A Whirlwind Tour (Part 2 of an interview with Greg Davis)

Photo by Greg Davis

Jennifer Barry: How do you choose the places you visit?

Greg Davis: When I went away for a year, it was my vacation.  I just went around the world, changing countries every month, so it was whatever I wanted to see. If there’s relative peace, I’m there. Now when I’m shooting and I know people are going to see it, I have to think about what they will be interested in. What people want to see, and what comes out in my work is the human condition, culture, color. I want to raise awareness of a country that maybe people have heard of, and although it sounds exotic they might not go there themselves.

That’s what I liked about Morocco, where they have all these different cultures and colors. They also speak Arabic first, then French, then Spanish and fourth English. That’s unusual around the world where English is the default second language. We can thank the British for that.

I went to Burma on my trip last summer because it was so locked by their government, such a time capsule. I actually went to support my friend’s non-profit, Equal Footing. There aren’t many resources for children in Burma. They lack basic books, internet, computers, everything. I helped with their website, to give the project a face, as well as to deliver some computer networking equipment.

JB: I’m guessing you weren’t fluent in all the languages everywhere you went. How did you get by when you didn’t speak the language?

GD: How do you know? I might be.

JB: As someone who’s studied Spanish hard core for over two years, I can tell you it takes a while to get fluent.

GD: (laughs) No, of course I didn’t know very much, but I learned the basics, like the numbers 1 through 10, at the very least. You can fake your way through the higher numbers. I learned basic words like “thank you” and “hello.” I think it’s just basic respect, to learn some words in their language.

JB: I totally agree. When I was in Panama last fall, this woman I met spoke English well, but she was annoyed with tourists that walked around saying “Good morning.” She thought they should at least say “Buenos días” when they were in her country.

GD: Absolutely, it’s not hard to learn a few things. One thing I learned in every language, it’s funny, is “I like my food spicy.” I’m from Texas, between Mexico on one side and spicy Cajun food on the other. I grew up with spicy food, and that’s what I like. When I was in Southeast Asia, I learned that I was not getting the same food as the locals. They would see me, and think I was like one of the European tourists from Germany or whatever, and I couldn’t handle it. I was getting this food that wasn’t authentic, so I had to tell them to give me the real stuff.

I didn’t know very much, so I relied on basic signs, not sign language, but gestures for thirsty, hungry, flirting with people, just communicating with people. To break the ice, I would do this magic trick where I make my ring disappear. You get the kids around, they trust you, the adults think you’re harmless, and you’re good. That’s how I’m able to get my shots. You need to be gentle, be yourself, be kind, be open.

If you get in a jam, there’s almost always someone who knows enough English to help, you can squeak by. The service people all want to practice with you, especially in Asia. It’s the main language for travelers.

It’s also important to be careful if you’re traveling somewhere that’s a little rough around the edges. You’re not home anymore. I talked to the locals, I would be respectful and try to get along, but if it didn’t feel right, I was gone. I would say, “Thanks, goodbye” and move on. I didn’t go out much at night, especially in the big cities. I didn’t get drunk and stumble around like some do, I think that’s asking for trouble in rougher areas.

I have tremendous respect for war photographers, and what they do. I was watching this video about James Natchwey and he is incredible. He’s covered war zones around the world, but that’s not what I’m trying to do. I want to cover the human condition, culture, color, but I don’t want to be where bullets are flying. I’ll leave that work for someone else.

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Related posts:

1. A Whirlwind Tour (Part 1 of an interview with Greg Davis)