Tommy Trenchard: Photojournalism Between Disasters and Wonders

Somewhere between the stories that break your heart and the ones that make you smile, there is a whole world of unexpected stories waiting to be told. Photographer and writer Tommy Trenchard has spent more than fifteen years finding them on the African continent and beyond 📸

In my conversation today, we travel with Tommy to the beginning of his journey, arriving from the UK to Sierra Leone with a one-way ticket and the intention of building a freelance career as an independent photographer. Along the way, photography became a way of getting closer to people and places, telling stories about conflict and crisis, conservation, communities, environmental change and the people trying to make a difference.

And because you want to hear stories, we talk with Tommy about some projects that have shaped his career, including his time covering the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the human-wildlife conflict surrounding elephants in Zambia, the College of Magic in Cape Town, or child shepherds in Lesotho whose story became a 16-page feature in GEO France magazine. Over the years, his work has earned recognition from prestigious organizations such as World Press Photo, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Visa pour l'Image and Amnesty International.

But there is plenty more to Tommy's story than the difficult assignments. We talk about the decision to broaden the kind of stories he covers, the importance of showing the positive as well as the painful, writing alongside photography, becoming a father, MI6, karaoke and of course some other wonderfully unexpected moments.

Grab yourself a coffee and join me for my conversation with the amazing Tommy Trenchard ☕📸

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📸 See more of Tommy Trenchard’s work: https://www.tommytrenchard.com/

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