© 10.Q Interviews: Craig Ferguson

Welcome to 10.Q Interviews.This section usually features interviews to Humanitarian, Cultural & Travel Photographers, their work and photography.

This week in 10.Q Interviews, Craig Ferguson:
“One of the key aspects of life that we humans identify with is culture. We label people, places and events according to our ideas of what they are, ranging from the broader scale defined by tradition and place down to the small scale subcultures and tribes.
Craig Ferguson Images is consistently creating new visions in the field of cultural photography. From traditional festivals and customs to modern, urban subcultures, Craig Ferguson Images is in touch with the changing world. From our base in Taipei, Taiwan we are perfectly positioned at the crossroads of the ancient and the modern.” [More about Craig...]

© Craig Ferguson | Phetburi, Thailand Feb 2005

© Craig Ferguson | Taipei, Taiwan, June 2009

1. Tell us about you and your photography. How long have you been shooting? What kinds of shooting have you done? Can you name any current or former clients?

I’ve had a camera in my hand for most of my life. I remember the excitement as a young kid when my parents would buy me a new roll of film for the Kodak 110 camera I had. I moved up to a manual SLR in my teens and then progressed from there. So all in all, I’ve been shooting in some form or another for close to 30 years if you inlcude the Kodak 110 days.

Travel photography has always been a passion, probably because as a child, it was on vacation that I had most opportunities to use my camera. Over the years though, I’d shot a bit of everything, but travel and culture remains where my true desire lies. I’ve been making a concerted effort over the past year or so to direct more of my energies towards the travel and culture related field and lessen the amount of work I accept in other areas. I’ve stopped almost all self-promoting in areas that aren’t related to travel and culture, but still pay some of the bills with portrait work and event photography. The aim is to be solely in the travel / culture field within the next 1-2 years.

My work has appeared in Asian Geographic, Lonely Planet, Unearthing Asia and a number of inflight magazines. On the client side, I’ve covered events for London International Group, New Substance Media, Urban Nomad film festival, and I do some pro-bono work for the newly created Taiwan SPCA, an animal welfare organization that a friend is behind.

© Craig Ferguson | Guandu, Taiwan, May 2010

2. How did you get into Cultural/Travel photography? Where did you get your vision for it, and what are your dreams?

There’s a tradition of sorts in Australia that after graduating from university, you head over to the UK for a year or two to work and travel. I did more or less the same thing, but didn’t actually make it past Asia. Landing in the old Don Muang airport in Bangkok on my own and with no hotel booked was the best introduction to travel I could ask for. I naturally started photographing everything around me on a trip that lasted a year across Asia.

I’ve always had a fascination with travel and distant lands, and that first extended trip almost fifteen years ago gave me the bug that I still have, to the point where I’ve spent the last seven years actually living in Asia, on top of the almost three years (spread between 1997 and 2002) traveling in Asia.

I see all cultures as equally valid and wish to show that to the world. I don’t just focus on traditional cultures – to me, modern, urban subcultures are just as important particularly because they are often misunderstood or seen as just plain weird by a lot of people. Through my photography, I hope to be able to share that importance and validity with the wider world.

3. How do you see the Cultural/Travel photography industry today? Is it exciting to be a part of it? Since you started, have you seen any major changes in it?

Right now, the cultural / travel photography industry is going through a lot of changes which makes it a very exciting time to be a photographer. I’m the kind of person who likes to see change and evolution which is what it appears is going on in the industry today.

For photographers, diversity is the key to success. It’s not enough these days to just be able to make strong imagery. Instead, a number of related yet different skills need to be incorporated in order to thrive. Multimedia and video are becoming a lot more important and will continue to do so into the future.

© Craig Ferguson | Yamdrok Tso, Tibet, September 2001

4. What are the characteristics that a good cultural photographer needs to have? How is that different from other fields in photography?

Patience and respect are probably the most essential characteristics needed. Actually, the same characteristics that make someone a good human being would make someone a good cultural photographer. Awareness, honesty, openness, curiosity are all traits that are desirable in any walk of life.

I’m not really sure it is different from other fields of photography but it’s applied in different ways. For the travel / cultural photographer, you might spend hours, days or weeks in a place before you start documenting it. You need a certain amount of patience not to jump straight in, but when you do start taking photographs, you need to get it right because you may not have a chance to go back for a second chance. A lot of photography fields have a similar long preparation period – think of the landscape photographer waiting for the perfect weather conditions to get the shot, or wildlife photographer sitting in a blind waiting for a tiger.

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

Over the past couple of years I’ve cut back the travel a bit to focus more on the business and education side of things. That said, I’ve been an expat for over 7 years, so I’m living in the middle of a culture that I’m still learning about.

Business and marketing is not my strong point, so this has required a lot of learning on my part. After reading and speaking with consultant Selina Maitreya, I’ve basically taken her advice and used it to help focus myself as I go about building up a photo business based solely on travel and cultural related images. My wife and I discussed it before we got married, worked out an approximate timescale to aim for and are now well along the path, possibly even slightly ahead of where I expected to be. I have a couple of short trips hopefully planned to Hong Kong and Bangkok coming up, as well as a longer trip to Nepal early next year. If things keep going as they are, there’ll be a few more trips in 2011.

© Craig Ferguson | Fuxing, Taiwan, July 2008

© Craig Ferguson | Dajia, Taiwan, April 2008

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?

Galan Rowell and Steve McCurry were some of my earliest influences. I was in Malaysia earlier this year to attend one of Joe McNally’s workshops and had the good fortune to stumble across a Steve McCurry exhibition – I think it’s the first time I’ve had the chance to see his work outside of a book or magazine.

I really love the multimedia work that Matt Brandon has been doing lately. Seeing that inspired me to purchase a copy of Soundslides Plus and get into it myself, and I’m enjoying experimenting with it.

David duChemin’s books and blog were a key inspiration for my 2010 project to create a daily phototip.

Organizations such as Focus For Humanity and IGVP have been spurring me onwards recently as well.

I also find a lot of inspiration in music and some of the stories behind the success. I recently read a book that discussed at length Jimmy Page’s transition from session musician to putting together Led Zeppelin which I found very inspiring.

As for blogs, as well as the photographers above, I also look at Gavin Gough, Todd Owyoung, Chris Owyoung, Blackstar Rising (where I am a contributing writer) and I’ve lately started on Brian Hirschy’s blog.

© Craig Ferguson | Varanasi, India 1997

7. Who are the main clients for cultural photographers? Are magazines still a strong part of it? How is today’s economy affecting this industry?

For me, magazines are still essential. It’s obviously changing and editorial budgets are diminishing but I have a feeling that the introduction of the iPad and similar devices that are on the way will see a resurgence there. This is one area where multimedia ready cultural photographers will really be able to benefit.

I honestly don’t know how the economy affected the industry. Possibly because I’m in Asia and the financial crisis didn’t hit as hard here, or possibly because I’d planned to transition from generalist photography into more specialist area, so was fully prepared to have less money for awhile anyway.

8. Is social media/Internet important in promoting your work? If so, how? Is it over rated?
Due to this, have you been forced to change your branding or the way in which you do business?

Social media is essential but it’s only part of the story. The need for a multitude of promotion sources still exists, and I think those that achieve the most success are the ones best able to utilize a number of different avenues. I think there’s still a lot of value in the more traditional methods such as in-person showings of a print portfolio and direct mail.

My branding was changing regardless due to concentrating fully on the cultural travel side so it’s tough to say how much social media contributed and how much I’d have had to do anyway.

Twitter is a little different though. I value it more for the sense of community and inspiration it can provide photographers rather than as an avenue for promotion.

© Craig Ferguson | Danshui, Taiwan, June 2006

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?

The last piece of camera gear that I bought was a Lastolite Ezybox. I have received some pre-release flash triggers from a company to test since then but I got those for free.

The most important piece of gear is probably the multiple backup harddrives used for backing up RAW files. If I were to lose or break a camera or lens, I’d could replace it easy enough with a trip to the nearest camera store. I couldn’t however replace the images that I’ve already taken.

10. What would be your advice for a photographer who is just starting out in this field? What is the biggest obstacle you see facing new photographers who want to work on this type of photography?

Be persistent. Know that success doesn’t happen overnight and plan on at least 3-5 years until you can reach a level of comfort in your business. You don’t need to have the most expensive gear or even the newest. A plane ticket and enough money for 3 months living coupled with an entry level body and a 50mm lens will get you further than the latest pro-level body and no time or money to use it. The hardest thing is being able to keep going, especially when money is tight.

Social Media

Craig in Twitter: @cfimages

Craig in Photoshelter

Craig in Facebook

Craig in Flickr

© Craig Ferguson | Bodhgaya, India, December 2002