Sunday Edition: Josh Dykgraaf
PHOTOSNACK #531
Every Sunday, I contact photographers previously featured on PHOTOSNACK and ask them to send me their spontaneous thoughts, observations, reflections, or advice.
Today, I am sharing the message I received from Josh Dykgraaf
Josh Dykgraaf
I work in wildlife conservation, and over the last year, I've been trying and struggling to get people to care about marine issues. It's easy to get people to care about a cute and cuddly koala in distress, but much harder to get people to care about the alien-looking Maugean Skate (it looks like a sting ray). There is a physical and emotional distance that marine life has, and as a result, some of the worst impacts humanity is having on our world are happening in our oceans.
People care about your work and it's message when you find a way to connect the viewer with the subject on a personal and emotional level.
In my work, that's about the relationship between the individual animal being present (not the species) and the viewer. That could be as simple as the way the subject is behaving, or the way I'm able to capture their eyes - eyes are the critical point of engagement in any portraiture. It could also be something relatable in the material - last year I made a piece from common found rubbish, it's always the element people comment on most in that image.
I know I've succeeded in creating this connection when I see the viewer applying their own narrative and personality to the animal. They assign the animal a gender in their mind; they'll talk about its personality and the way it's looking at them.
Anyway, this is where my head is at the moment. When I ran into this wall of disconnection with marine life last year, I spent the rest of the year exploring why it didn't work and creating that connection in other ways. I'm going to be diving back into this in the coming months.
Josh Dykgraaf was featured in PHOTOSNACK #512.
Sunday Editions connect you with photographers whose work you previously explored through PHOTOSNACK.
I want to reveal some authentic parts of the people behind the cameras. I don't ask them any specific questions. I ask them to share whatever comes to mind when they think about YOU, the newsletter readers. It makes their responses genuine and personal.
I hope you enjoyed today's Sunday Edition.
Until next time,
Tomasz
Truly unique and meaningful work — thank you for sharing!
Much admiration for the work Josh creates, bringing awareness to endangered species and their environment. Australia has a shocking record for the extermination of our native birds and animals. Governments and big companies care little.