Starting up a blog, thinking about its ’soul’, its name, its appearance, what I want it to contain and the message I would like it to promote, I have to say, has taken me quite some time, effort and a series of mixed emotions about it all.

Is there something that I do want to talk about? And what is it? Have I got anything worth sharing? How can I present my documentary stories and foster awareness, while also casting some light on the ‘behind the scenes’ of being a photojournalist in the new digital age and my personal experiences? Are journalism and visual communication still effective tools that can achieve a constructive change in society? Or have they lost their power to mobilise the people altogether? My humble answer is: “Well, it depends”. Some people will be moved by a report. Others might be led into action by it. Even more will not take notice. This is the deal you have to sign to when choosing to be a reporter, whichever tools you use, a pen, a video/photo camera or even just your voice, by telling others what you have witnessed or learnt.

Pooja, 14, a child reporter from Hoshangabad, MP, India, is writing on her notebook an article for the children’s journal, a project launched by a local NGO, in collaboration with Unicef. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

.
I don’t want this blog to only contain a selection of my work and to communicate my experiences to whoever is out there reading on. I would like it to become a catalyst for those people who choose to take an interest in my stories and images, to move closer to my subjects, to find out more about some of the interesting people I have met and whose lives I documented.

Their lives, their existence, their actions take all part into shaping our collective human society and history on this planet.

I aim to portray them with the dignity and empathy they deserve in their struggles and successes, to capture their emotions, their joy, fulfilment, pain and distress, their victories and their defeats, the compassion they are capable of showing but also the violence and injustices we as humans can perpetrate.

I also would like this blog to empower its readers, who may be moved by an ‘open window’ facing deep inside somebody else’s life, and with whom they can become more intimate through my accounts. And perhaps feel the need to be involved in some sort of positive action.

After having graduated from a photojournalism degree at the London College of Communication in 2006, I have been working as an independent photojournalist who, apart from completing assignments, follows and pursues his own medium and long-term stories.

I seek extraordinary, meaningful and original topics that can challenge the way people act towards one another.

For almost a couple of years, since I decided it was time for me to begin documenting socio-environmental issues in developing countries, my personal projects have focused mainly on water access, children’s stories and pollution in the Indian subcontinent.

Stephanie, 21, a member of the Freegan community in New York, standing by the food recovered from dump sites along 3rd Avenue in Manhattan, New York, USA. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

I have been offered the chance to meet some less fortunate families and individuals who are increasingly suffering from unregulated industrial growth fostered by a mix of capitalist ideals, widespread corruption and the lack of accountability; issues that India and many other countries are often facing when jumping recklessly into a global economic system of potentially unlimited profit and exploitation.

I was opened the doors to their homes, I was welcomed into their lives and granted permission to report on them, believing my actions might contribute towards a just cause and some sort of positive outcome, however small it might be.

The internet and the digital age are shaping new rules for a global change to happen in the way we look for content, its accessibility and form. Being a storyteller these days and in the future cannot be relegated to presenting a subject by using photography and text alone.

The title of the blog, ‘MM’ (MultiMedia) and ‘Documentary’, points to the mix of strong images, sound and video that are growing in value as a medium for story-telling. They form, when working in unison, an enhanced experience for the viewers, who can now feel nearer to the topics they are interested in, can choose between a larger than ever variety, have the freedom to engage in further research and can easily access the right tools to make an impact.

Needless to say, you are still required to have an internet connection… (Yes, for now that is the deal…)

Two children are using their feet to find the remaining skins in a bath during the process of liming, the removal of hair and impurities with the use of water and various agents, in an illegal tannery unit in Kanpur, UP, India. Copyright: Alex Masi - All Rights Reserved

I believe that each and every challenge to our consciousness, as well as any action arising from a renewed state of awareness, still matters a lot.

It is not only worthy because it helps to re-evaluate our own personal views and choices, but because it also plays a valuable part in reshaping the way we interact and deal with the problems facing the planet Earth and its living beings today.

Communication, awareness and empathy foster actions. And the right actions can rectify many problems.

As a photojournalist I feel it is my important duty to participate in promoting exactly these ends.