I am living right now in a very poor and primitive country in Asia and being not look like a foreigner, I am afraid of taking my precious digital camera and taking photos. When I have done that in the past, some people ran after me asking for taking them a photo. Others have asked me, why do you take photo and where will you publish them. I mean it is a little difficult to take professional photos when you walk alone in a poor country with your costly SLR camera. Well, people do hate it when they are photographed, I mean people who live in a bad state, or who are overly suspicious. I guess I understand them, if this country is a third world country, poor and opressed, there must be a lot of tension around. Try not to photograph too many people, or at least, try not to seem like a spy, official, nosy reporter. If they do inquire about your photographs, just state that they are touristic photos, that you do not intend to publish them. But I suggest, stay out of trouble, besides, take care of your camera, you never know when it might get stolen. Sad, fate-stricken people can be pushed to desperate actions. Just tell the people that u don't speak their language Very, very, very easy, just take pictures of the good things, so people don't get mad at you, don't take pictures of people, I know it sucks but thats kinda the only way just don't take pictures of people I got caught twice, once in Iran and once in Swaziland.
Get a remote control and keep the camera in a brief case.
Better yet, get a spy camera and attach it to your glasses Can you take a family member with you to watch your back, and if you have any reaction from by passer maybe take a picture of them and let them see what is all about. Explain to them that you might take a good enough picture that could better the condition of y'all country. Hoping for you to be able to, one day to walk on your streets, and feel comfortable enough, to pull out your camera, and take pictures of anything you want. Stay safe, and God Bless. The late Robert Capa, when asked how he took such powerful photographs of people in every conceivable situation, replied: "You have to like people - and let them know it." Capa spent time getting to know his subjects. He showed them respect and earned their trust.
Read the biography of Dorothea Lange titled "A Photographer's Life" by Milton Meltzer. She was a master of poverty photography in the Great Depression years. Lange spent time getting to know her subjects. She showed them respect and earned their trust.
Read Gordon Parks' autobiography "Voices In the Mirror". Pay especial attention to Chapter 16 when he writes about Catacumba, a favela in Rio de Janeiro.
All three photographers got to know their subjects BEFORE taking their cameras out. Their subjects didn't feel exploited. Become friends with one family in the village. Buy them food or give them little gifts. Share their meals and their lives. People who know you and like you and know they can trust you will be excellent subjects. They will open doors to other worthy subjects. You seem to have three issues to deal with here, the physical security of your equipment, natural interest and perhaps opportunism, and a concern about exploitation.
If you are taking photographs where individuals can be readily identified, they have a right to say whether or not that image can be exploited for gain or reward by publication. I also believe it is fair for them to share in any potential future gain you make by asking for a payment if they provide a release for publication.
You might well be asked to photograph people in their usual surroundings. Some of this is just interest in an activity that the individuals cannot afford. Other times it might be a way of poor communities ensuring that information about the conditions in which they live is spread around the world. If you are going to publish your work, even just putting up photos for friends on the web, then letting the community contacts know you have done so is hardly a burden.
The opposite might also be true, and if you are photographing activity that might be shady or illegal, you might prompt a quite different reaction. Some care is needed!
The third issue is the physical security of your equipment. There is plenty of guidance on that around, but some simple measures might help. I wear a backpack, and put the camera in that until I think that I want to use it, and put it straight back. I don't advertise its brand by putting a strap emblazoned with the work Nikon, or have any other indication of its make that I can replace with a generic, such as generic lens caps. Where possible, I am in company, either with a guide or with other travelling companions. As a film user, I also have a variety of film bodies, including a couple of little range-finder cameras. They may not have all the facilities of my SLRs, but they are considerably less conspicuous. More importantly, while it might be a shame to have them stolen, they were not so expensive that it would be a real financial burden if they were. |
