"This chance to connect with others, witness their lives, and tell their stories is why I fell in love with photography."
From backlands of Brazil to the streets of Baghdad to the bayous of his native Lousiana, photographer Tyrone Turner has traveled the world exploring the human condition, the natural world, and the relationship between the two. He is a contributing photographer with National Geographic and collaborates with various editorial, non-profit and commercial entities.
The Interview
1. How would you classify your photographic style and who inspires you?
My passion is documentary photography with a focus on social and environmental issues. I have always been inspired by personal interactions and the photography flows from that. I have looked to examples such as Eugene Richards and Sebastiao Salgado and their incredible humanistic work about important issues as guides.
2. What is it that draws you to pick up your camera and take a photo?
I am most called to photographing people. I am always humbled by those who allow me to photograph them- I try never to take that for granted. So people situations are the ones that usually cause me to pick up my camera. However, I love to just shoot all types of pictures. A beautiful landscape or architecture also inspires me. Right now I am in Iceland, and the rugged natural beauty is just incredible. I can’t keep my camera down.
3. What type of gear do you use and do you have any favourites?
I use Canon equipment right now, but also mix that with Sony small compact cameras. The cameras are so good nowadays, lots of image resolution, low light shooting capabilities, and super sharp lenses. I think that the tools that we photographers are using are the best they have ever been, and are just getting better. However, it is true that the best camera is the one you will carry around…
4. What would be your ultimate shot and how would you shoot it?
I don’t know if I have an ultimate shot. Last year I collaborated with the digital side of Nat Geo to look at New Orleans as the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approached. I am from New Orleans, and worked for the newspaper there, and still I was finding myself in situations that I never knew about, understanding the city and culture more and more. That is what I want from photography, and continuous state of adventure and discovery.
5. What is the most challenging part of photographing your preferred subject?
Documentary photography is challenging because it takes time- time to get to know your subjects and time for them to trust you. Time and the trust that the work that you are doing, the ideas that you have, are important. Those convictions can get you through the times when visual inspiration is ebbing.
6. What’s next on the horizon that you’re most excited about?
I am excited about a couple of projects in the United States, though they deal with very serious subjects-- like how families are dealing with the violence that is surging there. I am also excited about the chance to return to South Africa in the Fall for the workshops I am teaching with Penda Photo Tours. I fell in Love with Cape Town during my recent visit there.
7. If you could go back in time and offer yourself one piece of advice when you picked up the camera for the first time, what would it be?
One piece of advice would be to really study current photography masters and those of the past. I was late in coming to photography and late in understanding the important work that had come before. Look at the work of the photographers who are working in the field in which you want to excel. Nowadays that is a lot easier with websites and blogs- you can even send them an email if you want to ask a question. That’s pretty cool.
