Interview with Brent Foster

Exciting new technologies and techniques are allowing photojournalists to mix audio, stills and video quickly and seamlessly to tell stories online. Photographer Brent Foster's work is at the forefront of this movement. Although he's mastered the technology, however, he remembers what lies at the heart of the best photojournalism: people. His stories of communities on the fringes of society have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Globe and Mail, New York Times and Time.com.

		PHOTOGRAPHER Brent Foster Foster's innovative work has won him a National Press Photographers Association "Best of Photojournalism Award" for Multimedia, and a nomination for Canadian Photojournalist of the Year from the News Photographers Association of Canada. To see more from his shoot in Wallaceburg, Ont., check out the April 2010 issue of Canadian Geographic. And to view more of Foster's work, visit http://www.brentfoster.com/
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Q Why did you return to Wallaceburg to take these photos?

AThe original pitch to Canadian Geographic was about taking a look at small-town Ontario during the recession, and since I grew up there, it seemed like a natural place to return to. I'm still strongly tied to the community. As a journalist I'm usually working with people who I don't know, but this was a chance to visit my father, cousins and old friends. However, it turned out to be one of the most challenging projects I've worked on.

Going back I felt intimidated. The people there know that I work on stories about social issues, so they felt shy and it was hard to access them. If I feel uncomfortable somewhere I can't make the kind of pictures I want to make. So I spent the summer last year there working on the shoot.

Q What was it like growing up there?

A I was born and lived in Wallaceburg until I was 18 and left for college. From the time I was very young I regretted growing up in a small-town. Every small town kid does. I wanted to experience things that I wasn't able to experience, and I spent most of my youth trying to run away.

We had a small weekly newspaper that had really bad photos and my parents would set it on the kitchen table every morning. One day I looked on the front page and there was this unique looking black-and-white shot. It just hit me. I said, "I don't know what this is, but that's what I want to do!"

I read the name under the photo, and it turned out the paper had hired a new photographer. So I called him up and became a high school co-op student apprenticing as a photojournalist in grade nine.

Q How is photojournalism changing right now?

A The internet is offering up all kinds of new ways to tell a story with still images. It's how people are getting their news now and programs like Flash are allowing us to create strong visual pieces.

On the other hand, photojournalism is a much harder field to break into now, no question about it. There are more photographers today than ever before and fewer organizations to work for. Newspapers and magazines are cutting back or folding left and right. Even compared to what it was like five years ago, editorial photography is very tough since there are more photographers working for cheap or for free.

Q How is technology playing a role in photojournalism?

A The new generation of photographers needs to know how to work with multiple technologies to sustain themselves. You've got to be able to go out and shoot stills and video and know how to edit it all together. But many photographers are exploring the medium and creating innovative new ways to tell a story.

Read tips about mixing stills and video.

Q Why are you in Rwanda right now?

A I'm working here in Kigali for two months at the National University of Rwanda, teaching online journalism to third-year students.

Next week I'll be done here and I'm travelling to Nairobi to cover a story for Human Rights Watch about access to pain relief and palliative care for sick children.

Q Is it hard to cover these types of stories?

A Without a question it's emotionally and physically draining. But what keeps me going and doing it without becoming desensitized is the fact that the images are used to advocate for better lives for these people.

Q What are some of the first things you teach your students?

A So far most of my students have only worked in radio. They've had limited experience with visual journalism. We've been working with the camera and tackling how to craft a photo essay by building sequences and narrative. It's preparing them to collect different types of media out in the field. Journalists now are "multimedia journalists" and need to be versed in telling stories using a number of media.

Q On your blog you write about a grenade attack that recently happened near the school. As a photojournalist have you had to acclimatize yourself to conflict?

A The attack was a little bit unsettling. I really didn't expect that to happen here in Kigali. It's generally a safe place to be and I think of it as the Ottawa of Rawanda. It's a very clean, quiet place.

War isn't something I'm interested in covering directly as a journalist. I'm more interested in longer feature pieces. My goal is to spend time with the subjects, develop an intimacy with them and get at the heart of how they're affected by the world around them.

Q What attracted you to the story of the Jharia coal fields in Jharkhand, India?

A The community of Jharia basically sits on top of an open coal mine. Its residents survive by picking up scraps of coal and selling them. It's a tough place for kids to grow up. After being there for only an hour I had this massive headache. There's so much gas coming out of the ground, you almost can't stand it.

I'm attracted to communities on the fringes, meeting the people who are part of them and telling stories about how they live. They're not stories that many people have told.

Q Who has influenced you?

A Magnum photographer Larry Towel has been a big influence. My father actually bought the house that Larry's grandmother lived in, before she passed away. It's the house I grew up in. Years apart, Larry and I attended the same high school in Wallaceburg.

Recently, we both returned there to speak about photojournalism and where it's going. He shoots film and I'm the complete opposite. My career has taken off because of new equipment and technology and how it can be used in photojournalism.

One of my college professors always used to say "be of your time." So most of the work I do is multimedia, mixing stills, audio and video. These tools allow the characters, the people in these stories to have their own voice. It isn't about someone trying to project or construct their story as much anymore.

Interview by Graham Lanktree