Photojournalism: The female view

Shooting with a camera on the Iraqi frontline might take courage but what about photographing the interior of a boutique bought by a Chinese business man for his concubine? French photojournalist Axelle De Russé, whose project on Chinese concubines is being exhibited throughout the duration of the festival, explains that her interest lies in gaining access to the details of the daily lives of the young women.  Award-winning British photojournalist Hazel Thompson states that capturing the intimate moments of the subject involves “penetrating a world that men don’t have access to” and attributes her success to the trust she gains from her subjects. Thompson adds that, “men and women are psychologically different and that this is a wonderful thing for photojournalism.”

Thomson, who smuggled a camera into four prisons in Manila under cover as an aid worker to photograph illegally imprisoned children, states that she would like to have worked alongside a male photographer to see if the subject would be approached from a different angle. She says that if asked to document the war in Iraq, she would not be interested in covering the action, but in the daily struggles of Iraqi civilians. She explains that it is the people that she connects with and “you can’t pour your heart into something unless you connect with it.”

Crystal Chester