***Check out soon: Interview with Brian Storm, founder of multimedia production company MediaStorm *** Se você chegou aqui procurando o texto em português, clique aqui ***

I met Ed Kashi at National Geographic Photocamp 2007, in New York City, when I worked as an assistant. Ed is a National Geographic Magazine photographer, and he also has a very solid personal work whick I already knew before I met him.

“Aging In America“, for example, is a project he made on the theme of aging and health care in his own country. It took him 8 years to finish the project, that became a book in 2003. He also turned this project into photo essays for magazines, a multimedia series on MSNBC.com, exhibitions, and a film, that was screened on film festivals across the country.

He also made a very interesting project on Kurdistan, in Iraq. Besides the traditional media, this project was also edited into a “web-flipbook“. The piece was made by MediaStorm, and published on MSNBC.com. It also generated an interesting discussion in the PJ field.

Now, here we go… Ed Kashi, for narua.org.

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First of all, I’d like to ask you to speak briefly about your work, how you started, what moved you into photojournalism, and what keeps moving you now.

ED KASHI: I BEGAN MY CAREER IN SAN FRANCISCO AFTER GRADUATING FROM SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY WITH A DEGREE IN PHOTOJOURNALISM, WHICH WAS RARE IN 1979. INITIALLY I WORKED FOR LOCAL CLIENTS DOING PORTRAITS AND COVERING EVENTS, BUT I WAS ALWAYS PUSHING MY GROWTH THROUGH PERSONAL WORK AND WITHIN A FEW YEARS BEGAN WORKING FOR NATIONAL MAGAZINES, TRAVELING AND MOVING FORWARD PROFESSIONALLY. BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL I BEGAN A PERSONAL PROJECT IN NORTHERN IRELAND IN 1988 THAT MY WORK BEGAN TO DEVELOP IN THE DIRECTION AND QUALITIES THAT I BECAME A PHOTOGRAPHER FOR. I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A STORYTELLER, DO IN DEPTH REPORTING AND CREATE INTIMATE BODIES OF WORK ABOUT SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES. THIS KIND OF ENGAGEMENT IS WHAT MAKES ME FEEL ALIVE.

Ed, you’ve been been experiencing new formats for publishing your work, specially through the internet, as we’ve seen on MSNBC and MediaStorm websites, for example. We’ve also seen your work being screened on TV and film festivals, which seems quite unusual for a still photographer. However, I’ve read about professionals complaining of having to do a job that’s not their specialty, and others saying “photojournalism is dead”. It is also a fact that the magazine tradition on long-term photojournalistic essays has shrunk. Based on this, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you:

What made you start playing with these different formats? What attracted you?

EK: I BEGAN WORKING WITH VIDEO IN 2000, IN THE MIDST OF MY 8 YEAR PROJECT ENTITLED AGING IN AMERICA. I FELT IT WAS TIME TO START CAPTURING THE VOICES OF MY SUBJECTS SO THE LAYERS OF MEANING IN AND AROUND MY IMAGES WOULD BECOME RICHER. FROM THERE I THEN BEGAN COLLABORATIONS WITH WEBSITES, SO MY SENSE OF SHOOTING STILLS FOR SEQUENCES DEVELOPED AS WELL.

How has the internet and, broadly, technology changed the way you work on a daily basis? Has your bag become heavier, loaded with more equipment?

EK: MY BAG HAS BECOME LIGHTER WITH PHOTO GEAR AND WITHOUT FILM, BUT A NEW BAG IS JUST AS HEAVY AND EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE, FILLED WITH THE HARDWARE FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY. HAVING THE INTERNET AS A DISTRIBUTION TOOL HAS REVOLUTIONIZED WHAT I DO AND ALLOWED ME TO REACH MORE PEOPLE AND DIFFERENT AUDIENCES AS WELL. IT HAS ALSO ALLOWED ME TO INVOLVE MORE OF MY WORK, AS THE SPACE AVAILABLE ON THE WEB IS NOT AS RESTRICTED AS IN PRINT.

I listened to the podcast George Jardine, from Adobe Inc., made with you recently, and you mentioned a story you experienced while covering the Hebron settlers. You said some of them had a printout of a webpage with your work and that they were mad at something you said in that piece. I’d like you to share some of your thoughts on this experience. How does the internet affect our sense of responsibility? Do you see any changes on the photographer’s role in the world due to this massive and global publishing and sharing of information the internet allows?

EK: WELL THAT EXPERIENCE IN THE WEST BANK SHOWED ME THAT THE WORLD IS A SMALLER PLACE AND YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL OF WHERE YOUR WORK GETS PUBLISHED AND WHO MIGHT SEE IT. IN THE PAST WE COULD TELL PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD THAT OUR WORK WAS FOR OUTSIDE, SO THEY NEEDN’T WORRY ABOUT GETTING HURT AFTER WE LEFT. THAT HAS NOW CHANGED SO OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS EVEN GREATER TO OUR SUBJECTS, TO MAKE SURE WE DON’T HURT THEM BY MISTAKE. YET, WE MUST STILL DO WHAT WE DO, AND SOMETIMES IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID OFFENDING OR ANGERING OUR SUBJECTS. THIS REFLECTS THE REALITY GAP IN OUR WORLD TODAY, WHICH IS FUELED BY ANCIENT PREJUDICES, LACK OF EDUCATION AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.

What do you think this format – audiovisual, interactive – adds to the viewer’s experience?

EK: IT GIVES THE VIEWER A RICHER FEELING FOR THE SUBJECT WHILE ALSO BEING MORE ENGAGING. WHEN YOU CAN HAVE MUSIC, AMBIENT SOUND AND THE ACTUAL VOICES OF THE SUBJECTS, THE AUDIENCE GETS A RICHER, MORE DETAILED AND NUANCED VERSION OF THAT REALITY…PLUS, MUSIC ALONE ADDS A DIMENSION THAT IS MAGICAL AND POWERFUL.

Where does the book format stand on this new era? Is it still relevant? And what about magazines?

EK: BOOKS ARE STILL VERY RELEVANT, BECAUSE THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE THE GREATEST VALUE AND IMPORTANCE. THEY ALSO POSSESS WHAT I LIKE TO CALL A “THINGNESS”, PLUS THE PERMANENCE OF IT AS AN OBJECT IN THE TANGIBLE WORLD. MAGAZINES ARE STILL VERY RELEVANT BUT THEIR PLACE AS A BUSINESS MODEL IS BEING SQUEEZED BY THE INTERNET AND VIDEOS.

What remains unique about still photography, despite all other media? What kind of “special power” does it have?

EK: THE POWER TO STOP YOU , MAKE YOU LISTEN, LOOK, MEDITATE, THINK…THINK… LIKE NO OTHER MEDIUM, SINCE IT CAN PROVIDE AN AESTHETIC AND ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO THE PHOTOGRAPH CONTAINS INFORMATION – INFORMATION THAT IS OFTEN LOOKED AT AS “FACT”.

“Aging in America”, your project on aging and health care, has been widely spread, on all sorts of vehicles, from a book to the TV, film festivals and the internet, since the day it was published, in 2003. Do you think the social impact of this work has been wider because of this massive distribution?

EK: I ABSOLUTELY SEE THE DOCUMENTARY FILM MULTIMEDIA WEBSITE AS THE MAIN REASONS FOR ITS WIDE DISTRIBUTION AND VISIBILITY…BUT WITHOUT THE BOOK THOSE OTHER VEHICLES MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED OR BEEN GIVEN THE ATTENTION…THEY ARE ALL PART OF THE SYNERGISTIC WHOLE THAT IS NECESSARY IN TODAY’S WORLD IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET YOUR MESSAGE AND PROJECT OUT THERE.

Has it become easier for young photographers to get their words (or their sights) out? Any advice?

EK: IT HAS GOTTEN HARDER IN THE CONVENTIONAL SENSE FOR YOUNGER PHOTOGRAPHERS TO GET THEIR WORK OUT THERE BUT WITH THE WEB, IT HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER TO PUT YOUR WORK OUT THERE IN A RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE WAY AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MANY PEOPLE TO SEE IT.

There is a post on your blog where you mention a Youtube video, of a kurdish rapper who used some of your photos, as you said, without your permission. How do you deal with copyright issues like this one? It’s hard to keep track of where your photos end up being used, right? Does it change the way you think copyright? Should we think of a new kind of legislation?

EK: I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT VIOLATION AS IT WOULD BE TOO DIFFICULT TO POLICE. IN GENERAL I PUT FAITH THAT I WON’T GET RIPPED OFF TOO MUCH OR TOO MANY TIMES. IN A WAY IT’S AN HONOR TO HAVE MY WORK USED IN THIS FASHION BUT THIS KIND OF VIOLATION IS ONE OF THE PITFALLS OF THE DIGITAL AGE.

Is there an ongoing crisis on photojournalism, or is photojournalism dead, as many people say? Or the point is we haven’t yet really understood where we’re heading to?

EK: PHOTOJOURNALISM, IN TERMS OF THE PRODUCTION OF NEW WORK, HAS NEVER BEEN MORE ALIVE. WHAT IS DYING ARE THE VENUES FOR DISPLAYING THE WORK, BUT THAT IS WHY THE WEB IS SO IMPORTANT FOR THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF THIS VITAL PROFESSION AND BRANCH OF THE MEDIA.

Where are you heading to? Any new projects?

EK: I AM CONTINUING TO WORK ON PHOTO ESSAYS AND PROJECTS DRIVEN BY STILLS, BUT I CONTINUE TO BRANCH OUT INTO MULTIMEDIA PROJECTS AND I WANT TO CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH MY WIFE, JULIE WINOKUR, ON DOCUMENTARY FILMS. THEY ARE REALLY ALL CONNECTED IN THE END OF THE DAY. I JUST FINISHED A PROJECT IN INDIA, WHICH WILL HAVE A VERY STRONG HDV COMPONENT FOR THE CREATION OF THE WEB SERIES THAT WILL ACCOMPANY THE MAGAZINE STORY.

Final thoughts?

EK: I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT WITHOUT STILLS WE ALL JUST BECOME VIDEOGRAPHERS AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY WANT I AND DEVOTING MYSELF TO AVOID. MY WORK WILL ALWAYS CELEBRATE AND BE BUILT UPON THE UNIQUE POWER OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHY.

Thank you.