South African photographer shows us how rich-poor divide looks like
Financial inequality is prevalent everywhere. But how will it look if the class-difference is divided by just a border? Meaning, on one side, exist the sprawling bungalows of the stinking rich, and on the other side, we see tiny huts with asbestos roof, all jostled up. South Africa-based photographer Johnny Miller captures this inequality and it's saddening and shocking, at the same time.
For this project, he used a drone-camera combination
Miller shot to fame in 2016 when he released his photograph-series titled 'Unequal Scenes,' highlighting wealth disparity in South Africa. His clicks were so touching that it featured in LensCulture Emerging Talents 2016 Jurors' Picks. He has now branched out and captured almost 100 pictures in India, Tanzania, US, and Kenya based on the same theme. For this, he has used a drone-camera combination.
An aerial view of Mumbai
His photos will be exhibited at selected places
An employee of DJI (Chinese drone maker) and Hasselblad (Swedish camera company), Miller is more into aerial photography, as it allows the viewers to delve into the details. For 'Unequal Scenes,' he has used a DJI M600Pro mounted with a Hasselblad A6D 100megapixel camera so that a clear view is obtained. His photos will be exhibited at selected places by end of this year.
Project was labor intensive, required exhausting research
Narrating his experience while shooting for the project, Miller says it was labor intensive and the amount of research he had to do was exhausting. For that, he went through slum maps, Census records and also considered locals' advice. Once he shortlisted a place, he charted a flight path on Google Maps. Since he was alone, he was extra careful of his safety.
"When you're on your own, it's challenging and scary"
"When you're on your own, it can be much more challenging and even scary, but when you've official support, it can be a fun atmosphere. Like in Kenya, we were surrounded by dozens of people cheering at the drone rising into the sky," he recalls.
His aim is to start discussions on financial disparity
The master's degree holder in anthropology says looking at something from sky-high gives a new perspective, so he hopes his photographs pave way to discussions, much required at this time. "Whatever it's about the composition of those photographs, they're extremely powerful and people can see themselves in these," he says. This way with time, borders between rich and poor may get diluted, he concludes.
