I was invited to join Photocircle to sell prints of a selection of my images to support charity projects in the area where the image was taken.  This is how it works, 50% of what I would  earn as a photographer on the sale of a print of an image will be donated. For you as a Photocircle customer that means that 24%  (the remainder is the printing cost) of the price you are paying when acquiring one of my prints will be contributed .  If you are interested, here is the link https://www.photocircle.net/eu/photographers/2804/nicole-cambr .

This invitation by Photocircle brought me back to my basic question:

How can I act responsible as a travel photographer?

The first time I was asking myself the question was during my first trip to Ethiopia when I took these photographs in Ethiopia of those two girls carrying a very heavy load of fire wood on their backs. It may have been the first time they were photographed but was it appropriate to take their pictures without giving anything in return?

I bought myself a Polaroid camera for a subsequent trip with the idea to give at least a small print of the image to the person but the paper started blocking after the first day of use  and it is worse to promise something and not being able to deliver because the paper feeder blocks so the Polaroid stayed unused in my bag for the remainder of the trip. At least the below I managed to deliver.

During my second trip to Ethiopia I got some pictures from a Belgian photographer who had been there before and I found two girls on his images and also was able to deliver some other ones in the local villages as they knew who was featured on the photograph.

I have been sending images to people I met during my trips that asked me for a print, sometimes with some delay but ultimately I did. I still have a few promises to keep, two of which I struggle with because I have no idea where I put the paper with their addresses.

As a photographer I have no problems of being rewarded for my wildlife images but I struggle with my people portraits.  The proceeds from the sale of my people portraits through this website are fully supporting charity projects. Currently I support  two families in Ethiopia, a child in Haïti and the education of a boy in Zambia.  

Of my photobook "She" , 2000 copies were sold and the proceeds went in their entirety to the charity, World Childhood Foundation

Are these efforts good enough to justify taking the photographs of those Ethiopian girls? Perhaps yes, perhaps not. Time will tell.

How do I travel responsible?

By selecting my travel part

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