Photo | Yan SeilerWhen an image from his latest photographic work was chosen for the cover of NEED’s Issue 4 in late 2007, Yan Seiler thought Christmas had come early.

Obviously he was pleased, but also surprised because he had not easily decided to include that particular picture in the final selection sent to our picture editors. After some hesitation, Seiler included it anyway, and earned himself his first ever cover.

The 33-year-old Swiss national’s interest in photography is indeed a recent one, spurred by the gift of an old film camera in 2004. The potential he discovered in this medium was so strong that it quickly became a love affair. “I’ve started shooting black and white films, and later on I joined a community sharing photographs on the web,” he says. “I bought a digital SLR [camera] and from that point it almost became an obsession, capturing moments, freezing emotions, atmospheres.” Read the rest of this entry »

Photo | John AbernathyJohn Abernathy, one of NEED magazine’s contributing photographers, consistently offers readers compelling visual narratives. He has voluntarily completed three assignments for NEED, featuring two Minnesota-based stories in Issue 2, along with a shoot in Guatemala for Issue 4. Abernathy’s success as a photographer has allowed him to make a living off something he enjoys, but he is certainly not the only one benefiting from his work. Recently, the man behind the lens allowed me to turn it back on him, offering some professional insights and personal experiences.

Q: Do you see the world differently as a photographer and how do you feel about approaching your subjects?

A: It interests me to think that all photographers are basically faced with two questions: where should they stand and when to take the photograph. Yet there is so much variety between photographers. This makes me think excellent photography is about getting outside yourself and shooting from an uncommon perspective, both physically and mentally. Photography is a selective process. By taking a photo you are choosing what is important and what isn’t. I try to think about whether the subject will think they are portrayed honestly in the final article. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo | Maciej DakowiczWith four photo stories published to date and another one in our forthcoming issue 5, Maciej Dakowicz is one of NEED magazine’s dedicated contributing photographers.

We worked together on his latest assignment, covering micro-finance and job development projects in the Balkans, and it was an encounter that taught me a lot about this remarkable character, both professionally and personally.

The Polish-born 31-year-old is relatively new to photography. He picked up his first digital camera in 2003 in Hong Kong, where he lived and worked for four years after graduating from a Polish university with a master degree in computer science. He now works at the University of Glamorgan in Wales as a research assistant while doing a PhD in Computing. This eclecticism also transpires in his photography. Dakowicz has indeed demonstrated to be at ease with very different subjects, from Cambodian children working in garbage dumps to an Indian community for transsexuals, from airborne medical assistance in Tanzania to street photography in Cardiff, his current residence. Read the rest of this entry »

Children view the city from the riverbank.Our last issue introduced the world of street children. With activist and photographer Paul Corbit Brown’s haunting imagery and journal entries, readers gained insight into the lives of children who live on the streets in Rwanda. In preparation for an upcoming collaborative feature about Indonesian street children, I met Paul. His southern drawl pulled me in as I listened to him talk about his work. I was struck by his selfless dedication to the people he met in his travels. He acts to change the world with little hesitation and no thought of personal consequences. As I listened, I wondered if making change might not take a huge effort.

Paul explains that all street children face the problem of how others see them. Vilified for conditions they did not create, these “invisible children” are outcast and dismissed for having problems that seem too great to solve. Paul insists that changing the way we view these children will eventually transform their plight. Facing our misconceptions is not easy. We all retreat from the unknown – fearing that other people’s problems may leak into our own. Read the rest of this entry »