The big question

What motivated you to document the harsh realities of the world?

Tom Stoddart says: “If you’re a photojournalist, you want to be where the action is and witnessing things that other people are watching on their TV screens. So the motivation was a mixture of excitement, ego, a feeling that something was wrong… in Bosnia, for instance, [there was] a feeling that this is wrong and shouldn’t be going on in the heart of Europe.

“You start off running around the world, and it’s all very exciting. Then you begin to think about what you see, and start to realise there are huge swathes of the world where there’s no clean water, electricity, drugs or human rights; and you begin to think maybe your pictures can make a slight difference.

“I’ve never been one to think that it’s the best thing in the world to be a photographer. We’re not brain surgeons, and we’re not actually changing the world to a great extent. Photojournalism can contribute greatly to the kind of world we live in, but I’ve never been one for ‘This picture’s gonna change the world.’”