Empathy in Documentary Photography (feat. Jim Mortram)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ย. 2021
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In this video I talk to Jim Mortram about his ongoing documentary photography project, "Small Town Inertia" and his approach to documenting lives, building relationships, gaining trust and using his camera to amplify stories.
#documentary #photography #smalltowninertia
Great video. The systematic and underhand dismantling of the benefits system can leave people feeling very powerless and hopeless. It’s really nice to see someone using photography as a tool to help. The work is fantastic too.
Thanks 🙏 mate
Agreed. Grateful to photographers like Jim for bringing these stories to light. Hope you're well mate.
Me: I'll subscribe and learn a few photo tips.
Sean Tucker: Yes but also, have some beautifully produced films about the core of humanity, hope, and loving one another.
This sort of reminder of our human connection and capabilities is an absolute gift.
Love it. Thanks Nox:)
This was surely the most moving and emotional portrait of a photographer I've ever seen. Tears are still rolling! This reminded me so much of what I've always been looking for in photography. It's all about the people and their stories. I can't thank you enough, Sean, for sharing Jim's story. And Jim for sharing those people's stories. We need more of that in this world.
Just dipping in to say a huge thank you 🙏 for the response to the people in the stories, I’m passing on your good wishes to them all. Thanks 🙏 Jim
Thank you. This is trully impressive. Every once in a while I'm here in Lisbon looking for colourful, "postcardy" photos and I have a chance to talk to someone and it's easy to see how so many people are eager to talk and how so many people are abandoned in the middle of the crowds. Difference is you are doing something for them. So thank you.
What a touching and thought provoking interview. Thank you. The phrase "when you have a camera, you can either use it as a sword or as a shield" actually brought tears to my eyes. What an inspiration. Thank you so much!
"this is not a human safari" love it. Inspiring and moving work. Thank you both, Sean & Jim for sharing.
Thanks 🙏 mate
Cried my way through this. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you Jim Mortram for amplifying the voice of the voiceless. Thank you Sean for amplifying Jim's work. This is everything.
Disheartening yet uplifting. Even inspiring. And truly compelling. This is what you do best Sean. One of your best yet.
Completely agree. Thank you Sean.
I was one of the people in the audience giving a round of applause. I think we were all moved by Jim's talk and exhibition. Thank you for showing us David's smile.
Big hugs!!!.
wow this hit close to me,
As a secondary carer for my mum who has bipolar disorder
it gave me a great reminder of why i document stories also.
kudos to ya Sean,
This video is golden.
Watched it again and teared up again. Jesus Sean, you're putting the humanity back into this jaded and very cynical old bloke.
The cruelty of the world can be unending but we add photographers can choose to honor the people we photograph. Thank you @seantuck for leading us to a higher ground.
Sean, Thanks for highlighting Jim Mortram. I worked in the slums of Bangkok for 10 years. The people there had so much dignity and always showed me great kindness. They gave me far more than I could ever give them.
Absolutely beautiful!!! Thank you Jim for your beautiful, heartfelt work. Thank you Sean also for your beautiful, heartfelt work. xx
Thanks 🙏 so much!.
Thanks Kathy:)
The compassion of a empathetic heart can't be duplicated. It's there or it's not. You can't beguile people into truly opening up and trusting you unless you can sit and relate your experiences.
Great work. It touchs and stirs a place in my heart. Thank you Sean and Jim for sharing!
Thanks 🙏 mate. It’s dead simple, having a camera don’t buy you a relationship with anyone, the camera is just a paperweight until we pick it up, it’s all about intent. Treat people as you’d wish to be treated is the golden rule 😀
I'm gonna be honest here, I half heartedly watch this video, knowing that, as you've told us earlier, the topics are gonna tough, and I'm got no interest with documentary photography. But man, that picture of David smiling in front of the scanner is one of the most pure heart warming smile I've ever seen. Like seriously, I only half hearing and following what Jim is saying here, but the moment I saw that photo, I instantly smiling along and got some goosebumps. Especially knowing the story of how David is living his life, where everything is so bleak, being able to smile again and finding that little 'cure' for his life, that photo... is simply memorable.
Oh lord. The lives that are suffered. Amazing photos from Jim. Not sentimental, not judgemental. Unflinchingly honest and direct.
Thank you, Sean, for this very moving video. There's a lot to think about in this film. We owe a debt of gratitude to the friend that lent Mr. Mortram his camera. We never know how far the ripples will flow from a single act of kindness. I loved the line where Mr. Mortram said, “If you have a camera you’re either gone to use it as a sword and attack people or as a shield and defend people.” Mr. Mortram's life and work are inspirational and a guide for us all.
We humans have so much potential to do wonderful things like this. And photography is such a great medium to exercise that power. This has been so heartwarming and moving. Thank you Jim for your dedication and compassion, thank you Sean for amplifying this beautiful story.
This hit me deeply both emotionally and visually. Thank you for opening my eyes to realities of the world that don’t get enough exposure.
Thanks 🙏 so much.
This is so touching and inspiring. Thanks for sharing Jim Mortram and the stories he has captured. This video is a treasure.
I’ve taken pictures all my life but never thought of taking them as a life effort. Being a mechanic and a musician (bass player) all my life, At 63 years old I needed a new direction. I want to thank you Sean for helping me see my life’s next journey, to understand why I point my camera at my subjects from the side instead of the front, thank you for talking about philosophy, and not just how a camera works.
His work really touched my soul, he captures their true self, pain and desires through his pictures, and I believe it is because he sees without any judgment. So human and important mission. Thank you Sean for sharing Jim's work on your channel, thank you so much 🌻
Thank you, Sean and Jim ! Very moving. Once again I realize that my puny struggles are small when compared to many others. I will remember this.
Thank you for this inspiring message. Sort of makes me ashamed for the time I devote to complaining about my own, comparatively small struggles.
It's not often l am moved to tears. This opened a door and drew me into a world l never knew. Thank you so much Jim and Sean
Thanks 🙏 mate!. Tears are ok, important!, I’ve lost count the amount of times after visiting someone I’d burst into tears, mostly of anger and frustration at their situation never needing to exist… but also tears of pride and admiration of their endurance and selflessness.
Thank you Master Teacher, "Sean Tucker" and thank you Jim Mortram. Once you have seen this, you can't unsee it. We now know who these people are and bringing light to people like them all over the world. We have the tendency to get caught up in what we think is important, but we seem to miss out on that childish ignorants that social media can be, but it's about the human condition and tragedy that's important(and how we can come up with solutions) this is what social media needs to be. This is a mastery of using photos and photography to speak to that human condition and not just express or tell a story, but to recreate life in its truest form.
Thanks 🙏 mate. For me it’s all about community, think global, act local. Solidarity!.
Very moving, probably the most emotional video stories of people who are almost forgotten by the mainstream. Very well done Jim.....
Thanks 🙏 mate
This Documentary will make a lot of difference to a lot of people. Thanks for introducing Jim Mortram to us. Cheers Ian.
Sean, what a wonderfully sensitive and compelling video about compassion in documentary photography! I was moved by Jim Mortram’s personal experience and the work he has created and shared by photographing his friends. Their poverty makes me aware of my own inner poverty. This is transformative work. Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks 🙏 mate
Sean, that was very powerful and both heart-breaking and uplifting. Mr. Mortram is wonderfully well-spoken, and his message is so important. Thank you for having him speak on your channel.
He really is a legend:) It was a pleasure to have him on the channel.
Thank you for the space for real human stories to be shared and known. The world is better for these stories being told by those whose they are. . . . for us to hear them and receive them carefully and sacredly.
Well...this is precisely where I was supposed to land this evening. You have no idea how much this video means to me; and what it has inspired. Onward. Upward.
Holy shit, this is great. Jim's comment about machismo hits hard and its great reminder to be humble as human regards what we do. I am humbled by your work Sean.
Yes. The stark truth about "punching down" is a clarion call to humility.
Yeah I think Jim holds a mirror up to the rest of us and asks us why we are really using a camera.
I smiled when David smiling. What one can do more than that??? Make someone felt happy and fulfilled. Really loved.
Jim is a true hero of the people.Through his pictures, I’ve come to feel I know these people,
people who I would know nothing about were it not for his patience, talent and dedication.
He is surely the most important visual chronicler of our times.
Awwww mate, too kind, the folk in the book are the hero’s, I’m just doing my bit. X
Agreed Jeff.
@@seantuck And he has a cool dog
I really appreciate the fact that you decide to take the step to bring content with a message like this. Photography is important, but there are things in life that are even more important.
I know that feeling. When both of my patients passed, the last one in August, the pandemic was hard but the story of their lives was really important to me so that I had to share it with some friends and Internet friends. Thank you for this video
I couldn’t have clicked on this video any quicker! Jim has recently become one of my favourite modern photographers. Thank you for this video, for sharing his work and his voice, and the voices he’s lifting up.
Thanks mate, I appreciate it!.
@@JAMortramf8 Powerful work mate , thank you for sharing your story take good care out there
Thank you Sean - I really appreciate every video you make, this one really resonated with me. If you ever come back and visit South Africa let me know and I would love to connect. Thank you for making the world a more beautiful place.
A wonderfully human story that cuts so close to the reason why God brought us into the world. Thanks for this.
Wow. Powerful, beautiful, sad ,enlightening. Moved me to tears.
I am actually in tears now. Thank you for making this Sean and Jim.
Thanks 🙏 and do take care!.
Absolutely magnificent work and very emotive. Unfortunately one of the main problems in the world today is that people are taught that it’s all about the individual (being themselves). However when it’s all about you there is no room left for others. It’s all false happiness and very fleeting. Nothing gives more long lasting happiness and satisfaction in life than helping others in need.
Jim Mortan thank you for helping my find my calling... you have inspired me, I have studied photography and I hated it because I was surrounded by people who want to be somebody all I wanted to do was to help somebody... thank you again I'm going to do what you have done.... you made me ball my eyes out!!!
Stay strong mate!.
Thank you Sean. Thank you Jim. As a single dad who is a primary carer for my autistic son I appreciate you showing the empathy for this tough subject.
Thanks 🙏 sending love and solidarity!.
Decades ago, I was photographing at a conference of an African-American women's conference. One speaker said, "We're tired of asking for a piece of the pie. We want the recipe." Neither has been forthcoming in the interval since; as Jim says at one point, scratch the surface and you find that pretty much everyone you know is struggling. Work such as his, born out of commitment to others and bringing the reality compassionately to light, rather than flashing a cold light at it, should remind us all of our intrinsic need for others, and therefor, the vital importance of their welfare.
Thank you so much for that interview. Jim Mortram is a fantastic photographer and a wonderful human who deserves his work to be shown and his subjects voices to be heard.
Such a wonderful watch Sean!
Thanks 🙏 mate… and don’t forget, not and never subjects, I’m not the King!, they are my community, my friends that I met as strangers. 😀
Thank you Sean and thank you Jim. I am really glad that we are now hearing the hitherto unheard experiences and hidden realities of unpaid carers. Least we can do is be kind and empathetic to each other and listen with care. I will try my best to do so.
Thanks 🙏 mate, really appreciate it.
Absolutely profound and engrossing photography here. This is why I love b&w documentary photography; it allows the photographer to strip away the superficial materiality of a moment in order to render a raw and soulful reality of the human condition.
I can't express with words how much I liked this video, it is just a pure piece of content that you can't almost never find on TH-cam. So thankful with you for sharing it, and with Jim for inspire me with his heart.
God bless you
Hi Sean. I love your new book. I love the direction you've gone in with this video. Hope to see more of this on your channel.Have you considered doing an episode or series on your favourite monographs?
This is a profoundly engrossing insight. Thank you for creating and sharing it, Sean.
That ending really had my eyes tearing. Thank you!
Thank you Sean. What a friend to have - Jim. Hope whatever drives him rubs off and sticks on others. I always believe the the good in us outweighs the bad, thanks for some proof. Beautiful video and the gritty Zoom audio was perfect for the gritty subject. Stay well mate.
This one has hit hard and I'm not ashamed to admit a few tears, anger and despair while watching and after. Too close to home in many respects, and this is not a forum on which I would consider sharing why. Suffice it to say that it's shocking that countless families have been abandoned with little or, more commonly, no help from a social care system that is woefully underfunded (from experience) poorly skilled.
Jim, a thank you seems somewhat inadequate. Thank you for channeling your creative energy into these wonderful photographs borne out of a desire to bring attention to the humanity and struggles of these incredible people. Stories that are woefully echoed throughout our society.
Sean, thank you for stepping back on this one. Message received.
Thanks 🙏 mate. Sending love and solidarity.
A year later and one of your more memorable videos. Tells a story and one that I can relate to.
Very, very moving, it certainly opened my eyes to the hardship that other people have to cope with on a daily basis. Very humbling thank you for sharing this.
This impacts on so many levels. I’m so thankful to both of you for bringing this to lite. And to the people who shared their story, this is real life that is too seldom seen.
I am in awe and lost for words.
Thank you Jim, thank you Sean.
I’ve owned a copy of small town inertia for about a year now and it’s without a doubt the most impactful book I own. Hearing from the man himself behind his own ideas and techniques really adds that much more to the project. It’s so sad but done in such a beautiful way. Thank you for this Sean.
Cheers mate!.
Share experience. True compassion. Meaning behind the making. Quite emotional and an alarm bell ringing in my head.
Hi Sean, I don't think I have commented on your TH-cam content before now. Beleive me that it is not because I do not like and appreciate what you are doing. I felt a real need this time to comment and thank you for bringing people such as Jim to my attention. his work is so important. I must also point out that I have started to folow other artists because of your sharing of your interest in their work, people like Fiona Lark, Joshua Jackson, Rachael Talibert, Mo Barzegar and many others. Do keep up this great work. The work of those that you have introduced me to has inspired me almost as much as your own work, do keep well and keep inspiring.
Thanks David. That's great to hear.
Sean, I came to your channel many moons ago to pick up photography tips.... What you have given goes far beyond! This film, by the end i had tears in my eyes..... Thank you!
FANTASTIC!!!! This is what attached photo journalism should be. Not easy and not for everyone to put yourself out there. KUDOS!!
Thanks 🙏
I always wait to watch your videos until I can sit and engage with them properly rather than giving them cursory attention that most content gets from me. I am never disappointed that I invest my time this way and this was no exception although it is the first of you content actually make me cry. Thank you for bringing this amazing human to my attention and letting us see how deeply meaningful photography can be when used the right way
Sean, I got nothing but love for this. It awakened something in my love for photography that collected some dust. Truly inspiring guy with the right words and the right heart!
Thank you so much Sean for sharing Jim’s work and the stories of the people he documents. I saw Small Town Inertia at the Side Gallery; it’s such a powerful collection of work and I still think about it today. Jim’s respect, care, empathy come through so strongly in his photography and it was great to listen to him talk about it. Thanks again.
Thanks so much!.
Sean, ya know, a lot of people here on youtube put out just total self praising bull shit, I really mean it. Its just time waisting shit, but, your site has always shown a love for humanity no matter what the subject you talk about there is such a love. No praise to yourself from you. Its so refreshing every time I come to your site I know Im going to hear something good. You have reached the status from me of, push like first, then watch the video. Ive been shooting for 50 years. Thats longer than you have been alive, yet, I learn something about seeing, about listening, about compassion and sheer love for this craft that I should have learned long ago. In my mind I used to take really good photographs, then, I started doing it for a living and getting paid very well, and in my mind I havent taken a decent meaningful shot since I took the first dollar for my work. As I am looking back at all Ive done, its the photos I took for love that mean the most. No the famous people or the trips to different places, but the shots I did for myself. Why am I writing this here, now, to you, I have no Idea. I guess I feel like somehow you understand what Im trying to say. This video interview of Jim tonight readjusted my compass. thanks
This goes beyond being about a photographer or photography. This was a story about connection between human beings, empathy and respect for the subjects and what they were going through. Thanks for sharing this great story.
Your true calling Sean, showing us ourselves, thank you.
I like that:)
So beautiful when two amazing souls come together and share such amazing work. 👏🏼
Wow, just wow Jim and Sean. There are very few occassions that I find something so beautifully moving on TH-cam, and this by far is one of those that has had me in tears. Sean, hats off to you my friend, I am a few chapters into your beautifully brilliant book and so many
poignant statements that come from this film resonate with the ethos of your book. Wow!
That was incredibly powerful! I’d like to think that this is what Capa was really talking about. Getting close like that to your “subjects”.
This really hit me hard. As a caretaker I completely understand. Thank you.
Good heavens, that was emotive...
First, the style in which you presented the Zoom meeting was completely effective to me. It deserved the monochrome, slightly gritty image and it underpinned Jim's story and the images we saw.
Jim is an amazing guy, and fate had dealt him a difficult hand, that he has accepted and adapted to build something creative, supportive and positive - not only for his parents, but for that host of isolated, challenged, and in some ways tortured souls.
Getting old sucks - for a limited but celebrated few, it is the time of enjoyment of the good things in life without the pressures of work and they can enjoy the fruits of their labours: socializing with family and friends, and leveraging the wealth of material assets and opportunities that they have accumulated over time. These are the ones we see in ads for cruise lines, exotic holidays and lifestyle villages.
And then there are those on the other end of the spectrum: isolated, injured in mind, body or soul; and slowly, emptily being eaten up by time. They totally deserve the connections that people like Jim can create for them, to recognize their humanity and reconnect them in some small way to the society that has lost them.
Thanks Jim for your story and your dedication, and thanks again for this Sean. You never fail to deliver. Your book is winging its way to me, and I look forward to reading it.
Thanks 🙏 mate
Thanks Trevor.
Thanks Sean. I’m so glad you have made this film. Jim is out on his own……
Thanks 🙏 mate!. I really want everyone to try and make work in their communities, as photographers in the now, it’s kind of our duty, such a strong tradition of community work in the 70’s and 80’s and right now it’s needed more than ever, if we all help each other, we can do it!.
Incredibly moving and emotional video, Sean! Very powerful stuff. Really appreciate Jim. The world needs more like him. I was genuinely in tears and smiling at the same time when I saw David smiling listening to Jim's Instagram story.
Thank you, Sean, for this video and for reaching out to Jim. I love many different genre's of photography and have been asked to do a photoshoot of the homeless and struggling citizens in our community. This video resonated deeply with me and I can only hope that I can be as effective as he has become in giving these individuals a voice.
This was a particularly moving post for me, Sean. Having a son with ADHD and suffering anxiety, heart strings are pulled with the reality of the dire situations many feel. My wife and I are very supportive, so my son hasn’t faced the loneliness or despiration of mental health issues but I am moved by the predicament of Jim and of those whose photographs were the subjects of this video. I am loving the format of featuring personalities who photograph but also feel emotions and those of others and share the pictures that they have made. Mental health is finally being recognized and videos like this open doors and make people feel that it is, “ok to not be ok”, which starts the conversation.
Camera as a sword or a shield………brilliant!!!!!!!!!
Thanks 🙏 mate
Wow, truly incredible. I had never been exposed to Jim, I'm actually watching this as my choice for my Intro to Photography class. The applause for all the people at the end and just seeing the overwhelming joy it brought to him admittedly made me tear up. It's because this is the type of stuff I want to do, I want to make a difference in peoples lives and make them feel good and build them up in otherwise challenging times. I want to make people feel together and welcome in a world right now that's so divided.
Thanks!. Shout me if you need any help!.
An incredibly moving piece. Jim, Sean,, thank you.
Thank you very much for sharing Jim's work. I've really been touch by it. It reminded me that before being a good photographer, I need to be a good person. Something that's often forgotten.
As a caregiver and photographer, thank you for sharing this.
Very powerful. Thank you Sean and Jim for sharing with us. And thank you for all you do. XOX
Fantastic! Of all of your documentary videos, this was my favorite. Jim’s photos are powerful and honest and his connection with the voiceless is genuine and I see the power of vulnerability in his work.
I was brought to tears. I can't even express of what emotional rollercoaster I just went through watching this. Like a tough talk that just needed to happen. I'm truly moved and hope the situation for all those beautiful people will improve. Jim has definitely done his part and you too, Sean, to get the message out there. Thank you.
Extraordinary and wonderful. Both the photographer and Sean.
What a fabulous bloke, the world needs many more people like him.
Thanks 🙏 mate
Agreed:)
Without reading any of the comments associated with this video, I can guess that every one will be similar in tone - what an impactful and thought provoking video. This was really nothing at all about photography, but about conducting life. I look forward to finding out more about Jim Mortram’s photography, and the people who he is talking about in this piece. Thank you very much for this.
Thanks mate!.
Great documentary on an amazing photographer. Can’t believe that 17 people did not like this.
Thanks Sean for yet another insightful video. Jim`s story, devoid of ego, captured wonderfully the power of photography and authentic storytelling.
The background music also supported wonderfully Jim`s reflective tones, well chosen.
Stunning use of communication. I feel a bit sad that instagram is no longer the accidentally-ideal canvas for projects like Jim’s.
Thank you Sean and Jim
Absolutely amazing Sean. Thank you
Three thank you's from me, each equal, each huge. Jim, for your work, heart and understated eloquence. Sean, for sharing this. David and everyone who has shared with Jim, thank you and my very, very best wishes for your future happiness and peace.
Thanks 🙏 mate
Thanks Cat
You, Mike Gray, Teo Crawford, and Omar Gonzales are my favorite photography channels. You guys are a real blessing to me
Oh my goodness. I don't usually comment on any TH-cam videos but this is just so powerful and so emotive. Thank you so much to Jim for his caring and his insight and thank you to you Sean for documenting it. But most importantly, thank you to all those people for being brave enough to share how life is for them - for their honesty and their openness.
You win the comments!. The thank you 🙏 is totally for those that shared their story, to illuminate and enlighten via true selflessness, they are the hero’s!. Thanks 🙏 so much for taking the time to leave your words, that are truly appreciated!.
You are so incredibly kind @@JAMortramf8 .Thank you, but every single one of those brave people touched my heart which is why I so wanted to just simply say thank you to them
@@howardbennett618 I’ll pass your thanks on to them!.
Thank you, Sean and a huge thanks and admiration for Jim's initiative.
Amazing story. Thank you for sharing, Sean, and thanks to Jim for his work and commitment. Good to see what photography *can* be.