Natalia Weedy: A Woman’s Place

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT

Claire McHale

On January 21st, 2017 enormous crowds of people gathered across the country for the Woman's March. According to the organizers, its mission was to "send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights."  If you weren't able to attend the march in Washington D.C. or the countless sister protests in other cities, you couldn't have missed the media coverage or the social spread it took. The event and many others were talked about and discussed days after the event took place with many of the marches being streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Durham-based photographer Natalia Weedy was affected by the organizer's message, but her recent knee surgery hindered her initial plans to travel to Washington, D.C. for the main event. Still desiring to use this march as a creative outlet she felt compelled to attend, so she decided to stay local and soak up the positivity and inspiration by attending the Raleigh sister march in her own backyard. 

I decided the day before to attend the march Saturday morning with my producer and assistant, both women, and to focus on children... I grew up with activist parents and from a young age was constantly participating in marches, sometimes knowing more than some adults about issues and other times cluelessly enjoying the camaraderie. This march was not only an opportunity to make beautiful portraits, but also to get a glimpse into the minds of our youth, while vicariously reconnecting with my past.

For Natalia, working with kids was a way to foster hope; as she recognizes that they're the future. Given how divided the nation currently is, there's comfort and wisdom in the innocent thoughts of the youth, Natalia writes.

Working in both the commercial and editorial fields of photography, Natalia is excited by the different challenges in each area. She's constantly on the hunt for stories she feels need to be told, but are often overlooked in mass media. Natalia has always been captivated by issues of social and environmental justice, and the variety of issues, people, places and perspectives to capture has kept her going.

“I focus on storytelling through imagery in all of my work. I have a passion for documentary work, and when I find a story that grips me and needs to be told, I take it on as a project of my own.”

After Natalia had settled on her creative concept, production was straightforward. Her Studio Manager, Lindsey Warren, and Production Coordinator, Olivia Martin, joined Natalia on the shoot to help with logistics and vetting subjects.

We went downtown a few hours before the march to capture the early attendees with a very light footprint: three women with one camera, two lenses, an iPad, two LED lights, a notebook, and a step stool. It was a fantastically foggy morning here in NC, so the ambient light was beautiful and a nice complement to the LED foreground lights.

For Natalia, her favorite part of the project was hearing from the families after she released the final images. Inspired and proud to see their kids featured in this project, one parent reached out with this message "I'm glad we were able to be a part of this project. Some people undermine the thoughts and ideas of children simply because they are young and may seem inexperienced at life, but it's in their youth when they are more apt to learning and taking in the world. I love how they've been given a platform to express their ideas and opinions based on their observations."

With Women's History Month wrapping up, Natalia continues to share the project digitally and is currently pursuing printing options as well as a potential collaboration with a non-profit.

See more of Natalia at nataliaweedy.com 

This article was originally published Mar 28, 2017 on the Wonderful Machine Blog

David Carlier : Pure Water

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT

Claire McHale

Water is by far the most important substance on Earth. Covering 71% of Earth's surface, it's vital for all known forms of life. When Switzerland-based photographer David Carlier travels through the Alps, he often thinks of this natural element and about what we, as global citizens, are doing to both protect and neglect it. 

Where I live, in Switzerland, we have an unlimited access to water. We don’t think about it, like most people in our so-called western world. But for the future generations, access to water could very well be one of the main issues.

David has always wanted to shoot a story related to water, so what better place to do so then in the Alps. For the project, he wanted to show the origins of water in this particular region as it travels from the highest glaciers down to the valleys, dams, streams and lakes and how it's present at every stage in the Alps. From the snow capped peaks to the lakes, water plays a very central role economically, socially, and geologically in the region.

The goal here was to try to make people think about it… realize how easy it is to open the tap and drink. And think about how it is in other places where this does not happen...

As is often the case with outdoor projects in remote areas, the main challenge for David was planning everything and having to deal with weather conditions in the mountains. David, who was shooting alone most of the time, didn't want to shoot the classic landscape images so he chose to shoot on days when weather was not optimal making it even more difficult to access locations.  

Images from this expansive series were chosen to be displayed at the World Exposition in Milan, Italy. David also hopes to continue the adventure by creating a book.

To see more of David's work visit davidcarlierphotography.com

This article was originally published Dec 17, 2015 on the Wonderful Machine Blog

Ethan Welty : The Nam Ou River

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT

Claire McHale

In an age of unprecedented economic growth throughout Asia, the race for energy and materials has spread to some of the most remote regions of the continent. Laos, due to its lack of infrastructure and sparse rural population, has managed to preserve many of its natural resources. But energy is in high demand in neighboring countries like China and Thailand, incentivizing the government of Laos to allow foreign corporations to come in.

Hoping to document the collision between industrial modernity and traditional ways of life, Ethan Wely and his friend Robert Hahn set out to document the Nam Ou River in Northern Laos. The area was virtually roadless up until a few years ago and is the newest location for a series of seven dams to be constructed by China's Sinhydro Corporation. The project promises to transform one of the country's last undeveloped rivers into a giant road-accessible reservoir. However, the locals are a diverse mix of ethnic groups with limited access to the outside world who practice subsistence agriculture, relying heavily on the river for fish and transportation. Four villages will be relocated to the town of Muan Hat Hin nearly quadrupling its population overnight. Read more about the project in the Q&A with Ethan below.

How does this project fit into your photographic style? How did you get involved with this? 

My friend Robert Hahn had been to the area years ago. The remote and beautiful Nam Ou river valley made an impression on him, and he vowed to return some day to float the river. Plans to develop the Nam Ou for hydropower precipitated those plans, and he recruited me as a photographer to document what would be the last descent of the free-flowing river. Along the way, we stayed with families, participated in ceremonies, and interviewed as many people as possible, choosing to focus our attention on the people whose lives would be most affected by the dams. When traveling and photographing cultures very different from my own, I believe proximity, intimacy, and awareness are crucial for the experience and the work to be meaningful. Our hosts on the river were also our characters and our collaborators.

Were there any challenges involved with this project? If so, how did you overcome them? 

Since several different languages are spoken on the river, we knew we would need an interpreter. We were also very concerned about the safety of anyone who agreed to work for us, as journalism in Laos is tightly controlled. Local fixers and foreign journalists have been imprisoned, or worse, in the past. So instead, we chose to arrange a guide through an adventure travel company and go as very curious boating tourists. Unfortunately, several days in to the trip our guide's mother was hospitalized and we were without a translator for two weeks, conducting interviews (with written questions) in a language we did not understand. The interviews have since been transcribed with the help of a Lao man living in the U.S. that we knew we could trust. To protect our interviewees, we were advised not to have the interviews translated within Laos.

What was involved in planning/preproduction?

We sought logistical, legal and cultural advice from the few non-profits operating in the area. Very little information is publicly available for the upper Nam Ou and the dams being built there, so there was little we could do to prepare besides hiring an interpreter and traveling with them. We brought pack rafts, extremely small and lightweight inflatable boats, in case the dams were already blocking the river and we had to hike our boats through the construction sites. Robert and I met before the trip and whittled down gear to the bare minimum, including a tarp shelter and foam pads (which doubled as our pack frames), two camera bodies and two lenses, small lavalier mic, shotgun mic, and audio recorder, minimal clothes. We packed a foldable and flexible solar panel to charge batteries, but soon discovered it was not necessary; all the villages had some electricity from small micro-hydropower installations they built themselves.

What has the reaction to the images been so far? 

Although there have been nibbles from some large publications, the story has still not been published. 

Any future plans for this project? 

We continue to look for outlets for the story, as we feel we owe it to the river and to our hosts that their story be told. Many of the places we photographed are already underwater. We hope to return in five to ten years to interview the same people we spoke to in 2014. By then many will have been relocated to government-built resettlements. What will be the outcome of the dams for the people who stand to benefit the least and lose the most? Will their fears and hopes be confirmed? Will it work out the way those in power promised them?

Did you learn anything through the creation of this series? 

We expected to find defiant locals expressing a deep attachment to the free-flowing river and their traditional ways of life. Instead, we found submissive locals deeply torn about the dams and the impacts they would have on their lives. Although we were originally inclined to interpret their anthropocentric, material concerns as anti-environmental, they form the basis of a grounded environmentalism in which human livelihoods are inseparable from the productivity of natural systems. Their intimate and concrete dependence on nature has required us to question our own cultural assumptions. We learned never to assume you know what others think and how they think. Despite our concerns about physical access (which turned out not to be an issue), we underestimated the barriers to people's personal thoughts and opinions. While the Lao People's Revolutionary Party is gradually opening the country’s economy to private and international participation, it still favors absolutist political and social rule, tightly controlling dissent and imposing harsh sentences on those it perceives as a threat to itself and the social order.

To see more of Ethan's work visit weltyphotography.com

This article was originally published Dec 14, 2015 on the Wonderful Machine Blog

Greta Rybus : Climate Change in Senegal

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT

Claire McHale

Hotter days, record flooding, extreme hurricanes and severe droughts—climate change is a global issue that can no longer be ignored. So, when Portland-based photographer Greta Rybus arrived in Northern Senegal and saw that climate change was not only an issue but a very visible one, she knew that she wanted to document its effects in the area.

The project looks specifically at the impacts of climate change and how it is already impacting the lives of people who rely directly on natural resources for their livelihood. Crafted from interviews and photographs of fisherman, herders, farmers and scientists in Senegal, Greta shows us both the beauty and struggle of those whose lives are spent connecting to the environment. This series of images showcases the disastrous effects that result from policies that do not take in to account the planet’s well-being. Fisherman who once dragged their boats for an hour across sand to reach the sea are now greeted by it at their front door. Inland, herders and farmers who relied upon the rains to sustain their crops and cattle can hardly grow enough food for their families. They are now forced to supplement their work with odd jobs in the city to stay afloat. And while the project is about the unfolding struggle with climate change it is also a celebration of the resilient spirit of the local community.

Throughout her month-long stay Greta learned, with the help of interpreters and community liaisons, that the discussion in Senegal surrounding the topic of climate change varies greatly from that which she would have had with an American audience.

When I was in Senegal, most of the people I met were not only very well informed about climate change, but they also were enthusiastic about discussing it. Returning back to the states, I had to remind myself that there are people and communities who are resistant or unwilling to discuss climate change as a real, human-caused issue.

Greta is currently working on a print version of the story to send back to those in Senegal who helped make the project possible. 

You can see more of Greta's work and the full project at gretarybus.com

This article was originally published Dec 08, 2015 on the Wonderful Machine Blog

Clint McLean : The Strait of Hormuz

Nov 11, 2015

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT

Claire McHale

Clint McLean recently relocated to southern Spain after spending 6 years in Dubai. Before leaving the region Clint began a self-assigned project right next door in Oman. The project looks at isolated Omani communities in Musandam at the edge of the Strait of Hormuz. One of the world’s most important waterways, the strait transports much of the world's oil. This area of Oman is separated from the rest of the country by mountains and the United Arab Emirates. The nearest neighbor is the Northern-most Emirate of Ras al Khaimah and some small villages are only accessible by boat. Just a little farther away is Iran, which is just 32 km across the strait at its most narrow point. The Strait of Hormuz is strategically important as this waterway connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world  but with all the drama surrounding the  U.S. and Iran it has become a point of contention.

Musandam is in the shadow of all the chaos around Iran – the starting and stopping of embargos, seizing of ships, threats to block the strait, US warship patrols, etc. – and yet it is not really a player in the drama, just a victim or victor. The people just ebb and flow and carry on as they have done for hundreds of years. 

Clint, who tends to alternate photographically between lit portraits for magazines and longer term projects which tend to have a cultural bend to them, considers his Hormus project very much a cultural documentation. 

Musandam feels a bit like a frontier town and is a blend of blistering heat, fishermen, goats, dust, smugglers and tourists – the latter two being the fuel of its economy. Add to this its strategically important location and you have what I find a fascinating subject.

My first trips were more like fact-finding missions and trying to make some contacts. Planning often involved things like how to photograph the smugglers up close and personal and figuring out if I could arrange interviews.

The most difficult thing, Clint says, is gaining access—and the blistering sun. Since this is a self-assigned project and he has no backing from a publication, he's had trouble getting onto a ship in the strait. He even rented a boat and chased a tanker for over two hours trying to catch up, but was never able to match their speed. 

Clint plans to return to The Strait of Hormuz to continue this project and fill in a few gaps. Hopefully this time with a faster boat!

To view more of Clint's work visit clintmclean.com

This article was originally published Nov 11, 2015 on the Wonderful Machine Blog

Lynton Crabb: Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT

Claire McHale

You might expect that when a photographer visits Papua New Guinea he’d be among the many to photograph its vast landscapes, idyllic beaches or one of the hundreds of ethnic groups indigenous to the land. That certainly wasn’t the case during Australian photographer Lynton Crabb’s recent visit to the Oceanian country.

With close to 90 percent of the population living in rural areas with limited access to resources, Papua New Guinea—the largest of the Pacific nations with a population of nearly seven million—is host to an array of health problems. One of the sad statistics is the alarming rate of maternal and child death. According to The Burnet Institute of Medical Research about 5,000 babies die each year, and a woman in Papua New Guinea is 80 times more likely to die in childbirth than a woman in neighboring Australia.

Together with The Burnet Institute Of Medical Research, Lynton photographed some of the many mothers that are included in “Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies,” a five-year research program aimed at providing lifesaving health care for women and children through translational and community research. See some of his pictures and read more in the Q&A below.

How did you get involved with this? 

My brother, a scientist, is the CEO of The Burnet Institute Of Medical Research here in Australia. Amongst the many research and humanitarian projects they have in progress around the world, the team from Burnet identified with the fact that, in Papua New Guinea, approximately 5,000 babies a year die in their first month of birth. Many mothers also die during this period. They have since implemented a carefully considered research program to find out why. It’s privately funded and realizing these funds relies on awareness in the philanthropic sector and just as importantly in the larger community. After discussions with the Burnet head office team, we decided that it would help to have some images to show the world, spread the word and ultimately help increase the funding. We also agreed on the importance of documenting these initiatives for Burnet’s history and heritage.

How does this project fit into your photographic style? 

This project and I fit really well. Even in photography, the story has always interested me as much as the execution or treatment. It represented a very real issue on a large scale. It’s an amazing place with amazing people and also provided the opportunity for adventure…perfect for a pro bono project!

Were there any challenges involved with this project? If so, how did you overcome them? 

Regarding culture and language, I already knew Papua New Guinea well. Although I am Australian, as a child I travelled to different countries with my family because of my fathers work. I lived in Papua New Guinea for the latter part of my junior and all of my senior school years. After finishing school I returned to Australia and studied photography in Melbourne. Periodically I have returned to Papua New Guinea over the past twenty years and have exhibited images from previous excursions. Around the year 2000 I produced a body of work called “The boy from PNG”. This was a series of images shot from the point of view and my memories growing up. On a practical level the tropics throw up all the usual issues of condensation, heat, malaria etc.

What was involved in planning/preproduction?

As part of the research project, Burnet is recruiting approximately 700 mothers and following their progress from the first trimester of their pregnancy until well after their baby is born. Keeping in touch with the mothers at designated times is not as easy as it seems as many of the mothers live in villages some distance from the medical centers and in places which are not readily on the communication grid. For the photography, we managed to gain permission from some of these mothers to be included in my photography series whilst in the field. I travelled to PNG twice this year, which made it much easier to cover off what we felt, was missing from the first trip.

Any future plans for this project?

Whilst there, I also shot motion and we are currently editing a short film which will also be used in various promotional ways.

Did you learn anything through the creation of this series?

I was reminded that we can’t take anything for granted or that other people will take care of things. Us, the general population, is lucky that there are people and organizations out there totally committed to other peoples welfare. They absolutely deserve our support.

To view more of Lynton's work visit his site at crabb.com.au and to find out more about "Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies" or to donate visit burnet.edu.au/hmhb

This article was originally published Sep 16, 2015 on the Wonderful Machine Blog