Worth a Look: Colin Summers

© Colin Summers

Last Sunday I had the good fortune to catch up with Arena colleague Colin Summers. It had been over a year since I had last seen Colin at an Arena meeting; he had spent most of the past year with the rebel army recording the fight which would eventually end in the overthrow of Gaddafi’s troops in western Libya. The pictures that he showed us were stunning, emotionally charged images that encapsulated many small fragments of the fierce battle for Tripoli.

© Colin Summers

I first came across Colin’s images in 2007 in an issue of Ag magazine. Colin had gone to Banda Aceh to witness the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. These monochrome pictures were, at the same time, both beautiful & horrific. Poignant images of bloated bodies floating in flood pools, personal belongings washed up inland, survivors anxiously searching for news of loved ones. What made these images special were the way in which he dealt with human frailties set against overwhelming natural forces. Shortly after the Ag publication Colin was invited to show his pictures to Arena. We had no hesitation inviting him to join the group, and since then we have seen him rapidly grow to become a ‘conflict’ photographer par excellence.

© Colin Summers

I must admit, before I met him I wondered if there was a touch of ‘disaster tourism’ about his work. However, when one looks at the impressive body of images he has built, and meet Colin in person, you soon find that this most gentle of men wants to tell the story of those less fortunate, more desperate than ourselves. His quiet, unassuming nature helps him to make friends easily and gain access to other’s lives. But a story can only be told if there is an audience. Because the tsunami images were self-funded, Colin found that there was no ready outlet for his picture essay, and the pictures were simply too late to get exposure in newspaper and magazines. But one thing leads to another and since Banda Aceh Colin has taken commissioned assignments for NGOs and charities, such as covering AIDS/HIV in India.

One can only wonder at the anxiety that his family must have felt whilst Colin was away in Libya, so it was a great relief to find that had survived the campaign unscathed. As his images showed, he was never far from death and injury, and the deaths of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros underlined the fact that journalists do not have any special protection in conflicts. For his protection, remaining level headed and not taking undue risks were his main protection, with a helmet and body armour his back-up.

© Colin Summers

In a conflict like the Libyan uprising, one can only get meaningful access to events when ‘embedded’ with one side or the other. One cannot be an interested bystander. In the case of Libya, this meant being with the rebels, who relied on external support for munitions and food supplies. Colin worked alongside the same group in the rebel army, earning their trust, and spending every hour with them, photographing, eating & sleeping. One can only wonder at the privations he went through, sometimes sleeping in caves in the mountains. Certainly no returning to a 4 star hotel at the end of the day.

This closeness of living is what gives his pictures immediacy and impact. You can see the dust and concrete flying around, the rounds of bullets jerking violently as they are drawn into the machine gun. You see the sweat and blood on the skin, eyes wide open with fear or rage. Photographs can’t hope to show the dynamic action of battle, but in the hands of a skilled artist, the still image can give context and layers of information and meaning. This is what Colin does so well. 

© Colin Summers

Colin started the conflict self-funded, and later managed to be a freelancer for AFP, which meant that he had a ready outlet for his images. The conduit for his pictures was the mobile satellite uplink, essential for any journalist or photographer needing to file their stories. He was able to wire a dozen or so of his best pictures each evening, which were then distributed via the agency to the world’s newspapers. His pictures have been widely published, netting him a couple of front page covers.

You might be interested to know what gear Colin takes with him. He told us that his rucksack is full with satellite uplink and battery chargers. And one Nikon D3, a 35mm lens and a 24-70 zoom. That’s it; no spare camera body, no arsenal of expensive large aperture telephotos. Just a simple one camera two lens setup that is reliable and predictable. The short lens means that the only way to capture the action is be up close, and being close makes the images ring with presence. F/8 and be there indeed…

© Colin Summers

Some of the Libya pictures are just sublime, such as this Rembrandt like scene of three weary combatants resting during a lull in the hostilities.

© Colin Summers

 

Or this breathtaking image of a woman in supplication, giving praise for the removal of Gaddafi whilst the menfolk plunder his ransacked home.

© Colin Summers

It is the human element, the struggle of real people, which interests Colin and energises his photography. One question a colleague asked him was "would you put down your camera to help someone who was injured or dying?" “Oh yes, of course” was his reply. As if we needed to ask...

For more of Colin Summer's pictures please visit his website.

Worth A Listen: On a similar theme, you might like to catch up with an interesting programme on BBC Radio4, Life and Death on the Frontline, in which veteran reporter John Simpson examines the pressures and constraints on journalists in modern conflicts.