Brief Description

Many have talked about the protests in Thailand in the last few years, but little has been said about the ethics of taking photographs in the midst of conflict. This session hopes to stimulate discussion about this important, yet overlooked aspect of photojournalism. On 30 October 2022 at 5.30PM at SEA Junction, Assistant Professor Karntachat Raungratanaamporn, shared his experiences photoreporting on protests in the last two years and the difficult choices he was confronted with. A major issue is the pledge to uphold neutrality and yet photographers have opinions that shape the ways images are taken, the decision to whether or not to take a particular picture and the visual interpretation of the circumstance. Other ethical matters include how to ensure protection of the identities of participants; how to report (or not) on expression of hate; documentation (if any) of children present in demonstration sites; and cultural and moral ideas regarding images of death and blood also in relation to respect for the victims and the families. Attention was also given to the ethics in the framing of photographic stories with the discussion of the speaker’s own reportage since the Thammasat University rally in 2020 to many street demonstrations in the Bangkok area, to document one of the country’s crucial political and social changes as presented in the book “End in This Generation”.

Karntachat Raungratanaamporn’s talk was moderated by Teeranai Charuvastra, journalist of Prachatai English. The slide show of the photo and the photo book was displayed from 25 to 30 October in SEAJunction (4th Floor, BACC).

 

Photo credit: Varuth Pongsapipatt