PhotoPhilanthropy is an organization created to promote, support and connect photographers to non-profit organizations around the world.
‘We champion social change, one photo at a time.’
They’ve just announced the winners of their photo awards and A Developing Story recommends that you spend some time looking through the galleries. There is some really good work.
That said I’m pretty disappointed in the winning gallery. No doubt Zoriah is brilliant and committed photographer but could you really say that the winning photos ‘engage and educate’ people in the issues presented? I think they show the limitations of a lot of photography. Stereotypical black and white shots of famine.
Why didn’t PhotoPhilanthropy open a ‘multimedia’ category, so that at least work could be entered where we actually hear the voices of those featured in the photographs?
Famine is a symptom of wider political, social and economic problems. Although harder to photograph than malnourished Africans, with hands outstretched, if we really want to effect change than surely we need to find more constructive ways of shooting the underlying causes of famine?
Responses to these kinds of photos are often considered a success if people put their hands in their pockets which may save a few lives in the first instance but does nothing to address the causes of prevent famines.
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As you quoted in your blog from the TED talk by the brilliant Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recently: “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” The problem with famines in Kenya is more complex than just another story about Africans suffering, ranging from climate change, economic problems, corruption, political failure. Said that pictures from the people who suffer from the effects is only the pocket-opening single story she is talking about. The pictures are stunning, for sure, no doubt about that. The question is more what is our intention. Do we wanna show the famine in all it’s complexity or do we wanna create awarness for the suffering people to maybe get people donate money? From a journalism point of view it should be the first, for an NGO the second might work better.
Talking about b/w, i think the problem with b/w is not the b/w itself, it is more that it was used for such a long time for all the sad stories in Africa in general, so we directly have the perception of another sad story. And it works pretty well with it. I think the trick will be to don’t make a difference anymore with b/w for the crisis and colour for the dancing Massai, beaches and all beautiful aspects of this great continent. To use b/w more from aesthetic point of view and not to use it for creating a story about crisis, where colour might be more complex to deliver this smash-in-the-face moment. Maybe we just are too lazy sometimes and even half decent pictures can create this feeling of sadness and crisis when turned into b/w. Maybe we just have to get better, delivering the message without using the sometimes too easy to use stereotypes… For what multimedia with people talking themselves is for sure one great way to get the message told without the stereotypes.
Greets, Simon
Great points Simon. THANK YOU.
Actually I do really love some black and white photography, its just that in Africa it has become synonymous with suffering.
Hi Simon,
Thanks so much for your thoughts and interest in our first Activst Awards. I appreciate your thoughts on this subject, and especially the voice you’ve given to the debate and discourse around stereotypes and what provokes social change. Have we seen too much of the same thing, is this a new approach, and what will appeal in enough of a way to produce a call-to-action? How can we offer a call-to-action, and what would that look like? These are all questions (among many others) that we, as an organization, following this first round of awards, will consider as we grow and develop. We greatly appreciate the good ideas, so keep ‘em comin’, and we appreciate you opening an honest dialogue through your post.
Best wishes!
Nancy C. Cole
ED at PhotoPhilanthopy.org
@nancycole @photophilan
Nancy, thanks for your response. Really appreciate it.
As someone who has lived in Africa I would have liked to have seen more representation from people from the developing world on your judging panel. I’m also disapointed that the winning set will encourage more photographers to shoot in this way.
That said I have great respect for your work.