Name: Gavin Gough
Home Town: Bangkok, Thailand
Home Base: Worldwide
Home Page: www.gavingough.com
Employer: Freelance Travel Photographer
Sponsors: X-rite, Lensbaby, Photoshelter, F-Stop Gear
Favorite subject: Street scenes, local life, festivals and rituals
Recent Projects: Bali for Vanity Fair, Vietnamese Tourist Board, Wai Khru Tattoo festival
Do you remember when you realized photography was more than a point and shoot camera?
It is? OK, I probably did know that. I picked up Don McCullin's autobiography when I was a teenager, that's when I realised that the power of photography has little to do with cameras and lenses and everything to do with the degree of the photographer's involvement.
What was your first camera? And what is your current.
First camera was a Kodak 126 Instamatic, currently using Canon 5D MKIIs but anything will suffice.
What has photography done to your life?
Photography has been amazing for me. It's opened doors to opportunities that I would never otherwise have found, taken me to amazing places and, best of all, introduced me to the very best of friends. I honestly wouldn't know what else to do.
Where are the places you wish to return or are most memorable?
I'm a big fan of South East Asia and that's why I'm based in Bangkok now. I go back to India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan whenever the opportunity arises and I'm beginning to explore Indonesia. I've recently fallen in love with Bali. There really are so many places and so little time.
Who or what do you look too find inspiration in?
It's invariably the people I meet on my travels who inspire me the most. Often it's the people who might ordinarily remain rather anonymous; a car park attendant in Ubud, a young street kid in Delhi or a street vendor in Bangkok's flower market. Spending time with people from different cultures, sharing experiences and identifying those things that we have in common is always inspirational. That's pretty much why I do this job, it's not just for the photography, it's for the opportunities to meet people that photography brings me.
Life behind a lens means being witness to the best of times and the worst. Please let us know an experience from each.
The best: Oh, so many. It's just a privilege to visit some of the locations that I've found myself in and I wish I could think of a comic or uplifting story to answer this question. Sometimes it's the big things, the big places; Machu Picchu at dawn, Angkor Wat at dusk, the Ganges at Varanassi at any time of day. Often though, it's the little things, a gift from somebody who clearly has much less, in a material sense, than I do; some unexpected hospitality perhaps - these are the best times.
The worst: Any event where the less attractive aspects of human behaviour reveal themselves; riots, violence, self-interest and lack of respect. I've been mugged, locked up and shot at but nothing compares to the frustration of dealing with petty bureaucracy and an over-zealous customs official.
What would you say to a young shooter who dreams of traveling the world taking photos.
Prepare to work very, very hard or live very, very cheaply. Probably both. Also, if photography is about communicating an experience, and it is, then you need to have had the experience before you can photograph it.
Tell us one overlooked lesson you have learned in the photo business:
That "photography" and "photography business" are two entirely different things. You can't survive in business as a photographer without marketing skills and the self-discipline to promote yourself and your work.
