What to do.

Sometimes we are faced with moral dilemma in photography. I say sometimes, but even that is rare. Back in August 2005 I was in Georgia USA when I got a call from my agent in London telling me there had been a flood in New Orleans and could I go and photograph the aftermath with my 8/10 camera. My first thoughts were that it would make for an interesting project and it was only a days drive. But after seeing the news that evening I just wasn’t comfortable photographing the devastation. Over 1300 Americans had lost their lives homes in what was to be one of America’s worst natural disasters. I was not a documentary photographer, neither did I have a connection to the place (unlike my hometown in England which flooded at the same time which I would have photographed had I been able), and therefore felt no obligation to make photographs, especially with a large format camera which would be something else entirely. I still question today whether all the photographers that flocked to New Orleans in the coming months with there big cameras felt any kind of remorse when they sold their big art prints and books.

I thought nothing at the time of photographing a recent desert fire (see last post) which just happened to start when I was driving around looking for things to photograph. As I pulled off the road and got out of the car, I was suddenly joined by several others who wanted to witness the flames tearing across the ground. Some people took pictures using their phones, others stood chatting while the flames got closer. It was an odd situation, but one I felt compiled to photograph. It was only when I got back in the car that my wife told me I was an idiot and shouldn’t be photographing such things. “What about peoples houses, what about the animals. “ She said. She was right, but thankfully no one lost their home and no animals where roasted.

As I have been photographing the desert for years, I had no issue of adding the event to my series, in fact from a social and environmental view point, the work is a good fit. The point is, I had reason to record the event.

At the end of the day, what we choose to photograph is on us. Whatever the situation, making a photograph is never wrong if all we do is record.