Over the last few years I've been honored by having a some University students studying Photojournalism from all different places ask me questions about my career. It feels weird because it doesn't seem like long ago I was a student. Recently a student from Nepal sent me the following questions and I finally got around to answering them. They are great questions and it was a fun experience for me reliving the last few years of my career while I tried to not be so boring with my answers.
Here is the Q & A:
Questions:
Q When did you start taking photographs, and when did you realize you were in it for the long run
A I started taking photographs when my family bought me a small digital Canon point and shoot camera. It was my first digital camera and I had a blast with it. People told me that my photos were interesting so I stayed with it. I realized I was in it for the long run when I took my first photojournalism class at San Francisco State University. It was by far my favorite class because it challenged me creatively something I hadn't experienced before.
Q How did you train in photography, where did you study?
A I studied under Ken Kobre at San Francisco State University but I left school early to learn on my own.
Q Is getting work as a photographer about talent, or is it the connections you have with editors and art directors?
A It's everything really. Ambition and persistence are the biggest aspects of getting work. You have stay with it, like any job you're going to go through a rough patch in the beginning especially as a freelancer. You have to market yourself and network. You have to understand what you like to shoot and who would be interested in what you shoot. Being realistic is important too. I met a few photographers when I was just starting my career who expected to go to these workshops and emerge with staff jobs for TIME or Newsweek. Those jobs don't really exist anymore, you have to understand the market and be patient.
Q When did the first acceptance or rejection of your work as a photojournalist take place? What was your reaction?
A My first acceptance in school started by getting the cover of our school magazine. It was lame but I was so excited to get the cover, like a little kid. My first acceptance as a full-time professional freelancer came on a gig I had for The New York Times. I was living in Vietnam and was asked to shoot a story with one of their staff writers in Malaysia. I worked my ass off on that shoot and it was my first ever gig for The New York Times. When I was in college that is exactly what i wanted to do, shoot for the Times. We got the cover, I was really proud and felt like the time before that struggling to get by living in a $82 a month apartment in Siem Reap had finally paid off. My first rejection was going to a workshop in Cambodia run by Gary Knight of VII. I showed up early on in my career knowing very little about what I wanted to do and how to do it. Gary was upfront with me and tore apart my work. It was hard to listen to because I thought I was doing a good job but I looked around and saw the other participants work and he was right. My work was boring and I needed to get better. I felt really out of place at that workshop and I told myself I never want to be in that position again. It really pushed me to improve and i changed my ways of thinking about photojournalism and decided to dedicate myself to be a documentary photography. I sold all my huge lenses and gear for one body and one prime lens, best move I ever made. 2 years after that workshop Gary helped sell one of my stories to Newsweek, that was a nice moment for me.
Q How did you end up working in Vietnam? What opportunities has this offered you as a photojournalist?
A After the workshop in Cambodia I spent 2 months backpacking in Vietnam and Cambodia. I fell in love with Hanoi and left school to come back here to start my career. It has taken a lot of time but I stayed through the hard times and made a name for myself here. Now I get some great assignments not just in Vietnam but all over the region. I've had the chance to work with some amazing writers and I've learned a lot from them, especially Seth Mydans from the NYT.
Q How difficult is it to be an international photojournalist?
A I love my work, so like Confucius says "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." It's hard to make a name for yourself and to get a steady influx of assignments. For most photographers these days you have to be able to shoot everything, portraits, weddings, products, etc. Magazine are dying everyday and times are different so we all have to find new ways to get paid to press the shutter. I'm shooting a lot more video than ever, but I dig it. The work itself isn't hard but getting paid to do can be.
Q How important is the ability to adapt to differences in climate, food, and languages?
A The first two aren't a problem, but languages I don't have a knack for. I'm studying Vietnamese but it's a slow process for me. It is extremely important to be able to communicate in any job and just knowing a little bit of the language has gone a long way in getting access to stories or finding directions to my assignment. I often hire a fixer on larger assignments.
Q When you’re on assignment, do you go in blind or with a plan – a set of ideas and frames to take photographs with? When shooting a feature what would be your typical equipment of choice? What cameras, lenses and any other vital gear do you choose and why?
A I like to keep it as simple as possible. Small bag, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon L-Series 35mm 1.4, and a Canon L Series 135 f2. I have more lenses for commercial assignments but that is my favorite set up for editorial assignments. I bring a Canon 5D as a back up but I don't often shoot with 2 bodies at one time. As for going into an assignment I typically try to get as much information as possible beforehand but these days with less and less communication between writers, editors, and photographers I'm often given the bare minimum for details. You have to be able to make good pictures in any environment so I like the challenge.
Q Have there been circumstances when your presence as a photographer affected what had happened?Most definitely and it was the the point in my career I realized the power of photography.
A I was photographing TB patients in a hospital in Cambodia. I was working with Doctors without Borders. After my first 2 days i emailed the doctor in charge of the Chronic Disease Center some pictures of this man who was withering away. He called me for a meeting the next day to ask about this man. The TB patient was in a different part of the hospital not affiliated with his organization so he wasn't aware of this man. He sent a nurse over with me to get the man checked out. She was amazing and cut through all the red tape that exists like a razor. It turned out he was HIV positive and wasn't being treated for it. She got him on HIV meds right away and his health steadily improved. The nurse told me that he was surely going to die if he hadnt received treatment when he did and that the pictures struck the doctor's attention and made him act. I just took the picture , the doctors are the ones who saved the man's life but it was amazing to me to see how a photo could force a person to act.
Q Editing and doctoring of pictures has become quite a concern in photojournalism and in documentary work today. What are your views one this? Where do you draw the line?
A I strive not to change reality in photoshop, just to touch up my image. I tone my photos using a variety of tools in PS but it's different for every situation. The New York Times i just do some color corrections and some minor adjustment with levels where as my personal work I might do a little more. It's a touchy subject in many journalism circles.
Q You’ve worked a lot with challenged children – Legacy of Horror, Nu – a Child in Isolation. How did you get interested in these stories?
A I was looking at a book in Borders books store in San Francisco by Magnum photographer Phillip Jones Griffith on children who were victims of agent orange. His book was so powerful and the images made me weep, i was a bit embarrassed at the bookstore. I wanted to do that kind of work and help in my own way so i pursued similar stories and in fact even the same story. It's often more of selfish reasons I go after a story, i want to explore things I'm interested in. Also children are so fun to document, they are so natural after just a little bit of time.
Q How does shooting such stories affect you personally?
A Hard, very hard at times. Not sure how to explain it but I go through cycles every time i shoot of feeling good about what i'm doing to questioning myself and if I am actually doing any good. Nu's story is very important to me and I'm still at a loss on how to help her and improve her way of life.
Q Have you ever felt uncomfortable taking photographs of any of your subjects or of an event – for example while photographing a caged child – the first photograph in “Legacy of Horror”?
A Yeah I've felt really bad many times. Especially photographing children sometimes you have to ignore them or not interact so much in order to get natural photos but it goes against my nature. I want to play with the kids and be goofy. I also photographed a man dying of AIDS in Cambodia while his family was there. It just felt wrong and i left but their faces still sort of haunt me.
Q During sudden emergency situations – for example, a road accident with a lot of people injured – would you reach out to help, or would you reach for your camera first?
A Reach out and help if I am the first one there 100%. I don't shoot a lot of spot news and I'm not a wire photographer or newspaper photographer so it don't have to get that shot.
Q What has been the worst personal experience you have had as a journalist?
A Probably the story I mentioned above about photographing that man dying in the hospital with his family there, not probably it was my worst experience.
Q Do you feel good about the state of photojournalism right now?
A No, I feel it's in a horrible state. No budgets means not enough time to put into what it takes to get a good story, a true story. I feel good about more and more young photographers emerging and doing amazing work but it's sad most won't get paid what they deserve for it. Collectives are popping up all over the place and they are a healthy way for photographers to bond with each other and to push each other. We started up one earlier this year called Razon Collective. We need a bailout just as much as any other industry in the US, journalists keep those in power honest, or at least more honest they they would be if we weren't around.
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