April 2008: Colin Summers

Colin Summers

UK born documentary photographer Colin Summers stumbled upon photography as a serious medium whilst travelling in the Far East during his early 20's. He says "Naively I had managed to get into Cambodia during the UN controlled elections in 1993. The country was emerging from decades of war and I was privileged to be a witness to a small part of this change. I decided to record the events with a camera and this changed the way I looked at photography and travel. It motivated me and gave me a sense of direction. Being naturally curious, photography gave me the excuse to take a step closer".

Colin continued to travel throughout the Far East and India, taking his photography more and more seriously. Originally shooting with colour negative, he later switched to monochrome, finding this a more powerful means of expression. He prints his own images and says, "I'm really passionate about the whole process, from the original exposure through to the final print. The work in the darkroom is as important to me as taking the photograph. It keeps me in touch".

To date some of Colin's projects have included the opium problem in northern Laos, landmines and their affects on the Cambodian people, child trafficking and narcotics in Cambodia and the Asian tsunami from the worst effected area Banda Aceh, Indonesia. " I'm really fascinated by people's lives and have a huge amount of respect for how people cope in different and sometimes terrible situations. I try, and I hope this is evident in my images, to convey the truth in a compassionate and inoffensive way".


Some of the images shown here were taken in the wake of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. On hearing the news Colin made the decision to travel to Sumatra (Indonesia), where he managed to join an aid convoy heading to the island’s northern tip, Banda Aceh, situated 160km from the epicentre. The earthquake generated a tsunami with waves rising to heights in excess of 20 metres. On arrival, he was confronted by unimaginable scenes of destruction. One example was the small town of Leupueng, originally with a population of 10,000 but after the disaster reduced to less than 700. The town was completely obliterated. Colin says "just before 8 a.m on the 26th it was a bustling community preparing for the day but by 8.30 the town had been erased. When the photographs were taken, it was eerily quiet, the only human reference being the pungent smell hanging in the hot, humid air". Over 800km of coastline had been destroyed, 200,000 lives lost and 1/2 million people left homeless in Aceh alone. "During the time I spent in Aceh I witnessed a strength and dignity born of a faith and culture wholly unlike my own. I found the experience challenging and humbling".

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