People of the World

Goroka Sing-Sing Festival, Papua New-Guinea

I am fascinated by the many peoples, clans and cultures that exist on Mother Earth. It is said by some that we were seeded here from the stars, and just like the stars, there are so many different people here. Different faces, different bodies, different colours and costumes, different languages and beliefs, different knowledge, stories, and memories.

It is easy in these times to be cynical about people, about humanity, as our faults are rather glaring to say the least. But I marvel each day at how clever people are, how creative and skilled, how beautiful and resilient, and loving and patient and kind – much more than we are ugly.

I remember staying home from school one day when I was about 14 as I wasn’t feeling well. I lay in my bed paging through my school geography atlas, highlighting all the places in the world that I would like to visit, sometimes going on nothing more than a hunch, or because I liked the name of the place. I don’t think I’ve made it to all of them yet, but I’ve been to quite a few, and what I’ve found each time is immense beauty, landscapes and seascapes, and light and movement – and interesting and wonderful people, all different, and all intertwined with or even defined by the land on which they live.

I have loved photographing these people on my travels as much as I have enjoyed capturing the magnificent vistas I have been blessed to experience. These have not been posed or contrived photos, always just hoping to quietly catch the spirit of the person in the moment, willing it to imprint itself onto my film for posterity.