In the final post of my two part review of the Coordinate Gear bag system I wanted to take a look at the three smallest bags in the lineup, the Editor, Explorer and Scout. 

Coordinate Gear Editor

“Great shoulder bag for day to day or commuter use. It has 10mm padding to help protect your items. Has room for a book, compact camera, notepad, keys, wallet and all the day to day items you may carry. A special internal tablet pocket with extra padding to give your iPad, tablet or kindle that extra protection.
The Editor can attach to outside of the Pioneer which allows you to carry it along with extra equipment or on its own.”

Features, Handling and Performance

The Coordinate Gear Editor is a shoulder bag designed for carrying small documents/books and a tablet/e-book reader. The Editor follows the same design style as all the bags in the Coordinate Gear range and despite the fact that it is not designed for carrying camera equipment, the Editor still retains the same rugged materials and zippers found on the larger bags. 

If you are travelling and looking for a light day bag to carry a small compact camera, tablet and a guidebook with you then the Editor may be the perfect bag. Its designed with one large main compartment for stashing small items and books and a small padded sleeve in the front of the bag for storing your tablet. The shoulder strap is the same as is found on all the smaller Coordinate Gear bags and is made from seat belt webbing with carabiner connectors It sounds strange but for use in an urban environment the design is actually really comfortable and quite unassuming whilst being pretty stylish too. 

The Editor is designed to attach to the front of the Pioneer if you wish so that you can add storage space for your books and documents to it. This was one of my problems with the Pioneer, so this helps to alleviate it when using this bag in and around town. The only downside is that with the Editor attached the bag no longer fits into RyanAir’s stringent size requirements. 

Coordinate Gear Explorer

“Stylish and versatile messenger bag that makes it easy to carry a camera with you all day everyday. Remove the internal divider and you will find this a great everyday commuter bag big enough to carry your daily items including iPad or Tablet. Practical for many uses makes this a great messenger bag.”

Features, Handling and Performance

Out of the three bags on review today the Coordinate Gear Explorer is my personal favourite. The Explorer is a messenger style shoulder bag that can be used for carrying a small camera or, with the dividers removed, can be used as a bag for general items too. The Explorer again is designed to match the rest of the series and comes with the same rugged materials and detachable webbing strap.

The Explorer can take a small DSLR with an additional lens which makes it the perfect size for carrying around town when you don’t want to haul a full size bulky set-up with you. If you decide to remove the inner dividers the Explorer can then be used as a small commuter bag to carry your essentials such as a wallet, keys, mobile phone and a book or two. The Explorer also has a small front zip pocket which is handy for quick access to tickets, passes and money etc.

As with all the Coordinate Gear pieces, the Explorer can be used independently or it can be used alongside the Pioneer. The Explorer can be used similarly to the Nomad in the fact that it can be used inside the Pioneer to store your camera whilst leaving lots of room for the rest of your personal clothing and other travel essentials. I think the Explorer is a great bag for those photographers who may not necessarily see themselves as ‘photographers’. If you are the type of person who just wants a small, unassuming shoulder bag, which is comfortable, hard-wearing, multifunctional and quite stylish then I think you will love the Explorer. 

Coordinate Gear Scout

“Stabilized shoulder camera sling bag designed to carry adventure cameras like the GoPro or compact and hybrid cameras plus essential items like a wallet and keys. Attaches to the wall of the Pioneer.”

Features, Handling and Performance

Out of all the bags in the Coordinate Gear line-up, the Scout is probably the one that is least suited to me. The Scout is a small sling style bag that is designed for carrying a small compact system camera (CSC) set-up like a Sony NEX or Olympus PEN. I say that it is least suited to me only for the fact that I don’t currently own a CSC camera and therefore I don’t actually have anything to really use it with.

The Scout is designed so that it sits on your back and wraps around your body. This is great if you are an active person who wants a small bag for climbing, cycling, skating etc and need your hands and arms to be unobstructed. 

The other main use I could see for the Scout is for storing Go Pro cameras. If you had a full video rig in the Pioneer, the Scout would be a nice Go Pro accessory bag that fits onto the side of the Pioneer but can equally easily be carried on it’s own for getting the Go Pros up into precarious places. 

If you didn’t see my post on Monday, as a sweetener, the Coordinate Gear guys have sent me over a discount code ‘JJ10′ which will give you 10% of the RRP price of these bags. This should save you between about £5 -£30 depending on which bags or combination of bags you purchase! 

The guys are also looking for some feedback on designs, initial impressions, feedback in the field so if you have any suggestions, feedback, ideas or you just want to give them a bit of kudos drop them a message in the comments below, via their website or via their facebook page and I’m sure they will really appreciate it! 

Disclaimer: I am sponsored by Coordinate Gear through their Pro Team. I have not received any direct financial reward or incentive to write bias reviews. I have been a user of these bags for a few months and any reviews posted will be an accurate account of my feelings and views after using these bags. All the links in this article to the Coordinate Gear website are affiliate links and I will receive a small percentage of any sales made. This isn’t going to buy me a new camera or pay for my flights round the world but it may buy me a beer or two next time I visit the pub. It is also not going to effect how I write my reviews in anyway and the guys at Coordinate Gear know that too.

The post Coordinate Gear Editor, Explorer and Scout Review appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

Yesterday I spoke about how I have teamed up with the UK based camera bag manufacturer Coordinate Gear. After testing their bags for the last few months I have finally got down to writing a review of them. In this review I will be looking at the Coordinate Gear Pioneer, Ranger and Nomad bags. These three are my most used combination of bags and as you will see in the review below have become my go-to bags for travelling across Europe.

Coordinate Gear Pioneer

“The Pioneer is a versatile commuter and travel gear bag. A backpack designed to help you carry and protect your gear while evenly distributing the weight with an ergonomic waist band and shoulder straps. The Pioneer is large enough to carry all your equipment but small enough to be used on a daily basis when commuting to and from the office plus has the added benefit of being airplane friendly allowing it to be carried on as hand luggage. The Pioneer offers great versatility having an easily accessible main compartment that zips completely open giving you full access to the interior with many compartments and pockets designed to conveniently carry various items and a special soft pocket to carry your iPad or tablet. A padded back compartment will carry your laptop separating it from the main compartment giving you easy access when needed. The Pioneer will adapt as your needs for carrying equipment grows, being the ‘core’ of the Coordinate Gear carry system this backpack will allow you to attach or insert the other bags onto or into it.”

Features, Performance and Handling

The Coordinate Gear Pioneer is a true rugged camera bag, straight from the off the Coorditech 1000 nylon material is reminiscent of military grade fabrics found on army bergens. If I had any negative points to make about the materials it would be that the materials look lower end compared to the fancier looking materials used on ThinkTank and F-Stop bags. However once you get the bag out into the field it is clear that the materials are solid and regardless of the first impressions this bag just works. 

Working around the bag, the Pioneer is fitted with both shoulder straps and a hip belt to allow you to balance the weight of your gear across your body. The two shoulder straps are a little light on padding in my opinion but I have yet to find them uncomfortable even with the bag filled to the brim. The removable waist belt on the Pioneer is also an interesting design, it is much wider than most bags I have tried before which is designed to again help to distribute the weight of the bag better. My personal taste would probably see it reduced in width a little, somewhere between its current size and a standard waist belt would be perfect however the bigger size is definitely a nice added feature especially if you are tall. 

The overall size of the Pioneer is one of its major advantages. Anybody who has experience of flying across Europe on budget airlines such as RyanAir will understand just how difficult it is to find a camera bag that fits into the hand luggage size requirements. Many camera bags are quite deep and therefore are not suitable. The Pioneer however is designed to be the maximum size possible but still fit in even the most stringent hand luggage requirements. Simple touches like this show that the design has been really well thought out. The Pioneer also has a few more features that make it a great bag for travelling with. The Pioneer comes equipped with lockable zips which again is another feature most camera bag manufacturers overlook and is a feature that I love when travelling in buses, trains etc – a little extra security helps you sleep much better at night! The only omission on the bag for me is a small external documents pocket for storing passports and tickets etc. It gets a little tiresome having to unzip the main compartment every time you have to get your passport out at an airport. 

The subtle design of the Pioneer is really great when travelling in cities and other urban environments. Because the bag is multi-functional it isn’t immediately obviously a camera bag and therefore it helps to stop you standing out to would-be thieves. The laptop compartment on the read is also very well hidden to keep the design quite unassuming. My only gripe with the laptop compartment (and with all rear located laptop compartments in general) is that if the bag is full and you are carrying a larger laptop it can sometimes make the bag uncomfortable as it sticks out into your back. However when carrying a small laptop such as my 13″ toshiba the problem rarely occurs. The zips on the Pioneer have really great finger pulls (I’m starting to love these on my Eagle Creek packs too) which make opening and closing the bag really simple. The only issue is that because the main material is so stiff and the zip is quite large very occasionally the zip may be a little stiffer than other camera bags but this is a small price to pay for the extra quality and durability. Finally my only other issue with the Pioneer is the lack of external mounting options. The bag comes with a couple of carabiner points for mounting the other CORE bags in the range to the Pioneer but I would love to see this bag come with some more external straps. This would then allow me to mount a tripod or small tent to the bag for more adventurous uses.

Looking back at the Pioneer there are very few major problems with the bag, the issues such as no tripod mounting and no external pockets are the two biggest problems for me but neither has stopped me using this bag a lot. I have used this bag for short European city trips carrying all my clothing, camera gear, laptop and a tripod as hand luggage! I have even used this bag as a day to day bag without any camera gear just for carrying my other personal belongings. This is the beauty of the Pioneer, it is simple and multi-functional without all of the fluff and nonsense found on most camera bags. The Pioneer sticks to what is important to most photographers needs…tough, reliable, comfortable and long lasting gear. 

Coordinate Gear Ranger

“The Ranger is a versatile Large Camera Bag. Designed to carry lots of equipment with adjustable internal dividers the Ranger can adapt to various activities.The Ranger can be carried with shoulder straps or can fit into the Pioneer turning it into a backpack or into your hand luggage suitcase converting to a rolling camera case.”

Features, Performance and Handling

The Ranger is an interesting addition to the Coordinate Gear line-up. It sits somewhere between an internal camera compartment and a standalone camera bag. The Ranger is designed to be used alongside the Pioneer to form a large full size camera bag. The interesting feature about the Ranger however is that it is also designed to be used on its own as a storage solution or as a shoulder camera bag. The Ranger has strap mounting points in the horizontal and vertical orientation and therefore can be carried both ways.

The overall design of the Ranger is very similar to the Pioneer. They are designed with the same rugged materials and zippers and therefore the Ranger will easily be able to cope with anything that you can throw at it. The interior of the Ranger is a bright off-white colour which makes it really easy to find your gear in your bag compared with the grey colours of other manufacturers.

With regards to size the Ranger can fit a lot of gear easily as can be seen in the short Vine video below. In the video the Ranger easily takes 1 x D7000, 85mm f1.8, 11-16 f2.8, 20mm f1.8, SB700, 60cm Ezybox, Godox AD180 + Battery Pack, 2 x Manfrotto ML840 LED Panels, Honl Travler8, Phottix Odin Receiver/Transmitter and a Lastolite 20cm Reflector. The only downside to the Ranger is that it is slightly shallower in design compared to similar competitors, this isn’t a problem for me as I use two crop body DSLR but those working with the big FF DSLRs such as a Nikon D4 may find they want a little more depth. Finally another great use of the Ranger is that it has been designed to fit into most standard rolling suitcases. This means that you don’t have to fork out £3-400 for a dedicated camera suitcase and instead can just buy the insert, a nice simple idea that works well in principle. 

Coordinate Gear Nomad

“Medium sized camera bag designed to fit inside half of the Pioneer or carried on its own shoulder strap. Fantastic heavy duty camera bag will fit your SLR plus extra lens and flash gear.”

Features, Performance and Handling

I’m going to start by saying I really, really like the Nomad. I think the Nomad combined with the Pioneer is the best part about the Coordinate Gear system. After using it on my recent trip to Budapest it has now become my go-to set-up if I want to travel in Europe with only hand luggage. The Nomad takes up approximately half the space inside the Pioneer which will give you the rest of the room to fit your clothes and other personal items in. The Nomad itself can easily accommodate two mid size DLSRs with mid size lenses such as 12-24 f4 and 85mm f1.8 etc. There is then also room for memory cards, filters and and other accessories as well.

My packing list for Budapest

The straps on the Nomad are made from seat belt webbing which at first I was a little apprehensive about. However after a couple of months of use I still have yet to find the bag uncomfortable. The straps are then attach to the Nomad by carabiner clips. As with all the carabiners on the Coordinate Gear stuff I would love if they were locking so you could ensure they didn’t come open – a little peace of mind goes a long way. The only other slight amendment I would make is to slim the strap adjuster down a touch. It is designed to quickly adjust the length of the strap, which it does very well but after you have set the strap I very rarely find the need to keep adjusting it and so a slightly more fiddly adjuster would be more preferable in my opinion if it was smaller. 

Conclusion

If you are a travelling photographer who loves solid UK build camera bags then Coordinate Gear are the company for you. I’m not going to lie and say that the bags are perfect as there are quite a few little changes I would personally make but as far as camera bags go these are some of the best I have used. As I mentioned above the Pioneer/Nomad combo has become firmly fixed as my go-to short term travel option and I will keep my F-Stop Loka for the more demanding and longer term travel. 

If you didn’t see my post yesterday as a sweetener, the Coordinate Gear guys have sent me over a discount code ‘JJ10′ which will give you 10% of the RRP price of these bags. This should save you between about £5 -£30 depending on which bags or combination of bags you purchase! 

The guys are also looking for some feedback on designs, initial impressions, feedback in the field so if you have any suggestions, feedback, ideas or you just want to give them a bit of kudos drop them a message in the comments below, via their website or via their facebook page and I’m sure they will really appreciate it! 

Disclaimer: I am sponsored by Coordinate Gear through their Pro Team. I have not received any direct financial reward or incentive to write bias reviews. I have been a user of these bags for a few months and any reviews posted will be an accurate account of my feelings and views after using these bags. All the links in this article to the Coordinate Gear website are affiliate links and I will receive a small percentage of any sales made. This isn’t going to buy me a new camera or pay for my flights round the world but it may buy me a beer or two next time I visit the pub. It is also not going to effect how I write my reviews in anyway and the guys at Coordinate Gear know that too.

The post Coordinate Gear Pioneer, Ranger and Nomad Review appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

Followers of my social media channels will know that recently I have hooked up with the guys over at Coordinate Gear. I have been reviewing and testing their gear for the last few months now and I have been extremely impressed not just with the quality of the bags but also the readiness of the company to listen to feedback from users like myself. The bags aren’t all perfect (I don’t know a bag that is) but they are pretty damn good and I am really excited to be a part of their pro team, if not solely just for the fact that I know that my experiences and views will go some way to helping design their next generation of bags. Coordinate Gear are also UK based which makes a change for camera accessory manufacturers! 

The Coordinate Gear system is a modular system that revolves around the largest bag, the Pioneer. It is then accompanied by the Ranger camera bag insert, Nomad and Explorer shoulder bags and finally the smaller Scout and Editor bags. Over the next couple of days I will be reviewing all of these so that you can see what Coordinate Gear bags are all about. 

The reviews will be split over two days with my review of the Pioneer, Ranger and Nomad bags tomorrow and the Explorer, Scout and Editor bags on Wednesday. If you are a fan of simple rugged gear that is strong enough to be hammered in most conditions then I suggest you check the reviews out over the coming days. 

As a sweetener, the Coordinate Gear guys have sent me over a discount code ‘JJ10′ which will give you 10% of the RRP price of these bags. This should save you between about £5 -£30 depending on which bags or combination of bags you purchase! 

The guys are also looking for some feedback on designs, initial impressions, feedback in the field so if you have any suggestions, feedback, ideas or you just want to give them a bit of kudos drop them a message in the comments below, via their website or via their facebook page and I’m sure they will really appreciate it! 

Disclaimer: I am sponsored by Coordinate Gear through their Pro Team. I have not received any direct financial reward or incentive to write bias reviews. I have been a user of these bags for a few months and any reviews posted will be an accurate account of my feelings and views after using these bags. All the links in this article to the Coordinate Gear website are affiliate links and I will receive a small percentage of any sales made. This isn’t going to buy me a new camera or pay for my flights round the world but it may buy me a beer or two next time I visit the pub. It is also not going to effect how I write my reviews in anyway and the guys at Coordinate Gear know that too.

The post Coordinate Gear Camera Bags appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

In the final installment of the ‘Lighting in a Flash’ series we will be looking at how we can use external light sources such as flashguns and LED panels to create or extenuate light in our images. As a documentary photographer, the aim of the lighting techniques I will be discussing is to produce dramatic lighting but also to maintain a natural and believable feel. Often I will try and replicate light which is in the scene and I very rarely look for over stylized lighting rather I prefer to go with subtly to not take away from the meaning of the image. This may be in contrast to photographers shooting for commercial or advertising clients but it is possible to cross the two together. If you are interested in seeing how more stylized/commercial lighting techniques can be translated into a documentary setting check out the incredible work of Joey L. Following on with the same format as yesterday’s ‘Mastering Natural Light‘, in this section we will be looking at 3 external lighting techniques that can be used to help create and craft the lighting in your images to produce more dramatic images. 

Replicating Light Sources

Often when photographing scenes that have other sources of light in the frame, it can be difficult to control these sources to create the right balance of lighting in your images. The image of the cormorant fisherman on the left is one good example of this exact scenario. This image was taken close to the famous 20¥ point in the small fishing village of Xingping, China. The area is well know for its incredible middle-earth-esque  karst landscape. For this particular image I wanted to balance the orange warm light from the lantern with the deep blue twilight sky. 

In this particular scenario the light of the fisherman’s lantern was not strong enough to show details in both the near cormorants wings and the net and basket at the far end of the raft. In order to overcome this problem I used a CTO-gelled SB700 flashgun in the hands of my translator/guide at approximately 45 degrees camera right. This allowed me to replicate the lantern light as both the lantern and flashgun were a similar colour temperature. The key thing to remember when mimicking light sources already in your images is the how the shadows in your images fall. If I had placed the flash at 60-80 degrees camera right, the flash would have cast a lantern shaped shadow across the fisherman’s face. Not only would this have hidden his face but it also would have made the presence of an external lighting source really obvious. Not the ideal situation when you are trying to achieve natural results. 

As I have already discussed in this series, often when travelling I will be pushed for time in each location. Sometimes the natural lighting and conditions in your images will not be ideal at all. By using flash gels it is possible to mimick the late afternoon sun or early morning sunrise even in the middle of the day (see image left).

The two important points to consider when creating an illusion of a different time of the day is to ensure that the effect is subtle (look at the female subjects hair) and to make sure that your composition hides any part of the sky which may create a confusing mix (think sunny blue sky and orange rim light – unnatural!)

The lighting set-up in the example image is really simple. I lit the two subjects with a small shoot through umbrella from the front to create a nice pleasing main light that adds a bit of shape and definition to the subjects faces. I then added one simple CTO-gelled flashgun behind the subjects to add a subtle warm rim light to simulate late afternoon light which fits in with the autumnal look of the images.

Single Key Light

For the majority of my images I prefer to mix natural light with artificial light rather than completely artificially lighting a scene. By mixing light it allows me to travel much lighter as I have no requirement for a huge sun-killing lighting set-up. Occasionally I will find myself in a situation where there is no strong natural key light to work with and as in the example image, virtually no light whatsoever to work with. 

The image on the left was shot late at night on the streets of Yangon during Thingyan festival. Most of the smaller streets in Yangon are devoid of streetlights and except the light from cars the scene essentially light-less. For this particular image I used one large LED panel which was attached, via gaffers tape, to the the subjects street stall. By placing the light just above eye level and at a near perpendicular angle from the camera it allowed me to get really strong contrasty light which helped to extenuate the expression and physique of the subject. 

The image was shot at quite a high ISO because I still wanted to pick out some of the environmental features in the background to give the subject a sense of location in the image. When shooting in a documentary context it can be good to include the subjects surroundings as it helps to build the story and give the viewer some additional visual clues as well. 

Highlighting Individual Elements

Occasionally when shooting in the field the key natural light maybe perfect for the look you wish to achieve. However you may wish to use additional off-camera lighting to add emphasis to individual element in the image. 

In the image of the monk the natural lighting was coming through an opening in the wall to the subjects right. This create a wonderful defining and strong light but unfortunately his hand was left in the shadows of the wall.

In order to add emphasis his hand in the image I used a small LED panel in my hand to add some subtle fill light to it and make it stand out in the image. This technique can be used on almost any individual element in an image which you may want to add more emphasis too. It is also a great technique to use when you only have a small light source that would get lost trying to battle with the natural light in an image. You can also use a small light source to add catch lights into your subjects eyes to help them pop when they are missing. 

Hopefully this article and the rest of the ‘Lighting in a Flash‘ series will be of use to some of you who wish to take a small lighting kit on the road with you. I would love to hear your feedback on any of the content that I have discussed in any of these articles in the comments box below and if you have used any of these techniques please SHARE with me via Facebook or Google+!

The post Creating Light: Lighting in a Flash V appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

When shooting portraits there are possibly over 1001 different ways to light a person. The lighting in an image can help to convey a personality, a mood in the image or maybe add drama or mystery to your subject. Many people look towards external light sources as a way to light their subjects with control which will allow them to achieve the exact look they are going for. The question I often ask is, why over complicate lighting when you can often make use of what you already have?

When shooting with natural light you are often at the mercy of the conditions and having an external light source as backup is always handy but the simplicity of using the light already there over a more complicate off-camera set-up can not be under estimated. In this article I am going to have a quick look at three simple techniques I use when shooting in natural light.

Feathering Harsh Light

Often when travelling I will only have a short period of time in each location. As a rule of thumb when shooting natural light expect the unexpected – it almost certainly won’t be perfect light every time. One of the main factors that effects the amount of images I can get is time. In a perfect world I could shoot all my images around the golden hours of the day but out in the field when pushed for time this is highly unlikely. 

One of my favourite techniques to use during the middle of the day is feathering harsher direct sunlight in more shaded areas. Direct sunlight is generally not great light for shooting portraits. An easy way to overcome this is by using trees, porches or any type of shade to soften and diffuse the sunlight. By placing your subject as close to the edge of the shade as possible you can generally control the shadows on their face. By placing your subject perpendicular to the light you can really extenuate facial features, this generally works best on older, more weatherbeaten subjects such as the H’mong lady above. 

Bouncing Light With A Reflector

If you remember yesterday I spoke about how I use a reflector when travelling. Often when shooting in situations similar to the first scenario I may wish to have more control over the depth of the shadows. This can be partially controlled by angling the subjects body more towards the light but it can equally be supplemented by bouncing some light back into your subjects face with a reflector.

Reflectors do similar things to flashes except that you have no direct control over their output, it depends solely on the intensity of the main source. This can be a real disadvantage as the output and control is much less precise. They do have the advantage that they are pretty much indestructible and don’t rely on any fancy electronics to work, great for travel photographers out in remote areas!

In the example image I used a combination of a small reflector and a 45 degree body angle to give the subject a much softer light on her face. This is generally more suited to younger and more attractive facial structures rather than the harsher light of the first example. This lighting coupled with a wide aperture gives the skin a much softer, smoother appearance again accentuating youthfulness.

Reflectors can also be used out in direct sunlight to soften the harsh shadows cast at midday. Generally you will want a larger reflector for this task and so it is something I tend to avoid as I do not have the capacity to carry a full size reflector with me on my travels. 

The Wonders of An Overcast Sky

The most underestimated weather condition for photography is probably the overcast sky. Grey, flat and boring skies are generally a travel photographers worst nightmare when trying to shoot landscapes, cityscapes, scenic shots etc. However, overcast skies are almost the perfect lighting scenarios for portraits on the go. The soft, diffused light is a huge improvement over direct sunlight and can allow to work outside almost all day. 

The example image on the left was shot on an overcast afternoon in Mae Sot, Thailand. The natural lighting from the overcast sky gave the lovely soft, sculpting light all by itself without bundles of expensive lighting gear. By placing the girls face towards the ‘hotspot’ of the overcast sky, I was able to create a fairly soft light but with a slightly deeper shadow in the eye sockets. As before I combined that with a shallow depth of field to accentuate her eyes and soften her skin to maintain the look of youth. 

Finally in tomorrow’s final installment of Lighting in a Flash we will look at how to control and manipulate off-camera lighting, conversely if you missed yesterday’s installment ‘Light Gear Guide Lighting in a Flash I’ or any of the other installments they can be found under the resources menu in the top menu of my website. If you want to learn about some more basic lighting principles please take a look at my article entitled ’10 BASIC STEPS TO GOOD LIGHTING’ on the Manfrotto Imagine More Blog. 

The post Mastering Natural Light: Lighting in a Flash IV appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

After the last two posts in the ‘Lighting in a Flash‘ series ‘Learning from the Masters‘ and ‘Essential Lighting Principles‘ I received quite a few requests to write a post on the lighting equipment that I use when travelling. I’m not a huge fan of writing gear heavy posts and I think often as photographers we can get a bit too caught up with trying to get the best gear when learning how to use what we have at our disposal is much more important. Anyway before I start preaching too much here is a list of my general lighting kit for taking on the road with me, the total weight is no more than a kilogram or two and it packs down small enough to fit into the top of my F-Stop Loka ruckack….

First off the most obvious piece of gear for my travel lighting set-up is a flash gun. As a Nikon user I naturally gravitated towards using Nikon flash guns, specifically the SB700. However as far as off-camera flash work goes you can pretty much use any hot shoe style flash gun. More expensive flash guns will give you fancy extras like TTL and wireless triggering but most of the extra features are geared towards using your flash on-camera which become redundant once you get into off-camera work.

The next piece of gear is a new favourite of mine. I have only been using the Manfrotto LED panels for less than 12 months but so far I see them as a bit of a revelation. They are a continuous light source so they do have their pros and cons compared to flash lighting. One major advantage of LEDs for beginners to off-camera lighting is that you can see the effects without having to take a picture. This allows you to easily position the lights exactly how you wish to achieve the lighting style you are after. The other benefit is that they are really light weight and compact. I can get a couple of the larger ML840 LED panels in the same amount of space as my SB700 flash when travelling. The downsides to LEDs are that they are much harder to modify and generally are much less powerful. I will admit I was skeptical at first but after using these out in the field I have started to love them.

As far as flash triggers go, there are probably more different models and manufacturers than there are flash guns in the world. Pocketwizards are seen as the ‘golden-standard’ of triggers but recently I have been extremely impressed with the Phottix Odin triggers from Hong Kong based flash accessory manufacturer Phottix. They are possibly the most feature packed triggers on the market and allow remote power control of groups in TTL and/or manual mode, remote flash head zoom adjustments, remote power control in A:B ratio modes, high speed sync – shutter speeds up to 1/8000 sec and also rear curtain triggering. However for basic off-camera flash work most flash triggers will work just perfectly, the benefit of the Odins is that you don’t have to be stood behind your flash to adjust the power output, a huge benefit if you are working on your own.

The next important accessory in your lightweight lighting kit is a portable softbox. Using a softbox allows you to increase the relative size of your flash gun (Discussed in ‘Lighting in a Flash II’) which gives you much more creative control. It also increases the spread of your flash so is essential if shooting larger subjets or groups of people. My personal favourite style of softbox is the Ezybox versions such as the Lastolite 60cm Ezybox as they are really lightweight and set-up in a matter of seconds. Another softbox that I like is the smaller Honl Traveler8 softbox, the only downside is that it can be a little small for anything more than a head and shoulder portrait if you want really soft lighting.

Flash gels are an often forgotten flash accessory but for the off-camera work I do they are essential. Flash gels allow you to colour the light from your flash gun to match the ambient light. They can also be used to mimic light sources that are already in the image such as lanterns, fires etc to give you more control over the final result. I have a bunch of different gels from Rosco, Honl and Lee and they are all fairly similar in their results. The most important gels for me are the orange CTOs and I tend to carry them in many various strengths for 1/8 CTO to full CTO.

Sometimes when shooting you may want to work ultralight weight and use nothing but the natural light available. The easiest way to manipulate the natural light in a scene is by using a reflector. As you can see in the image on the left reflectors come in a huge range of sizes. I have used various sized reflectors from the larger 100cm types all the way down to my newest addition the small Lastolite 30cm Reflector which is great for travelling with. Reflectors come in as many different colours as they do sizes but my personal favourite finishes are the Sunlite and Soft Silver which mix Gold/Silver and Silver/White respectively to give more realistic and subtle effects compared to solid gold and silver.

The post Light Gear Guide: Lighting in a Flash III appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

If you remember, yesterday we spent time discussing how we can learn about lighting from the renaissance artists of the 16th and 17th century. Their mastery of ‘chiaroscuro’ allowed them to add depth, volume and realism into their work like never before seen in paintings. This same relationship of light and shadow is how we as photographers can add a sense of drama and depth to the lighting in our images too. 

Photography itself is an art from and too often people get hung up about rules and principles when it comes to the aesthetics of their images. I am a huge believer of using your eyes rather than rules and whether your image adheres to the ‘rule of thirds’ or not is unimportant if the image itself is aesthetically pleasing. That is not to say that rules are unnecessary, its just that rules are a way of simplifying and interpreting a very subjective matter that is sometimes more complex than these basic rules suggest. 

Lighting is one of the only aspects of photography where I feel that a basic understanding of a couple of principles can really give you the ability to be more creative rather than restricting you. The two basic principles and properties of light that I feel are essential to understand is how distance and light source size effect the light in your images. 

The Inverse Square Law in Lighting

Sound horrible? Fear not, it may have a fancy scientific/physics name but in reality as a photographer you don’t have to understand the reason why it happens but you should want to understand how it effects your images.

As you double the distance to the light source the total power of the light is divided by 4

How does this effect my images you may ask? The Inverse Square law basically states that light falls off faster the closer you are to the light source. This is important in a couple of different scenarios, the first being group shots. If you try to photograph a large multi-row group of people you normally want to light everyone in the group evenly. Therefore as a photographer the last thing you want is the second row of people to be darker than the first. This means that the further you place the light away from your group, the more even the lighting will be between each row of the group, which leads onto the next important property of light…

Relative Light Source Size

The distance from the light source to the subject influences its relative size. The larger the relative size of the light source the softer the shadows the light source will create. This is the property of light which causes the sun to cast harsh shadows at midday. Despite the fact the sun is a huge light source, its distance from earth means that it’s relative size is fairly small, hence the harsh shadows. 

This property is especially handy to understand if you are shooting with small light sources such as a flash gun or LED panel. By placing these light sources very close to your subjects you can increase their relative size and therefore soften the light on your subjects. You can also increase the relative light source size by bouncing them off large neutral coloured surfaces such as walls and ceilings. By bouncing the light you transform your small main light source into a huge source which produces really soft even lighting. 

As you may have noticed the relative light source size and the inverse square law are intrinsically linked. Increasing the relative light source size by moving it closer to the subject also increases the rate of fall off in lighting power. Similarly, reducing light fall off  by increasing the distance to your subject will increase the hardness of the light. This issue can be combated by using a larger and more powerful light source which means that you can place your light source further away from your subject whilst still keeping a relatively large source size.

In tomorrow’s installment of Lighting in a Flash we will look at how certain pieces of gear can help you to control and manipulate the light in your images better, conversely if you missed yesterday’s installment ‘Learning from the Masters: Lighting in a Flash I’ it can be found under the resources menu in the top menu of my website. If you want to learn about some more basic lighting principles please take a look at my article entitled ’10 BASIC STEPS TO GOOD LIGHTING’ on the Manfrotto Imagine More Blog. 

The post Essential Lighting Principles: Lighting in a Flash II appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

Recently I have been reading up on and contemplating the subject of what we as photographers can learn from classic artists, a subject that I first discovered in the awesome ebook ‘Seeing the Light‘ by Mitchell Kanashkevich. Normally in my work I find myself using either natural light to add shape and depth in my images or creating it when the natural light is poor with additional artificial light from LED or Flash light sources. The sole aim of the lighting in my images is to give my 2D photographs a sense of three dimensions and as a consequence a sense of depth and volume. 

Volume and depth in photography is created by the subtle interplay of light and shadow in images. By controlling or manipulating this relationship we can easily create a better representation of the structure of elements in an image as well as adding drama and emphasis to our images. The use of light and shade to create a sense of depth in paintings is known as ‘chiaroscuro’. In essence it is this same ‘chiaroscuro’ that photographers use when creating highlights and shadows. 

Learning how to control and manipulate the relationship between light and shadow in my images was probably the most important creative step in my photographic development. This control of light and shadow is the reason that so many renaissance painters such as Rembrandt were able to create such realistic representations of life in the 16th and 17th century. I imagine that many newcomers to photographic lighting immediately see lighting, like I did, as a way of eliminating shadows. However there are very few situations in life where you will experience no highlights or shadows in a scene. In fact over the last few years of experimenting. I have learnt that it is in fact the best images (in my opinion) which are the ones who use shadows the best to create dramatic lighting. 

Over the next 5 days I going to be looking in depth at how I use lighting in a variety of different scenarios, whether that is to manipulate the existing natural light, to enhance the natural light or to completely re-light a scene with external light sources. I wanted to break this series up into easy bitesize chunks as I realise one big blog post can get a bit tedious. Look out for the next post in the series entitled ‘Essential Lighting Principles’. I would love to hear your feedback through out the series and in the rare event that you possibly learn something new please don’t hesitate to share the posts with your friends and family!

The post Learning From The Masters: Lighting in a Flash I appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

Welcome to the new installment of EXPOSED. Today we have humanitarian photojournalist Keith Dunlop. Keith is a US based photographer who specialises in photographing the work of development and aid organisations across the globe. As a fan of black and white photography myself, Keith’s images automatically grab my attention and I am sure you will all feel the same. 

‘A humanitarian photographer must also have the ability to approach people with respect, both for the individual and the circumstances they find themselves in. A photographer has a responsibility to the subject beyond the commercial objectives of the assignment. You must gain the acceptance of your subject through a compassionate approach in how you communicate your intentions…(more)‘

© Keith Dunlop – http://www.keithdunlop.com/

Tell us a little about yourself? Describe Keith and how you have ended up where you are now?

First, thank you very much for inviting me to participate in this interview series – I appreciate being included with such a respected group of photographers.

I discovered photography when my parents bought me a camera when I was a freshman in high school. I was immediately obsessed with it. My first professional assignment came when I was 16 and my sister’s wedding photographer was late. Most of the images in her album are mine. I still do wedding work now, and that work helps to finance my documentary projects.

I developed an interest in travelling to off-the-beaten-path regions of the world in 2001 when I spent a month in Nepal. I used that early experience to learn to travel and interact with foreign cultures, and since then, I have travelled and photographed in Guatemala, Peru, Turkey, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Romania, and more recently, Haiti.

My career focus turned to working with NGO’s following assignments in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010. I was asked by a Dominican Republic based NGO, MOSCTHA, to document their relief efforts in Haiti following the earthquake, and I have returned to the country with them for follow-ups. I will be back in Haiti later this Spring, and will be working with MOSCTHA on a multimedia campaign to bring awareness to their “No Human Being is Illegal” project.

I’m currently also working on two personal projects. The first is an effort to retrace the steps of Dorothea Lange to the FSA labor camps she photographed in the 1930’s. The focus is to try find and interview people connected to the camps, and to examine how the towns where the camps were built have changed. I am also working on a documentary about the life of WWII veteran Richard Nippe who served as a flight engineer aboard B-24’s heavy bombers flying missions over Germany in the later years of the war.

© Keith Dunlop – http://www.keithdunlop.com/

Talk to me about influences, who has had the biggest impact on you as a person and also as a photographer? Do you look for inspiration within other people’s photography or do you find it elsewhere?

I am definitely a student of documentary photography and I have an affinity for the works of Henri Cartier Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Robert Frank, and the like. I have also recently been pouring over the new book, “Magnum Contact Sheets”.  I find it an absolutely fascinating exercise to study the contact sheets of the worlds’ best photographers and trace their path to an iconic image.

When I was young I obsessed over National Geographic and tried emulating photographers such as David Alan Harvey and James Stanfield. As I’ve matured I’ve become more comfortable with my own skills and I look to the works of other photographers more for admiration rather than inspiration.

I also think that still photographers can learn a great deal from cinematography. I have a passion for the works of Freddie Young (Lawrence of Arabia) and Conrad Hall (American Beauty, Road to Perdition). There’s a special talent there that incorporates static imagery with a moving sequence that’s really quite remarkable. Still photographers working to craft an effective picture story are well-served to look to iconic cinematography.

© Keith Dunlop – http://www.keithdunlop.com/

How much time do you spend on the road and how do you manage to work away from home whilst still having time for family? Do you find it hard?

Over the years, my time on the road has been gradually increasing, and it does put a strain on life at home.  My plan is to accept work requiring no more than 2-4 months of total travel and continue to serve my home-based commercial clients the balance of the year.  Right now, I’m home more often than not, so it’s manageable. My wife and 9-year-old daughter are very important to me, and we have a great support system when I’m traveling. But, it’s definitely hard on all of us when I’m gone for an extended period of time.

When travelling I find that certain countries/cities/villages hold a special place in my heart for various reasons, if you could only travel once again in your life, where would you go to? Also can you tell me about the most memorable moment in your photography career to date?

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people of Haiti for managing to survive the aftermath of the earthquake. It’s a place where, even prior to the earthquake, life was as difficult as it comes. But despite the economic conditions, political uncertainty, and natural disasters, Haitians are a people with an unwavering level of resolve to overcome adversity.

One of the most memorable moments in my career occurred while working in Haiti. I was documenting my client providing inoculations to the children of an IDP, when, after a couple of hours, the nurses ran out of vaccine. A number of people who had not been treated had to be turned away. A few moments later a small Haitian girl of perhaps three or four years of age came over to where I was sitting repeating a Creole word I didn’t know.  While repeated this word over and over, she climbed into my lap and began pointing to her arm. I realized that she was begging for me to give her the shot that she had seen so many other children receive. It was heartbreaking to realize that I could do nothing to help her, and that moment will stay with me the rest of my life.

© Keith Dunlop – http://www.keithdunlop.com/

I often hear the term vision being used and it is a term that I first really came across after reading David DuChemin’s books.  Describe to me what you see as your photographic vision and what you hope to portray/achieve in your work?

I always have such a hard time describing what my photographic vision is – I think I’m just too close to the process to look at it objectively. Prospective new clients sometimes ask what my “style” is, I often just refer them to my work rather than try to stumble over an answer.

More than anything, I want my work to be honest. Photographing in situations of humanitarian crisis demands it, in my opinion. I see my job as documenting an event as truthfully as I can without injecting my own biases, and while trying to maintain the dignity of my subject.  If I can do those things when approaching a situation, the images are usually successful.

The question of working for free is one that comes up a lot on the internet. I am going to reverse that question a little. Do you believe that the majority of NGOs/Commercial clients understand the value of great imagery to their cause? If not, how do you work to change that?

I think most NGO’s absolutely understand the value of imagery in conveying their mission to their donor base. All the major NGO’s have communications or PR departments that are tasked with insuring that their projects are seen publicly and stimulate fundraising. Most understand the need to have their vision message crafted in a professional manner. 

Smaller clients have the same needs, but albeit with smaller budgets. The challenge with those clients is convincing them that cheap often comes out expensive. There are plenty of people lined up to provide images for free in exchange for access, but is that really serving the needs of the client? When shown the difference between poorly executed photography, and imagery that effectively communicates the mission of the NGO, most clients understand the benefit of hiring professionals. The key is for professional photographers to do their homework – really know the mission and needs of the NGO – and be able to demonstrate the ability to delivery and be indispensable to the client.

© Keith Dunlop – http://www.keithdunlop.com/

When shooting do you consider the impact your work could have on the people you photograph and if so, have you ever had an experience where you have decided not to shoot for ethical reasons? How do you approach working in sensitive situations?

A humanitarian photographer must have the ability to approach people with respect, both for the individual and the circumstances they find themselves in. And while I have never decided not shoot something for ethical reasons, I always work to establish a level of trust beforehand. You must gain the acceptance of your subject through a compassionate approach in how you communicate your intentions.

In Haiti, I photographed severely injured people laying in their hospital beds, and essentially, committing the most brazen form of personal privacy invasion one could possibly imagine. It would unheard-of in normal circumstances for a person to walk into a stranger’s hospital room and start taking pictures. Therefore, when photographing in regions of humanitarian crisis or devastating natural disaster such as in Haiti, it is critically important for a photographer to approach the situation with a high degree of respect and empathy. When I photographed in the Haitian Community Hospital I took pictures, yes. But, I also talked to the patients, and spent time visiting with them and their families, asked questions about their lives, and in the best way I could, tried to convey that I wasn’t there just to take pictures and leave.By doing this, the people I was photographing accepted my presence, and understood that through my pictures they had a voice with the outside world. Through me, they had an opportunity to show people who might not otherwise donate money to an NGO exactly who needs the help.

Social media is extremely important to many photographers. Do you utilise social media and if so how does it help your business? Do you see the social media landscape changing in the future?

Like many photographers I know, we all recognize the need to leverage social media in our businesses. Speaking for myself, I find social media to be a very fast moving target. I know I could use social media far more effectively than I do, but it’s often a full time job just to keep up. There was a time when I was trying to simultaneously use Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Pinterest, Google+, Flickr, and my own blog, and I just got overwhelmed.

I’ll be focusing those efforts in a much more target way this coming year, with an eye towards how my clients are accessing my information.  I don’t see the ever-changing social media world changing anytime soon, but I need to get smarter about how I use it.

© Keith Dunlop – http://www.keithdunlop.com/

Looking towards the future what do you think lies ahead in the next 5-10 years for yourself personally and for the Humanitarian photography profession as a whole? How do you see yourself changing to adapt to this change?

The question in-of-itself provides the simple answer – adapt to change. There will continue to be natural and man-made disasters in the world, impoverished communities, wars, and disease. The reporting of these events will continue, and visual communication will remain an effective tool for storytelling. The form that takes will continue to evolve, and the photographers who are able to quickly adapt to change will be the ones who succeed.

For example, clients are now in need of both video and stills. I knew nothing about video a couple of years ago, but I can now can confidently offer those services to my clients because I made the effort to learn it and get good at it.

Myself, I hope the next 5 years sees me continuing to do this kind of work – I find it rewarding – and striving to continue to evolve to meet the needs of my clients. 10 years down the road? Come back in 5 and ask me again!

Keith Dunlop - http://www.keithdunlop.com/

If you enjoyed this interview and would like to keep up to date with the upcoming interviews please subscribe to the EXPOSED series RSS Feed here or alternatively LIKE my facebook page or FOLLOW me on twitter. If you really enjoyed this post please consider sharing it to your family and friends as well!

If you haven’t heard yet, I am also looking for three  one passionate photographers to join me on the trip of a lifetime to the Himalayan region of Ladakh. Interested? Check out the ‘Ladakh: Travel with me’ post which should hopefully give you some more information. 

The post EXPOSED: Keith Dunlop Interview appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.

Welcome to the new installment of EXPOSED. This week we have Nick Onken talking about his incredible travel and humanitarian photography. The saying goes ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ but Nick certainly doesn’t fit this description. As a photographer, first and foremost he works heavily in the fashion and lifestyle industry and on top of that he is also one of the top travel and humanitarian photographers in the world. If you think that’s all, Nick is also a self described ‘avid foodie, tech lover, adventure seeker, music and culture lover who’s stricken with a severe case of wanderlust’. WOW. 

‘Today, after shooting for clients like Nike, Coca-Cola, Conde Nast Traveler, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and Lamborghini, Nick is quickly spreading his philosophy of photography.

A big believer in living in the moment, his photos follow suit. With a designer’s eye, he’s constantly searching for that perfect moment to tell the whole story. And the pursuit of these moments has taken him around the world. His love of travel has recently collided with his career and he’s published his first book, Photo Trekking. It’s also moved him from Los Angeles to New York City in mid 2009, abandoning the beautiful weather and tropical views in favor of subway lunatics and urban skylarking. The latter of which obviously lead to more interesting moments. You’ll never catch a palm tree doing back flips on a crowded train…(more)‘

© Nick Onken – http://www.nickonken.com/

Tell us a little about yourself? Describe Nick and explain how you have ended up where you are now? Can you explain how you went about making the transition into humanitarian photography as a successful fashion, lifestyle and portrait photographer?

Photography is my second career. I started my previous life as a graphic designer which is what I went to school for, so I started photography with a more commercial eye. It’s been a huge asset to my work, and business. Branding and communications has always been important to me, so when I made the transition into photography it helped me to highly understand and appreciate what it does for businesses, and in the humanitarian world.

My first travel photography experience was for a non-profit that had people all over the world, but it first took me to Africa. Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, and Burundi. It was my first developing world experience which completely rocked my world. When you experience the way people live in the developing world, it changes you(I should hope). It changed me. Which has lent to my perspective in everything now from the way I live my life, to the way I shoot my photography work.

I wouldn’t exactly say that humanitarian photography is the only thing I do. It’s more so been a piece of the pie because I believe that giving back to the world is such a big thing, and it’s part of my DNA. My main business is lifestyle advertising and fashion, which funds me to do the humanitarian work. There’s no way I could run a business and survive off of charity work alone. The two co-exist in my world. One of my loves is travelling, which is originally what got me into the humanitarian side. Traveling opened up my eyes to the world, how other people live, and the beliefs that they have. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to see many different things, and meet people that have nothing yet would give you the shirt off their back. Many times, they are the happiest of people. Seeing that makes you grateful for the things and world I’ve come from and inspires me to give back to humanity. It’s always been a constant hustle, but I do believe that if you give without expectation of getting anything in return, it all comes back around.

© Nick Onken – http://www.nickonken.com/

Talk to me about influences, who has had the biggest impact on you as a person and also as a photographer? Do you look for inspiration within other people’s photography or do you find it elsewhere?

My travel and humanitarian style comes from my overall vision as a photographer. I’ve always been inspired by other people’s commercial work which in turn filtrates into my humanitarian work. I think the biggest inspiration is experiencing new and different cultures, and capturing what I’m seeing and experiencing. I would say one of my first travel photographer inspirations is Phil Borges. I always admired his travel portraits, which inspired me to be curious about the developing world. The humanitarian side came after I started travelling.

When travelling I find that certain countries/cities/villages hold a special place in my heart for various reasons, if you could only travel once again in your life, where would you go to? Also can you tell me about the most memorable moment in your travel photography career to date?

It’s hard to really narrow down to one city, but in general, Asia has been my favourite continent to travel to. The cultures, food, religions, and everything are so vastly different. One of my most memorable moments was camping on the side of the road with a group of Tibetan pilgrims in the outerskirts of Lhasa. Experiencing the Tibetan Pilgrimage was an incredible experience.

I would say the most impactful moments I’ve experienced on the charity side is the work I’ve done for Pencils of Promise (http://www.pencilsofpromise.org) They build schools for kids in the developing world. It’s one of the fastest growing charities started in the last 5 years. When I met the founder, Adam Braun, he had built one school in Laos. We immediately hit it off and clicked in the way that we believe charities should be run. As a business. Marketing and communications are just as important as the actual ground work because without actually bringing money in, you will never grow the ground work. I could tell he truly understood that, which is a big reason why I decided to work with him.

That said, we went to Laos later that year together to create imagery for the organization. At that point it was just him and all his money was going to the next school, so I funded my own trip out there to work with him. That trip was one of the most memorable experience doing charity work. It’s great seeing the joy of the kids at the school and school in progress that PoP was helping. It’s been an amazing organization to be a part of.

© Nick Onken – http://www.nickonken.com/

I often hear the term vision being used and it is a term that I first really came across after reading your blog, eBooks and books.  Describe to me what you see as your photographic vision and what you hope to portray/achieve in your work?

As a photographer, your vision is how you see the world, and your sensibility to it. Its what gets you hired. My vision is moments and the joy that people resonate with. That carries across my commercial work and my travel work. Your photographic vision is the perspective from which you see the world.

The question of working for free is one that comes up a lot on the internet. I am going to reverse that question a little. Do you believe that the majority of NGOs/Commercial clients understand the value of great imagery to their cause? If not, how do you work to change that?

Well, that’s quite the debate at this point. I see working with NGO’s as a way to give back as I probably do one project a year. I usually only work with NGO’s that understand and appreciate the value of photography. Trying to make a living off of NGO photography is not an easy task as you spend so much time just educating people that don’t understand the value. I’ve heard so many stories of great photographers trying to work with organizations that don’t value it, therefore it doesn’t get used properly, so even free in that case has no value. It is a very case by case basis. Fortunately the main charity I work with, the founder understands and appreciates the value of photography. To me it’s about giving back, so I’ve never gone into it trying to make money on that side of things.

© Nick Onken – http://www.nickonken.com/

When shooting do you consider the impact your work could have on the people you photograph and if so, have you ever had an experience where you have decided not to shoot for ethical reasons? How do you approach working in sensitive situations?

The only time I really don’t shoot in certain situations is if people actually say no pictures. When shooting travel work it’s always about being culturally sensitive. Typically building rapport and asking permission first is the best way to approach. You can’t always go barging into certain scenarios firing off shots. Sometimes, people actually do believe that taking someone’s photograph is stealing their soul. It’s always good to be respectful to everyone’s beliefs, especially when trying to take their picture.

Social media is extremely important to many photographers. How do you utilise social media and has the age of social media changed the way you work? Do you see the social media landscape changing in the future?

Social media is a piece of the pie. I don’t think it necessarily generates more work, but it builds a bigger presence for your brand. Bigger presence projects greater influence. It paints more of a personal brand to the people who follow you. As with any brand, you are the one who creates that perception. The social media landscape, could change things, but I think it’s slowing down. There’s so much content these days that it almost becomes noise to sift through. I rarely even read my twitter feed these days. I am a huge fan of Instagram, as it’s a visual insight into how your friends and others see the world, what they are experiencing.

© Nick Onken – http://www.nickonken.com/

What advice would you give to young photographers and film makers looking to work in the environments that you have been working in?

From my experience, if you want to run a business and make a good living, humanitarian work is not the place. Some may beg to differ, but for me personally I’d rather generate revenue elsewhere and give back without the expectation of receiving anything back. Granted, where I give back to is very carefully chosen, but I feel it’s our responsibility as fortunate humans to make the world a better place. Luckily, the power of visual communication is a key component to the wheel. The power of photography and filmmaking tells the stories of what a charity does, which in turns compels people with money to donate, which allows the work to be done on the ground. Every photographer/filmmaker has different beliefs, so it’s up to them to work with NGOs in the way they see fit. There’s nothing wrong with generating revenue from charities, but it’s not always the easiest thing to do.

© Nick Onken – http://www.nickonken.com/

Looking towards the future what do you think lies ahead in the next 5-10 years for yourself personally and for the humanitarian photography profession as a whole? How do you see yourself changing to adapt to this change?

Looking towards the future, working in the humanitarian side of things will always be a part of what I/my business will do on the whole. It’s something that I set in place from the beginning. How that ends up in the end may be different every year depending on the opportunities that arise. The photography industry is ever changing at this point, and the only way to adapt, is to evolve with it. Always strive to be better and better at what you do.

web: http://www.nickonken.me
twitter: @nickonken
instagram: @nickonken
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nickonkenphoto
photography: http://www.nickonken.com
travel photography book: http://www.phototrekkingthebook.com

If you enjoyed this interview and would like to keep up to date with the upcoming interviews please subscribe to the EXPOSED series RSS Feed here or alternatively LIKE my facebook page or FOLLOW me on twitter. If you really enjoyed this post please consider sharing it to your family and friends as well!

If you haven’t heard yet, I am also looking for three  one passionate photographers to join me on the trip of a lifetime to the Himalayan region of Ladakh. Interested? Check out the ‘Ladakh: Travel with me’ post which should hopefully give you some more information. 

The post EXPOSED: Nick Onken Interview appeared first on Jacob James: Humanitarian, Travel and Cultural Documentary Photographer.