I met Camille Lepage in South Sudan last September when I arrived in the capital Juba on a two-week assignment. She had already been living there for almost two months, and has been there ever since. She was a huge help in getting our story off of the ground and filling my colleague and I in on how South Sudan works, with all the necessary tips and tricks that help make things happen there. And there are a lot of tips and tricks needed.

At the time she had just finished a stint at a local newspaper, The Citizen, and was starting work as a stringer for AFP. Since I met her, she has traveled all over South Sudan and the border region and begun to produce impressive stories on her own. I wanted to feature her project “The Silent War” from South Kordofan, which was was photographed in October and November last year and published this week in Le Monde. We also wanted to ask her a few questions about what life is like as a freelance photographer in South Sudan.

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From dawn, the SPLA-N (Sudan People's Liberation Army - North) rebels are training. Their objective is to reach the frontline a few dozen kilometers away form their base. The morning is filled by traditional military songs and heavily synchronized marches. Their daily training is all the more important as they are under-equipped in comparison to the Sudanese government.

One of the generals of rebel group poses as the sun is slowing rising on the military compound of Meitan.

The Sudanese government's bombings target both military and civilians areas. The Antonovs fly hundreds of metres up in the sky, only the far away humming of the planes allow the villagers to react, sometimes too late, and find refugee near a tree or in the caves.

Acha Abdawaman Lomu lost her husband Mohamed Said Tutu on November 8th 2012. Mohamed was killed during the bombing while he was in Heiban market. "Mohamed was a good and honest man, now I'm alone with my eight kids and no one to help me feed my family".

On the military headquarters of Tabania, SPLA-N soldiers teach themselves English while not on the frontline.

A Nubian couple walk on the ashes of a house that was just bombed in Kauda.

Umbakia (6 years old), left, Fardos (10), and their brother Umbara (8), right, pick up the remains of the crop. Fleeing from the bombings, their family found refuge in the caves of Qualip, in hope of being safely hidden by the mountains. Their mother said, "we'll die here if necessary but we will not give up our lands."

The rebels of the SPLA-N are walking in the plains of Qualip where families have taken refuge to avoid the bombings coming from the Sudanese government.

Kenny suffered burns on her face and arms after her house caught fire following the bombing of her village. Part of her roof fell on her and burnt her body.

Daniel Omar is 14 year old. He's from Angolo country in South Kordofan. An Antonov dropped a bomb while he was looking after his cattle in March 2012. He went to hide behind a tree but his arms weren't protected. One was cut off immediately and the other one had to be amputated. He now lives at the Gidel hospital.

Habil 12 year-old was with his neighbor Kori, 7 year old, when they found a landmine in a field in Um Dorein, and started playing with it. The landmine exploded. He is disfigured and has lost 3 fingers on the right hand and the thumb at the left hand. His eyes might not fully recover.

The soldiers of the SPLA-N are resting in a cave of Meitan, a few hundred metres away from the frontline. A family had taken refuge in the cave about a year ago to avoid the bombing coming from the Sudanese government.

A young girl stands outside the cave her family lives in.

Lost in the middle of a forest in a secret region in South Kordofan, the locals are digging the plains to collect gold. One gram is worth 500SSP (125$), the traders can collect up to 700 grams a day. South Kordofan is region very rich in natural resources: gold, silver, arabic gums, fertile soil, water. This is one of the reasons for the conflict.

Naji is 9 year-old, he was in his first year of primary school when he stopped going to school because the war started. Now in Yida Refugee camp, he's hoping to go back to school and continue to learn English. Many children decide to leave the Nuba mountains because they do not have access to education there anymore. Spread around the refugee camp 22 schools offer education from primary school for the youngest to evening classes for adults willing to study.

Kenny and her friends arrive in Yida Refugee camp, South Sudan by car to flee the conflict of South Kordofan. They've left everything behind: friends, family, and belongings. They are hoping to find their relatives in Yida so they have a place to stay.

From the frontline of Deloca, a rebel from the SPLA-N is looking over the South Kordofan capital of Kadugli. Up in the mountains, the troups of the SPLA-N are surrounding the capital of South Kordofan. Yasir Kafi Jinaba, Deloca commander, "we are ready for an offensive coming form the Arabs, and if they don't do anything, we will start the attack!"

Dvafoto: When did you arrive in South Sudan?

I arrived in South Sudan in July 2012, just after finishing my degree in journalism at Southampton Solent University in the UK.

What was the main story you wanted to cover when you set out?
The wars at the borders with Sudan really pushed me to come to South Sudan. They are going on in complete silence and I have always wanted to cover underreported (if reported at all) wars or humanitarian crises, so I figured going to South Sudan, which was a new nation under construction, would probably be a good way to start. On top of that, I thought it was very unfair that a one year old country was constantly referred to as doomed or failed so I wanted to see it for myself and perhaps bring some new light on it.

How has the story you’re pursuing changed?
I think I really have two main focuses. 
The first is the humanitarian crisis in both Blue Nile State and South Kordofan where locals are being bombed by the Sudanese government, where NGOs and journalists are forbidden. Since June 2011, it has led hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced to other countries. I didn’t think I would spend so much time and energy on this, but after having spent 3 weeks in South Kordofan last November, I know I have to go back as often as I can. I also want to make my way to Blue Nile, which is trickier and much more costly too. Also, I can only go to those places during the dry season, when roads are practicable, so from November to May. I also need to finance those trips by working for NGOs at the same time, it’s a little challenging.
The second story is on the quest for identity of South Sudan and how a country that has been at war for decades can become a united nation. I’m looking the obstacles such as lack of infrastructure, which results in the lack of health care and sparks tribalism around the country but also the way forward, like a youth which wants peace and education.

How are your pictures getting out? Where are they being published?
I started freelancing with AFP when I arrived so through them they are often published in The Guardian, Time Magazine’s Lightbbox, BBC, sometimes on the NYT Lens Blog etc. 
For my personal projects, I’m pitching them to pictures editors here and there, the South Kordofan story was published in Le Monde, but I’m hoping to have it published in other places soon. The other one isn’t ready at all, so I’ll wait until I feel I have some good material to pitch that too.

In general, what is life like for a photographer like you in South Sudan?
Life isn’t easy, really. Everything is very expensive here, I used to rent a tent at a hotel for 600$ a month. Now I live in a local house far from the town and without electricity, but it’s only 200$ a month. I obviously don’t have AC or a fan, so the temperature can go up to 38 degrees at night. I got used to it though, and now whenever I go to the field, which should normally be more rough, I have more comfort. I always think it’s quite amusing.
At the moment, we are only two photographers in the country so we can quite easily get assignments with NGOs and UN agencies, but I only do so to pay my bills and finance other reportages.
At first, people here are seriously reluctant to be photographed. They get very very aggressive, I even had my life threatened a few times when I wanted to photograph people. I’ve learnt how to approach them, so it’s becoming easier and easier every time. But it takes time!

Are there many other photographers there? Are they staying as long as you?
We were four only a few months ago, now we’re two only. I think just like most foreign correspondants, stringer photographers stay between one and two years. There are also some people who come over for a one week or two on assignment.

What is the benefit to staying longer?
You get a much better understanding of the place. Especially in a country like South Sudan where everything is logistically complicated, you need to know the rules, to understand the ‘un-said’, discover how to approach people, to make them trust you too. After six decades of war, the South Sudanese are very suspicious of spies, and they remain in this ‘war spirit’ when you know at any time things can go wrong if you say something they didn’t want to hear. On top of that, it’s really a fascinating place, they are so many stories to tell, and it takes time to get proper insights of it.

What is one story that you wish you could be covering in South Sudan that you so far have not been able to, due to access or due to resources?
Apart from the Blue Nile story that I previously mentioned, I’ve been meaning to go and spend some time with the Murle tribe in their cattle camp in Jonglei state. Cattle camps are huge areas where armed kids are keeping hundreds of cows (cows show the wealth of a family and often are used for securing a bride). Traditionally the Murle go and raid other camps to steal their cattle either as an initiation into adulthood or to simply increase ther ‘wealth’. They often end up in very violent fights between the tribes unfortunately. The Murle are also said to be sterile, so at the same time they steal children from other tribes; but there is very little documentation on the Murle, so I’d like to see it with my own eyes. 
I haven’t managed to cover it yet as the UN are forbidding journalists to go to Jonglei state because of security issues, and no NGOs are able to facilitate journalists to go there because the area is too sensitive.

What is your background in photography, where is your home?

I don’t really have any photography background. I studied print journalism, but was more than often interested in the visual part in each story. It clicked about one year ago, what I was really into was photojournalism and I decided to go for it. When I arrived in South Sudan, I introduced myself as a photojournalist, despite my very meagre portfolio at the time. I think people didn’t take me very seriously at first, but I worked hard and still do, so I think they see me a little differently now. 
and I’m from France!

In 2011 writer Pete Brook took his blog Prison Photography on the road. He used Kickstarter to successfully fund his trip, and produced a number of interviews with photographers, prisoners and activists, gave six lectures and visited three prisons. Last year the project grew in to the exhibition Cruel and Unusual at Nooderlicht in the Netherlands, with a newspaper-style exhibition catalogue and an upcoming Prison Photography on the Road (PPOTR) book.

After he was safely back in Portland last fall, he and I were discussing some of what he had accomplished and what he was thinking about doing next. Fortunately for us, he agreed to an interview so I can share some of his interesting insights and ideas. It has taken a while for us to find the time to put this together, but I’m excited to share some of Pete’s reflections on PPOTR and how he sees his work as a writer and curator evolving. It is especially relevant for other photographers and bloggers as they think about producing work ‘across platforms’ and offline, and what is possible when engaging and collaborating with our community at large.

Pete Brook at Sing Sing Prison in New York State. Photo courtesy Tim Matsui.

dvafoto: I heard through the grapevine that you had an interesting experience right as you hit the road?

Pete Brook: I think you’re referring to my arrest. Before the trip began officially, I was in California. I’d been at a wedding, dancing and drinking in the sun all day. When the after-party began to die down, and being a gent, I offered to walk a couple of ladies home as they were across town and not staying at the hotel. Along the way, I took a piss on a palm tree (not so gentlemanly).

Thirty seconds later, two California Highway Patrol squad cars pulled up. I was pulled aside and told that urinating in public was an offense. I didn’t think a discrete piss on parkland at 5 am would land me in jail so I may not have taken the interaction as seriously as the officer expected.

I was on the road, had no permanent address, I was a bit merry, had no ID with me and was generally bemused as to why so much attention had fallen upon me. When asked if I would answer the officer’s questions, I said I didn’t feel compelled to do so. He took my wrist, turned me round, cuffed me and walked me to his patrol car.

The officer said, “We’ll do it your way. You could be in jail for days, weeks, months, even years.” A nonsense statement. He was reacting emotionally to the situation. Not good. He was also proving who had the power. I’m guessing it was late in his shift and he may not have had the patience for an inebriated me. I get that, but his solution, so to speak, was unnecessary and disproportionate.

I was in jail for 9 hours (as quick as they process anyone, I was told). Upon release, I was served with a court date and faced two misdemeanor charges of ‘Disorderly Conduct’ and ‘Willfully Resisting Arrest’. Just ludicrous. The court date was two weeks away, by which time I had scheduled to be in Ohio. I had to juggle my itinerary, bring all my Southern California appointments – that were to be in the last week of PPOTR – forward, and extend my research in the Bay Area.

Two weeks later, at the courthouse, I didn’t even see a judge. Not wanting to waste court time, the District Attorney threw the charges out. Common sense prevailed but not before I’d been inconvenienced.

The arrest nearly jeopardized PPOTR’s main prison visit, to Sing Sing in New York State.

Visitors to prisons must go through a criminal background check and mine flagged the arrest. So, now the New York Dept. of Corrections knew of the interaction, but had no details. I had to explain that no charges were brought and scramble for the paperwork to back up my claim. The workshop I did with the men in Sing Sing was a highlight of the trip and it would have been a sore loss to miss out.

I remain in the system. I am interviewed about the interaction by Customs & Immigration every time I re-enter the U.S. I’ve been told the record cannot be updated to include the info that there was no conviction; I’ll have to go through the same conversation every time I travel from overseas.

The experience was not great, but the irony could not have been greater. If I can get a copy of my mug shot it’ll be my press-photo for life!

Now that you’ve finished the fieldwork for PPOTR, co-curated an international exhibition, and printed a newspaper, do you think that Prison Photography the blog will change at all?

I’d like to say no, but it probably will. Not because of these projects but because more like them are in the pipeline. These emerging projects will take away from my time at the keyboard-helm.

Before I tell you about those new developments, I should say that PPOTR was designed to test the limits of the blog, test my stamina with the issues and test the reception of the public. In some ways, maybe I could or should have had the imagination to take on new formats earlier?

THEN

Directly out of PPOTR came the opportunity to co-curate Cruel and Unusual at Noorderlicht and that was a phenomenal privilege. Given how much I enjoyed that there’s no reason to draw back from activities outside the blog.

Cruel and Unusual travelled to the Melkweg Gallery in Amsterdam last April and then to Photoville in New York in June. This year it will show in Ireland and Australia. There’s some logistics involved in making those exhibits happen, and Noorderlicht and Photoville are greasing the wheels with that.

NOW

I initially planned to self-publish the Prison Photography photobook for the PPOTR Kickstarter backers, but Silas Finch a non-profit photobook publisher expressed interest and I decided to make it a bigger production … and print run.

We’ve signed on the dotted line and I’m writing the text for it now. The image edit will come in the summer and we hope to release it later this year. It’s wonderful to have, again, institutional support.

LATER

A couple of photographers working on the topic of prisons have expressed interest in collaborating on books and that interests me, but it has to be right for them too. That might sound silly, but how many essays would I need to do before I became the guy who writes introductions for prison photography books? Not many! It’d be good bylines for me, but not necessarily for the photographer. As a reader, I generally enjoy photobook essays that are not about the photography per se but about the larger subject and there’s many activists, advocates and academics who can write better on aspects of the prison system than I. Perhaps one or two essays will get done in time.

Furthermore, I just agreed to curate a photography show on the East Coast in January 2014. It’ll be an entirely new collection of works with a new curatorial statement.

So, I’d say I am busy. Somewhere in that whole mix I have to be submitting copy to Wired.com so I can pay my bills!
Read on »

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Bus stop. Outside Vorkuta, Komi, Russia. 2004. - M. Scott Brauer

Bus shelter. Outside Vorkuta, Komi, Russia. 2004. - M. Scott Brauer

Abandoned apartments. Outside Vorkuta, Komi, Russia. 2004. - M. Scott Brauer

Main street. Vorkuta, Komi, Russia. 2004. - M. Scott Brauer

Buried car. Vorkuta, Komi, Russia. 2004. - M. Scott Brauer

Bus stop. Outside Vorkuta, Komi, Russia. 2004. - M. Scott Brauer

I’m very excited to announce that I will be participating in the first Young Media Professionals Exchange Program organized by the International Center for Journalists and Moscow Union of Journalists as part of a 2-year initiative between Russia and the US. The program is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Twelve journalists from Russia will come to the US to work for a variety of news organizations here, and I will be one of 12 from the US who will live in Moscow from Nov. 26 to Dec. 21 working for a variety of Russian news organizations. I’ll be working for the ITAR-TASS Photo Agency, a Russian photo news service dating to 1926 when it was known as Photochronica TASS.

As such, I won’t be available for assignment work in the US until the end of December, but get in touch if you have any needs in Russia. I’ll primarily be in Moscow. You can leave a voicemail or SMS at (917) 512-3473 or contact me by email. I’ve already been in touch with a few of our readers in Russia to get together, but if you’re in Moscow, get in touch and I’d love to meet you.

It’s been nearly 10 years since I’ve been to Russia, though one of my university degrees is in Russian Language, Literature, and Culture. I wasn’t much of a photographer when I was there last, but you can see a few images from Vorkuta, Komi, Russia, in the gallery above. In addition to the work I’m doing there, I’ll be posting pictures during the trip to instagram and tumblr.

A view of Ulm Pishkun near Ulm, Montana, USA.

I’m traveling to Montana for gatherings with friends and family throughout the state from June 20 to July 6 (Lincoln, Great Falls, Red Lodge, the Hi-Line). I’ll be doing a bit of driving and photography for personal projects during that time, so get in touch if you’ll be in the area or have an assignment that needs shooting.

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The twilight landscape north of Great Falls, Montana, USA.

The hunting campsite outside Sumatra, Montana, USA.

Starting Aug 24 and continuing through the first week of September, I’ll be on the road. I’m starting off in Washington state with a friend’s wedding in Seattle, going to visit family in Montana, and then driving back to Boston without any particular schedule or route, camping along the way. I haven’t decided on which Dakota to go through (though I can feel the call of the roadside attractions of South), nor whether to go down around the lakes or up through the Upper Peninsula and then on into Canada. At any rate, if you’re somewhere along that route and want to meet up, or if you’re an editor and need some pictures in the northern half of the country, get in touch.

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A view of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston - M. Scott Brauer

M. Scott Brauer's in Boston and available for assignments

I just sent out my monthly newsletter (sign up here!) announcing that I’ve moved to Boston. It’s good to be back and working in the United States after my time in China. I’m available for assignments in Boston, Cambridge, greater New England, or anywhere else.

Being in this area gives me close access to major educational institutions, technological innovators (I’ve already met a few!), leaders in business and politics, great seafood, and giant St. Patrick’s Day parades. I’ve been contacting editors and art buyers about my new location and recent work (check some out on my website and archive), but am always interested to meet new people for collaboration. If you’re in Boston and want to meet up or if you’re an editor and need work from Boston, please get in touch by email (msb at mscottbrauer dot com) or phone (917-512-3473).

I don’t know about anyone else out there, but I’m feeling great about the next few months! Lots of work to do and some exciting news from dvafoto will be forthcoming.

CAMERA, CAMERA – Trailer from malcolm murray on Vimeo.

Malcolm Murray’s documentary, “Camera, Camera,” fascinates and disturbs me. The film explores the increasing phenomenon of travelers with cameras invading remote areas or cultural events. I’ve seen the situation hundreds of times, and been part of it more often than I’d like to say. Those times, the only thing to do is put down the camera and go drink a cup of tea.

This project also reminds me of Jörg Brüggemann’s “Same Same But Different,” which we wrote about previously.

The film is currently on the festival circuit, but hopefully it’ll be coming to a theater or dvd player near you soon.

(via NYT Lens blog a while back, but I’ve just gotten to watch it.)

Airspace Rebooted from ItoWorld on Vimeo.

Found on the great Passport Blog by Foreign Policy magazine in the post Europe Ash Crisis Visualized. I totally avoided the crisis but met a few people in Sarajevo who had their plans seriously disrupted by the lack of European flights. Easy to see here how crazy this event was.

Sand dunes rise above Dunhuang, Gansu, China, as tourists walk down the city's main tourism district.

After a whirlwind shoot in Shanghai yesterday, I’m leaving today for a few weeks to far western China to pursue some personal projects. Internet connection will be a problem for much of the trip, so please contact me by phone at +86-13770324102. I intend to photograph a few stories including: Tibetan New Year, snow in Xinjiang, development in Xinjiang, a Hui minority wedding, and other subjects. When I return, keep watching dvafoto for pictures. Editors, let me know if you need any pictures.