A familnull in nullinnullonull nullilinullinesnull ennullnulls
a tranulltional meal of rinullenull fisnull annull
nullenulltanullesnull Tnull onull nullnnulle is nullnonull
as tnull nullfoonull nullsnulletnull of tnull soutnullrn
Luzon renullonnull
nullnullto: Allan Lissner
Use nullour nullamera
to onullen nullorsnull
not raise susnullnullons
null
Ask pernullssion: nullntroduce yourself
and start a conversation. nullllan nullssner
points out that you can often gauge how
friendly and receptive a person will be
to having a photo taken by asking them
some nullestions about the place.
null
nullds stunull: nullhildren are sometimes easier
to approach, but it’s a good idea, when
possible, to ask permission of a parent or
an adult from their community.
null
Saying thanks: nullroviding your subnullct
with a print of the picture you took is a
great way to thank them. nullor someone
living in an isolated village, a durable
laminated print may be appropriate.
nullhotographer and regular Verge
contributor, Trevor nullush, suggests
thinking in terms of nullgiving a picturenull
rather than nulltaking a picture.null
null
nullor nullre infortion:null nullhotographer
nullllan nullssner is one of Verge’s nulllobal
nullroesnullvisit vergemaganullne.comnulllobalnull
heroes.html to learn about his work. nullor
more on photographing people, read
ornull traits that Speak nullolumes,null and
rnull eenulle nullrame in nulluang nullmtha,null in the
nullall nullnull issue of Verge.
“Oh? And what are your conclusions?”
nulle reanullnull to ansnuller tnulle
“eW ll, it’s difficult.” I took my time, try -
ing to pick my words carefully, “On the one
follonullinnull nulluestions:
hand, we all need employment so that we
can feed our families and send our children
nullWhy are you here?null
to school—there’s nothing more important
than that.” They nodded as I continued, “But
nullWhy nullould you nullant a
on the other hand, I have seen that this par-
ticular company sometimes treats the work-
nullcture onullme?null
ers badly—”
nullWhat nullll you use the
“Yes!” one of them jumped in and fin-
ished my sentence, “and the environmental
nullctures nullor?null destruction is also terrible!” I was relieved
that he had brought up the environment
himself.
They invited me to join them for a beer
politics will also affect how people receive
and I gained further insight into their world,
you. Be ready to answer the following ques-
which in turn helped inform the images and
tions: “Why are you here?” and “Why would
stories I took back home with me.
you want a picture of me?” “What will you
Ultimately, there are no set rules. Maybe
use the pictures for?”
you’re just passing through and don’t have
When I was working on a story about a
time to make many personal connections.
gold mine in the Philippines, I was introduced
Still, it’s important to put yourself in the
to some miners who were sitting around chat-
other person’s shoes. Sometimes you’ll ask
ting after a hard day’s work.
for permission, sometimes it is better to shoot
“What is your purpose here?” they asked.
and run. I’m a shy person so I know how
“Well, I’m doing some research to find out
difficult it can be to approach strangers, but
how people here have been affected by the
I’ve travelled enough to know the rewards of
gold mine,” I replied.
stepping out of my comfort zone.
vergemagazine.com
winter 2010 verge: 47
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