I don't know the photographer Dale Neill, but I read his interview on an Australian website and most of his quotes are just spot on. Here's a couple that I wholeheartedly agree with:
"I have some grimacing stories of people who've spent 20 or 30 thousand dollars on their holiday, $10,000 on their camera and come back with a big, fat zero." and also this one, "The essential ingredient is, you have to befriend your subject."
The first quote reminds me of a photograph I've seen in the Times of London some years ago of a large gaggle of American (according to its caption) tourists clustered together, aiming their expensive digital cameras at a hapless solitary camel trader in Pushkar. A rather frightening spectacle from the camel trader's viewpoint, especially taking into consideration the number of gigantic telephoto zooms aimed straight at him.
The second quote also reminds me of this photograph, since it was quite clear from the tourists' body languages and the camel trader's facial expression that there was no relationship...no connection between the two...it was more of the "hey, here's a camel trader...let's photograph!"...the camel trader was the quarry, the prey, the "shot".
Perhaps basic, but the suggestions made by Dale are worth remembering when we're out in the field, photographing people of a different culture. On my solo photo travels, I always engage my subjects before and after I photograph them...well, maybe not always as in 100% of the time, but certainly 95%. The remaining 5% are either too far, busy doing something more important than talking to me, or I'm in the midst of a crowd, etc. When leading my photo expeditions to India and South East Asia, I noticed that most of the participating members generally make the effort of 'connecting' with whoever they photograph...but a few don't or can't. Invariably, those who do connect have much better photographs...realte better to these photographs...and also have better memories.
Here's the whole article (Courtesy Imaging Insider).
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