Photojournalist and filmmaker Ed Kashi has traveled the world to document the social and political issues that define the human condition today. Along with numerous awards, including honors from Pictures of the Year International, World Press Foundation, Communication Arts and American Photography, Kashi’s images have been published and exhibited worldwide, and his editorial assignments and personal projects have generated six books.

Two images from Nigeria Delta Slaughter, copyright and courtesy Ed Kashi.

In addition to editorial assignments, filmmaking and personal projects, Kashi is an educator who instructs and mentors students of photography, participates in forums, and lectures on photojournalism, documentary photography and multimedia storytelling. This weekend, Ed is conducting a workshop, Visual Storytelling in the Digital Age, at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, New York. I caught up with him yesterday just before he departed to our nation’s capital. Here’s what we wrote:

Peggy Roalf: You were a fairly early adopter of digital photography and consequently have a broad perspective on the medium. What was your first encounter, regarding camera and assignment, and were you immediately hooked?

Ed Kashi: Actually I don't know if I was such an early adopter, given that newspaper and newsmagazine folks were working with digital gear back in the 1990's, but it was in 2002 on the Day in the Life of Africa, when I had to shoot digitally, that I become hooked immediately. At that moment, on the streets of Hargeysa, Somalia, was where I had the revelation about digital photography. That it was no less revolutionary a moment than Cartier-Bresson and Kertesz experienced in Paris in the 1920's with roll film and Leicas had been. I could now make photographs in this new format and distribute the material across the globe in a new way, with no loss in quality.

PR: How long did it take for the equipment to advance to the point that you were comfortable leaving analog behind for assignments?

EK: Between 2002 and 2004 was where the great leaps took place for me, but it was around 2008 when the Canon 5D was introduced that the game changed forever in my eyes.

PR: When teaching workshops, how do you communicate ideas about light and exposure to people who have only used digital and are unfamiliar with the interrelationship of light value, f-stop and aperture?

EK: It's interesting to consider the lack of intrinsic knowledge that people learning about photography today will most likely miss due to these amazing new cameras and tools. There is less need, at least on the surface, to understand some of the nuances of light and exposure. Yet invariably in my workshops and mentoring sessions, I try to talk about light and exposure in a way that transcends the tools you may use.

Ultimately, for the kind of work I do, it's about making a powerful and effective image, which means the conventional elements that one might hold as true for exposure and the attendant settings, can be thrown out the window. The most profound change in these terms is that you can be off on your exposure with a high quality digital sensor and still rescue the image, whereas with color slide film you had to be exact in the camera. Digital photography has brought the color darkroom back into my work and allowed me to shoot color almost as how I shoot black-and-white where the raw file is like a negative, not the print. I am freer to play, experiment, go for images I would have never considered while shooting chromes.

PR: Your long-term projects cover such broad terrain – literally – from the Middle East to East Texas. Is getting access to institutions and people in the USA much different than in, say, Nigeria?

EK: Access continues to become more and more an issue in the world today, whether in Nigeria or the USA. Institutions and individuals can be less cooperative and more paranoid, so it's important for us to be strong and clear in how we present ourselves and explain the work we're trying to accomplish.

One example of a situation that was terribly difficult was trying to access the oil industry and oil facilities in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Ultimately I was arrested and detained for 4 days by the Nigerian military for trying to photograph an oil flow station in the middle of the delta. It would have been impossible to get permission, so that was a situation where I had to work clandestinely. I paid the price. In another situation, when I was working with National Geographic in the same area, the French oil giant Total, allowed me access for three full days, flying me in helicopters and taking me into their oil facilities. That was amazing. I believe it was due to the association with National Geographic.

In the United States, when I was working on my project on Aging in America, I was often up against a wall trying to get access to intimate situations in people's lives. In those cases, it mattered less that I was not on assignment for a major publication, because I was able to passionately articulate what the project was, for what purpose, and how it would be used. It's important to develop the trust and create a kind of collaborative relationship with your subjects whenever possible.

PR: What advice would you give a young photographer who needs to keep the day job while developing a project he or she can work on close to home base – and keep it interesting?  

EK: The key is to find a story or subject that grabs your heart and mind—one that stirs your passions and also that is logistically practical. It's critical to give it a lot of time so you can go in depth, explore it visually, give yourself the license to play with your photography to discover your own point of view. I find that when I'm passionate about a subject, I can't stop from photographing it. The desire to explore the story both journalistically and visually becomes this intoxicating experience.

What is problematic about working on documentary projects close to home is balancing the two worlds. Documentary work requires you to live by the timetable and needs of your subject. That often does not conform to your personal needs, social life, family, etc. You must be able to etch out the time for your work as something sacred.

I find my story ideas by reading newspapers, magazines, books, listening to the radio and occasionally watching TV. While it sounds like I"m absorbed in media, I also pay attention to the world around me. Whether I'm in the New York area at home or traveling in other parts of this nation or the world, I'm always keeping my eyes open for ideas and issues that stir me. Once an idea hits me, I'll then go about determining if it's doable for me.

This equation will be unique for each person, but I'm talking about time away from home, costs, dangers and security risks, viability for funding, journalistic merit, historical importance and the list goes on. I know this sounds complicated but that is my process. And I prefer to work in a long form, in depth, deliberate and thoughtful manner. I want to create work that will have relevance and meaning for a long time to come. You have to ask yourself, “what do you want to do?” Then you settle on an approach that will allow you to keep your sanity.

The best way to organize larger, more complicated projects is by dissecting the story, figuring out the aspects of coverage, determining the amount of time, as best you can, to accomplish each element, and start to block the time out in your schedule. Of course it depends on so many factors, but you must find a structure that allows you to begin somewhere. Invariably, once you begin working, the fire is lit and there is no turning back.

PR: What advice would you give a young photographer about editing his or her work with a book in mind?

EK: If you have a book as one of your final creations, you must think across a large canvas. Whether it's a series of images on a theme or more of a photo essay with chapters and in a narrative form, you must be able to visualize what the end will be.

I would suggest creating a shot list, visual outline and subject outline. Determine what you need to photograph and how the elements will eventually fit together. Quite often you won't know or the final product will not resemble what you've actually done, but it's important to start somewhere.

When I began the Aging in America project, I knew it was going to be very big, so I produced a series of photo essays on a number of different topics. My approach was to create photo essays, large and small, as I went along, so I could publish them in magazines, and then in the end I'd have this huge archive of material to assemble the final mosaic for the book. With the Niger Delta, I had a similar approach but due to security and access issues, I also had to remain open minded, get what I could get and see how the final book would form.

Saturday, August 6, 6pm: An Evening With Ed Kashi at the Center for Photography at Woodstock. 59 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY. Information or 845-679-9957. Admission: $7/$5.

There are still a few slots open for Ed Kashi’s 3-day workshop, Visual Storytelling in the Digital Age. The workshop runs from Saturday August 6 - Monday August 8, 9:30-5pm daily. Information.