Media Ethics and its Evolution: An interview with photographer Salauddin Ahmed

Salahuddin Ahmed is a documentary photographer based in Bangladesh. He had a strong fascination on light and camera from childhood but had no option to practice it due to foreign study. Hereafter, he has got a chance to grip a camera professionally, however, he has taken photojournalism as his fascinate job from 2012.

Salahuddin’s Photo has been distributed by Contact Press Images.

His achievements are given below-

Exhibitions
2018- City Hall, London
2018- National War Museum, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2015- Visa Pour L’Image, Ian Parry Scholarship Exhibition, Perpignan, France
2015- Ian Parry Scholarship Exhibition, London, UK

Awards & Achievements:
2018: Ian Parry Scholarship: Winner of The Award for Potential
2016: Eddie Adams Workshop, New York (Selected)
2015 Ian Parry Scholarship: Commended Award

Books:
Art Against Genocide

1. What are the changes occurred from the beginning to till today in photojournalism?

Answer: There are many changed occurred in photojournalism from the beginning to till today. If I start with technological changes, at the beginning photojournalists used film camera. Where the process of film camera was quite lengthy. Now photojournalists use digital camera which takes almost no time to process a photo. Secondly, I will talk about the change in photo transfer. Before it took a huge time to transfer a photo from one device to another or to publication. Now it’s become so easy and to transfer a photo through internet. Some camera has option to transfer a photo to one device to another device within a second through wire even can publish photo directly from camera. I think this changes occurred. There are also some changes in style. Before Photography was more classical now after time photojournalism become more direct. now there is an aesthetic that “You click what you see”. I think this are the changes we can see in photojournalism.

2. How do you see racism in photojournalism?

Answer: how I see racism in photojournalism, to answer the question I want to share some experiences. In 2017 when rohingya started to came to Bangladesh, I was actively worked on rohingya and cox’s bazar. But here is one of my thought and distress. That where I should get more opportunity or priority to cover the photo from Bangladeshi defence or other workers as a Bangladeshi photographer, but the foreign photographers were getting more priorities. I remember one day I was going to Balukhali border, BGB stopped me by saying this you couldn’t go ahead because of your safety and it’s a sensitive place. But I saw one UNICEF photographer, he probably from USA but staying in Thailand, just had gone before me and nobody stopped him by telling anything that why he was going or that place is sensitive and all that.

3. What ethical issues need to be maintained in order to do photo journalism and under which circumstances it’s become difficult to maintain?

Answer: The first ethical thing that I should maintain that how I am giving respect to my subject. when I am covering a news of a victim then I should present him with proper respect or I should investigate about him or trying to know about his background to present them with proper dignity. But when we are doing spot journalism it’s become difficult to know their background first and then post a news. It’s become very difficult to consider ethical issues first.

4. Do you ever faced any ethical dilemma?

Answer: I have faced a lot of dilemma like when I was covering rohingya, sometimes I feel that I should help them as a human being first then take a photo but I click photo first then I provide help. like sometime I saw someone was falling but I click the photo first then I help him to get up. Another thing is that sometimes I clicked many photos without taking permission. but ethically I should take permission first. These dilemmas I always faces.

Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury (Anando)

Photojournalist and Documentary Photographer Based in Bangladesh.

Student of Diploma in Visual Journalism

The Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University