“The events that I can observe via Zoom are the same discoveries and exclusives”

President of Magnum Photo Agency, documentary photographer Thomas Dworzak, who has covered many military conflicts since the close of the 20th century, during the pandemic he switched to shooting in Zoom. In this interview, he reveals where he found stories for his photos, how he photographed Victory Day in Russia from an apartment in Paris, and what stories did not pass his own censorship.

– Thomas, can you tell us how you entered this profession, and what are your sources for inspiration in photography these days?

– I dedicated the past 25 years of my life to the photographing military conflicts. I covered the events in Yugoslavia, then I spent quite a lot of time in the Caucasus, namely in Chechnya and Nagorno-Karabakh. Since 2000, I have been working for the Magnum Photo Agency. Now, as I grow older (laughs), I can’t run that much.

Basically, I am a traditional documentary photographer. Five or six years ago, I began making art books on various topics using my photo collection.

– Where were you when the pandemic broke out?

– When the pandemic started, I was stuck in Paris, where I currently live, and usually, I am not really willing to photograph the city. I considered the idea of taking photos in hospitals, on empty streets… Later on, I came up with the idea of shooting what was happening inside via Zoom, the platform which widens our horizons. It is not very exciting to photograph. Some people may even consider it bizarre. Anyway, I did my best, and we will see whether my attempt was successful or not. I am still doing this, for instance, I took many photos of the US presidential election campaign as many events took place online.

– You are one of those photographers who decided to stay at home. What prompted you to make such a decision? What Zoom stories piqued your interest as a photographer?

– I just made this decision myself. During this period, many photographers from all over the world took photos in hospitals. Still, the situation differed within countries. For example, it was more complicated in France.

But it is not the main thing. Photo shoots in hospitals are nothing new to me. And when I, like the whole world, sit at home, I find that this is more interesting.

There were things that I did not manage to shoot properly, for example, some political developments. It is relatively easy to get permission for shooting an offline meeting, but when you say that you want to attend someone’s Zoom-conference, people are surprised and do not understand it. Still, my works cover such topics as religion, culture, and holidays. It is an amusing situation when you are shooting local events taking place in the US, Russia, and New Zealand while still being at home.

– Have your approaches towards photography changed during this period? Have you acquired any new habits or lifehacks? And what are the pros and cons of shooting events on Zoom?

– In some sense, we lost our professional virginity long ago. Recently I was thinking of whether or not I could photograph all this Zoom stuff on film. But it looks like nonsense. I cannot say that approaches have changed drastically. I do feel that what’s makes everything in photography is the camera.

The events that I can observe via Zoom are the same discoveries and exclusives. There is also this feeling that I can take photos the way I would do it being present there in person. No doubt, there is more freedom of movement in real life. You can hunt for the best shot by creeping up closer to the object or by moving away from it, but a screen does not allow you to do this. Zoom is not a game for me. Children from all over the world went to school this way, studied online, hated, or loved it. It is also important to understand that on Zoom, you cannot find, say, nurses wearing uniforms and masks, which are so representative of the pandemic. No doctors will be sitting on Zoom as they have more important things to do. But, if we talk about the principles of taking photos, on the whole, they did not change. I have plunged into this format, but I do understand that I will have to abandon it later in the future.

– Do you have a desire to go back to the usual formats?

– In March and April, sticking to this new format was justified, but now it looks somehow pretentious. Back then, I could ask someone to put their laptop at a particular place or a particular point on the map for the shooting. But now it seems to be absurd because, hypothetically, I can go there myself. However, when the pandemic started, I posed a threat to the people I was photographing. In France, there was an important matter of retirement homes. In some retirement homes many older people fell ill and died. In other nursing homes the situation was better due to the fact that from the very first day of the pandemic, the staff, as well as the residents, were completely isolated, and no relatives were let in. No outsiders were allowed to intrude inside this cluster. For ethical reasons, the only possible solution was shooting on Zoom. It was a justified and compelling task. I shot several quiet scenes (it is a pity I did not shoot more) with nothing happening. It almost looked like a movie.

– As a war correspondent, you covered major military conflicts and saw great sorrow through the camera. Did you capture similar emotions during the pandemic? 

– I shot a funeral via Zoom. The difficulty lies in the fact that it is unusual for people to conduct mourning ceremonies over the Internet.

Still, there is a certain order in a funeral. I know about a photographer who filmed his dying father through FaceTime. As a photographer, I have always been looking for intimacy, but now it makes me wonder what I can learn from it and whether I really should see a person dying on FaceTime. That is too much for me.

– So, do you censor yourself in this respect?

– I tried to shoot things like this and did not succeed. It means I do not need it. Recently I have stumbled upon people mourning on social networks. In Germany, there was this case when parents lost their child and streamed mourning ceremonies on Instagram for several days. To tell the truth, I have always been seeking such intimacy. I thought that I had to show all the dreadful aspects of what was happening, especially as related to COVID-19. But, eventually, I quite often prevent myself from doing it.

– Are there any stories that you photographed Russia via Zoom?

– There was the beautiful celebration of Victory Day. I also shot a few online meetings between the Russian president and the government in Novo-Ogaryovo. I liked to photograph Vladimir Putin. It is not that easy to see such meetings in other countries, as compared to Russia. I was quite interested in learning more about your political bureaucracy. Although I believe that Zoom is not widespread in Russia, and, moreover, the majority of online events that I am following take place in the US and Latin America.

– Are there any snapshots that you consider the most successful in this new format?

– It is worth mentioning that photos from Zoom do not look aesthetic enough, they are of poor quality, and the lighting is not perfect. Dozens of people are sitting in front of their computers, and there is nothing else. It reminds me of a document. I have an idea of gathering portraits of representatives of different professional areas taken from the screens of their computers and putting them together. I think this will mark an important historical milestone.

– In your opinion, will the professional area of photography change crucially after the pandemic is over?

– I do not know whether we will be able to travel around the world as freely as we did before. I believe that we live in a terribly interesting world. Since September 11, 2001, when all the borders were open, we could go wherever we wanted. These days I don’t fly anywhere, I just eat at home, and Greta Thunberg is probably happy that we pollute the environment far less.

Of course, I can stay at home photographing the screen for another six months. But we need to communicate with people in real life, anyway. The coronavirus pandemic is a wonderful period for those photographers who take snapshots of the screens of their computers, children, plants outside of the window, and people applauding. But, in my opinion, it should be more of an assistance than a proper professional specialization.

– The News Photo Awards. Overcoming COVID contest seeks to shine a bright spotlight on the work of photojournalists who succeeded in capturing the most important episodes of the spread of the epidemic through the planet. What advice can you give to the photographers who pursue working in this direction?

– People are our driving force. For me, everything that happens to us is significant. Covid-19 has affected the whole world, and everyone is writing their own stories now. We are tired of wearing masks, which we wear 24/7 in France. It is not impressive now. However, when we saw somebody wearing a mask a year ago, we would immediately run up to them and start taking photos. Still, even in an unusual situation like this, you can look for gestures and faces, even if they are not that vivid.