A man in Santiago de Atitlan, a village on the lake of the same name in Guatemala. A short conversation, a gift and a tip, resulted in this photograph that is part of my Guatemala portfolio.
Over the past few years I have witnessed abominable behavior on the part of tourists armed with cameras. I suppose many feel they paid for this bucket list vacation of a lifetime and by God they are going to get a picture that will impress everyone back home.
Thus the buses disgorge scores of sunburnt travelers clad with Nikons, Canons, and what have you into the plaza of Chichicastenango, a centuries old city in Guatemala inhabited by mostly indigenous people, only to stick their lenses in their faces. Certainly the tour guide warned them of this cultural faux pas. Maybe not. Click click click and move on to the next one. Meanwhile the women who try to eke out a living selling aguacates or homemade crafts feel violated and humiliated. It’s over when the bus leaves but there are many buses every day, every week, every month, every year.
Certainly you want to photograph the color and tradition in a place like Chichicastenango. Wide shots, shots where they are welcomed (a smile is usually an indicator) and unobtrusiveness are fine. And you can find suitable subjects in a place like this who will smile for you and make a great photograph to take home. I carry gifts for this purpose: hotel soaps, ball point pens, cigarettes, baseballs (great for Nicaragua, Venezuela, or Cuba), packs of crayons, perfume samplers, etc.
Perhaps an even more egregious activity is the selling of tours in Managua to go to La Chureca, Central America’s largest landfill where travelers photograph people in the most miserable conditions. The poor, many who live on the landfill, are picking through garbage, filth, dead animals, body parts, and who knows. Trying to find food. Men, women, children alike live in squalor at La Chureca and take part in this miserable endeavor every day, every week, every month, every year. And still the click click click. Cameras and cell phones.
Here is the summary of my notes on the subject of Cultural Photography ethics.
I have no objection to photographs of the dump being taken for legitimate reasons: photojournalism, photographic essays, documentary photography, and things of that nature. These are important so the world can see and maybe understand. But as a souvenir or as a photograph to put up for sale in a gallery (I have seen them) is immoral.
Speaking of which, don’t even get me started on people who take selfies at Auschwitz.
I have been thinking it might be useful to set some guidelines for myself as a I travel and ply my trade as a cultural photographer. Others might care to follow.
Herein is my pledge:
No photographs of poverty, misery, or death (I photograph poor people, yes, but I try to do it in a dignified way that respects them).
Always show people in a dignified manner
Never be intrusive, consider yourself an Uninvited Guest (see below)
Remember the story behind the photograph to be able to relate later
Respect sacred places and rituals
Love what you are doing
No staged situations or photo ops (NPPA)
Avoid stereotyping (NPPA)
Treat subjects with respect (NPPA)
The concept of the Univited Guest was a philosophy taught to me at GSD&M Advertising where I worked in the 1990s. It means that the advertiser should act like a guest in someone’s home, car, office when you are communicating to them. For me it means to behave like a guest in other places that I travel to and photograph.
NPPA is the National Press Photography Association. I borrowed liberally from their Code of Ethics.