Andy Levin who runs the excellent 10oEyes is flogging photography workshops in Haiti for $1500 a time.
I have some sympathy for Andy because he had a workshop already set up for Haiti, but marketing and profiting(?) from a workshop centered around the crisis, no matter what language he wraps it up in, is beyond belief.
Andy shows scant regard for the psychological effects of shooting something like the Haiti catastrophe. Most people who work in this situation are going to suffer. Some will have breakdowns afterwards, and the majority will experience mild depression. That’s the normal way to react to coming close to so much suffering. You should be really aware of this before booking on a workshop like this.
Apart from that if you genuinely believe that what Haitians need right now is a bunch of photogs paying $1500 a time to deliver ‘photo aid’ then you need your head examining.
Let the living bury their dead. Please.
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This is disgusting!
He actually states “We are photographers and this needs to be documented” Does he think that no one is photographing this? That no media is down there.
What a disgusting, foul thing for a human to be doing. I’m besides myself with this!
When Andy invited photographers to get involved three days ago, there was no mention of money. http://www.100eyes.org/2010/01/shoot-for-100eyes-gade-haiti/ I applauded him because he seemed to be offering a structured and diverse/diverted look at all of Haiti and not just the destroyed capital. He is obviously still planning this but has necessarily brought dollars into the equation.
Andy’s obviously aware that he must back up the venture with a qualified CV and a Haitian partner (“who be in control of all monies”) which is why he provides both, BUT he doesn’t explain the $1,500 figure nor the monies use.
Andy’s problem here is that he is no longer running a workshop but an aid effort with volunteers who are carrying cameras. You’re right that he has a problem in that he already had a workshop planned.
There’s an argument that all monies collected for the workshop before the quake should be distributed on aid and hitherto that Andy runs a small workshop with only those that signed up prior to quake.
Thusly, since the quake, any fees photographers wanted to stump up for a workshop Andy could refuse and advise go straight to the aid effort.
It is clumsy at best and an affront at worst. There is no statement to say that no profits will be derived from the venture.
Ben, your inserted question-mark after the word profit needs addressing by Andy, and I am sure he’ll do that.
Pete,
thanks for this.
Journalists cover stories and the idea that you would go to Haiti and shoot something else right now is bizarre. There are plenty of places you can do that.
The scenes in Haiti are very, very bad. As someone who suffered a depression from working in a conflict environment no-one should be offering workshops into such an environment. The mind fuck is not something you come back from the same way. Understandably there are many young photogs who would jump at the chance but this is one of the most hardcore situations imaginable. If you run a workshop you have a duty to the welfare of those attending. I cannot understand how you can responsibly do that in Haiti right now. Or you can be responsible for the actions of people you are encouraging to fly into a country.
The situation calls for trained professionals and yes that includes photographers who are paid to be there. Everyone else should stay away.
If anybody wants be a photojournalist then go but be prepared to face the deathliest environment in your life, if you are not ready then skip this career. pro or wanna be photojournalist, this is the life.
Gelay is this a joke?
If not then you have an incredibly narrow and banal understanding of photojournalism.
Thanks for the advert, interested photographers please contact me through the site…..I still have some slots open.
We are doing great things and breaking new ground, each day brings a new challenge and someone to help. Having photographed in Haiti since 1982, having just documented the destruction of Gonaives for Medicins san Frontiere and Next American City, and having been both in the water helping my neighbors and photographing Katrina, I have a great sense of how to work in disaster situations with sensitivity and responsibility for the victims.
I also believe that there are great stories around the edges of “ground zero” in Port au Prince that are not being covered and part of the workshop will be training emerging and even professional photographers in how to do stories that go beyond the pile of bodies, that we all feel is an affront to the dignity of the victims.
If you have some talent and commitment, and can make the financial commitment, which I am not minimizing, I think that this is a great opportunity to really learn about Haiti the right way, through working with the students at Cine Institute, by going with Zanmi Lakay to Cite Soleil, and working and supporting what I do. In addition I think that there are stories that can be found which are potentially publishable and marketable. In fact I already have interest from a major publication for one story.
David, I really understand your reaction, I know that a tragedy like this brings out all sorts of contrary emotions, from denial to anger, and often we want to lash out without hearing all the details. No one is forcing anyone to go, and everyone will make their own assessment of the relative dangers involved, as I trust they can……but I do believe that an educated photographer, a thinking photographer, a more human photographer is what we need. And yes, David, a more trained photographer which is exactly the goal.
As I said at the outset please contact me through 100Eyes if you have any questions or would like to sign on, we are looking forward to seeing you in Haiti at some time in the future,
I saw this and it made me sick too. $1500 to go and photograph as part of a “workshop” in Haiti? That is horrible. Thank you for posting this.
Gelay, you’re being ironic, right?
you don’t have to work in war or disaster zones to be a real photojournalist, or a real journalist.
I’d argue that covering important (and often less visually dramatic) and neglected stories in their own backyard should be a priority for more people in this profession. Too often it’s more about ego, acolytes from fellow photographers and awards than about genuinely spreading awareness
Andy, just for clarification, I am not responsible for these posts or replies about your workshop. my silence, however, is not an endorsement. I genuinely believe you think you are doing the right thing here, but I feel you have missed the target on this one. You are running a very great risk of being seen to want to profit from the disaster. I also have to agree with Ben when he discusses the trauma that these events have on people. That is absolutely not to be under estimated. You may well be an experienced photographer and photojournalist, and you may well have strategies for dealing with such trauma (Can you let me know what those strategies are please…) but I doubt your young and hungry students do.
Why not wait a year and build something stronger, which you may be able to sell, which won’t be tainted by the raw wound which is now?
Gelay Amdo: “If anybody wants be a photojournalist then go but be prepared to face the deathliest environment in your life…”
I’m assuming that this is a reference to the deadly annual bitchfest at Perpignan: an authentically hazardous place for those who value their dignity. Or maybe he means Lightstalkers, where Beavis and Butthead don their flak jackets and yack about saving the world with their selfless acts of “bearing witness”, only briefly pausing to stab one another in the back. Whatever, the Haiti workshop pitch is in genuinely bad taste and only adds to the feeling that photojournalists (a title that now comes with very ugly connotations) have collectively lost the plot. It’s time we all saved on airtickets and started looking inwards rather than outwards.
ARE YOU ALL NAIVE?
What photojournalist or photographer hasn’t made money at some stage or other out of someone else’s suffering or misfortune. YOU, everyone who purchases a newspaper or magazine pays indirectly for the content. Someone somewhere profits. You think CNN is doing it for fun. It’s costing CNN a fortune, but the ratings are high and they will profit in some way now or later.
Your all missing the point. Someone needs to tell this story. Not many will in the months to follow and not many will even want to go. Andy’s students know full well the risk and I imagine can put there funds towards another workshop if they wish. Andy and his student., Our future picture story tellers, that we need, will be there in the future when you and the rest of the media don’t give a s**t.
Try and put on a workshop for free. There are large costs involved and a lot of donated materials. Stop your bitching at one of the worlds greats and allow this project to keep the people of Haiti in our thoughts for years, not just a spot news week or two.
I think the people posting here do not have the full information or understanding of what the ‘Photo Aid’ project is about. It’s certainly not about spot news and trudging over dead bodies. It’s the new wave of a REALLY concerned long term committed documentation of our world.
?
SOMEONE needs to tell that story??? isn’t EVERYONE telling that story at the moment? How can you imagine that Andy Levin and a bunch of would be journalist with more money than sense will contribute anything useful to Haiti at this stage?
As rightly pointed out on this site, they will be a burden to the locals who certainly have more than enough to cope with.
JAH: “Your all missing the point. Someone needs to tell this story.”
And you my friend are missing the biggest point of all: the people of Haiti are uniquely able to tell their own story. They don’t need a great white chief and a band of over-educated but under-empathetic Western wannabe photographers to tell it for them. The problem the world over isn’t that local people are unwilling to tell their stories, it’s that the Western media are unwilling to listen to them regardless of how loudly they shout.
“Try and put on a workshop for free. There are large costs involved and a lot of donated materials.”
If the materials are, as you state, donated, then why should it be impossible to stage a free workshop? The primary costs involved in the majority of workshops are travel and accommodation, so the answer is simple, if you want a free or low cost workshop for Western photographers then don’t hold it in Haiti, Burma, or Bhutan. The locations that tend to be chosen reveal the reality that the primary lure is a holiday in an “exotic” location with, generally (though not in the case), the chance to hang out with a star photographer. I don’t dispute that spending time chatting to an experienced photographer can be helpful, but it would be no less helpful if it occurred in your own back yard.
“It’s the new wave of a REALLY concerned long term committed documentation of our world.”
The current explosion of workshops isn’t a sign that older photographers are eager to pass the baton on to a “new wave” of “concerned” practitioners, it’s a symptom that the editorial market really is in a state of terminal decline. Rates at Time and Newsweek haven’t risen for almost 20 years now, and editorial photography alone no longer provides a comfortable lifestyle for those living in cities like NY, London and Paris. There’s no single motivation for those who conduct workshops, but in all almost every case the primary drive is to generate some much needed income; the few who deviate from this tend to be older male photographers who are equally driven by the sexual opportunities offered by a cast of star struck students…
“… the people of Haiti are uniquely able to tell their own story. They don’t need a great white chief and a band of over-educated but under-empathetic Western wannabe photographers to tell it for them. The problem the world over isn’t that local people are unwilling to tell their stories, it’s that the Western media are unwilling to listen to them regardless of how loudly they shout.”
Very well said, Andrew
Agreed
Thanks guys, headed to Santo Domigo tommorow and I will update you….I still have slots available and am willing to work with anyone with an open heart and mind, and wallet, we will have scholarships for qualified students, preference goes to 100Eyes contributors who I owe a debt…..kisses and hugs.
Dr Strangelove anyone?
dead nuts on target, duckrabbit. I’d feel differently if all the profits were going to Haiti relief efforts, even Royal Caribbean is coughing up a mil. or so for their ill-advised continuation of a scheduled visit.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/17/cruise-ships-haiti-earthquake
I normally avoid this blog due to the holier than though attitude that it often takes, but 100eyes is clearly F’d up.
Maybe the workshop could apply for NBC sponsorship, for “all the great stories”.
Well David White is the pope …
My chimney’s smoking…I must be dead.
I am worried that little person a) feels little, and b) thinks we have a holier than thou attitude.
I can’t do much about a), apart from saying that you’re no smaller than I, and as for b), we’ve screwed up there, so apologies, and we’ll try to
make sure it doesn’t happen again. I can assure you neither Ben or I intend to take such an attitude.
Andy I wanted to give you the benifit of the doubt so badly then your, kisses and hugs cavalier nonsense. I have to tell you that your post alone, by itself, will do more harm to your reputation than anything you have ever done. I am embarrassed by your attitude and my honest hope is that you reap what you sew. God will be your final judge.
“scant regard for the psychological effects of shooting something like the Haiti catastrophe”
“The scenes in Haiti are very, very bad. As someone who suffered a depression from working in a conflict environment no-one should be offering workshops into such an environment. The mind fuck is not something you come back from the same way. Understandably there are many young photogs who would jump at the chance but this is one of the most hardcore situations imaginable.”
I want to address this and only this aspect of Duckrabbit’s commentary:
You are absolutely right that there are many young photographers who want to jump at the chance. Let’s not talk about their motivations, good or bad, let’s just address the reality of their desire. Many photographers who have never been to war or catastrophe ask me this, all the time, how to get started. And I normally have two answers: 1) take a hostile environments course and 2) go to Israel/Palestine where the conflict can be dangerous and deadly but usually not terribly so. It’s a good place in a small geographic area where you can rent your own car, where cellphones and the internet works, and where, to be brutally blunt about it, you will slowly get acclimated to death and destruction without usually putting yourself at risk too much. You learn how to read terrain, navigate checkpoints, understand weapons and the psychology and actions of soldiers, fighters, and militants. You figure out how to navigate all this without getting completely lost, and hopefully, without losing your moral compass, whatever that may be.
Now, let’s be frank, so it is with covering natural disaster like in Haiti. Law and order breaks down. There is massive death, and frightful wounds amongst the survivors. But let’s be real: actual violence and deadly force are probably NOT going to be at levels equivalent to actual war, whatever the momentary panic might be. So for a young photographer or journalist who has never ventured outside their comfort zone before, but wants to, this is actually, from a practical point-of-view, an ideal training ground. You will be confronted with the real problems of real people, what you want to see, after all, and your actions will have consequences, however big or small, whether it’s giving a family a lift to a hospital or even lending them your phone to make a telephone call, etc. And you will most likely encounter SOME risk, whether it’s from collapsing buildings, aftershocks, or the occasional firefight. But, knock on wood, you will probably be OK, at least compared to the risks you would be taking in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Again, let me reiterate, I am NOT debating whether or not you should want to go. This is assuming that you’ve made up your mind, and think that a workshop is a good way to learn how to become a photographer in these situations, and I am simply saying that, yes, even for beginners, going to Haiti right now WILL teach you how to do it.
Because, and this may sound ugly or offensive but it is just the truth: Haiti right now is NOT one of the most hardcore situations imaginable. You will NOT be blown up by an IED, or shot at by snipers, or mortared, or face heavy automatic weapons and artillery fire. You will NOT watch people die from the dedicated exertions of other people to kill. You will, however, learn some of the same skills and instincts that you will need when you DO go to a place like Iraq or Afghanistan.
Because you will learn how to ration your food and water, gasoline, batteries. You will learn how to work with fixers, translators, guides, in a place where you don’t speak the language or know the lay of the land. You will learn, finally and fundamentally, how to approach people in this situation with dignity, respect, compassion. Because if you don’t, you will find out very quickly that you’re not welcome.
As for the psychological consequences, look, people choose to go. Nobody is a draftee, nobody is forced to go. And unlike soldiers, we can always decide when we’ve had enough, and want to leave. That is a luxury that the people we photograph don’t have, but we do. That is not fair. But it is the way it is. So anyone who chooses to voluntarily go to a place where there is a lot of death, that is a known fact to them already when they make that choice.
We were all beginners once. I was lucky, I went to Bosnia for the first time not long after the Dayton ceasefire, where all the not-quite-lethal but still-challenging aspects I described above were true. I went from there to the live shooting war in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, and realized that the skills I had already learned from post-war Bosnia were proving very useful indeed. And since then it has been many different conflicts and catastrophes. I alluded to it above — I think that if you retain your moral compass — your sense of right and wrong and justice, you will be OK psychologically. Will you be the same person you were before you went? Of course not. But hopefully you will be wiser and kinder, as well as becoming a better journalist and photographer. Is this true for all of us? Of course not, some of our colleagues are not nice people, like in any profession. But if you aren’t an asshole, then maybe it will all help you grow up.
About 6-8% of people working in this situation will go on to suffer from post traumatic stress … an extremely debilitating mental illness.
A much higher percentage will suffer from depression and anxiety which is a normal psychological response.
The logic of your post suggests that the reason for this is that they have lost their moral compass?
‘I think that if you retain your moral compass — your sense of right and wrong and justice, you will be OK psychologically.’
Duckrabbit, I am not underplaying possible PTSD, depression, or anxiety, which are, as you rightly point out, normal psychological responses. Perhaps in the overly baroque nature of my writing I suggested otherwise; if so, I apologize. What I mean by retaining your moral compass is that, although you may indeed have some negative psychological consequences, you understand that this was part of the package, part of your risk, when you made your initial decision to voluntarily go. It was not nor should not be the first thing on your mind — that, I hope, would be to do your job well, to make pictures, as I said, with dignity, compassion, and respect — but I would find it incredible that it wouldn’t have crossed the mind of anyone going, that they might feel bad and depressed later.
Which is to say, if you really are so naive, even as a beginner, to not have any inkling of the potential reality of horror that you want to go and cover, and then suffer PTSD and depression afterward, and are surprised and shocked by this, then yes, at some point you have lost your moral compass, because then you are just being insensitive, to what you thought you were going to photograph, and insensitive to yourself as a thinking and feeling human being.
I was interviewed recently by a grad student about PTSD in photographers and journalists who have covered conflict, and my first response was casual, machismo-filled denial, “no, of course I don’t have PTSD, I’m totally fine. I enjoy a good life and appreciate it.” And then I started showing my interviewer the last fifteen years of my life’s work: Sichuan earthquake, Katrina, Iraq, Afghanistan, 9/11, Israel/Palestine, Kosovo, Bosnia…and as I related the circumstances of each photograph I could see the reaction — shock, horror — not just at the deaths documented but in my matter-of-fact and sometimes black-humor-laced narration. And I realized that what is totally normal for me is probably not going to seem normal to an average American of this generation who has never experienced or seen any of this first hand.
But that is, after all, why photographers WANT to go see it for themselves. Your reasons may be personal, political, moral, philanthropic, selfish, whatever. These reasons may be good or bad depending on how you judge yourself, how society judges, etc. Whatever they are, they are your reasons, and you go. And then, yes, there is a cost, a price. My argument is that if your choice was made voluntarily, then that price may have been worth paying. Perhaps I do/did suffer from a form of PTSD, but I would hope also that what I think I gained in wisdom and knowledge, in decency, in sensitivity, may have been a good thing too. Nobody can make this calculation for you, and you cannot relive your life once you do go down certain paths. All I am saying is that we need not assume the worst motives of people unless they show themselves out through abrasive, abusive, insensitive behavior. And you can see it in the way the photographs will emerge from it too, whether they were made with engagement, or only as atrocity tourism.
So if a photographer, especially a young and inexperienced one, wants to go, then go. Find out for yourself if this is what you want to do. There is no shame in returning home and deciding that going to medical school may actually be a better thing to do with your life rather than become a full-time war junkie and war tourist. No shame is saying that it wasn’t for you. But what if you actually realize that you are good at it, that it does become normal, that your pictures do, for you if no one else, effectively and passionately communicate, inform, move? Then you have found your calling how you choose to define it, and you will be, as I have often felt at the worst of times, that I am one of the luckiest people on earth, that I pursued my dreams and made at least some of them come true, and that my photographs through which I did this ARE honest and heartfelt.
Coming from a region popularly known for continuous humanitarian needs thus loads of stories (good & bad) of how as humans we are handling them. I have suggestions for levin on how to give aid to Haitians that is different. See I have a feeling he wants to give what he can identify with (right Levin?). Instead of taking people (future photographers) to learn the trade while documenting it for the world, How about with the donated materials, you hold the workshop for the locals there so that they can continually document their stories for the world. Or it’s too much a lesson for them to grasp?
There are many Haitian photo journalists who would benefit from such an initiative because they mostly would handle this better as most of us who photograph know, that sometimes that’s how we vent and mange to handle chaos around us.
I learnt in my backyard, telling painful stories of my people during a hard time thanks to others that were willing to show me how. I still tell stories of my people years on. It’s how I handle things. Plus I’m always here and see the changes, the strengths gained and new life that emerges everyday from our past pains.
If you can’t give to Haitians for them to get food & water. Give to them that which they can keep for years to come. That is if you want to help Haitians.
Here’s a link to a column in The Guardian today regarding a similar issue:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/20/palestine-israel-protest-tourism
Sample quote: “One Italian photography student described his trip to Bil’in as being “like a vacation”".
[...] mention the obvious dangers and liabilities it seems like a bad idea … for reasons mentioned here and here. And, I didn’t think Andy’s response was [...]
Dear Duck Rabbit, certainly an interesting issue , but don’t you think that if you’re going to get critical on ethics it might be a good idea to start with yourself? More specifically why not go back and take a look at the documentary you made about Sri-Lanka child soldiers? Is that obvious emotional manipulation really about child soldiers? Or perhaps about your thwarted ego and not getting on front page? Would you like me to elaborate? Because, unlike majority of commentators, in this treat, I would gladly provide all the empirical evidence to support my theory of just how self-righteous and self-involved that that take was.
Hi Mari,
thanks for your slightly off topic comment.
duckrabbit hasn’t produced a documentary on child soldiers but I presume that you’re talking about this audio slideshow:
http://www.innovativeinteractivity.com/2009/02/15/innocence-and-mankind-is-no-island-two-powerful-examples-of-advocacy-journalism/
The words speak for themselves. You will take one thing away, someone else will something different.
One thing to add though, the photographer had nothing to do with the production of the audio-slideshow. The words were simply taken from a blog post written by the photographer but he wasn’t aware that the slideshow was being produced. Any indulgence you perceive then is on the part of the producer (Benjamin Chesterton) and not the photographer (David White).
After David took those photos and the magazine who spent about a lot of money having them taken dropped the story David was deeply affected. I’ve known David for many years. Some of his stories get a lot of attention, some are hardly noticed but I’ve never known it to bother him for more than ten minutes. As long as he’s taking pictures he’s happy. What was the difference here then? Simply that the story meant so much to him.
As I say you are welcome to come to your own conclusions. This is what the Coalition to Stop the use of Child Soldiers had to say in regard to that specific piece of work:
‘duckrabbit have a unique and inspirational way to inform people’
[...] NGOs who are in need of photographs”. duckrabbit beat us to print with a smart and fair post expressing their outrage and bewilderment at the timing and tact of this proposal. Levin responded to the post with some clarifications, but [...]
Hi Mari,
That piece is indeed about child soldiers, not about me. Take another look. There is a lot of me in it though, a lot of honesty.
It did not start as a mm piece, it started with the text, written as a blog post.
duckrabbit try not to manipulate anything, so if you took that piece as a manipulation, something has failed somewhere.
Please do elaborate because all feedback and opinion is good.
I think its ironic how Andy had been questioning the previous motives of a certain Belgian photographer in Haiti and saying how disgusted he was with this guys updates from Haiti !!! Im pritty sure he did not get the same amount of money you will recoup with your $1500 per student fee….Question your own morales first mate, and as for emerging photographers ? Why not publish some in your 100 eyes magazine now and again instead of charging them $1500 to be in your esteemed company ? Who put you as the messiah of photo journalism ? I know from a lot of sources that you do not even look at their submission if they have not got that whole hype or 6 awards or inflated ego’s etc.
I agree the stick Bruno got from his admittedly unfortunate but entirely understandable Facebook comments was unfair. Speaking as a journalist its always frustrating when the technical side of things go wrong.
In defense of Andy he’s free to publish what he likes on 100 Eyes. Lots of great stuff on there and of course we’re all free to start our own online magazines. I’d be pretty surprised if he didn’t look at everything that comes in.
Photo-stone: “I think its ironic how Andy had been questioning the previous motives of a certain Belgian photographer in Haiti…”
Do you have a link for those of us who don’t know the context of this?
Are they prepared to starve for 3 days like so many haitians that can´t find food nor water?
I would strongly recommend to stay away from that type of trip, the people there need help
not camera carrying students eager to brag about the horrible things they saw.
Only gives photojournalism a bad name.
[...] Photo Aid? [...]
Can I suggest that every freelance snapper heading to Haiti without an assignment but a dream to have a single image up at a Visa slideshow for 5 seconds, instead spend the $5k another way? $1000 to Haiti relief, $4k to a therapist to find out why stepping over bodies and taking photos gives you self-esteem.
[...] Travel Photographer Hop TopicsPhoto Aid? (36)It's work Jim, but not as we know it… (18)Virtual intern wanted for 5 years, maybe longer. [...]
This is the sickest idea I have ever seen. Taking a bunch of untrained people into a catastrophe to learn how to be catastrophe photographers is beyond belief. I wouldn’t have believed this if I hadn’t seen it myself. It is beyond callous.
I contacted CNN about this trip and actually spoke to a reporter for a good amount of time.
She is going to follow up and see if she can have the feet on the ground find Andy’s “workshop”
This is NOTHING more then a self-serving excuse.
THE MOST IMPORTANT factors here that is NOT being address is that the Hatian structure cannot afford anymore pressure on it. Now we are going to have a bunch of weekend warriors taking up more space on the streets and roads then need be.
Anyone that goes on this trip really wants to say “I was there” “it was so bad” etc… This is still the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen in this business.
I hope CNN finds them, exposes their workshop and shows it for what it really is.
Tom, do you really think that CNN occupies the moral high ground when it comes to dignified behaviour in Haiti? The self-serving showboating of Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta more than matches the absurdity of Levin’s pitch, leaving them the last people on earth to sit in judgement of others:
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/18/anderson-in-the-midst-of-looting-chaos/
Send CNN to Jacmel, that’s were the workshops are. PLEASE.
WOW! has anyone on this post any idea what the workshops are truly about?
The angry posts above are TRULY on the wrong track.
Here are just three things being done for the locals:
1. Tents will be taken and Andy he asked that they be shared with locals who now have no homes.
2. Food will be shared with starving kids.
3. Canon DSLR camera’s are being handed to local kids who are part of the workshop, so that they will learn fom these ‘Terrible’ photojournalists, how to take picture in their own community and oneday have the opportunity to be a Haitian photojournalist themselves.
PLEASE research before you bitch.
JAH: “Canon DSLR camera’s are being handed to local kids who are part of the workshop, so that they will learn…and oneday have the opportunity to be a Haitian photojournalist themselves.”
This is akin to FashionAid turning up with a mobile catwalk and telling malnourished kids that “nothing tastes as good as thin feels” in an effort to raise morale. Sure things are tough now, but if you carry on being hungry and lean you might one day have the opportunity to be Haitian supermodel…
I don’t see what all the fuss is over. If Andy and his students are going to be self sufficient in terms of shelter and food, as well as bringing in vans full of relief supplies, donating their services to aid groups, and working with the local community in a positive way, then what is the harm? Yes, this may be some of the students first time working in an area in crisis, but all of us who work in such situations were “green” at one point—going on that first trip—and in most cases it was self funded/assigned.
This is a rough business to get into (and yes, we all need to eat, so it is also a business). You don’t ever get rich doing this type of work though, and the learning curve is typically very steep, with a lot of dangerous pitfalls along the way to navigate. If Andy can provide an instructive environment that will give students working experience, as well as provide support to the Haitian community, then I don’t have a problem with it, or with him being compensated for the numerous hours it probably required to put this workshop into motion.
Bryan … I wonder what you understand about the word ‘aid’?
well, if you read the first paragraph of the workshop description, it says that the vans that were rented for the workshop are now going to be used to transport medical supplies and food from undamaged areas into districts inside PAP such as Cite Soliel. From the news coverage I’ve seen thus far, the logistical situation seems to be critical, so i’m sure an extra set of vans could have a positive impact. In my world, that qualifies as aid.
Unless Levin’s driving to Haiti from New Orleans there is no “extra set of vans” – they’re already there.
well, nevertheless andrew, perhaps these vans weren’t already being used by their current owners to run supplies into the poorer, hard-hit areas of PAP. and if they were, then their owners are going to have these mini-missions subsidized, which in my mind still qualifies as some form of aid. if not on a massive scale, it’s at least the right idea, in my opinion.
Well, the WHO stipulates a minimum of 5 gallons of water needed to meet a person’s daily needs, and that’s not accounting for a disaster zone, so all’s cool as long as each participant is taking in 35 gallons each for their weeks workshop. That’s a lot to carry, and I’d be surprised if each participant was carrying anywhere near that amount. That amount weighs just short of 300lbs. Each.
there are ways to get around actually carrying in the water itself, which I hope, and would imagine Andy is working on and advising his students to bring (notice he mentioned a packing checklist). safe drinking water can be produced from local sources with purification pills, and/or by boiling water for a minimum of 30 minutes, which is technically safe, but might not taste that great. In terms of pills, They’ll probably be able to distribute some of these to the community as well, as they are relatively light/easy to transport, and bringing extras is probably already part of the plan.
The US military, and other aid organizations are probably bringing in some bottled water, but the majority of the water assistance that is being procured is mostly likely through similar, albeit, large-scale water purification equipment. It would be an incredibly inefficient allocation of resources to try to fly it all in.
Bryan,
’safe drinking water can be produced from local sources with purification pills, and/or by boiling water for a minimum of 30 minutes,’
There are energy shortages in Haiti right now … that’s why clean water is being sold for 50 cents for 600 ml, according to the UN.
i don’t doubt that, and that’s incredibly expensive for your average haitian citizen. but they are purchasing water that is already safe to drink, no purification required. While it may not be efficient or energy-responsible to boil the water due to energy shortages as you point out, the purification pills are still a viable option. Andy has also mentioned that much of their work is going to be in transporting goods around the country, from unaffected regions and the DR to PAP and hard hit areas. This would theoretically allow for planning the resupply of his group if necessary from neighboring DR. I hope it’s feasible and I’m sure Andy has given it a lot of thought himself. What I reacted to in this post was the invectives towards Andy and the students motives for participating in this workshop. I think it’s fair to question the feasibility/responsibility of traveling to Haiti at the moment—and those questions can lead to better ideas and planning, but attacking their reasons for putting themselves at risk is not constructive, and is all to typical of the armchair QB’ing that takes place in some of these forums.
Thanks for your even handed comments Bryan.
To be fair duckrabbit never had a go at the people who might want to go on this trip. Actually if you read my post I expressed concern for their welfare. As the Country Director of the BBCWorldService Trust in Ethiopia I hosted many visitors. My first concern was always their health and safety.
Seriously though why would anyone charge people $1500 to transport goods around a humanitarian crisis? And what goods are they? Who would run a workshop without first doing a recce?
Speaking as someone who has worked in aid its just not credible. It would be a bad idea if people were going for free, that someone is profiting from this carry on is cynical and irresponsible.
[...] Travel Photographer Hop TopicsPhoto Aid? (42)It's work Jim, but not as we know it… (18)Virtual intern wanted for 5 years, maybe longer. [...]
Yes bring the Haitian children SlR cameras thats exaclty what they need right now !!!! Now why didn’t the redcross think of that ????
No matter what spin you put on this,its still gross…I refer to Andy’s earlier higher than thou attitude with refrence to Bruno
http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/is-anyone-on-the-ground-in-haiti
I’ve clicked on the link but don’t see any comments from Levin regarding Bruno (Stevens?).
Andy removed his comments. You’d need to search a cached version to read them.
100 eyes,
but no heart.
Lot to be done here folks…..Duckrabbit has passed much miss-information, sorry I haven’t time to go over all of this….I am staying on the concrete floor at Mario Joseph, civil rights lawyer, and I am with NYCMedics, headed to Cite Soleil. To those who are brave enough to understand what I am doing– bravo. Working with Bruno also yesterday, the photographers are doing a great and courageous job…..walked around 3 days, never saw another journalist or even white person. I work alone and Haitians are welcoming to photographers especially Americans.
David White is a bi-polar who attacks everything that he can’t be….he has done more to hurt photojournalism that anyone on the web, continually presenting us as parasites and exploitative, which we are clearly not. He exploits any weakness to find to prop up his website and page count….making us feel bad about our job.
Come to Haiti, spend money. Come alone, come with me….there is plenty of food and the street “restaurants” women cooking chicken, fish in the street are happy to be paid with US dollars!
Food will be shared with starving kids……… but we will never go hungry
http://prisonphotography.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/staring-at-death-photographing-haiti/
Andy Levin: “David White is a bi-polar who attacks everything that he can’t be….”
With this one graceful comment, Levin lays to rest the notion that the concerned photographer is a thing of the past. I can’t be the only one who suspects that this might be a subtle trailer for a forthcoming series of Bedlam Photo Safaris in which he sensitively leads a posse of photo wannabes through the psychiatric hospitals of America; it’s a bad businessman who ignores the demographic without passports.
Andy said ”Working with Bruno also yesterday”
I presume this is the same Bruno you berated just a week ago on Lightstalkers over his Facebook posts and then removed your posts ?????
Here’s another one for you………………
http://www.lightstalkers.org/posts/zoriah-offers-a-haiti-workshop-for-4g
Zoriah Miller-
I have decided to offer a special small group workshop in Haiti focused on photographing the aftermath of the earthquake. Subjects covered will be working in disaster zones and other difficult and dangerous situations, survival and logistics in difficult environments, photograph people, working with NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations) and aid organizations, editing and digital darkroom technique and marketing and making your stories available for the world to see.
In addition to working together as a small group, each student will receive one full day of one-on-one training in the field with me. This will allow each student to have their personal needs met and get one-on-one instruction in addition to that of the group activities.
This workshop is open to a maximum of four students. Cost is $4000 USD for seven days and students will be required to pay their own expenses. This will be a difficult workshop both physically and mentally and students should be prepared for minimal comforts. Students will sleep in their own tents and should bring their own supplies such as food and water purification (you will receive detailed instructions on what to bring in advance of the workshop.) The workshop will either begin on March 8th, March 15th or March 22nd depending on the preferences of the group. Workshop tuition must be paid by March 1st.
This will be a unique experience to not only train in the field but also help keep up awareness of a very important issue that will soon fade from the news, while the needs of the Haitians will continue.
Thanks John … as I said in my initial post I felt sorry for Andy who had organised a workshop only to have it fall to pieces. Everything is relative and it was a shit position to be in after he out so much hard work into the workshop … this is something else all together.
I just don’t know where to begin!
[...] http://duckrabbit.info/blog/2010/01/have-100-eyes-lost-the-plot/ [...]
http://www.zoriah.net/blog/2010/02/photojournalism-workshops-haiti-earthquake-intimate-group-workshop.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+zoriah/Rtel+(ZORIAH.NET+-+A+PHOTOJOURNALIST+AND+WAR+PHOTOGRAPHER’S+BLOG)&utm_content=Google+Reader
Just curious, as I never saw any comments (positive or neg); what exactly did I do wrong? I spent 15 days in haiti, starting 36 hours after the earthquake and worked my ass off, sleeping 5hrs a night outside with no tent or sleeping bag, the rest of the time shooting editing and transmiting…sorry if i offended anyone in this benevolent assembly, but i was focussing on the matter at hand: the fate of the people of haiti.
Period.
Bruno
I think you’d have to ask Andy Bruno … We’ve just been talking about how good your work has been, so I’d ignore the noise!
Oh, well.
I just read the thread (without Andy’s original comments) and what caused them, that is my FB status describing my first impressions of PaP on day 2. (probably badly phrased, sorry I had more important things on my mind at that moment).
Yes, I used FB as a convenient means to reach my family, my friends, my clients, my agency and tell them all in one fast (internet connection was virtually non existent at that point in time) that I would be difficult to reach.
it just seemed the easiest way at the time. (Still does to me).
B
Bruno, for what its worth I really don’t think an explanation is neccessary.
Find me a photographer who doesn’t get pissed off when all the coms go to shit and you’ve found me a saint.
Zoriah is donating 50% of his proceeds to those suffering from the disaster in Haiti! I think it is great that he is doing this.
Bethany, Zoriah is a joke. He’s just not credible.
[...] think the multimedia blog duckrabbit.info summed it up well when they said “Let the living bury their dead. Please.” (If [...]
The Cine Institute of Jacmel has not agreed to partner in any “Photo Aid” projects. This is a misrepresentation of an agreement we had prior to this great crisis and no one in the Cine Institute Administration has agreed to this amended photo workshop objective. We ask that all references to the Cine Institute and our students be removed from this amended Workshop offer. It in no way reflects the interest of the Cine Institute, or the Cine Institute efforts in this great catastrophe that we are all trying desperately to heal from.
Andrew Bigosinski
Director of the Cine Institute Film School, Jacmel
[...] Travel Photographer Hop TopicsPhoto Aid? (76)Is a documentary photography degree worth having? (51)It's work Jim, but not as we know it… [...]
[...] some photojournalism workshops were announced to be held in Haiti. The reactions on lightstalkers, duckrabbit and so on were, let’s say, harsh. One of the difficulties of discussions like that is that it [...]