Why Luke Conway Photography Is Standing With Gaza and Palestine

Photography has always been about people. This is about people too.

There are some moments when it becomes impossible to simply look away.

For me, Palestine is one of those moments.

I have spent years looking through a camera and trying to capture the things that make places special — the streets, the buildings, the landscapes, the sunsets and the small moments that people might otherwise walk past without noticing.

Photography makes you stop.

It makes you look.

And when you look at what is happening to Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, I don't believe we should look away.

We should look closer.

We should remember that behind every statistic is a human being.

A mother.
A father.
A child.
A brother.
A sister.
A friend.

A person who had a home, a family, a favourite place, plans for tomorrow and a life that mattered.

Turning photography into something that gives back

I have never wanted my photography to be simply about selling photographs.

Yes, I love photography. I love creating images that people want to hang in their homes. I love seeing my work printed. I love the idea that something I photographed can become part of somebody else's home and memories.

But I also believe that if something I create can do some good beyond that, then it should.

This applies to sales through my website, including photography prints and, from November, my calendars.

It means that a purchase isn't simply a purchase.

A print on someone's wall can also represent a contribution towards humanitarian support.

A calendar can help provide something to people who desperately need it.

And when lots of small contributions come together, they become something much bigger.

Why GRT?

The organisation I have chosen to support is Global Relief Trust (GRT).

GRT is a UK-based humanitarian organisation working to provide assistance to people affected by crises and emergencies, including its humanitarian response in Gaza.

I have chosen to direct this fundraising through GRT because I want the money generated through my photography to contribute towards humanitarian relief.

Words matter.

But action matters too.

And this is my small way of turning words into action.

This is about Palestine. But above all, it is about people.

There are enormous political, historical and legal questions surrounding Israel and Palestine.

People will disagree about governments. They will disagree about borders. They will disagree about political movements. They will disagree about what should happen next.

Those debates are complicated.

Human suffering isn't.

A child who is hungry doesn't become less deserving of food because the politics surrounding their country are complicated.

A person who needs medical treatment doesn't become less deserving of healthcare because people disagree about the conflict.

A family without a safe home doesn't become less deserving of shelter because the world cannot agree on how to resolve the wider political situation.

You don't have to agree with me about everything to believe Palestinian civilians deserve dignity, safety, food, water and healthcare.

You don't have to share my politics to care about a child.

You don't have to share my religion to care about a family.

You don't even have to buy one of my photographs.

You just have to believe that human life matters.

£1,000 for Gaza

I have set myself a personal fundraising target of:

£1,000 isn't going to solve the humanitarian crisis.

I know that.

It isn't meant to.

It is simply a target that I can realistically work towards through my photography and the support of the people who choose to buy from me.

The fundraising total will include money generated through the 10% contribution from eligible sales, along with other donations made towards this campaign.

The figure will be updated as money is raised and donated.

I want this to be transparent. If you buy something from me because you know that 10% is being donated, you deserve to know what that has actually achieved.

My GiveBrite fundraising page will also be kept up to date, and my donation information will be updated to reflect the amount that has been donated.

From November, my calendars will be part of it too

My photography calendars have always been something I've been incredibly proud of.

They take months of work — selecting photographs, editing them, designing the pages and eventually seeing them become a physical product.

From November, my calendars will also form part of this commitment.

So when you buy one of my calendars, you're not only taking home twelve months of my photography.

You're helping me give something back.

I know £1,000 is small

And I don't want to pretend otherwise.

When you look at the scale of the suffering and the amount of humanitarian assistance required, £1,000 can seem almost insignificant.

But I've never believed that something has to be enormous to be worthwhile.

If £10 helps.

If £20 helps.

If £100 helps.

Then it was worth doing.

And if enough people decide that their small contribution is worth making, those small contributions stop being small.

They become something bigger.

Palestine is not just a headline

One of the things that troubles me most is how quickly human suffering can become background noise.

Another headline.

Another number.

Another photograph.

Another notification on a phone.

Then we scroll.

And eventually, something that should shock us becomes something we barely notice.

I don't want to become numb to it.

I don't want the people of Palestine to become a statistic that we scroll past.

Because Palestine is not a statistic.

It is people.

It is families.

It is history.

It is culture.

It is homes.

It is memories.

It is children who should be thinking about school, friends, football, music and what they want to be when they grow up — not whether they and their families will survive another night.

That is why I am choosing to use something I have — my photography — to try to contribute something to people who need help.

A note about Palestine Action

I also want to be clear about something because this campaign is taking place in the United Kingdom.

Palestine Action is a proscribed organisation under UK law.

I therefore do not encourage, promote, fundraise for or provide support to Palestine Action or any other proscribed organisation.

This fundraising campaign is about supporting Palestinian people and humanitarian relief. It is specifically directed towards Global Relief Trust (GRT) and its humanitarian work.

Supporting Palestinian civilians and humanitarian relief is not the same thing as supporting a particular organisation.

What I am asking from you

I'm not asking everyone to agree with me.

I'm not asking everyone to become politically active.

I'm not asking anyone to change their beliefs.

And I'm certainly not pretending that buying a photograph is going to end a conflict.

I'm simply asking people not to become indifferent.

If you want a print, buy one.

If you want a calendar, buy one.

If you want to share this article, share it.

If you want to make your own donation, you can.

And if you don't want to do any of those things, that's okay too.

But if you do choose to support my photography, I want you to know that 10% of your purchase is being put towards something beyond the photograph itself.

From my camera to something bigger

Every photographer takes photographs because something catches their eye.

A place. A person. A moment. A feeling.

We press the shutter because we don't want that moment to disappear.

Don't let people disappear into statistics.

Don't let suffering become normal simply because we've seen it for too long.

Remember the people.

Remember the families.

Remember the children.

And where we can help, help.

I may only be one photographer.

This may only be one small business.

And £1,000 may only be one small contribution.

But I would rather do something than do nothing.

I'd rather my photography stand for something.

I'd rather a photograph sold from my website have the potential to help someone I've never met than simply end with a transaction.

Because photography can make people stop and look. And sometimes, the most important thing we can do is simply refuse to look away.

For the people of Palestine.
For the people of Gaza.
For humanity.