CHARITY, THE PRESS AND FREEDOM?

There is a lot of debate among pro photographers about the effects of working for free and the stealing of images. The general consensus with which I whole heartedly agree is that it drives down quality and by sheer definition would make pro photographers extinct. Let’s face it we all do what we do for the love of it but for the reasons above (and that we have to live and buy kit) we have to back the quality of our work and charge a fair rate.  However I feel that there must be exceptions to this rule, there are just some causes which don’t attract money and should not be ignored because of this. If you believe strongly enough that what they do is right, lending them a tool that can be so powerful should never be wrong.

One such cause is that of the Aegis Trust, they run on a very small budget tackling a very big problem, preventing Genocide. Not only are they fighting against a problem as old society itself but also the other great human trait of turning a blind eye to the problems of others. As such I have been providing them with press suitable images to further their cause free of charge for almost 8 years now. So when David Brown, their head of media, phoned me up to shoot a portrait, money was not even discussed.

The subject was Dr Mukesh Kapila former head of the U.N in Sudan. In 2004 after seeing genocide happening in Dafur he tried to raise the alarm with governments around the world. They already knew but were unwilling to act for the sake of a peace deal on the table to end civil war between North and South.  So he faced a choice, continue in his job in silence or lose his job and tell the world. He felt this was too important a thing to just ignore, he went to the press and made sure everyone knew what was going on in Sudan. The reason for our meeting was that he would tell his story again through his auto biography and highlight continuing abuses in Sudan.

It was appropriate then that we were to meet at the Frontline Club, a club for press at the frontline of journalism where they risk their lives to tell untold stories. Mukesh was a cheerful subject despite the heavy subject matter and happy to be moved around the room as I saw fit. I had my lighting, I had my background but everything felt just a little clichéd. That was until he took off his glasses; the look in his eyes was that of all people who get to see atrocities, intangible but there all the same. I felt the picture now fitted the story.

I have no idea whether any of this really fits together but it raised interesting thoughts for me about money and how it affects our freedom to act. Both when it calls out for us to do nothing and when it gives us the opportunity to do something. If no one paid for their news no one would have the resources to cover the important untold stories. In my opinion were the press to become free it would no longer have any freedom.