Why Your Photos Are Boring - Photographer David Chancellor Explains..., E128

On this episode, I sat down with David Chancellor, the award-winning documentary photographer behind ‘Hunters’, ‘Handle Like Eggs’, and the Taylor Wessing Prize-winning portrait ‘Huntress with Buck’, for a conversation about the moral grey areas of documentary photography, trophy hunting, wildlife conservation. David has spent decades photographing human-wildlife coexistence across Africa, sleeping beside trophy hunters for weeks at a time, documenting leopard hunting in Namibia that was later stopped, and turning the personal cost of that work, including the collapse of his marriage, into his most intimate project. We talked about how beauty gets people to look at what they'd rather turn away from, why access matters more than gear, how a photographer builds trust over years instead of parachuting in, and his current project rewilding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the National Center for Wildlife.Watch this conversation and you'll understand how just one photograph can open a dialogue that could end an questionable pastime, and what it costs the person holding the camera.Other things we discussed:Getting fired from foreign exchange dealing and talking his way into photography school with "below average" workThe lion breeder who learned to see light and made the phone call behind the Taylor Wessing photoIf it pays, it stays: the brutal economics of wildlife conservationThe gamekeeper in Scotland whose hands kill deer and delivered his own sonWhether he has gone numb after decades of watching animals diePhotographing the birth, death, and compensation politics of community conservation in KenyaDavid Attenborough, his front door key, and the cost of a legendary lifeFilm versus digital, the Mamiya 7, and why he shoots one consistent formatAI, authenticity, and what photography loses when everything becomes contentFind David and his work online:https://www.davidchancellor.com/https://www.instagram.com/chancellordavid/Message me, leave a comment and join in the conversation!Support the show_________________________________Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can listen and watch full extended and ad-free episodes in my community - The MOOD Insiders - where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as meet with the community on book club weekly events, special guest features, bonus content, open forum access, free resources and so much more. Join The Community - extended episodes & bonus featureshttps://www.mattjacob.co/insidersThe App That Transformed My Art & Mindhttps://wakingup.sjv.io/c/7738181/3958771/54965Website:https://themoodpodcast.comSocials:IG | X | TikTok | Threads | YouTube | @mattyj_ay