Tribal Photography

An impressive (but not, perhaps, unproblematic) series of photographs by Jimmy Nelson documents his travels around the world to view remote groups of indigenous peoples.

View the site advertising his book (feel free to buy me a copy, it's only £5500 for the limited edition...) for more information.

Alternatively, 32 highlights can be seen here. There's some interesting controversy in the comments at the end of the article (when isn't there). Several people suggest that it is misleading and demeaning to present such peoples as 'disappearing' in posed photographs, wearing ceremonial outfits they may no longer use on a daily basis. What do you make of them? Are such photographs truly 'documentary'? Does it matter, if it preserves evidence of cultures in decline? Or do we simply become tourist voyeurs, being wide-eyed at social difference so foreign to our own lives?

Here's a bizarrely cheesy 'trailer' video with more content about the journey and the photographs...