are not photographic related blogs, like Seth Godin and Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen blog.

© Matt Brandon | www.thedigitaltrekker.com

7. How do you normally approach people from other cultures? What are your limits at the moment of shooting people in need, or in a complicated situation?

When I’m photographing people from other cultures I tried to be as respectful as I can. Often, though not always, I asked someone if I can take their photograph before I snapped the picture. If they say no, I continue walking. Very rarely however, do people actually refused to let you take their photograph. It takes a lot of guts to walk up to a complete stranger and ask them to let you take their photo. I get asked this question a lot, in fact I’ve written several blog posts about it. You can find them HERE and HERE as well as HERE.

© Matt Brandon | www.thedigitaltrekker.com

8. How do you promote your work?

I don’t do a lot of self-promotion outside of my blog, Facebook and Twitter. I have done some direct mail to NGOs and a few phone calls. But none of that seems to carry as much weight as recommendations from clients who are happy. I truly believe the effectiveness of social media is yet to be seen. I’m not sure the time spent on it , hourly wage, it would be worth it. But then I admit maybe I’m not doing it right or the most effective way.

9. Tell us about the last piece of gear that you deemed important enough to buy. How about the one that’s been most important in your career? (It can be a lens, camera, accessory, etc.)

Well, the 5D Mark II body has been one of the best investments I’ve made along the way. The images are amazing and the full frame of the camera gives you what you expect from the lens.

10. What would be your advice for a photographer who is just starting out in this field?

I think, the best advice I can give a new photographer in this field is develop perseverance and be aware of your motivation. Keep at it, as my Dad used to say, “Illegitimi non carborundum” or “Don’t let the bastards grind you down”. Times will get tough and you will want to quit. If you do, well, that is it. You will never know what could have been. This is a really tough business and it takes a lot of perseverance to survive. As you said, you’ll never be rich of this. So in your perseverance, look at what your motivation is. Is it fame? Is it monetary rewards? Or is it knowing that you’re helping people less fortunate than you? If it’s the latter, then perhaps you’ll see some success and in fact you might even obtain a small amount of fame and monetary award. But if it’s the others, then you wear down and eventually come to the point of saying,” I’ve had enough.”