Responsible Travel Behind the Lens: Taking Ethical Pictures

 

It’s Friday in Nizwa, Oman and the weekly market is underway. Cars covered with a fresh coat of dust squeeze into the gravel parking lot overflowing into the side streets. People flood into the souk to pick up local fruits and vegetables, meats and their weekly shopping. In the far corner of the market is a round, dirt floor pavilion. Noises from the corner crowd float through the alleyways luring you closer to the commotion. As you make your way towards the group, there is a small sea of colorful, flat embroidered caps. Men wearing long flowing white linen robes raising their hands, vying for attention of others who are pulling on ropes, leading shaggy goats of every size around the ring yelling their best prices.

It’s a site to see, especially if you’re from a country where your meat comes wrapped in cellophane from a grocery store. For that reason, it is becoming an increasingly popular tourist attraction. While these men going about their daily task of selling their livestock, another crowd begins to form. It’s the “safari seniors” as I lovingly refer to them. White, middle aged, upper middle class tourists. They come on large group tours and descend from their buses in a swarm of khaki, armed with expensive camera equipment. These groups are right in on the action, standing arm in arm with the Omani men, clicking their cameras, often right in the face of the sellers or buyers. Once they have their pictures, they quickly disperse.

The lack of their genuine interaction was annoying. It made me wonder the fate of this market when tourism becomes more mainstream and these tours come weekly in droves to this quiet town. I witnessed this from the sideline and was immediately a little disgusted that I was here. Possibly partaking in something like that from an observers perspective looked pretty gross. I want to do better as a photographer and I think we should hold other travelers accountable too. As responsible travelers, I think we owe it to ourselves and the destinations we visit to have mindful photography.

Responsible Photography: Where We Are Today

Like it or not, accessibility of technology and the wide spread use of smart phones have changed the way we experience, document and share photography. For better or worse, we are married to our phones. This means we have the ability to share, and overshare our daily lives as well as our inspiring moments.

The problem & the silver lining

This can create several issues. We over share, often without consequence. Often though, this is a way for us to connect with cultures, learn and share. I think the take away from accessibility can be a positive. That means there are just as many people that have access to share their own story. This means you can look for local narratives instead of consistently viewing places and people from an outsiders perspective. I’ve been trying to make sure I find content creators on a local level in addition to well known journalists when researching a destination. Smart phones can provide an outlet for a more diverse voice in the travel world.

Be an Active Participant

If you’re in a scenario where you can join in on the activity or event, I encourage you to do it! You’ll learn more about where you are, you’ll make better connections with the local community and you’ll have more fun along the way. I’ve had instances where I’ve photographed someone after buying something from them or striking up a conversation. A few days later I’ve returned with a copy of their picture (if I can find a place that prints photos) and it has been such a fun way to bridge the gap between myself as a photographer and a new friend. Any way you can enhance your time on vacation by creating a deeper bond with a person or place is a way to strengthen your memories.

Be a Respectful Observer

While I was in Oman I also discovered a women’s only market in a small city a few hours from Muscat. I was interested in the fact that for a country dominated by masculinity, there was a market just for women in the community to have their own space. Upon arriving, I quickly realized this was not an event frequented by tourists and since it seemed to be more of a conservative town, I pulled my scarf over my head and kept my camera away.

There are certain instances where you need to assess your surroundings and decide what is a responsible choice in each situation. Sometimes, having your camera in a space can bring tension, awkwardness and a disingenuous feeling. Occasionally, we are in a situation where outsider participating may not be appropriate. What are those situations? Maybe a religious ceremony, it may be something that involves deep cultural knowledge or traditions that you are not privy. A big part of traveling ethically is to know your place.

Don’t Be a Voyeur

The market in Nizwa that I spoke about earlier is a perfect example of this, making the people or places in the photo as objects. This behavior is what aggravates me the most, and this is why I put this post together in the first place. People should be more than just your next social media post.

Please let’s not perpetuate a stereotype. People from the developing world, often older, white and upper class pile out of a bus, speaking in their own languages to mostly just each other. They point expensive cameras in the faces of people and photograph or record obnoxiously. Often without engaging with others, they get the shot they were looking for and then head back on the bus to the next destination.

This is problematic in SO many ways. Here are some things to keep in mind to NOT fall prey to this common practice:

Treat People How You’d Like to be Treated

 Just imagine that you’re at your local grocery store, picking up your weekly fresh produce and someone, without saying a word, comes right up in front of your face and begins photographing you as you pick apples.

Imagine that you’re at the playground with your child and someone you don’t know is in the park taking photographs of your children then walks away.

Picture yourself at your place of worship, maybe a synagogue or church. You’re sitting in a religious space and someone comes in and noisily begins clicking their camera button and flashing their lens at the congregation.

These scenarios seem odd when you put them in the context of it happening to you, in your own home, so the same should apply to others.

Being a respectful documentarian

Have the respect you would want someone to give to you if you were back in your home country going about your daily life. I suggest this because when we are somewhere learning about a new culture or maybe the country has people who dress differently than you’re used to, or have different customs than you, it can be exciting to learn more and document. Often we forget these things when the fascination of something new takes over.

• It’s never ok to photograph someone directly without their permission. Having a crowd of people in a public place is one thing, but singling out a subject is something completely different and needs consent.
• It’s never ok to photograph children without parental consent. Minors are too young to provide on ok to being recorded and often parents would not consent to having their child’s image sprayed all over your social media.
• It’s not ok to photograph a subject in a portrait situation without engaging in some way. You may not speak the same language, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn a couple of words to make a more meaningful interaction or gesture.

I abide by a simple rule, think to yourself, “would I do this back home”. If the answer is no, then it’s probably a good idea to put your camera down and experience the moment first hand.

Are You Exploiting the Subjects of Your Photo?

We need to be mindful of the narrative we are creating with our images. Are you perpetuating certain stereotypes? This is important if you’re a person visiting somewhere from let’s say the global north (ie you’re a guest in a developing nation). White Savior Complex can come into play in so many ways in this scenario. This basically means you’ve inserted yourself in a way that could be perceived as self-serving, even with the best of intentions. We see examples of this all the time, even outside of travel and maybe without even knowing it. Want a lighter take on this heavy topic, check out Seth Meyers late show explaining it better (& more humorously) than I can.

Poverty Porn is another term that is used often, when you’re in a country where the socioeconomic status may not be that of your own and taking pictures of this often benefits no one. Socioeconomic status doesn’t need to be exploited.

For the record, you do not have to be white to be participating in a white savior complex narrative. Keep your “tourist gaze” in mind when you’re documenting your trip. How you share what you’ve done and seen can help to perpetuate negative and often untrue views about a country. For example, taking photos in a slum and not showing the more modern side of the city is a way that you’re letting the people who view your photos make an assumption that “Africa is poor” or “people have so little but are always so happy”.

 

Wildlife Photography: What’s Safe & Appropriate?

 

Safety in wildlife photography goes both ways, the welfare of the animals as well as the people. Here are some simple things you can ask yourself when observing wildlife to ensure you are being

• Are you keeping a safe distance between you and the animal?
• Should you be using flash photography or is this harmful
• Is it necessary to be quiet when observing the creature you’re photographing
• Is there human interaction (the answer should most likely be no)

It comes down to a few simple rules. Respect the rules within the park or place you are visiting. Leave no trace and be mindful about your impact on your surroundings. If you’re interested in responsible wildlife tourism destinations, I put together a list of my favorite responsible wildlife places which I update regularly with new additions!

Paying for Pictures: Is it Worth It?

This can be a topic that divides the masses, do you give money for people posing for photos or not? Are you wanting to participate in this type of transaction? There are two example of this that come to mind for me where I’ve seen this in practice. A couple of things that come to mind are the women who dress up and come into the old town squares of Cusco, Peru or Havana, Cuba.

People are trying to make a living. On the other hand, is this the best way to spend your tourism dollars? What is the benefit to this service thinking towards the future and is it harmful or helpful in the long run? My personal thought is my money is better spent towards local organizations, run by locals helping to empower women’s employment as opposed to paying for a staged experience. One thing I really love about travel photography is the platform it provides to display authenticity within travel. Does paying for images cheapen the genuineness?

Want to learn more about taking ethical pictures and being a more mindful photographer? I found the Photography Ethics Center that has a free course for ethical photography as well as opportunities for workshops and consultations.

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