In this episode I’m speaking to Smita Sharma - a Delhi-based photojournalist and visual storyteller reporting on critical human rights, gender, social justice and environmental issues – both in India and throughout the Global South.

Smita is actively engaged in public speaking, victim advocacy and international public education, and her work has been exhibited and published globally, including at the UN Headquarters in New York. She recently published her first photo book We Cry In Silence documenting cross-border trafficking of underage girls in South Asia, published by FotoEvidence. Smita’s been organising a campaign in the region aimed at educating and raising awareness amongst the communities most vulnerable to human trafficking.

We discuss all this and other steps Smita has done to maximise the impact her work, along with her motivation for doing what she does, her experiences with publications and organisations from the Global North, and much more.

Follow Smita

Portfolio: https://bit.ly/3Dn4nOY

‘We Cry In Silence’ Photobook: https://bit.ly/3XWScll

TED Talk: https://bit.ly/3ryfhi2

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3T7A6wF

Vimeo: https://bit.ly/3GiQjqS

Follow Documentary Storytellers

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Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rwK9zr

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3Ok2718

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Follow me, Chris King

Portfolio: https://bit.ly/3XYvj0I

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References

Shillong, India

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The Danger of a single story

Donna Ferrato – I Am Unbeatable

International Center of Photography, New York

Women Photograph

Diversify Photo

FotoEvidence

Natalie is a documentary photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. She is interested in inequality, youth culture, and the personal effects of political turmoil and violence, primarily in the US and Latin America.

As always we cover a wide range of topics, including the impact her work as a photographer has had on Natalie’s view of the world, our capacity as documentary storytellers and the potential for photography to create meaningful change, and the need for us to support one another and the ways in which we can do that…and of course much more.

Photography Portfolio | ⁠Instagram⁠

Podcast hosted and produced by ⁠⁠Chris King⁠

This episode is brought to you by Open Eye Media, which is me. For over 15 years, alongside my photography and filmmaking, I’ve been building websites professionally as a freelancer. So, if you’d like to discuss anything related to your website needs – be it a rebuild, a new build, SEO, writing or editing content, or even help with image and video editing, everything and anything related to your online presence, then email me at chris@openeyemedia.net.

Notes

Daniella Zalcman

Anastasia Taylor-Lind

Stephanie Mei-Ling

Photoville

Steve Sweatpants

Street Dreams

Katie Orlinsky

This week I’m speaking to documentary filmmaker Gemma Atkinson, who is based between London and Barcelona, and co-founded the production company Fat Rat Films 15 years ago where she is the current creative director. Gemma has a vast amount of experience within the documentary filmmaking industry, and has produced countless films and other content for NGOs and international institutions across the globe, as well as her own personal projects.

Gemma and I discuss her motivations for creating a production company over freelancing, how her approach to documentary storytelling and filmmaking has changed over the years, and continues to change, how to be an effective storyteller, and much more.

Portfolio | Instagram | Vimeo

Podcast hosted and produced by ⁠Chris King

Notes

Touching the void

Catfish

Act of Terror (animation by Gemma)

Una Marzorati

Equidem

Comic Relief

The Elders

Girls Not Brides

Publish What You Pay

3 Identical Strangers

Tim Wardel

Maite Alberdi

Mole Agent

Dick Johnson is Dead

Simon Chin

The Imposter

Man on Wire

This week I’m speaking with Mike Snyder – a documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Charlottesville in the US. In his work, Mike explores the dynamic relationship between environmental and cultural change. An environmental and climate scientist by training, Mike uses his combined knowledge of visual storytelling and conservation to create narratives that drive social impact.

Mike and I discuss topics such as how best to approach human stories in a way that maximises the positive impact – through having a considered, rigorous and impact-first approach to planning, implementation, and outputs. We also chat about how Mike goes about getting funding and his approach to pitching his stories, as well as his thoughts on how we can become better storytellers, and how to best prepare for shoots - whether photography and filmmaking.

There’s so much to take away from our chat – both practical, actionable advice, and ideas to reflect on in relation to impact-driven visual storytelling.

Photography and Filmmaking Portfolio | Instagram

Podcast hosted and produced by ⁠Chris King

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SUBJECTS & TIMECODES

Inspiration for picking up a camera [2:09]

What is about climate change communication that has failed to inspire meaningful action and behaviour change [6:05]

The multi-dimensional approach to climate change communication that includes both solutions and impacts [10:41]

How to get stories in front of policymakers and inspire them to take action [12:07]

How to explore a human story and having true impact on the issue being documented [15:58]

An example of applying an impact-first approach to documentary storytelling that engages people at a local level – not just national and international [20:52]

Adding layers of impact – particularly at a local level - when you’ve been commissioned by a magazine [23:52]

What has been the inspiration for developing a comprehensive, impact-first approach to documentary storytelling [26:04]

Organisations receptive and support of an impact-first approach [29:20]

Approach to getting funding for impact-first storytelling [30:49]

Approach to pitching new projects [33:32]

How to become better documentary storytellers [35:30]

How to start a start a new project and get the images or footage you want [39:47]

Motivation for long-term project on drag queens in home town [43:52]

How to address the power imbalance that exists when exploring a human story [47:17]

How do we get more people to consider the role we as documentary storytellers play in maintaining or challenging a prevailing narrative [50:48]

The need to compromise but also turning down commissions that aren’t a good fit for whatever reason [57:35]

Mistakes that have been valuable[1:01:37]

What could have been of real benefit if learnt sooner [1:02:55]

Experiences exploring something academic but with a visual dimension [1:05:40]

The choice to become a documentary storyteller instead of committing to being an environmental scientist being the right choice in terms of impact [1:07:33]

Skills being developed and mastered [1:10:28]

Active documentary storytellers who are source of inspiration [1:13:38]

NOTES

Bertha Climate Challenge Fellowship

Bertha Foundation

University of Art Bournemouth

The CRUX Photography Network

Columbia University Earth Institute – Climate Migration Conference

Blue Earth Alliance

Pixar’s Story Spine

Ed Kashi

Social Documentary Network

Through Documentary Storytellers I want to help promote a more considered form of documentary storytelling, enhance the positive impact our work has on the issues we document, and to help in some way with decolonising photography and filmmaking, and visual communication in general.

Because of the pervasive influence and insidious nature of forces such as patriarchal and colonial mindsets, which, all too often, go unnoticed or unacknowledged, someone from the Global North, for example, going to the Global South with good intentions to explore an issue is not sufficient to ensure the positive impact they wish to have is actually realised. We need to become conscious of our own role as photographers and filmmakers in maintaining certain power dynamics and prevailing narratives through the way we work and represent the people and communities we document, and impact this has.

As documentary storytellers are one of the groups at the frontline of shaping culture, we can either contribute to maintaining the status quo, or we can challenge it and contribute to its disruption and the creation of a more just, egalitarian, and compassionate world. The only way we are going to help change our cultures for the better, is if we become mindful of our own role within them - to become aware of the biases and prejudices we hold, and work on addressing or managing them – to ensure that when documenting communities of which we are not a part, we act in a way that maximises the potential for our work to have the positive outcome we intended, and not inadvertently contribute to maintaining a narrative that lies at the root of the issue we are documenting.

So, to start this process, in this episode I speak to Savannah Dodd – a photographer and anthropologist originally from the USA, but now living in Northern Ireland – just down the road from my family as it happens. In 2017, Savannah founded the Photography Ethics Centre an organisation dedicated to promoting ethical literacy across the photography industry through workshops, events, online courses, and free multimedia content.

Photography Portfolio | Instagram

Photography Ethic Centre | Instagram

Notes

Photography Ethics Centre podcast

Statement of Ethics Campaign

Susie Linfield

General Treegan

Melanie King

Hannah Fletcher

Climate Visuals

Smita Sharma

Pietro Masturzo

Anthony Luvera

Tamara Abdul Hadi

Sustainable Darkroom

This episode and features Laurel Chor – a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and journalist who is exploring a range of different topics – from manta ray conservation to the war in the Ukraine, using a variety of media.

We explore the biases we as individuals have that influence how we explore the stories we document through documentary photography and filmmaking, but also the value of our own unique experiences and perspective. We talk about the challenges Laurel has experienced being a woman of colour, the need for self-care to ensure we’re able to continue to document the issues we care about and push for the change we want to see, and much more.

Photography and Filmmaking Portfolio | Instagram

Podcast hosted and produced by Chris King

References

Arman Dzidzovic

Andrei Kalashnikov

What it’s like being a stripper in Florida during Covid

Coconuts

Vice on HBO

MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management

National Geographic Grant

Julia Kochetova

Hannah Reyes Morales

Natalie Keyssar

Hind Hassan