How not to be a photo tourist

I missed a great post from Gavin Gough a few weeks back that really made me stop and think. He explores in his inimitable and passionate way the behavior of photo tourists – you know, the ones that act like modern day trophy hunters, where the destination or the shot is more important than the destination or the real experience of the place you go to.

With Digital cameras and flights getting ever cheaper, the increase in photo tourism is inevitable. Gavin refers to his post as a diatribe. I think that is a little harsh, but diatribe or not it needs saying, and when it comes from the likes of Gavin and Jeffrey Chapman it has far more resonance. Go read the post. it is a passionate piece and a great read.

I have noticed here in Egypt that if you behave like a tourist you get treated like a tourist. Every approach is reciprocated with a hand asking for cash. It is a sort of “if you want to exploit me then I am only to happy to exploit you” sort of exchange.

But if you stop, get engaged and act as a human being and show a real interest, compassion and respect it becomes a different world. It starts with a smile, the offer of a cup of tea and before you know it you have passed an hour or two, hand gesturing your way through a conversation. And the reward…sometimes its a photo, but even if not it is a deeper understanding of their world through their eyes.

The photo above of the young girl came as a result of 2 hours of conversation, lunch with the family and, when they were used to me, THEY asked me to take photos of them. This was one from a whole series taken during a second visit with some friends.

I always carry a small portable printer. It is amazing the reaction to a quick print on a Pogo printer (available in the store under printers here) – you are often in danger of being adopted and chided if you miss a weekly visit thereafter! Where possible I always go back and take them some printed photos, or some tea or something they can’t get.

And of course by stopping, observing and listening you listen with your eyes and your ears….and that’s when the magic happens (or in my case where my technique results in a lost iconic image!),

Its early days for me in my photography journey, but I have learned so much from reading the blogs of people like Gavin. My experience of Egypt – the real Egypt – is ten times what I thought it would be. And all because, through photography, I am getting out there and experiencing local life….and occasionally as a bonus getting the chance to shoot some pictures.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 4:03 pm. It is filed under Travel and tagged with Gavin Gough, technique, Tips, Worth following. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.