Photographer Gina Pottenger, who won the Silver Prize in the Humanitarian category at the 5th NTD International Photography Contest, is a photojournalist. Several years ago, she traveled to the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire to document a local non-profit Christian church’s involvement in community clean-up projects.
One day, while visiting a lady who served as the director of a local health clinic, Pottenger was caught in a torrential downpour, one of the most intense she had ever seen in her life. They were stuck inside the house for a while. Meanwhile, the children dashed into the yard and started dancing in the rain. They played, splashed each other, and even kicked a makeshift football in the water.
Simultaneously, all the families brought out buckets to collect the clean rainwater. Pottenger grabbed her camera and captured the moment when a boy reached out his hand to catch the rainwater, which became the story behind her award-winning piece “Torrential Downpour”.
With 25 years of photography experience, Pottenger has encountered diverse groups of people. Reflecting on her past experiences, she has reached a conclusion that people all around the world are fundamentally the same, regardless of where they are located.
“I traveled from Switzerland to Bangladesh, witnessing the wealthiest and poorest environments, and I found that people from different places are actually the same,” she said. “Everyone loves their children, cooks for their families, and sends their children to school. I have stayed in homes without running water, even with dirt floors, yet they cooked for us, and we enjoyed their warm hospitality, just like how I received hospitality from families in Western Europe.”
Pottenger, holding up the photo of children playing in the rain, mentioned that their joyful activity reminded her of her own childhood, “So, seeing such scenes in distant Africa fills me with contentment, as it reflects the brightness of human nature.”
“In the present world, there is severe division, and we fail to see the common humanity in each other. We start viewing people as labels, ideologies, nationalities, and perceive each other as adversaries,” Pottenger said. “If we could remember that we are all created by the same Maker who loves us all, if we could see this in each other, it would bring us back together rather than drifting apart.”
Pottenger believes that people’s perception of “beauty” is universal. People instinctively or intuitively recognize beauty in things or artistic pieces.
“Hence, there is a universal consensus on the essence of beauty, on things that please the heart,” she said. “Even if you can’t create beauty yourself, for some reason, even if you don’t understand the rules, when you see a photograph, an artwork, a painting, or a sculpture, you can still feel the beauty.”
Therefore, Pottenger appreciates the traditional principles of the NTD Photography Contest, which emphasize portraying values of truth, light, kindness, and positivity – values that resonate deeply within people.
“Because these are precisely what I strive for in my work,” she said. “I see my photography as documentary photography, recording people’s actions, their ways of life, how they work to improve the local environment, how they care for and support each other. Thus, I feel that the photos I capture align well with the theme of this competition.”
In an era dominated by AI, where people increasingly question the authenticity of images they see, including herself, Pottenger leans towards believing in what she sees with her own eyes, even if she isn’t physically present.
“Photographers wield great power, able to omit parts of the content through cropping or magnification,” she said. “I, too, can easily get lost in this kind of thinking, where we only see the image itself and can’t imagine the world beyond the frame… So, the composition alone holds a significant power.”
In this aspect, Pottenger deeply values the contest’s focus on tradition and realism, emphasizing the photographer’s skills rather than excessive post-processing, a notion that inspires her greatly.
Moreover, Pottenger believes that when taking photographs, one must empathize with the emotions and world of those being photographed.
“At the same time, introspectively ask yourself, if I were this person, would I be proud of these photos? Do I feel that my story has been fully narrated?” she said. “So, you can’t just take photos; you must spend time with people… You must genuinely strive to understand the complete experience so you can portray them as objectively as possible and make them proud.”
In essence, Pottenger emphasizes the “professional ethics” of photographers. Hence, when she sees works from photographers worldwide, all upholding similar beliefs, she feels like she is in a place filled with goodwill, beauty, and radiance.
“These values are paramount to me,” Pottenger said. “Being a part of a competition that aligns so well with my values genuinely energizes me.”