Without the sacrifice of photojournalists willing to cover the world’s more remote regions and conflict zones, our understanding of human society would be sadly lacking. Today, the day before her birthday, we hear from Claire Thomas, one of a new generation of photojournalists revealing a fuller picture of the world in which we live.
This article is the first in what we hope will be a series of interviews with leading photographers active across the world today. We are delighted that Claire agreed to speak to Macfilos about her work and to share examples of her photography.
A Welsh beginning
KJ: Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed, Claire, and Happy Birthday! I have admired your work since learning about you in a New York Times article published in early 2022. The subject of the article was surprising and fascinating, but I am sure we will come to that shortly! Where do you hail from, and how did your interest in photography begin?
CT: Thank you very much for your kind words, Keith. It’s my pleasure to share some of my work with you and your readers.
I’m originally from a small village, or hamlet to be more accurate, in South Wales called Idole. It is located on the outskirts of the town of Carmarthen. I feel extremely lucky to have grown up in the beautiful Welsh countryside. From a young age, I was inexplicably keen to be around horses and learn to ride, which, thankfully, my parents indulged.
Horsing around
It was actually my love of horses that inadvertently sparked my interest in photography. While I was at University in England, I seized the opportunity to put my passion for horses to use. This involved spending the summers working as a wrangler on a horse ranch in the US state of Wyoming. I was so moved by the sight of the 90+ ranch horses against the backdrop of the rugged mountains and astonishingly diverse terrain that I was compelled to try and capture it all with my camera.
At the time, I had a simple point-and-shoot camera and knew next to nothing about photography. But the ranch’s head wrangler — a man of few words — told me I had an ‘eye for photography’. He suggested quietly that I invest in a ‘real’ camera. I was very encouraged, and the seed was firmly planted in my thoughts. From then on, I started to take a more serious interest in photography and did indeed invest in my first ‘real’ DSLR camera.
The other side of the world
KJ: It seems that your love of horses and your pursuit of photography are closely intertwined! Have you been able to continue that connection throughout your career?
CT: They are indeed, and I’m so glad that I’ve been able to maintain that connection, especially in the last few years. I would actually say that some of my best work is related to my love of horses combined with my passion for photography.
In 2019, after living and working in northern Iraq for three years, I decided to move on to new projects. This involved working on a long-term personal project focused on the relationship between horses and people whose livelihoods depend on them. I set off to Mongolia in October 2019 to kick off the project.
I was moved and fascinated by the Kazakh people who live in the Altai mountains of western Mongolia. They have a close relationship not only with horses but also with their golden eagles. They traditionally trained these magnificent birds to hunt foxes and other small animals. That ended up being the first of several horse-related photo stories I had published in the New York Times.
From photographer to photojournalist
KJ: How did your interest in photography develop into a career as a photojournalist? Did you benefit from guidance or mentorship along the way, or did you have to figure it all out yourself?
CT: After a few years of travelling and working overseas, my approach to photography began to change direction during a volunteer project in Ghana in 2008. As a twenty-something graduate, I travelled to west Africa to work with a community-based organization that supports people living with HIV/AIDS. During the project, I took pictures of some of the women who are supported by the organization.
It was then that I began to appreciate the potential of my own photographs to draw attention to an issue. In this case, it was the plight of vulnerable women and children living with HIV/AIDS in rural communities. The pictures also helped raise money for a fundraising campaign I set up to provide beds for the women. Until then, they slept on the bare ground.
Following my volunteer work in Ghana, I knew I wanted to focus more on taking pictures of people and to use photography as a way of telling stories and drawing attention to issues such as health and humanitarian crises. However, at the time, I hadn’t yet figured out how to turn my passion into a financially viable profession. So I continued to develop my interest and skills in photography. I did this while travelling and working overseas in places such as Spain, Alaska, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Mozambique.
A camel changed everything
I’ll never forget the moment I finally made the decision to take the leap and start working professionally as a freelance photographer. At the time, I was teaching English in Barcelona, Spain. One morning I woke up to an email from a photo editor at National Geographic. He asked for my permission to publish in the magazine a photograph I’d taken of a camel yawning in front of the Pyramids in Egypt… That single email gave me the confirmation I needed to follow my dreams, and I’ve never looked back since!
At university I studied Politics, focusing on global policy-making and international relations. Since then, I’d always felt drawn to try and see for myself the realities on the ground for the people impacted by the policies and conflicts I’d studied. These are people who are generally far removed from the echelons of power and decision-making. And so I decided that photojournalism was a field of photography I wanted to focus on.
I soon learned there’s no real roadmap to success as a freelance photojournalist. So I reached out to Jason Tanner, a fellow Welsh photographer whose work I admire, to ask for some guidance. His support and advice throughout my career has and continues to be extremely helpful.
I started by doing a few freelance assignments with local newspapers in Wales. Then I decided to travel to the Middle East, where I began producing photo essays about life in the West Bank and the daily struggles faced by Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation.
Photojournalist in action
KJ: What is it like having a career in photojournalism? How do jobs come your way, and how do you decide which assignments to pursue?
CT: Having a career in photojournalism is something I’m extremely grateful for – I really love my job. It’s not without its challenges, of course. Being a freelancer means a considerable amount of financial insecurity. It also requires a high degree of self-motivation and organization. But it means I have the freedom and flexibility to choose which stories I pursue, something I really appreciate.
Sometimes I’m assigned by a newspaper or magazine to work with a journalist to capture photos to accompany a story. More often, I seek out my own stories. I capture the images, do the interviews, write the story, and then pitch it to suitable media outlets.
Human interest
I generally choose to cover stories that I’m personally drawn to and that have a human-interest element. My coverage of hard news is strictly based on assignment. During the battle against ISIS in Iraq, it was challenging to capture publishable images or stories of the conflict. There were so many photographers covering it on assignment. So, I tried to find stories around the conflict. For example, the oil wells that were set ablaze by retreating ISIS militants in the town of Qayyarah, south of Mosul. That became the cover story and a ten-page photo-led feature for Geographical Magazine.
I’m also really drawn to stories that allow me to combine the storytelling aspect of photojournalism with advocacy. The photos can be a way of raising awareness of an issue. Hopefully, they can then lead to some form of action. For example, last summer, I found out about a girl called Maya who lives in a camp for internally displaced people in northern Iraq. She suffers from a rare inherited skin disorder called Epidermolysis Bullosa.
The power of photography
A friend of mine, Dr Mohanad, is an Iraqi paediatrician who has been helping the ten-year-old girl and raising money to cover her urgently needed medical treatment to ease her unimaginable suffering. I set up a GoFundMe with an initial goal of £3,000. However, at that time, I didn’t have any photos of Maya since I hadn’t yet met her in person. I managed to raise around £300 in those first few weeks. Then, on my next visit to Iraq last October, I travelled with Dr Mohanad to the camp where Maya lives with her family and asked their permission to take some photos.
I shared the photos on social media along with the fundraiser. Within 24 hours, it had reached over £7,000. It’s now up to £10,000 — well above the initial goal, which will help pay for her much-needed treatment for some time. This positive response reminded me of how powerful photography can be in capturing people’s attention and sometimes translating emotions into action.
Challenging assignments
KJ: Which assignments have you found the most challenging, and why?
CT: On a practical level, some of the most challenging assignments are often those related to sensitive issues involving vulnerable people. For example, last year I travelled to northeast Syria for the Sunday Times Magazine to work with their Chief Foreign Correspondent, Christina Lamb. We covered a story about British ISIS wives and their children who are still in detention camps in the desert.
This assignment was challenging on many levels, partly because it was difficult to get access to the camps, and once we were inside, the amount of time I had to take photos was very limited. For their own safety, it also wasn’t possible to photograph most of the women in order to protect their identities. That made it challenging to find ways to illustrate the story in a compelling way.
On an emotional level, photographing people who were injured or suffered great personal loss during the bloody battle against ISIS in the Iraqi city of Mosul was quite intense and haunting. For three weeks, I photographed the work of international medics providing emergency medical care to civilians and soldiers injured in the fighting. They were working out of makeshift field clinics set up less than a kilometer from the frontline.
Seeing so much trauma and suffering was deeply troubling, but I really believe that photography plays an important role in providing a visual record of conflict. It confronts people with the raw reality and horror of how war impacts everyone, especially children.
Photojournalist in a war zone
KJ: Sadly, we hear of journalists being killed while covering conflicts such as the current war in Ukraine. How do you handle the risks associated with working in these dangerous situations?
CT: It’s always heartbreaking to hear of people being killed in conflict. A dear friend of mine, Pete Reed, who was working as a medic in eastern Ukraine, was recently killed there while helping evacuate civilians.
Of course, there are inherent and unavoidable risks in any active war zone. Our job is to always be cognisant of those risks and to mitigate them to the best of our ability. That means having the right protective gear – body armour and helmet – and a combat first aid kit. More important is having the hostile environment training to know how to administer first aid for the kind of wounds you might expect to encounter in a war zone.
Being aware of the impact on our mental health is also very important, as is finding ways to process things. Personally, I find spending time in the countryside, especially in Wales and Wyoming, to be particularly healing. Being close to nature and being around animals helps me in so many ways and keeps me mentally balanced and grounded (although I’m not sure my partner would necessarily use those words to describe me!).
From the Steppes to the skyscrapers
KJ: I know your work was featured at an exhibition in New York City last year; how did that come about, and what was the experience like?
CT: The exhibition was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. Thanks to the owners of One United Nations Park building on First Avenue in Manhattan, who are avid art collectors and enthusiasts, I was offered the use of a stunning duplex apartment on the 40th floor to hold my exhibition. With the help of my printing partners at PICTO New York, we put together an exhibition of over 40 images that offer an authentic reflection of the culture and traditional lifestyle of Mongolia’s iconic Kazakh eagle hunters, horsemen and semi-nomadic animal herders.
Over the course of five weeks last spring, I personally hosted the exhibition, which was such an honour and a great opportunity to connect with people and share the stories of the wonderful people in the images. Most of the exhibits were large format, the largest being an impressive 60 x 90 inches. That’s in no small part thanks to the exquisite work and attention to detail of the team at PICTO; they’re really the best in the world. All of my limited edition fine art prints are produced with them to ensure the absolute highest quality.
Kit and caboodle
KJ: Macfilos readers would never forgive me if I did not ask about the camera gear you typically use on assignment, as well as the computational hardware and software that you use to process your images. Can you tell us something about that?
CT: My camera gear these days consists of two Nikon D850s, which I absolutely adore, a 24-70mm f2.8 Nikkor and a 70-200mm f2.8 Nikkor lens. I recently bought a Nikon Z6ii mirrorless camera with a 24-70mm lens just to have something a bit lighter to work with, and I’m really enjoying it so far. Still, I’m not sure anything will compare to the quality of the D850s, but I am keen to try the latest Z9 at some point.
In terms of post-production, I rely on Lightroom for minor technical adjustments and colour corrections etc., and to add the metadata.
The world beyond being a photojournalist
KJ: Changing the subject slightly, am I right in thinking that horses are not the only powerful beasts you ride fast?
CT: Indeed you are! I also love to ride motorbikes. I have my brother to thank for that. I’d wanted to ride motorcycles for a long time but never got around to it until a few years ago when I was living in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq. I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself a small bike and learn to ride it there so I could get around easier.
Part of my motivation for that, too, was horse related. I was riding regularly at a beautiful horse riding club on the outskirts of Erbil, so getting a motorbike meant that I had a much easier and infinitely more exciting way of getting out there. Over the course of my time in Iraq, I had three bikes. The last one was a Honda CB400, which I was crazy about. I was working regularly with UNDP at that time, and I remember every morning waking up feeling very excited to go to work just because I couldn’t wait to get on the bike.
Heading for home
CT: I find time at home in Wales to be very cathartic and healing. Nothing relaxes me more than being close to nature, taking a walk in the countryside or, even better, getting on the back of a horse. I don’t have my own horse anymore, so it’s not so easy to find opportunities to ride. Living in Cairo, where my partner is from, we recently adopted a beautiful young Beagle who we named Frodo. I find spending time with him to be an extremely effective (although sometimes infuriating) way to decompress. He’s such a delight.
KJ: Are you able to visit family and friends in Wales often? What do they think about your career as a photographer?
CT: I try to get home to Wales to see my family and friends every few months. Any longer than that, and I start to feel ‘hiraeth’ — a Welsh language word that means a longing for home.
I think my family is proud of my career as a photographer and all the wonderful experiences it gives me. Of course, I’m sure they would rather I didn’t do any work in conflict zones because of the risks, but they understand how much it means to me, so they’re exceptionally supportive. I don’t think I could do it without their and my partner’s unwavering support, to be honest.
Looking out to the future
KJ: What is in store for you during 2023? How far out do you schedule assignments, and is your year already mapped out?
CT: I’ve had quite a busy few months of travelling, with several trips to Iraq and a brief trip to Ukraine, so it’s been nice to have a break from travelling this year so far. In April, I head back to Mongolia to revisit the Kazakh families in the Altai mountains and also to visit the Gobi desert. I’m also planning to spend some time in Wales over the summer, with a possible trip back to Wyoming to start working on a story about the management of wild horses in the American West. I’m hoping to also squeeze in a trip to southern Africa towards the end of the year for another horse-related story I’m keen to work on. Generally, I try not to plan too far ahead so I can be flexible to take on assignments as they come up.
KJ: What part of the world would you like to photograph if the opportunity arose?
CT: I would absolutely love to visit Antarctica. That’s been on the top of my list for some time. I’d also love to visit Iceland as part of my project about horses and people who depend on them. Patagonia is also somewhere I’d love to photograph. My wish list of places and people to photograph is quite extensive…
Time to wrap up
KJ: Well, I think I’ve peppered you with enough questions for one interview! Thank you so much, Claire, for taking us into your world and for sharing these spectacular photographs with us. You have shown us the power of photography to describe the diversity of peoples and cultures across our planet and opened our eyes to the challenges facing many societies across the world.
We greatly admire your courage, skill and determination, and on behalf of all our readers, I wish you great success in the years to come!
Turning to our readers: Do you have experience taking photographs in remote parts of the world? What challenges has that posed? Who are the photojournalists you most admire? Which professional photographers would you like to see interviewed here at Macfilos? Let us know in the comments below!
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I don’t know what to praise more, the great work of Claire Thomas, the well done interview by Keith James or the decision of Editor Mike Evans to publish both. I am very impressed and full of gratitude for the physically and mentally dangerous work Claire Thomas and her colleagues take on for all of us. For me, one of the best contributions to Macfilos in a long time, but of course I may be a little professionally biased. But I can see that others were enthusiastic too. And I just say: thank you.
I can’t really add anything to the glowing comments on this interview and range of images – simply marvellous, and so rich in learning potential. The only comparable thing I have ever done was a trip to Syria with my first digital camera, a Leica D-Lux 4, and I continue to be amazed at what that little gem enabled me to bring back. So thanks for the reminder, too!
I started w D850, Tamron 24/70, what a beautiful Camera. Sold to a commercial photog, was just too heavy for a senior to carry all day! Interesting came out 2017 and still commands same price I paid then $3000.00. Her light work camera is also a work horse. Please tell her get in touch w NOOR group, Nikon sponsored group in Europe. Their long term projects would fit her style!
Excellent interview! And very refreshing to read that she uses a Nikon D850. So what exactly has a decade of premium priced mirrorless bling cameras given us?
If one does a web search on ‘Claire Thomas photographer’, the words ‘conflict’ ‘humanitarian’, etc, come up.
This article goes so far beyond those crude buzz-words. It’s simply wonderful how your questions and Claire’s openness combine to portray a real person, the complexity of her motivations, her life.
And then… there’s the photographs. Normally, to see this variety of her work, we’d have to purchase a book — costing £50 or more.
You’ve set a very high bar for future interviews!
MAGNIFICENT! She is quite the photographer, another one if you folks are interested, read Marcus Bleasdale articles on the Congoand Blood Diamonds! Thank you keith.
Absolutely wonderful! Claire Thomas, hats off to you. To work in such demanding and soul-aching environments requires great courage and heart to just get through the day. I am familiar with the work of Emily Garthwaite and Moises Saman; possibly you are too. Finally, a big thank you to Keith too. Hope to see more such interviews.
Keith, thank you for this insightful story of a very capable, inspiring and lucid lady photographer. I am fairly sure I was in the audience for an RPS Digital Imaging Group webinar in fairly recent months, featuring Claire. Your story parallels so much of what she said, showed and discussed. Her beautiful and revealing pictures are a joy to behold. I enjoyed seeing her giant enlargements displayed for exhibition. Such quality! Thanks Keith, and a special ‘Thank You’ to Claire Thomas’.
Best Macfilos article – ever!
That is indeed great praise, David, and I am sure Keith will be delighted. His enthusiasm for creating new stories for Macfilos is quite obvious and he has added a great deal to the site over the past few months.