Matthew Williams is a talented young photographer with a conscience. When I came across his website, I was impressed with the quality and variety of his imagery, as well as the selection of stories he chose to tell with his camera. I asked Matthew how he chose his subject material, and this is what he had to say:

“Well, I just graduated, so most of the work on my website was shot while I was still in school. I’ve always been interested in environmental issues and humanitarian issues specifically, and over the last three years, we had a lot of opportunity to craft our own coursework. The first project I tackled was the work in Thailand, and the AIDS situation there. It was my first time trying to cover such a large topic, and I really had no idea what I was doing when I got on that plane, but after that experience, which was three months, I knew that that was the avenue I’d like to go long term. Since then, I’ve been trying to follow issues that are either politically interesting to me or socially relevant.”

Mouse-over thumbnails to view enlarged images.

This is just a small sample of Matthew’s work. Be sure to visit his website: www.matthewwilliamsphotography.com, to learn more about these images, and see the full stories. I highly recommend checking out the “Hope for the Hopeless” movie in the multimedia section while you’re there.

It’s great to see a young photographer taking an interest in the humanitarian world. Think what this world might be like if we could all find a way to use our own unique skills and talents to help others.