"I give a voice to those who usually don't have one, and this is the most important thing": the difficult life of a homeless photographer with 16 years of experience
British photographer Ed Gold has been professionally engaged in photojournalism for almost twenty years. The object of his photographs are small cultural and ethnic groups cut off from the world.
For 16 years, Ed has become one of the best photographers in his niche, his work has been published more than once by the BBC and other major publications. However, despite professional recognition, from the very beginning of his career, the photographer remains homeless.
Ed has been interested in photography since he was 8 years old, but he studied graphic design at university. After graduation, he was unable to get a job, but continued to study photography — so he had to spend the night on the street or, if he was lucky, with friends.
Ed Gold
Hard work, experience and publications in leading publications do not guarantee success in the financial part of photojournalism.
One day, after a local pilot dropped him off at the right place, Ed sawed wood for two weeks in 40-degree frost to pay him.
During this time, Gold has turned into a kind of travel photographer who can do any manual work.
Despite the great sacrifices and lack of personal comfort, Ed is not going to stop.
Ed makes unique photo projects. Their participants are often cultural and ethnic groups cut off from civilization, whose lives few people know and whose social status many prefer not to pay attention to.
His photos are not just images. He often conducts painstaking research work and communicates for a long time with representatives of the groups he is filming. As a result, his projects create a full-fledged portrait of the cultural heritage of these people, whose lives would otherwise be consigned to oblivion. Also in his posts, Ed often criticizes the authorities of the territories where the heroes of his filming live.
Ed believes that there is a way to change the situation, but to do this, all photographers need to unite so that everyone can do the work in which he is best — to specialize in his subject.
Keywords: Documentary photography | Professional photographer | Traveler | Photographer | Photography | Photojournalism