What is the space between the photographer and the person they’re photographing? How can we better acknowledge their struggles and their history? Trauma-informed photography is an opportunity to do better when working with people that have experienced trauma, and to acknowledge the emotional turmoil that can be drawn out in the photography process. In this conversation, we will cover practical approaches and aspirational practices when it comes to working better with the people we photograph.
Diversify Photo and Photoville present Deep Dive, a series of professional development workshops supported by Leica Camera! Photography and photojournalism are forever evolving, and we are here to examine and celebrate approaches that go beyond the surface. These panel discussions will cover the intricacies of long-term story creation; the strategies for working better with communities that have experienced trauma; and the methodology behind journalism that focuses on solutions, not just problems.
Speakers
Ryan Christopher Jones
Ryan Christopher Jones is a Mexican-American photojournalist and PhD student in Social Anthropology at Harvard, where he is researching California water law, public/private access to water, and communities impacted by climate change in the California Delta. He will also continue to think and write about photography’s role in how we come to understand the environment. Ryan is a winner of the 2022 American Mosaic Journalism Prize.
Tamara Knox
Tamara M. Knox is a trauma-informed photographer and Associate Clinical Social Worker who was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She has a BA in Photography and Visual Journalism from Sacramento City College and an MSW from California State University, Stanislaus.
As a trauma-informed photographer, Tamara collaborates with her subjects to create empowered portraits that are responsive to their culture, gender, and history. She does this by prioritizing their comfort and safety, building trust, listening carefully, and responding to their ideas and preferences. At each session, Tamara creates a physically and emotionally safe environment by playing her subject’s preferred music and using their favorite color as the backdrop.
In 2023, Tamara was awarded a Seeding Creativity grant from the City of Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture to create the exhibit and accompanying publication, Surviving to Thriving: Narratives of Community Thrivers Surviving Traumas.
Tamara is the Director of Ethics and Social Responsibilities in Media at Ethical Narrative, merging journalistic expertise with the compassion of social work. Founded by professionals in both fields, their mission is to tell stories that resonate and foster positive change.
Moderator
Salgu Wissmath
Salgu Wissmath is a nonbinary Korean American photographer from Sacramento, CA. They are currently a Hearst Photo Fellow at the San Antonio Express-News, and previously worked at The San Francisco Chronicle. They are dedicated to decolonizing visual storytelling by engaging in ethical storytelling by and for people of color and the queer community. Their personal work explores the intersections of mental health, queer identity, and faith from a conceptual documentary approach.
Salgu was recognized as AAJA’s 2022 Emerging Journalist of the Year and received the 2023 Curve Award for Emerging Journalists. They are a 2022 IWMF Gwen Ifill Fellow, a 2021 California Arts Council Emerging Artist Fellow, and a recipient of a 2021 Puffin Foundation Grant. Their work has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, High Country News, Cal Matters, among others.
Salgu is the Communications Director for Diversify Photo, a core team member with Ethical Narrative, and a member of AAJA, NLGJA, TJA, Women Photograph, and Authority Collective.