My 2020 Yearbook

This post is also available in audio form:

When I was in high school, I remember that one of the most expected events of the year was the moment the yearbook was released. The excitement of seeing your photo on print and reading what the people important to you had written was something to look forward to. However, I don't remember my school years to be a particularly good phase in my life. My memory of those years is clouded by a feeling of always being sad. There was too much going on in my personal life to be able to enjoy what were supposed to be the most enjoyable years of my life. I came out as gay in the late 80's amidst the AIDS epidemic and the fact that I grew up in a very close-minded country made things worse. It was definitely not an easy time for me. Nevertheless, I made it through. The same way that I've made it through this very challenging year. There is a lesson on resilience somewhere in there.

It has been a horrible year for humankind, but I refuse to let the pandemic stain the memory of the good things that happened this year that are worth celebrating. Thirty years from now, I don't want to look back at this year and only remember the sad moments. That's why I'm reclaiming 2020 by writing this post in the form of a yearbook. A post that I can look back to in a year, or ten, or in three decades and realise that in spite of everything that went wrong this year we managed to find a way to keep going.

These are some of the things that I choose to remember from the year 2020:

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Mentor: As in previous years, in 2020 I continued mentoring both students and peers. One of my proudest moments this year was when one of my mentees scored an A+ in the project in which we had been working together.

Volunteer: in early 2020, I volunteered at the City YMCA homeless shelter with other members from Out For Good to put together care packages to be given to anyone who comes seeking shelter when they first arrive.

Guest Writer: during the first lockdown, I partnered with Partnership for Young London to write a piece for their blog which highlights the innovative ways we’ve been supporting our own and others’ mental health during the pandemic.

Creator: at the end of the first lockdown, I started my Patreon channel to share with my followers how I put my projects together. 6% of my patrons' support goes to a different charity each month.

Supporter: during Pride month, I ran a photography workshop for Say It Loud, an organisation committed to providing support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

Facilitator: I ran several workshops on photography and project management for the AOP, The Trampery, Republic and the Boxed Community.

Award-winner: I was awarded Silver in the AOP Photography Awards 2020 in the Fashion and Beauty category with my image entitled Spring Cleaning.

Documenter: I am currently working on a project with the Prince's Trust documenting one of their youth support programmes at the Waltham Forest College in Walthamstow, helping young people aged 16-25 to develop transferable skills that are essential to pursue a successful career in education or employment. Photo by Thais Verhasselt.

Moderator: a month ago, I moderated a panel discussion about what it means to work in the Creative Industries in support of the Aldridge Foundation, a charity that aims to inspire and equip young people with the skills they need to take control of their futures.

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What good things happened to you this year that you want to remember in the future? Share them with me in the comments below.

Photo credit: I don’t know who took this photo of me but it was the year I graduated from high school.

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A Self-Reflection At The End Of A Tough Year

This post is also available in audio form:

When I had my first job back when I was 19, I had a conversation with a coworker about happiness. I can't really remember how the conversation went but her remarks on what happiness meant to her stayed with me forever. For her, happiness was not a constant state but a sum of moments. When she looked back, if she was able to count more happy moments than sad moments in her life then she felt content. Whenever I am going through a tough time in my life, I always remember her words and count the happy moments in my life. It never fails, I have a lot to be grateful for.

I have everything I need. And, even if this statement is not entirely true it does feel that way. Not long ago, I read that happiness is the difference between what you have and your definition of enough. The less you need, the more you have. Maybe this is why I feel that I have it all. But, in the words of Michelle Obama, if you have it all that means that someone else has nothing.

This has been an important lesson in times when so many inequalities have come to light. People who work as hard as I do and who have the same set of skills that I have are not given the same opportunities. And this realisation has given me a purpose and a mission to help others via mentoring, skills share and peer support. You climb and then you lift others with you. It is the only way our communities will thrive.

I am aware that this self-reflection is a difficult exercise, especially in times like these when we are going through a prolonged period of instability and collective grief. The experiences that we've lived over the last year can easily cloud the view of everything that we have that we should be grateful for. My only wish for you at the end of 2020 is that, by looking back and reviewing your life, your happy moments outdo the not-so-happy ones. Happy Holidays and may 2021 be everything that you wished 2020 would be.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

You can also subscribe to my weekly blog posts here! You may subscribe to the audio version wherever you get your podcasts.

I Wish I Had Known... About Fashionable Dumplings!

This is the Twentieth-First post in my series of posts where I speak with people in the creative industries and ask them questions about the things that “I Wish I Had Known” when I started out as a creative myself.

This week, I had the delicious pleasure of talking to Jessica Ly, a food entrepreneur slash fashion stylist slash marketing guru, who at the beginning of the pandemic started her own food service called Fashion Bake. We spoke about reinvention, immigration and how vulnerability is not a weakness but a superpower:

1- This year has taught us how brilliantly resourceful and resilient we can be. You lost your job at the start of the pandemic but then started an incredibly successful takeaway service. How did the idea come about?

It really has! Before this, I was working at an FMCG food startup (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) working in marketing. When I was made redundant in March, I threw myself into my first love, food. Growing up at home, we’ve always gathered around the table and made dumplings as a family and as a coping mechanism (I was going through lots of emotions at the time - fear, anxiety, rejection).

I started making and testing dumplings recipes for pleasure. Creating and making dumplings became my therapy and meditation. I started posting photos of my creations on Instagram and people were asking if they could buy some... I’ve always been a feeder and the penny dropped... maybe I could sell frozen dumplings?! We had 5 weeks of our tenancy left at our flat in London and I was “jobless”... so I decided to go for it and test out the market in our neighbourhood to see if there would be any interest. I sold out every week for 5 weeks!

2- Your life story represents the success of the immigrant. Your family left home and established in the UK during very difficult times and were able to make a living for themselves and raise the entrepreneurial machine that you are. Do you think about your family’s history when you are going through challenging times like these?

Every day. When my parents came here, they had nothing and couldn’t even speak English. Not only did they manage to survive, but managed to thrive. They are my daily inspiration. They created something from nothing. They’ve made so many sacrifices i.e pursuing their own dreams and ambitions (my dad wanted to be a mechanic and my mum wanted to be a hairstylist) to put food on the table and survive.

I’m a proud daughter of immigrants. Our story is a journey that represents resilience, grit and survival.

3- I am also a descendant from immigrants, and an immigrant myself. I often say that immigrants might be the only people with sufficient skills to navigate such difficult times. I’m a proud immigrant son of immigrants and something that I like from your brand is that you are proud of your heritage as well. Did you know that this was going to be an important part of your branding right from the start?

Yes definitely! I don’t think you can decide where you’re going until you know where you’re really from. Fashion Bake is me telling my story. Being a daughter of immigrants is part of my identity. I’ve always been a storyteller - first it was via my blog (Fashion Bake started off as a blog years ago!) then it was via fashion styling, now it’s via food. We ALL have stories to tell and I think it’s so important to tell our stories because you never know who you might inspire and how much somebody might have needed to hear your story - we never know who we’re giving hope to!

4- Did you have a business background before you came up with the idea for this venture?

I used to make bespoke cakes - it started when a friend asked me to make 100 cupcakes for a charity event. At the event, everybody loved the cupcakes and asked if I travelled around selling cakes and I laughed because I didn’t think it was possible. The next day I made a website, wrote out my brand mission and started off selling cupcakes.

I didn’t expect it to take off the way it did - people started ordering cupcakes, birthday cakes, wedding cakes. I then got a job as a Fashion Stylist at Harvey Nichols full time and I started making cakes after work in the evenings. I just love creating! I think my entrepreneurial spirit comes from my dad - he’s always finding new ways to create and even now at 59, he’s always thinking of the next business idea and venture.

5- Which skills do you think were transferable from your previous industry?

Every single skill I learnt has been transferable! My eye for detail as a fashion stylist. In my roles in marketing for the two food start-ups I worked at, I dabbled with food styling, branding, marketing, social media, content creation, community management. Relationship building. I’ve taken all of those experiences and skills to build and create my own business. Every single one of those skills I’ve needed to create my own business and brand. From my branding to the messages I deliver and the way they’re delivered, to the customer experience.

6- And do you think that has been the secret ingredient to your success?

What is success?! I mean I’m nowhere where I want to be yet - everybody’s definition of “success” is different. Success to me is the number of lives you have impacted and touched and contributed to. It’s loving what you do, how you do it, and who you are.

I give a shit. I love what I do, I am authentically me and I show the good, bad and ugly. I think authenticity and vulnerability are really important, that’s what people really connect with. People think vulnerability is a weakness but it’s a superpower! I would also say compassion and gratitude.

7- Speaking of success, it must have been scary to see that so many people opted for selling food during the lockdown. What made you keep going?

I really believe in my products (I truly believe every household needs frozen dumplings in their freezer) and I am uniquely me, and that is my superpower! What keeps me going is seeing how happy it makes people and hearing amazing feedback and making people smile, that is the biggest reward!

8- Any advice for other people thinking about starting their own businesses?

Make sure you really love it - don’t just do it because you’ve seen somebody else do it with success. There will be long nights and days and you’ll have to make sacrifices to build your business.

9- Just when you started your business in London, you made the decision to go back to your hometown. How has moving north impacted your business?

I was worried that nobody would buy dumplings here or get it - but my Northampton community here has been so supportive! COVID-19 has really changed people’s behaviours and for me, the challenge was to change people’s eating behaviours. Most people here hadn’t really cooked dumplings at home, but I think delivering clear messaging and content really helps!

My dumplings come with simple cooking instructions, you can scan a QR code which takes you to a video cooking tutorial and I have lots of content on Instagram.

10- I am a big believer in supporting the local economy because I’ve seen entrepreneurs like you who, with our support, have the power to change people’s lives. Keep calm and buy local, the slogan should say. How can people buy your tasty creations?

We’re currently only available locally in Northamptonshire, but watch this space! World domination is the plan ;)

Follow our journey on Instagram @fashion.bake !

Website: www.fashion-bake.com.

Jess, I have tried your delicious dumplings many times and they were always a success at home. I'm sure that soon they'll be in every home in the country! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and for sharing with me what your fashionable dumplings are all about! It’s everything that I Wish I Had Known!

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If you haven’t read the previous posts of this series, you can check the whole series here. I hope you liked this new post and stay tuned for a different creative each month!

Photo credit: My portrait by Wayne Noir.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

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What Do Human Rights Mean To You?

December 10 is International Human Rights Day, and to mark the date this year I am happy to announce that I will be one of the judges of an art contest held by Skaped. This art contest is open to all young people age 16 - 30 years old living in the UK responding to the question "What do human rights mean to you?" By creating artwork and bringing awareness to issues you care about, together we'll stand up for human rights and carry on!

The art forms accepted for the competition are painting, drawing, photography, collages, fine art/sculptures, illustration, fabric art or digital art. The winner will receive a £100 voucher worth of art supply.

The winner will be selected by a panel of 4 judges::

• Nigel Twumasi, co-founder of Mayamada, using manga to inspire a new generation of creatives and entrepreneurs to make a social impact.

• Shajna Begum, founder of The Film Bunch, improving access for deaf and hard-of-hearing people to mainstream short films.

• Kirsty Reynolds, visual artist bringing people together to connect through play and creativity.

• JC Candanedo, visual artist using photography to explore Human Rights, Mental Health and Identity.

Submissions are open from the 3rd-22nd of December, with the winner announced on the 30th of December.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

You can also subscribe to my weekly blog posts here!

8 Things I've Learnt While Working On Photography Projects

Photography projects are an integral part of a photographer's career. As a commercial photographer, you want to show your potential commissioners not only what you have been paid to do in the past but also the type of work that you like doing. However, I've met photographers who don't believe in personal work or who tell themselves that they don't have the time to embark on it. What if apart from building your portfolio you could also learn something new?

Every time that I shoot a photography project, I learn something new about me, about my craft and about the people or the topic that I'm working on. Here is a list of 8 things that I've learnt from working on my photography projects:

• Brexiters. This was the first portraiture personal project that I worked on. Before embarking on this project, I had been working on personal projects where I didn't involve other people (i.e. urban landscapes, abstract). When I saw on the news that the Brexit vote had won, and how the white uneducated elderly rural population of England was blamed for it, I immediately wanted to find out if what the media was saying was true.

  • Lesson number 1: personal projects challenge your assumptions. On this project, I learnt that not everyone who voted Brexit fit into the profile described by the media.

  • Lesson number 2: Just be honest about your intentions and people will support you. I learnt that if you need people to take part in your projects, just by placing an ad online explaining your project and what you are looking for you will find people interested in sharing their experiences with you and taking part on your project.

• Crisi. This was my first personal project. I shot it before I even became a full-time photographer. I was really proud of it when I shot it and I had it on my website for many years, until one person who saw my portfolio told me that it didn't fit with the rest of my projects because it didn't involve people. Thus, I took it off my website for many years.

  It wasn't until a couple of years ago when I realised that, even if the project didn't involve photographing people it portrayed how businesses were shutting down in a domino effect in my local high street and the absence of people (footfall) is one of the reasons. So, I put it back on my website and since then many people have praised it. I also use it as an example when I have to run workshops about creating personal projects.

  • Lesson number 3: a project about people doesn't need to show people. I also learnt that the absence of people on a project that speaks about humanity and human issues makes for an interesting visual narrative.

  • Lesson number 4: putting off your project because you don't have the right equipment is just an excuse. From this project, I learnt that you don't need fancy equipment to shoot a personal project. I shot the whole project on an iPhone 4s.

• Catalonia: A Work in Progress. This was my first project that involved photographing a high volume of people living overseas. I was lucky that I knew the country very well because I lived in Catalonia for 14 years. But still, photographing so many people in so many different cities and rural areas took a lot of time and planning.

  For this project, I didn't place an ad looking for people interested in posing for me. I relied solely on my network. I wrote a template email and sent it to everyone I knew asking them to forward it to people they knew who they thought would be interested in taking part in my project.

  • Lesson number 5: our networks are bigger than we think. There is always someone in our networks who knows someone who in turn knows another someone who is willing to give us a hand.

  • Lesson number 6: timing is everything. The project was appealing to many publications, but it got rejected several times because the situation in Catalonia changed every other day and it was difficult to keep an editorial angle.

• De-Stress. This was the first project in which the idea for the topic to be explored came after years of experimenting with an alternative photographic technique. Prior to embarking on this project, I had been experimenting with distressing negatives with household chemicals. I loved the randomness of the technique and the striking results.

  When I was approached by The Trampery to work on a collaboration with the members of their community and explore Mental Health in entrepreneurs, I immediately knew that I could use this technique to speak about stress and the de-stressing effects of working in supportive environments. Hence the name.

  Also, after the project was published, I was approached by other organisations that liked the concept and visuals and who gave me opportunities to work on other projects.

  • Lesson number 7: experimenting with different techniques can inform your future projects. Playing around with different techniques until you master them can eventually lead to starting a new project.

  • Lesson number 8: personal projects open new opportunities. Commissioners pay attention to your personal work to see what motivates you and how you develop your own ideas when there is no brief involved and you are in control.

I am a strong believer in working on personal projects. They have opened so many opportunities for me throughout my career but, most importantly, they have taught me so much and I've met so many interesting people while working on them. Are you stuck with an idea that you don't know how to develop? Let me know in the comments below.

Photo credit: behind the scenes by Tori Dance.

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Reclaiming, Not Claiming

I've always liked studying history. Back in my school days, it was one of my favourite assignments. Not every teacher made it interesting, but those who did took us on a trip through time showing us how life used to be and how far we have come as a species. However, I had classmates who despised it. They wondered what contribution did studying rocks and tales of dead people had in their lives. I didn't have a smart comeback for these remarks back then, but these days I would tell them that if history weren't that important there wouldn't be people trying to change it to suit their needs.

I mentioned in my previous post how when I went to school our history books painted the European invasion to America (the continent, not the country that has borrowed its name) as the saving grace for Aboriginal people. History has always been written by the winners, and nowhere in those books could you learn about the genocide and the appropriation of resources that made European empires so rich.

Since I wrote that post, I have thought a lot about human rights and the way we've had to fight for our dignity and the recognition of our humanity in recent history. It is still surprising to me that The Universal Declaration of Human Rights had to be signed and published in 1948. As if before that declaration was signed we didn't have that humanity. As if before we fought for those rights we didn't deserve them.

The Suffragette and the MeToo movements, albeit separated in time by almost a century, are two examples of these fights for the recognition of rights against conservative groups that have tried to make us believe that women have never had those rights. As if, historically, there hadn't always been societies where women were not only treated equally but also shared positions of power with men. I was born in a country where many Aboriginal cultures are still matriarchies to this day (The Ngäbe, The Guna and the Bri Bri people, to name a few).

The Abolition of Slavery, The Civil Rights Act and the Black Lives Matter movement are also separated by a century between them, and they represent the fight for the recognition of the rights of black people. As if before they were kidnapped from their hometowns four centuries ago by the European empires they didn't enjoy those freedoms.

The Indigenous Civil Rights movement and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Australia are examples of fights for the acknowledgement of rights and the humanity of Aboriginal people in Australia. Pause there for a second and think about how the British didn’t consider the Australian Aboriginal people as humans. They thought of them as cattle. They had to fight for the right to be considered human, as if before the British came to what they called the Antipodes the people living there didn't enjoy their freedom and their rights in their own land.

This list could go on forever, but I will finish with LGBTQ+ rights. We have been made to believe that it wasn't until Stonewall in 1969 that queer people gained our rights. As if before Stonewall we didn't have the right to identify whichever way we deserved or have sex or fall in love with whomever we felt attracted to. The truth is that, for centuries, religions have tried to take away our humanity and our rights because if we don't procreate we are not useful to them. It's a war of power, control and numbers between religions and they need humans to be born into their cults to win this war.

This is why it's not only important to study history to prevent ourselves from repeating the errors of the past but also to learn that we are not fighting to gain a set of rights that we feel that we deserve. We are fighting to reclaim the rights that have been taken away from us.

The past hasn't always been fairer nor kinder, but those who are trying to strip us of our rights these days are basing their arguments on a version of history that they have created for their advantage. And if we don't correct the way history is being taught today, we will have to continue reclaiming our rights for millennia to come.

Photo credit: portrait by Sarah Tucker.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

You can also subscribe to my weekly blog posts here!

Art Helps Us Challenge Our Own Assumptions

Divide and conquer. The oldest trick in the book. In the times we are living, the powers that be have torn our communities apart with the complicity of the media and the aid, willingly or not, of the social media companies. Our societies are so divided that being nice to other people before knowing their stance seems like the ultimate challenge. And it has become very frustrating to see this happening around me and not having the power to make others realise what is being done to us. I talk about it, I write about it, I create photography about it, but sometimes it is evident that my efforts are not enough. I need a better strategy.

I know I can't control the things that happen around me, I can only control how I respond to them. And this knowledge is what has been driving me for years to reach out to my community and encourage them to work together to make the world a better place. I wish that others would follow, but I can only control what I do. I knew that I wanted change in the world, and that is why I started by changing myself.

I've always been a very empathetic person, but over the last few years I've also tried to become more compassionate and to hide less my vulnerabilities. And since the pandemic started, I've come to realise that these things are urgently needed in the world right now. If only our leaders shared these ideas with me they would show more empathy, more awareness and more compassion towards those they represent.

We are all in this together, but if we don't work together we are not going to get very far. We have many lessons to learn from recent events but we are stuck. Honestly, soon enough we are going to have to realise that it doesn't matter if you think you are on the right side of history and the others are not. If we don't create bridges and find common ground with others, we are not going to move past this. I know it won't be easy, and I can already hear the arguments from both sides but it has to be done.

The wrongs need to be corrected, the history books need to be rewritten. Perhaps not as tools of punishment but as factual sources of knowledge.

When I was in school, history books taught me that the Spaniards came to my country to finally give us civilisation, religion and language. Things that, according to history books, we were lacking. It took me decades and living in a different continent to start questioning these ideas that were planted in my brain when I was a child. I can only hope that children in my country today are being taught about the atrocities that were committed during the European invasion.

Therefore, I have to understand that some of the things that I believe to be true today might have also been planted in my brain to trick me into believing their veracity. The same way that other people who think differently to me might be under the influence of the groups that are trying to divide us.

My solution to this is to make myself reexamine my personal beliefs often and to engage in conversations with others who don't share my point of view. Whether we agree or not, just listening to what motivates other people's actions and choices will be a good starting point towards building those bridges.

And this is why I think that right now it's crucial to get artists not only involved but also supported. Historically, our role in times like these has always been to engage and collaborate with our communities to explore the world we are living in and offer a creative interpretation of our reality. We force those who view our work to engage in the conversation and question their own realities.

Art is more than just a mirror of society. It is a prism through which we see life from someone else's perspective. Whether you agree with the artist or not, just by engaging with art you also engage in an inner-dialogue that encourages you to question your assumptions. And these days, we are in desperate need to challenge everything that we assume to be true.

Photo credit: behind the scenes by Andrzej Gruszka.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

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I've Been Doing This Every Week For Six Years!

This month of November my blog turns 6 years old! I have been writing on my blog every Wednesday over the last 300+ weeks about my experiences working in the Creative Industries in the UK. In my posts, I talk about what it's like being a photographer working commercially in fashion and portraiture in London but also how I use my work and my platforms to raise awareness of Mental Health, Human Rights and National Identity.

I also interview other creatives and fellow-photographers and ask them about their roles and careers so that people who want to start a career in the Creative Industries know what to expect. Thank you to everyone who reads me, whether you are subscribed to my newsletter or whether you read me on my social platforms. YOU are the reason why I do this every week.

In my blog you will find:

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Posts about working in the Creative Industries

Our Economies Need More Artists

Art Puts Food On The Table

The Fatality Of The Creative’s Life

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Posts about working as a Photographer

How To Prepare For A Portfolio Review

Aspiring Models: Beware Of Fake Model Agencies

Overcoming Creative Block

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Posts about the social issues that I raise awareness of

Notes From The Fashion Debates On Mental Health

Is There Such Thing As A Sustainable Photographer?

Stand Up For Human Rights

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Interviews with other creatives about their roles and careers

I Wish I Had Known... About Photo Editors!

I Wish I Had Known About... TV Adaptations!

I Wish I Had Known... About Pattern Making!

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Features on fellow photographers exploring images from their portfolios

A World That Others Can’t See… with Gabrielle Motola

A World That Others Can't See... with Ivan Weiss

A World That Others Can't See... with Ameena Rojee

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Also, I have a Patreon channel In which you will find videos where I explain the projects that I'm currently working on, like my project where I am raising awareness of neurological diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's:

• Memory Part #1 - Starting a new project

• Memory Part #4 - How Do You Portray Memory Loss?

Posts with explanations of how I shoot my images and behind the scenes:

• How I Shot It and behind the scenes

and Tutorials:

• Tutorial #1 - Train Your Eye To See As A Photographer

• Tutorial #3 - Introduction To Project Management

6% of my patrons' support goes to a different charity each month:

• Charities we have supported thus far.

This way together, my patrons and I, can contribute to making this a better world.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

You can also subscribe to my weekly blog posts here!

How I've Learnt To Embrace Feeling Vulnerable About The Photography Projects That I'm Working On

There is infinity in the blank page. Before you write the first words, your story has endless possibilities of what it could become. And sometimes when you write, you don’t know what you are writing until you finish the story and someone else interprets it for you. The same happens in photography. Before releasing the shutter, the image only exists in our minds. There is an infinite amount of ways in which that image can be exposed to the photographic medium. And, more often than not, we won't know how our work will make other people feel until they see it. That is why the minute we bring a photograph to life the meaning of the image stops being ours and it belongs to the world. Photography, like writing, is meant to be shared.

Bringing art to life is a very intimate process. It's intimidating and scary. As an artist, you are always self-conscious about how your work will be perceived. Will they like it? Will they know what it means? Will they want to hire me when they see it? Will they want to see more?

Stories and images coexist in our minds long before we give them shape in their physical form. And, when we finally bring them into the physical world, we must accept the limitations of the medium that we have chosen to represent them. We have to make compromises, there is always a trade-off. For photographers, images in our minds speak louder than words but there are limitations to the photographic medium that prevent us from telling the whole story in just one photo.

Every time that we look through the viewfinder of our cameras we start a journey, and unknown journey in which the photograph that we envisioned takes a meaning that we have no control over when we release it to the world. And that's ok. It's part of being an artist. Your creativity gives birth to work, but its interpretation doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the world.

Almost every photographer that I know is self-conscious about letting other people see their RAW files, their negatives, their unfinished and un-retouched work. We don't want to show others our work in progress because we don't want to misrepresent ourselves. We fear that we just have that one chance to show that person what our work is about and we don't want to be put in such vulnerable position.

However, I've recently discovered that learning to accept that vulnerability has made me stronger. By opening up my practice on Patreon, explaining my creative process and talking about how I put my work together I've actually felt more reassured and self-confident. And not necessarily because of the feedback that I get from others, but from learning myself everything that I have to offer. I am less afraid to talk about my work and I am more confident about the impact that I want to have with my practice.

Admittedly, at first it wasn't easy. While I was recording myself in my first videos talking about my ideas and showing the inspiration for the project that I'm currently working on I felt like everyone was going to see what a terrible photographer I was. Meanwhile, another part of my brain was telling me that in every video I was basically begging for someone else to come and steal my ideas and come up with a better project.

The truth is that none of that has happened. Supporters on my Patreon channel are there because they are interested in what I do mostly because I'm the one who is doing it. In the end, anyone else can try to copy what I do and probably create something better than what I can create but it will never be exactly the same. Because they are not me. They don't have my motivations and they are not moved by the same things that inspire me.

This year has been very challenging in ways that are unfathomable, but something good that came out of it is that I made the brave decision of showing my work on Patreon. I hope that everyone who comes over and signs up for the ride can perceive that. You might see me at my most vulnerable, but you will never see a more real version of me.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

You can also subscribe to my weekly blog posts here!

Making This A Better World: A Work In Progress

If you like reading my posts, consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

You can also subscribe to my weekly blog posts here!

These days, there is a collective need to be good for the world. Society wants us to be greener, to be ethical and to have a purpose. Many businesses, especially bigger brands, have successfully aligned their mission with this new collective social conscious. They are working hard towards using 100% green materials, producing with 100% sustainable suppliers, or becoming 100% ethical. But for smaller businesses, particularly creative entrepreneurs, the idea of having to adapt their business to become 100% good for the world can be daunting. Where does one start?

Achieving 100% of anything might not be realistic. Being 100% of something implies that we are done, that we have reached the end of our efforts, and that there is nothing else left to do. But, the reality is that just our mere existence as a business and as a human being has an impact on the planet. To be 100% green and have zero impact in the world we would have to stop existing altogether.

A better approach to sustainability and ethical practices would be to become a work in progress. When you are a work in progress, it means that you are constantly assessing your business and your processes to improve them. It means that you know that your efforts to be better for the planet and for society are never over. And, if you look at it this way, it becomes easier to start slowly and apply changes as you go where you see that they are needed.

To start running a more sustainable and ethical practice, you could start by identifying where improvements can be made. Then, you make a plan of how you are going to apply those changes.

For instance, our photography businesses run on electronic equipment. This equipment has a limited lifespan. Even if we tried to get our money’s worth, we would still have to replace our cameras, computers and phones every 5 years because, otherwise, they become obsolete. Our equipment also uses batteries and, nowadays, most of these batteries have a lifespan of 3 years.

A simple step towards becoming greener could be buying products that will last longer. Equipment that will not force you to replace it too often. If you have to change it, try to repurpose the old one. Use it as a backup, sell it on the second-hand market, or find ways to reuse its individual parts.

Buy from suppliers and manufacturers that are environmentally conscious, those who use less packaging material, and those who have strict environmental policies in place. Try implementing other actions like remembering to turn off electrical equipment when not in use, or buying rechargeable batteries whenever possible.

When it comes to ethical practices, asking yourself a few questions might help. Are your suppliers running businesses with ethical policies in place? Are you paying your collaborators fairly? Are you championing diversity and inclusion in your projects? Do your clients align with your ethos? Is there something else that you could do to have a positive impact on your community?

Contact your current suppliers and ask them about their ethical and equality policies. Find out if you are paying your collaborators a fair living wage. Make a list of those clients who no longer align with your ethos and think of how you can get more like-minded clients and reduce your dependency from the ones who are not. Pay attention to pressing issues in your area and think of ways in which your business can contribute to improving your community.

The unexamined practice is not worth running. We should make the effort to be in a state of constant work in progress, of constant self-improvement. As businesses, our goal is to make a profit. But, in order to make a profit, we need clients who are part of healthy economies and stable communities. If we want to guarantee those conditions, we must make it part of our core mission to benefit and improve the world.

Photo credit: portrait by Ivan Weiss.

A World That Others Can't See... with Jonathan Stokes

Our role as photographers is to capture a world that others can't see, and in this process, we leave a little bit of us in every photo that we take. In a way, every single one of our photographs is also a portrait of ourselves.

In this series, A World That Others Can't See, I ask fellow photographers to talk about an image from their portfolios in order to discover the stories behind their work and to learn about the person behind the lens.

For the eleventh post of the series, travel, lifestyle and interiors photographer Jonathan Stokes talks about a candid shot that he took at the Bar Las Teresas in Seville while on assignment for the Sunday Times Travel Magazine.

Jon says: "I took this photograph while working on an editorial assignment with Sunday Times Travel Magazine. It is a candid shot of a bar scene in the old town of Seville, Spain, taken in the late afternoon. The image shows 3 men sat at a small table in animated conversation, among a cluttered interior of old posters and paintings, plates and baskets for food, and a row of hanging cured jamón meat above the counter. The scene was very fortuitous, all the elements came together. The men in the bar seemed oblivious to me which kept the shot candid and not staged; I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

This is a personal favourite shot of mine for a variety of reasons and remains featured in my printed portfolio alongside newer work as it serves as a sort-of anchor, combining different features I love in photography. It’s a very cinematic shot with an unknown narrative which invites some imagination. Who are the men, and why are they there? Are they friends? Are they debating, arguing, sharing news, talking politics? I like how it feels like a modern scene, set in a traditional bar that probably hasn’t changed much over the years, which has seen countless meetings of the kind in this picture. I caught the moment the man in the middle is turning his head between the other two, the imperfection of the motion blur adding the feeling that the conversation is not a simple chat.

Bar Las Teresas, Seville @ Jonathan Stoke

There is a beautiful balance of light, with the men lit by the soft daylight coming from the window they were sat by, while the interior of the bar is a much murkier, gloomy artificial light. This contrast really makes the atmosphere of the shot to me; the people are bright and new and temporary, and the bar is old and established. I love taking what I refer to as ‘big pictures’ with lots of detail, textures and depth (as well presenting them as big too) which the viewers can immerse into. This image really demonstrates that with all the hanging jambons, the pictures on the wall and old tiles serving as background to the scene of the men meeting.

The image was used in the feature in the magazine, a food story on a tapas tour around Seville. Behind the camera was just me, and my guide who had taken me to the bar as they had (rightly) recommended it would be great for pictures. Usually, I shoot handheld in situations like this to keep things quite natural and loose, but as it was quite dark in the bar I used a tripod, so I was pleased it didn’t change the dynamic inside. This was shot on the Nikon D800 which was a real workhorse camera for me, I loved the results and used it for countless shoots before retiring when I upgraded (and after over 200,000 frames …)."

Thank you so much, Jon, I really enjoyed hearing about the story behind your image and learning a bit more about how you see life through your lens.

You can learn more about Jon's work on www.jonathanstokesphotography.com

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If you haven’t read the previous posts of this series, you can check the whole series here.

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I Have Been Awarded SILVER in the AOP Photography Awards 2020

I still have no words to describe how honoured I am to have been awarded Silver in the AOP Photography Awards 2020 in the Fashion and Beauty category. The category was judged by Nick Knight – Photographer, Director and Founder of SHOWStudios. The AOP Awards are a celebration of the best from image-makers working professionally in the commercial, fine art and creative sectors.

The awarded image was part of my series Spring Cleaning. It depicts a juxtaposition of fashionable and extremely ordinary. I've been interested in the influencer culture for some time now, and how they present their lives as being above the ordinary. Behind all those glamorous images on their social media, influencers are just regular people like the rest of us. But we perceive their lives as aspirational and unattainable, and that has a toll on our self-image and our mental health.

The creative team that worked with me on this shoot were stylist Patricia Machado Medici, hair and makeup artist Rachel Williamson and model Tamara Long from Models1. The winning image is as much mine as it is theirs.

Back in April, I was interviewed by The Trampery when I learnt that I had been selected as a finalist in this category. You can watch the interview on this link.

The awarded images were featured by The Guardian who called us head-spinning talent. Read the feature here.

The results of the competition have also been featured by BBC news on their website where they said that they found the images striking. You can see the feature on this link.

The Association of Photographers - AOP - is the leading body representing photographers in the UK. They have been running the AOP Awards for almost 15 years.

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I Wish I Had Known... About Making A Photobook!

This is the Twentieth post in my series of posts where I speak with people in the creative industries and ask them questions about the things that “I Wish I Had Known” when I started out as a creative myself.

This week I have a lovely chat with Yan Wang Preston, an artist exploring the poetry and politics of nature and landscapes. We spoke about her photobook Forest and the 7-year long project that resulted in this fascinating photographic work:

1. Forest is a beautiful project that addresses issues such as the environmental impact of massification in the housing construction industry in China and the contradictions of their ecology recovery programmes. You do so brilliantly, using images that look both like Tableaux Vivant and Nature Mort at the same time. What came first, the story or the image?

Well, ideally the stories and images should always come together. But in reality, they often don’t. So for me, there is always a balancing act. Some of the ‘balancing’ happens during the shooting: some scenes are simply not photographed because they don’t work visually, even if they tell brilliant stories.

Some happen during the editing. A photograph might be visually very strong and telling a great story. But it may not work with other images or their colour palette. But overall the story is very important to me. I wouldn’t like to dwell on the images too much without the story, that is too self-indulgent.

2. You began your story with a tree that you named Frank. Throughout the project, you followed Frank’s journey from the place where it stood for 300 years to its new location on the other side of the country. Did you ever think that Frank’s journey would take you on a 7-year journey of your own that would culminate on having your project printed on a book?

No, at all. The story only came together after my third visit. But I always knew the significance of Frank’s story, ever since I met it for the first time.

3. Forest tells us the story of trees that are removed from their millenary locations and are taken far-away where they will be replanted to become part of the man-made landscapes of new housing developments for wealthy people. But, it is also a commentary on the incongruences of the ecology recovery programmes that are put in practice to repurpose disused quarries and the economic impact that these new man-made landscapes have over the local authorities. With such an ambitious scope, how do you know when the project is finished and it’s ready for exhibition and print?

Ha! Well, the project could have just gone on and on. In fact, I have already been back to China and photographed the re-purposed disused quarries again. But there was a moment when I felt that the one stage of the stories could be told sufficiently. And that’s when the book and shows came out. It’s actually really important to have these ‘endings’, even if they only serve as a new beginning.

4. You and I met back in 2018 during a portfolio review event. We sat next to each other in the waiting area and we shared our experiences thus far with the different reviewers. It turned out that we both had our portfolios reviewed by the same person and that person told both of us something very similar: that our work was soulless and lacked personality. But, judging by the international success that your project Forest has had, that reviewer was completely wrong. How much do you think artists should let their work be influenced by the reviewers during these portfolio reviews?

Yes, I do remember our bitter portfolio reviews experience. I have done a few reviews and in general, I think that you should work with people who appreciate your work. It’s a waste of your time trying to persuade people who don’t like your work. And you know, people have opinions and we can’t have all of them to like our work. So be strong and be persistent. Above all, believe in yourself.

5. Did you plan for the project to end up in a photobook or was it something that happened organically? Looking back, would you have made different decisions when you started photographing the project had you known from the beginning that it would end up in a book?

Forest ended up being a book organically. At first, I was just responding to what I saw and felt. But after some time, I began to ask what platform would be the best to tell these stories. I’m a huge fan of photobooks, which I learn most of my photography from. Photobooks can’t satisfy everything, but it can serve as the central storyline.

6. What was the most challenging part of the photobook-making process?

It’s to give up some of your favourite pictures because they don’t fit.

7. The book is beautifully printed and the images look like fine art prints stitched together in a book. How involved were you in deciding the design and the quality of the materials?

I’m involved in every stage of the book, from photographing, to editing pictures, to sequencing, to designing the layout, choosing materials, proofreading, and to overseeing the printing in the factory.

I’ve heard that some photographers would give the editors a bunch of photographs to make the sequence and design. I don’t work like that. Of course, I share ideas and take into suggestions. But essentially it’s my work, so I have to be responsible for it.

8. For someone thinking about making a photobook of their project and who is struggling with all the decisions such as crowdfunding vs self-funding, the number of images, the sequencing, printers selection, number of books to print, size and dimensions, number of pages, or shipping, where can they find help? How did you answer these questions yourself?

I suppose that trying to imagine a book and to make a dummy would be the first step. After that, you’ll know the story of the book, the potential audiences, the budget and the publisher. Then you can work out how to fundraise. And of course, talk to people who have done books for real advice.

9. Do you have any additional advice for those thinking about starting a project and making a photobook?

Stop thinking and start making.

10. Forest has been exhibited all over the world over the last few years and I can’t help but look at you and your work in awe. What other projects are you working on at the moment?

I am exploring the ideas around invasive species, the politics of ecology and conversation, and the notions of national landscapes. Basically, I go to a lot of my local areas in West Yorkshire and Lancashire, to study the post-industrial landscapes occupied by a cosmopolitan ecology.

I also talk to lots of people, particularly ‘foreigners’ like myself, in order to get a different set of perspectives on a lot of things, such as belonging, national identity and migration. I’m also beginning to collaborate with musicians and ecologists.

Yan, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to answer my questions and for sharing with me what making a photobook entails. It’s everything that I Wish I Had Known!

You can learn more about Yan Wang Preston's work at yanwangpreston.com or on her social media: @yanwangpreston

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If you haven’t read the previous posts of this series, you can check the whole series here. I hope you liked this new post and stay tuned for a different creative each month!

Photo credit: My portrait by Wayne Noir.

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The Photographers In My Blog

Over the last two years, I've been featuring fellow photographers in my blog to showcase the diversity of creatives that surround me. These photographers are people who I deeply admire, not only because they are very talented artists but also because they are exceptional human beings.

Our role as photographers is to capture a world that others can't see, and in this process, we leave a little bit of us in every photo that we take. In a way, every single one of our photographs is also a portrait of ourselves.

In my series A World That Others Can't See, I ask fellow photographers to talk about an image from their portfolios in order to discover the stories behind their work and to learn about the person behind the lens.

Photo credit: behind the scenes by Andrzej Gruszka.

Do you like what you just read? Consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/jccandanedo where you can learn more about my creative process and the stories behind my images. I’d love to have you as part of my Patreon community.

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Interview By Kodak One

The lovely people of Kodak One interviewed me a few weeks back for their blog. They were particularly interested in my work to promote Mental Health Awareness and we had an interesting chat about how to use our work as photographers to keep the conversation about Mental Health going.

You can read the whole interview on this link: Kodak One Official.

Photo credit: behind the scenes image by Aaron O'Dowling-Keane.

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Society's Image Of Success is Very Limited

Success looks different to every single person in the world. If you ask Greta Thunberg to define success, she will most likely tell you that for her success means reversing global warming before it is too late. If you ask Elon Musk the same question, he might tell you that for him it means getting the richest people off the planet before the Earth dies. And, if you judge music videos these days, some people in the music industry seem to think that success looks like being a gangster living in a mansion and throwing money to your followers whilst standing on the roof of your luxury car.

However, these to me sound more like a list of goals than a definition of success. I believe that achieving a goal is not the same as being successful. Anyone who runs projects can tell you that after completing a project you feel both fulfilled and empty at the same time. You feel good because you have succeeded in finishing the project, but you are left with a void inside and a feeling that you don't know what's next. Some call it post-project depression. In both Project Management and in life, what happens after you have achieved your goals is as important as achieving them. Sadly, we are brought up to focus on winning the race but nobody teaches us what happens after the race is over.

Life continues, that's what happens. If you equate feeling successful to ticking goals off your list then you will always feel like a failure even if you have reached your goals. I hear so many people around me say that they feel like they haven't really achieved anything yet even if by society standards they should feel successful.

Society's image of success is very limited. Feeling successful should align more with your purpose in life and your values, and less with the completion of your tasks and goals. You can perfectly feel accomplished and successful but at the same time have a long list of unachieved goals. One thing is not a requirement for the other.

I have a list of goals and dreams that I have yet to achieve in my life that could span for kilometres, but that doesn't deter me from feeling accomplished. My purpose in life is to try to make this a better world, and I work hard every day to use my platforms to help others and to raise awareness of the issues that I care for. That makes me feel happy and successful, even if that doesn't always translate into the image that society has of success. Being a good human being is what success means to me.

Photo credit: portrait by Ivan Weiss.

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Do We Really Want Diversity And Inclusion?

The problem with longing for a truly inclusive and diverse society is that we haven't really sat down to ponder on what that really means. For a society to be truly diverse, it must welcome and include everyone. From the ones who look and think like us, to the ones who don't. It must include what we consider good and what we consider bad and every flavour in between. It must also welcome everything that we think is beautiful and everything that we consider ugly of this world. If that is not the case, then it's not a truly diverse society. What does your version of diversity look like?

We can't fight for inclusion by excluding others. That would make us hypocrites. And, as much as this notion hurts, if when you think of a diverse and inclusive world you eliminate a group that you deem unacceptable then you are just creating another broken version of the world we already live in.

This is not to say that we should condone the behaviour of those who attempt against humanity and human rights. Those should never go unpunished. But, it is the duty of our society to establish mechanisms to guarantee that we can all coinhabit our communities in peace.

What are those mechanisms? I don't have the answer. But we have already seen a version of our society that doesn't work. Our communities have lost respect, empathy and accountability. These three elements that were ingrained in my education while I was growing up don't seem to exist anymore. Our communities are so fractured and divided that at this point we have finally achieved some shape of equality. One in which we all equally hate someone else.

We need a more permanent solution. For decades we championed tolerance and political correctness, and those who didn't agree with us were pushed to the side. Then, we started working towards a more equal and diverse world, and those who wouldn't jump on board were cast out.

Now, those who we tried to keep on the edges of society have grown stronger and they have found the leaders that they needed to reclaim their space. And they have come with a fight. We are fighting back with our flags of inclusivity and sustainability and I'm sure we will push them out again. But, for how long? Until they regroup, find new leaders and recharge their batteries? When will this end? Is there another way?

In every ecosystem, there needs to be a balance for all the species to survive. We must find that balance in our communities. That version of society might differ from the image of an ideal society that we have in our minds, but we must find a way to coexist by respecting our differences and empathising with those who don't think like us.

I'm not pretending that this will be easy nor that the perfect version of society that fits everyone's needs exists. All I know is that, whenever I hear versions of inclusive societies that don't have a space for everyone I wonder if we really want inclusion or if all we want is a version of society where everyone looks like us. That doesn't sound very diverse to me.

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If You Don't Shine, I Don't Shine

This post is also available in audio form:

A few years ago, I found myself at a point in my life when I started to think a lot about all the opportunities that I had been given. I felt grateful for the key people in my life who acted as mentors and offered me those opportunities. That feeling of appreciation made me realise that it was time to pay it forward and offer that experience and those opportunities to others.

I know first-hand that having a mentor can change your career forever. When I changed career at almost 40 years old, I started anew in a different industry, a different country, a different work culture and a different language. I wouldn’t have been able to get a foot in the new industry if it hadn’t been for those who lend me a hand.

I discovered that there are people in every industry willing to offer advice, who wish to inspire others and offer career and business advice. People who understand the difficulty of not having contacts or resources when you are starting out.

So I decided to offer that chance to other people coming into the workforce, but also allow myself to have a positive impact on someone else’s career.

It all started with one person asking for advice and for someone to keep them accountable for the progress of their project.

When I started mentoring them, I didn’t know exactly how I could support them or what kind of help they needed. I only knew that I had been in the workforce for 27 years and in the creative industries for almost 15 so at least there were some questions that I could answer.

My mentee also had no idea of the kind of help that they needed. Our first conversation was more to get acquainted with each other and to establish the line of communication that we would follow for the rest of the mentorship.

We soon realised that they had many questions that weren’t obvious to them at first, but that throughout the weeks started to arise. And some questions led to straight answers, but other questions opened more questions and the conversations became more informative with time.

I was able to offer insights into the job market and how the industry works, apart from advice on how to develop projects from inception to completion.

I was happy to help, but I never expected that in turn, they were going to help me as well. As a mentor, you learn as much from them as your mentees learn from you. It’s a symbiotic relationship. You offer advice and give answers to questions about your industry and your job. In return, your mentee offers you a different perspective on your own career and on life. They give you a fresh view of the issues that people coming from other backgrounds face when they join the industry. They show you a whole new way of doing things.

I am someone completely different from the person that I was when I started mentoring others. Mentorship has opened my horizons, and it has made me more conscious of the vast experience and knowledge that I have that I wasn’t aware of. It has helped me sell myself better as an expert in what I do. And, more importantly, it has given me the satisfaction of being able to share my knowledge with others and to see how others thrive when they feel supported.

Photo credit: behind the scenes by Sandy AbdelRahman.

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It Takes A Village

Whenever I hear an awards acceptance speech, no matter how long, I always think of the people who are not mentioned. It must be difficult for the person accepting the award to decide who to include and who to leave out when you have such a short amount of time to deliver your appreciation. If I were ever put in that position, I think I would just say “it takes a village. I’m grateful to you all.”

In her poem Our Grandmothers, Maya Angelou wrote: “I go forth along, and stand as ten thousand.” When I read this line for the first time, all the people in my life who brought me to where I am right now came to my mind. Nobody, absolutely no one, has gotten to where they are today on their own.

Starting with your own family. I am here because two people met and decided to have me. Those two people are here because other two couples made the same choice. And those four people were here because eight people before them did the same. Our lives represent the success of our ancestors.

The same way, every single one of our achievements is not only ours. We put the effort and we do the hard work, but it is, in reality, a collective feat. Your teachers, your mentors, your guides, your influences, your peers, your community. They are all reflected in your work. Even those people who had fleeting appearances in your timeline have left their mark in your life.

By acknowledging this, it's easier to understand why our community is so important. We are part of something greater than ourselves and we owe our communities our appreciation and support.

When you finish reading these lines, make a mental list of all the people in your life who have contributed to bringing you right to this moment. Right to this place where you are reading my words. How long would your acceptance speech be?

Photo credit: behind the scenes by Andrzej Gruszka.

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What About Humans?

I had lunch with an architect last weekend. During our conversation, I told her that there should be a law that stated that anyone who designs a living space for humans must live in it for at least a year after being built. That way, they will learn how to put humans at the centre of their practice. This came about because I was telling her that I just moved into a new flat, and one of its most interesting features is that if I go to the loo with the door open the people from the building across the street can see me in all my glory. Nowadays, we are too focused on maximising income and minimising costs. But, what about humans?

You see the same happening with the leaders of our communities. We elect people who are supposed to represent us, but when the time comes they only respond to the needs of those who contributed economically to their campaigns. Not even to the needs of the people who voted them in.

This has become very evident during the times we are living. I reckon there should also be a law that forced all politicians in power to personally console the families who have lost someone during the pandemic. Maybe that way their decisions would be more human-centric.

As creatives, how can we make sure that the work that we create is human-centric? If we are designing or creating something that will be used for human consumption or appreciation, we must take into account humans while our ideas are still on the drawing board.

People, environment and business must always go hand in hand. What sense does it make to bring something into the world that doesn't have humanity at heart? And when I say humanity, I include everything that humanity needs for the survival of the species. If there is no planet Earth, there is no human race.

Creating something that will have a negative impact on the world, or working in environments where humans are mistreated, or engaging in practices that put the planet and all its species at risk shouldn't be excused anymore.

Start by asking yourself some questions:

1. Is the work that I'm creating improving human lives? How am I portraying the people in my images? Am I representing them well? Am I unfairly profiting or taking advantage of the people in my work? Who's my work helping? What is the message that I'm sending? Some of these questions have answers that must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, but there are behaviours in the photography and creative world that have been tolerated for a long time and that now are being put under scrutiny. Such is the case of leading photographers from the world-renowned agency Magnum and the way that they have profited from victims of exploitation in the name of art.

2. Is my work causing harm to the planet? Am I using processes or materials that have a negative impact on the world? Could I be doing something to reduce my impact on the environment? I am aware that, at first, some of the answers to these questions might not be obvious. But even taking small steps towards a more environmentally friendly practice can go a long way.

3. Is my work being used in detriment of humanity? Sometimes we get commissioned to create work that will be used by others to promote their products, services or agendas. Are we responsible if the work that we created is used to promote practices that harm humans or the planet? This is something that sometimes it's completely out of our control, but choosing to work only with like-minded ethical and sustainable partners will reduce the chances of this happening. What if I need the money, you may ask? That is a question that only you can answer.

You don't have to be an activist or a volunteer to contribute to humanity. You don't have to work for an NGO or a non-profit, you don't even have to support charities. All you have to do is take the time to think about other humans and the planet when making all your decisions.

Paraphrasing JFK, ask not what the world can do for you – ask what you can do for the world.

Image caption: this is how neighbours keep their windows open during windy days in our newly built flat.

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