Who we are
Behind the scenes at Responsible Photography, there is Gail and a committed team of partners who all have a passion for what they do. Responsible Photography is a tiny specialist enterprise that encourages participative photography and is a collaboration between different small partners who share ideas, ethics, experiences and values.
 Gail Ward, founder of Responsible Photography, is a freelance photographer and writer who specialises in editorial, cause related, social documentary and destination photography. Gail has lived in North and West Africa, SE Asia, Greece, Austria and France. She held senior management posts with leading UK Tour Operators and has worked in PR and Account Management. Gail drew on her professional expertise, personal knowledge and experiences from her Travel Industry and photographic backgrounds to found
Responsible Photography
™. She combines a passion for travel and photography with her strong belief in the benefits of using creative skills in education, and the importance of
encouraging, supporting and helping community, conservation and educational income generating projects. Local people, who might not otherwise have the chance enjoy getting involved with responsible photography and with the photo projects. Gail, her local partners and the local people they collaborate with all share the same founding principles and commitment to long term sustainable development. As Asrat in Ethiopia says, 'We
help people who want to help themselves'. We all work hard to share a more intimate experience of photography with our hosts that would not be appropriate for large groups of
photographers. An ethical approach to photography is critically important to everyone involved with Responsible Photography and is why Responsible Photography is recognised as a specialist enterprise, not only for photography holidays but also for our work in education.To find out more about Gail's professional photography please visit www.gailwardphotography.co.uk  |
In Ethiopia, Gail, Asrat and Mark collaborate together. Asrat was born in Northern Ethiopia, but when the border war with Eritrea escalated, his family moved to Eastern Ethiopia. After high school, he studied Travel and Tourism, then gained invaluable experience through working with a large Tour Operator. With his own thoughts on how tourism could be developed in Ethiopia, he decided to set up on his own with the goal of changing the negative image of Ethiopia through developing a responsible and sustainable tourism business. Working with local service providers, his commitment to social and environmental implications made Asrat a very welcome Responsible Photography Holidays partner who is committed to making our programmes in Ethiopia a success. Asrat's team includes Ali and Girma. Mark has been instrumental in partnering and developing Community Based Tourism projects in Ethiopia that provide direct income generation for a growing number of people, enabling them to develop sustainable livelihoods. We stay with one or two of the projects on our photo holidays to Ethiopia, but you can enjoy trekking and stay much longer on a Community Tourism Holiday (details on request).   |
In Morocco, Responsible Photography is a collaboration between some great partners - all of whom are equally committed to the development of sustainable economic development. Gail has known Ahmad, Ali and his team for many years. They are a family owned organisation that has successfully grown over the years - Gail first travelled with them in 1995. Our local driver/guides Khalal, who shares his love of Morocco as well developing his own interest in photography. Following the birth of his second son in 2011, Ahmed, who partnered Gail for many years and who lots of Responsible Photography clients met, decided to follow a different career path and is now working for himself. Whilst we miss Ahmed, Khalal is a great new member of the team and he especially understands the importance of light - so tries to make sure that we are in the right place at the right time! . |  |
| In Rwanda, Responsible Photography partner a locally run business that has had support and funding from overseas. The projects visited have been set up by both local people and NGO's. In India, Responsible Photography partner an enthusiastic team, who are full of knowledge and ideas. They have put together an interesting itinerary. Details of a recce for a new trip will be available in March 2012 - for travel later in the year. Like Ethiopia, this itinerary will not involve luxury accommodation or gourmet meals but will offer the chance to travel in a remote part of India, hosted by local communities. If you are fit, fun and relaxed and relish the opportunity to travel in a very tiny group you might like to join our 'off the beaten track' recce. No electricity and shared facilities for 3/4 nights at a time - so you'll need to be self sufficient and have a good sense of humour! |
 Family supportThe Responsible Photography Logo - see the top of each page - was designed by Gail's niece who is studying for a degree in fashion and contour. Steph Ward took inspiration for the logo from some of Gail's Moroccan photographs as well as the colours of the countries we go to - see the news page for more info. |  |
