Into the Unknown with David duChemin

They say never to meet your heroes, but in this instance, it was the meeting that made the hero. Several years back, fellow photographer Doug Derksen (who I interviewed in April), suggested a speaker for a local camera club. At the time, I hadn’t delved too deeply into the world of David duChemin, but I was intrigued by his thoughts on the craft of photography. After David’s presentation, however, I was a full-on convert.

David duChemin is a chameleon of sorts. A former comedian, he has journeyed through the worlds of humanitarian photography, podcast personality, author, educator, entrepreneur, and adventurer. David is also a survivor and amputee after a near-fatal fall in Italy. But, more than any of those things, David is a craftsperson. A true expert in his field with an unparalleled passion for the essence of the creative process. Without further ado, I am delighted to step Into the Unknown with B.C. based photographer David duChemin.

You have a thoughtful, almost meditative, way of looking at photography that encourages people to slow down and be with the art they are creating. How do you maintain that sense of intentionality within the shifting dynamics of a photo shoot?

Creativity is an alchemy of sorts; there are no formulas. My own process is messy and often involves some salty language as my muse, and I try to bash things out, but I try hard to be present. To really see a scene and be alive in it. I think I’m naturally introspective, but it still takes effort to remain both focussed on the task as well as open to possibilities I didn’t see on first glance. The photographer who tries to do all that and also do it quickly has a near impossible challenge, but the one who slows down, and takes as much time as possible, stacks the deck in their favour. Too many photographers are in a hurry. For me, this craft is a long, slow burn. Time is one of our raw materials, you have to honour it.

You have travelled extensively and have crafted an impressive portfolio from around the globe. As a travelling photographer, you have also spoken about immersing yourself into a given setting, or community, in order to capture the depth and beauty of the moment. How do you maintain that sense of curiosity and awareness when returning to a location you have already visited?

I think because my first focus is on experiencing the place, really being there, finding new ways to explore it, before focusing on the task of making photographs, the places I go to over and over are ever-changing. And I am too. We evolve, so the guy I would be now in Kenya, for example, is not the same man I was last year. Not only that, photography is not only about place. It’s about the intersection that happens between a place, the light, the weather, the circumstances. If you’ve got an open mind and heart, no place is ever the same. On top of that, I like to add new challenges. I’m always asking how I can go deeper with existing work, what might be missing, or what my opportunity is this time that I might not have been ready for last time. Constantly growing in your craft means you’re bringing new skill to familiar places and new skill means new ways to interpret a scene. One of the great joys of photography for me is that there’s no ceiling, no point at which we can truly master it.

There are two tenets that regularly show up throughout your work, vision and storytelling. How have these themes echoed throughout the various faucets of your creative career from your time as a comedian, through to your life as a photographer and writer?

I think both vision and an ability to tell a story are required skills for any communicator, so what I learned in comedy was easily transferable. But in addition to that, I think comedy relies on having interesting perceptions, as photography does. I make my photographs for me first, but I’m always asking myself how others will experience the photographs I make. Will they feel the mood, the mystery, will they see the juxtaposition or contrast? To make them feel that is my job, and I think that kind of empathy for the audience is shared by all communicators.

Looking at this specific photograph, how did your connection to this piece change as you moved through the process of conception and capture to edits and final image?

This is a photograph I made in Kenya last year. It began with a different image, one that I don’t think was as successful, but which aimed at the same thing, which was a feeling of aloneness. I had been struck by how few animals there were on that visit, compared to others. So, I wanted that lone animal on the savannah, and eventually this scene presented itself. But I also wanted to push my interpretation in post, to add a storybook feeling to it, something sentimental and perhaps romantic, to contrast with the start aloneness I felt was there. So, I nudged the hues of the image toward a cyan/orange color contrast. Does it work? Well, for me it does. But more importantly it represented a risk, a willingness to go beyond the places my voice has always been comfortable and try something new, something that felt right. I’m not so much interested in making “good” photographs because that’s an impossible thing to nail down. No one agrees on a universal “good” in photography. I’m interested in making a photograph that is truly my own. And that’s a big part of what I teach. I am not interested in the safe shot.

In much of your work, you reference creatives from various walks of life. How do you translate artistic inspiration from various mediums into the work you do as a photographer?

It’s all the same. Music, theatre, painting, writing, photography. The mechanics are different, and the technical challenges have specifics that aren’t shared, but the creative challenge to make something we feel deeply about, to wrestle with imposter syndrome or the feelings of failure, which is common for us all. So I think there’s value in seeing how other artists cope with those challenges, and to hear how they speak about their art-making because there is often something to be learned, some new perspective or way of thinking about it. Other artists, for example, have a greater focus on the poetry of what they make, rather than on perfection. We’re so caught up at times in sharpness and technical concerns or what latest gear is available, that we forget these aren’t the things that move human hearts or stir imaginations. Other artists are, at times, much clearer about how powerful art, and art-making, can be. It’s good to be reminded of that.

A heartfelt thank you to David for sharing his thoughts and photography before jetting off to the world of wonders that is Zimbabwe. If, like me, you are enamoured with David’s work, please check out his website and follow him on Instagram. You can find his podcast here and his teaching resources here. You can also pick David’s newest book Light, Space, and Time: Essays on Camera Craft and Creativity here.

Photo Credits: David duChemin

Into the Unknown with David duChemin

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