Chris King Photography

11/08/2023

In the 3rd episode of the Documentary Storytellers podcast I interview Aubrie Canfield a media producer from the United States, and founder of a company called Actuality Abroad.
Actuality Abroad is a social enterprise that uses documentary storytelling as a means to provide more meaningful travel experiences. As you will hear, Aubrie has a wealth of knowledge and experience in crafting stories visually through documentary filmmaking, and together we discuss the art and practice of documentary storytelling – from the hero’s journey to effective production workflow, along with the ethics of telling other people’s stories, and much more. There’s lots to take away from our chat in terms of how we can approach documentary film production in a more considered and effective manner.

Aubrie has a wealth of knowledge and experience in crafting stories visually, and together we discuss the art and practice of documentary storytelling – from the hero’s journey to effective production workflow, along with the ethics of telling other people’s stories, and much more.

05/08/2023

This episode of the Documentary Storytellers podcast features Laurel Chor – a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and journalist who is exploring a range of different topics – from manta ray conservation to the war in the Ukraine, using a variety of media.

We explore the biases we as individuals have that influence how we explore the stories we document through documentary photography and filmmaking, but also the value of our own unique experiences and perspective. We talk about the challenges Laurel has experienced being a woman of colour, the need for self-care to ensure we’re able to continue to document the issues we care about and push for the change we want to see, and much more.

This episode and features Laurel Chor – a documentary photographer, filmmaker and journalist who is exploring a range of different topics – from manta ray conservation to the war in the Ukraine, using a variety of media.

04/08/2023

I've so much catching up to do with promoting the podcasts I've already published. I've learnt a lot from all the conversations I've had so far - there's so much to take away from each one. So, if you're interested in documentary storytelling, visual communication, or in this case with Klaus Thymann, climate change and environmental issues, then be sure to listen to this episode. Lots more to come...

As a documentary storyteller, Klaus has walked an unconventional path, developing a range of different skills along the way that allow him to create and manage multidisciplinary projects. Since 2008 he has achieved this in part through Project Pressure, an organisation he created with a focus on cli...

17/03/2023

In the first episode of the new Documentary Storytellers podcast, I’m speaking to Rebecca Conway – a documentary photographer from the UK who won the Camille lepage prize at Visa pour L’Image in Perpignan, France in 2022. A few years ago Rebecca made the transition from picture editor and written-word journalist to photographer out of a desire to explore stories visually, and feeling a greater affinity with photography. She focuses a lot on the impact of conflict on people’s mental health, and what it means to live with the aftermath of war and conflict. She also explores stories related to climate change – again with a human focus.

We talk about Rebecca’s journey to where she is now, the challenges and benefits of being a white western woman documenting life in Asia, the value of exploring long-term projects and embedding yourself somewhere, and much more.

A few years ago Rebecca made the transition from picture editor and written-word journalist to photographer out of a desire to explore stories visually, and feeling a greater affinity with photography. She focuses a lot on the impact of conflict on people’s mental health, and what it means to live...

06/03/2023

Documentary Storytellers (a platform I'm developing to help people like me) now has a podcast! You can listen to it wherever you subscribe to your podcasts - below are links to a couple. I hope you enjoy the interviews, and please share, rate and review!

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/48fNvLu3qvg17qm6GcM9Ht?si=6cd5b8ff1e064be8

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/documentary-storytellers/id1669228683

‎Culture et société · 2023

06/12/2022

I was back at the farm yesterday. The temperature had dropped to -2C during the night, covering the region in a thick frost. Once it had thawed the farms came alive. Xavier and Véronique were preparing their onions for planting. However, the entire batch had fallen victim to mildew, and so had to be treated with an Ecocert certified product organic farmers can use use combat it.

29/11/2022

During my last visit to Xavier and Véronique's farm, they were planting thousands of young fennel plants in their solitary polytunnel. This is back-breaking, knee-swelling work that went on the entire day. On top of all that, with temperatures hitting low-20s outside, despite it being mid-November, the heat in the tunnel was energy-sapping. If we saw with our own eyes all that goes into producing the food we eat, I have no doubt we would regain respect for it - not let it go to waste - and for the people who grow it.

10/11/2022

Another snippet of raw footage from last week's footage of the farm being prepared for planting. Xavier and Véronique are having to adapt to the changing climate, with extended periods of drought, and so are trying to grow vegetables more capable of surviving the conditions they are faced with.

I was once again experimenting with my gimbal - a piece of equipment that helps keep the camera steady while you move. Still got room for improvement, but I'm getting there!

02/11/2022

Today I had another shoot for my project on how climate change is impacting small, independent food producers. Xavier and Véronique were preparing their polytunnel for planting, which will start tomorrow. This year they're going to try onions and fennel.

The heat was intense inside the polytunnel, with the temperature hitting 24C outside - around 8C more than normal for this time of year - as the months-long drought continues. It's been making life extremely challenging for Xavier and Véronique, and all food producers in the area.

Snow fell on the mountains in mid-October, and would usually remain there until late May, but this year it had melted days later, and no more has fallen since. The region relies heavily on snowmelt to feed the rivers, and so this doesn't bode well for next year.

Follow me as I document the activities and challenges of Xavier and Véronique, as they adapt to the unfolding climate crisis.

01/11/2022

From the archives. This is a portrait I took of a volunteer for PlanZheroes - a London-based organisation which collects food that would otherwise go to waste, and redistributes it to local charities. One of the places where they collect food from is Borough Market. This was part of a long-term project I created on the issue of food waste - https://foodiswasted.com

Food waste is an incredibly important issue, with so many layers, affecting all the critical issues of our time – from climate change and soil degradation, to water pollution and deforestation.

We waste over a third of the food we produce globally, which means all the resources used to grow that food is also wasted.

31/10/2022

A brief article I wrote on the issue of food waste to coincide with Halloween - why we need to be conscious of it, and how we can reduce it -

I remember every Halloween my sister and I would each carve out a swede – pumpkins weren’t available in Northern Ireland back then – and my mum would make mash with the flesh. I also remember the indoor ‘fireworks’ set we would have – a pitiful collection of things that would fizz, splut...

30/10/2022

Out in the mountains today, and it was very autumnal...beautiful mix of colours everywhere...but also very dry and warm...