In this episode, we talk with Fred Ritchin about photography for a better world. Fred offers a thoughtful reflection on image-making practices and their evolutions over the fifty years that he has been involved in the photography industry. He speaks about the power of images, and how this power relates to the importance of contextualisation and transparency about the image-making process. Finally, he touches on the shifts that are happening with regard to synthetic imagery generated by AI technologies and what this means for the future of photography.What does photography ethics mean to Fred? “The purpose of photography is not to make more images. It’s not to be celebrated as the greatest photographer. It’s not to be picked as the picture of the year. The ethics of it is that you’re a citizen of the world, and you’re using photography to make the world a better place – whether as a witness, as an advocate, as a family photographer … you’re using it in such a way to be useful, be helpful in the world. And this sort of disconnect – like the photo festivals where there’s great photos, other photographers see them, and then we say ‘photography is flourishing!’ – well, but my question is: but what’s its impact on the world outside of the bubble of other photographers? And to me that’s what photo ethics is. You know, I used to start many of my lectures: ‘I don’t care about photography, I care about the world.’ And if we could use the photography to make it a better world, that’s the ethics of it.” (41:35)Links:Susan MeiselasGilles PeressBosnia: Uncertain paths to peaceFour Corners ProjectWriting with LightStatement of Ethics Campaign

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