PDN - May 2012

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PDNEWS

CM Y

families improve their diets and generate income).

PDN: What kinds of preparations did you make for this
assignment? I gather it stems from your “Nocturama”
project [about people living on the Paraná River delta
in South America]. But was there anything particular
to the subjects in Kenya or constraints of time, location
or anything else that required you to approach the
work at all differently?
AC: Working in the countryside was very different from
what I was accustomed to. In the first place, I didn’t
speak the language, which required a translator to ex-
plain to my subjects the process of making large-format
photographs at night. In the second place I had to pho-
tograph specified projects and/or people who are part
of those Oxfam projects all within a week’s time, work-
ing with whatever random moonlight I had each night.
For the entire week I didn’t have more than 15 minutes
of clear moonlight, which meant the lighting I used was
very different [from what I’m used to].

“I HAD ONLY 15 MINUTES OF
GOOD MOONLIGHT DURING
THE WHOLE WEEK, AND IT
WAS SOMETHING I DIDN’T
ANTICIPATE. THE IMAGES
I HAD IN MIND WEREN’T
GOING TO HAPPEN AND I HAD
TO WORK PRIMARILY WITH
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.”

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PDN: The images are strikingly beautiful. Do you
worry about the beauty of the images distracting
from the message that the subjects are enduring
hardship and need help?
AC: My concern is that the message be understood. My
intent is to communicate an idea to the viewer. What’s
not under my control is how viewers respond when they
see the images. So far I’ve had good response to the imag-
es from people who in general don’t pay much attention
to such issues. I make these images with a commitment
to what I would call my photographic instincts.

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PDN: Do you think images that are beautiful convey
Oxfam’s message or reach audiences in ways that
more traditional approaches to photographing a
humanitarian crisis cannot?
AC: I think that this type of image can reach other au-
diences, and in different ways, than a more traditional
approach to this kind of humanitarian crisis can. I don’t
think it’s a better or worse approach, but I hope to
raise questions about the preconceptions that one has
when photographing or observing these circumstanc-
es that are so different from our own.