In the picture

Daodo Swale is 70 years old and belongs to the Daasanach tribe in Ethiopia. He has a wizened visage with a crop of greyish brown hair, and wears a long earring. Feathers, bottle caps and other trappings mark his singular headgear. What is striking about his face is the play of light and shade, and his smile, which has an almost youthful fervour.

Aman Tetap is a Mentawai tribal in Indonesia who is quite young to take on the responsibility of a healer, but he has little choice. He suffers from rheumatism, and feels that if he doesn't take up the job he will die from the disease. However, it is the smile on his face that stands out, like a beacon in the dark, belying his condition. As Glen Campbell would say in his song Rhinestone Cowboy, "And a smile can hide all the pain."

These are just a few facets of Canadian photographer Joey Lawrence's repertoire of unforgettable pictures of tribes from all over the globe. They take you into a parallel, hitherto unexplored, rich world of culture. He has also captured surrealistic portraits of singers in urban settings and racy music videos, posters for Hollywood films, not forgetting his avant garde commercial photography. But it is the striking snapshots of these tribe members that have been the crowning glory of his collection. Lawrence will be conducting workshops on lighting and photography at the Gulf Photo Plus exhibition to be held in Dubai from March 1-6.

This is the sixth year of Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Dubai's annual hands-on photography exhibition-cum-workshop. The exhibition will have over 50 workshops on different aspects and genres of photography for beginners and professionals alike. A dozen photographers of international repute, including Joe McNally, Bobbi Lane, David Nightingale and Zack Arias, will be conducting workshops and providing opportunities for amateurs and professionals in the region. Lawrence, who is a pioneer of New Age-digital photography and lighting, will also be giving lessons on his techniques at the GPP. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Lawrence has been practising digital photography for the last four years. He developed an interest in photography and video when he was as young as seven. He would make home movies of his friends and himself "being chased by dinosaur puppets". But then he was drawn to drawing and painting and it was several years before he reverted to photography when digital point and shoot cameras came into vogue. He began working as a photographer at the tender age of 17. His progress has been exponential, as at 20 he is already world-renowned, having perhaps documented more civilisations than any other lensman in the world.

He has travelled to remote tribal areas in the world, lived with the tribes, eaten their food, slept on the floor and completely immersed himself in their culture to get an honest, telling picture of his subjects.

He has profiled the Mentawai tribe of Indonesia, the Mursi tribe of the Omo valley of Ethiopia, Abyssinian tribes and has travelled to Romania, Moldova, India and Bangladesh to capture some rare angles of the lives of the people there.

At the same time, he has been living up to his urban persona shooting music videos, advertising films and commercial photography in the US.

"My life is a critical balance between commercial and personal work. One could not exist without the other," says Lawrence. Talking about the skills he uses to approach his subject, be it a music video or tribe, Lawrence feels it is level-headedness and quality of being grounded that have helped him to be effective.

"I approach every shoot with the same mindset. Rather than a traditional documentary style, I'd rather treat my subjects in the same way as I would approach a commercial shoot. What's the point in travelling all the way to Africa and using a different approach just because I am photographing someone of a different culture? I decided to photograph my travel subjects the way I would with a music band or commercial shoot: giving them the same level of care and attention. With a moving image you have to tell a story over the course of sequences, while a still photo tells a story in one image. Both are equally challenging."

Capturing the beauty of tribes, Lawrence has come to understand their needs and respects the pride they take in their culture. What he really attempts to portray through his pictures is the quiet dignity of their lives.

No fixed formula

"I have photographed many tribes, the most being those who occupy the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia. Most of the tribes are self-sustaining, and do not require aid or anything of that nature. However the Mentawai love [belt bags], and theirs were all ripped so I sent them some nice leather ones once I got back home. I brought a lot of the prints back the second time I visited Ethiopia. They were huge 24x30 inch prints."

Lawrence, whose style is already recognised as iconic by photo critics, is very dismissive about young age and achieving success. "I do not advertise my age to my clients, it is not important when viewing a portfolio and can be a disadvantage in business. I would like to have a strong body of work, regardless of age. I got to the level I am at now the same way any other photographer does, through the passion and drive to keep shooting and pushing forward. I am usually not happy with my work, so this leads to better images down the road."

He also does not believe that there is any set formula for being a good photographer. "Some photographers are famous for their blurry images, while some technical guys are good because they just shoot straight. What they do have in common, however, is that they are really good at what they do. They have a set style that binds all their work together. It doesn't mean it all looks the same, it means there is a cohesiveness about it that sets them apart from the rest."

His travels are an inspiration to him as a photographer. He relates interesting incidents in his blogs. In Kashmir he rode a pony and nearly broke his neck skidding on the side of a mountain. In Moldova (a small country between Ukraine and Romania) he had to haggle with a Santa Claus-like figure (who was called the Gypsy King by the people) over the price of photographing him. He had to convert his jeep into a ‘hotel' in Ethiopia and live in it for many days in search of subjects. A year after shooting the pictures of Rufo, a 15-year-old girl from the Arbore tribe in Ethiopia's Omo Valley, he went back to Ethiopia to find her, with a big 24x30 inch print of her image as a gift. However, he could not persuade her father to allow her to marry him, as he did not have enough "heads of cow to afford the dowry"!

He has attempted to shoot holy men in the North of Ethiopia and in Varanasi, India. "Shooting holy men in Ethiopia was one of the most gruelling photo series I have done."

But he feels some of the most memorable things are the life lessons he learnt from the tribes.

"I feel in my culture, which is Western culture, we have lost a crucial connection to the earth. Instead of living in unity with it, we live against it. The tribes have a different mindset, and living among them can open your mind to perceive the world in a different manner. There are many human beings living in the world, and although our paths can cross physically, we are living in completely separate realities. The unique cultures of the world are vanishing at a rapid rate, and with that go the different perceptions of the world. My photographs mainly draw people to the tribes who have the same respect, so I do not fear it will affect their lifestyle.

"It is very hard to gain trust of any people," he continues. "My style of photographing can be very confrontational if it is not done in the correct manner, so I take my time to shoot. I can wait days or weeks until I feel comfortable enough that the image can be a collaboration between subject and photographer."

What's his most memorable shot? "It's called ‘The Bodi Funeral Procession', an image I took in the south of Ethiopia. We were in tribal territory and saw some people who had gathered in a field. A woman had died in the tribe. I was photographing a man on the far right, and the group had gathered on the left to watch me. When I saw this, I stepped back and decided to photograph them all together in one composition."

A high point

Lawrence, who has conducted workshops on the use of light in photographs, says of his lighting techniques: "The lights are a stylistic approach to bring a new way of shooting to subject matter that has been seen differently in the past. In places with no electricity, I use a Brunton solar panel to charge a disconnected car battery by day, then switch the inverter on and charge my photo equipment by night."

Having educated himself about photography through trial and error, Lawrence has acquired a formidable reputation for his large body of work. He has inspired many amateur photographers to experiment with their styles and is looking forward to his workshop in Dubai during the exhibition. "The GPP is a high point for me. Usually I cannot commit to workshops because my schedule doesn't allow it, so I made a DVD tutorial downloadable on my website to cater to those interested. However, a live [demonstration] is always better. This year I can teach in person and spend some time with students at the exhibition."

He believes the world is becoming more and more driven by visual cues and with fast-moving technology there's a lot more to understand about the art of photography than ever before. "There will always be good and bad photography, but now [with proliferation of new techniques] there is more of each!"

His efforts at improvising and improving are painstaking. Although he does not worry too much about the response of the audience, he still cares. "My photography is everything to me - it drives my curiosity, it is accountable for all my life experiences, it pays my bills and keeps me fed. It is very important."

For more information, email info@gulfphotoplus.com. You can also visit the offices of Gulf Photo Plus between 10am and 4pm from Sunday to Thursday at Block 13, F 20 (first floor), Dubai Knowledge Village