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Travel and humanitarian photography has rearranged my thinking on poverty and pain. I have slowly realized that when working with people in hard situations, we pity. And honestly, pity doesn’t help anyone. Pity distorts the way we reach out, and devalues those receiving it. When we pick up our camera while seeking to help raise awareness, whether a professional photographer or just simply an iPhone aficionado, I have a passion to see us rethink how we do it. Click magazine published an article I wrote on this topic, and I wanted to share an excerpt:
“There is no red-eye treatment that exists that could possibly ease the sting or erase the wounds on her face. Yet there she played. And there I stood in a courtyard in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, camera strapped to me. Her tiny eyes were still red from broken blood vessels, and a freshly stitched up gash was still visible on her head. She still bore bruises and marks – sustained after having been rescued from the horrors of human trafficking less two weeks earlier – as she beckoned me to play with her at the safe house I was visiting. My brain reeled to think of what this child had experienced in her short eight years of life, and yet all she wanted to do was jump rope with me. While it deeply resonated with the photographer and justice-seeker in me to capture the horror of her story to raise awareness, I also was also struck by how much she wanted to innocently interact with me as a normal child. In spite of her fresh wounds, there was a spark of life within her that begged to emerge.
Later, in a rural area of Ethiopia, I was welcomed into a thatched hut and invited to sit upon a rickety bench. My eyes strained to adjust to the lack of lighting so that I could see my hostess and her pet cow munching hay behind me. She was simply elated to have guest in her home. I looked around and saw the lush mountains surrounding her hut. Her neighbors wandered down the road, constantly engaging each other, deeply interwoven with each other’s everyday lives. I realized that beyond the tattered clothes and lack of electricity, this community held riches of which I had only dreamed. This is the ordinary beauty of an extraordinary country. Both of these moments represented just another example to me of what I’ve learned through humanitarian photography.
Your camera is a powerful thing that can give a voice to the voiceless and reveal beauty in the darkness. As photographers we often just think of what we produce in the context of art. But stop and realize that we possess the knowledge and tools to execute that “worth a thousand words” thing hundreds of times- and that’s on just one memory card. We become the voice of others who haven’t been given the chance for words. And never is it more true that when you’re bringing your camera to an under-privileged or at-risk area. It’s essential for us to be especially respectful in how we use this “thousand-word” tool – whether this is in the form of a humanitarian trip to a third world country or a local homeless shelter or anything in between – we have a responsibility to reverently process the stories of each of our subjects.
I’ve seen so many photos of impoverished humans with pitiful looks on their face. While there is a place to raise awareness by capturing the pain and suffering, it’s also extremely important to remember that our subjects, though poorer, are people of equal value. I know this seems like such a basic thing; but in the end it’s the pivotal truth that will radicalize how you approach photographing in these situations. During my humanitarian trips, I discovered something incredible. Even though some people have materially less than me, I’ve repeatedly found that they enjoy many things that my life lacks. Often they possess a level of joy and community that is unprecedented. Victims of painful circumstances longing to heal also desire to be viewed as full, not empty, people, with so much uniqueness to impart to the world. Here’s where we come in. We have ability with our cameras to do an incredible thing. We can give people the gift of dignity by how we approach taking their pictures. Don’t underestimate this. When we capture their bubbling laughter or the way they walk to the next village hand in hand with their neighbor, we raise awareness to their dignity. We can help our viewers to peel off their first-world lenses and truly grasp human equality in a way that is a powerful motivator, setting the focus on our commonalities.”
For the rest of the article which includes practical tips on how to preserve dignity while photographing difficult situations, pick up the beautiful Click Magazine at your local Barnes and Noble.
Alyssa Sieb is a lifestyle and humanitarian photographer living in Northern Virginia. You can find her work and info on how to participate in her upcoming creatives trip to Ethiopia at alyssaannephotography.com
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I make whimsical art for color-lovers and California dreamers. I'm based in Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. where there are most decidedly no palm trees in sight.