Laura Bombier is the official stills photographer and Head of Marketing for Les Stroud Productions. With a growing list of international awards for her work, Laura is as tough in the field as she is in the studio. Working with Les since his Survivorman days, Laura was often the only female on the gruelling and remote Beyond Survival shoots. Her photography has brought Les to life on the page with credits in his most recent bestselling books Survive! and Will to Live.

1. How much gear do you take into the field with you and what’s your favourite camera to shoot with?

Enough camera gear that would allow me to carry it all on my own if I didn’t have the luxury of porters as we slogged through hours of hiking in pouring rain and knee deep mud. I started shooting with Les Stroud Productions with a Canon 5D, but that camera conked out high up on a blistery cold mountain in Alaska due to corrosion and water damage from extreme temperature changes. I then bought a Canon Mark III 1DS and I have to say it is the first piece of equipment I have called sexy! Love the camera and its full frame capacity – not to mention it takes rain and dirt all in stride. The one issue I had was that with all of the hours of shooting ….carrying around a 3lb weight (not including lens) in your right hand all day landed me with severe shooters elbow.

2. Is there a difference in artistic approach when shooting Les as Survivorman versus Beyond Survival?

Yes, definitely. With Survivorman, all I had to worry about was getting great shots of Les during his training and at the end of his 7 day stint in the wilds of the world. With Beyond Survival we were constantly shooting day in and day out – sometimes all night long. At the same time, Les was also integrating himself with the local people during filming so part of my challenge became having him fit in visually, but still stand out within the cultural context of each image. I also wanted to be sensitive to the locals in a way that would celebrate their culture with my camera – to be an observer but have the images still feel like a handmade visual statement that told an integral part of Les’ story.

3. You were the first female to photograph the aggressive Hewa Tribe in Papua New Guinea. At any time did you felt scrutinized or in danger?

There was a moment the first time I was there where I was left alone to cook our meals over a hot fire under a large tarp. All the men had gathered with their large machetes, cards and tobacco under this tarp to observe the entertainment: us. I stood up at one point unable to speak their language, and thought, if something was to go wrong I was the only female – and the only person without a machete. I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind and focused on teaching one of the men how to make a pancake and pretty soon I had things in my comfort zone.

4. Many people enjoy taking pictures of locals when traveling around the world, but it can be a sensitive thing…Do you have any tips for approaching a subject in poverty stricken places like rural Madagascar or Nepal?

I always try to motion with my camera to the person I would like to take a photograph of – if I can manage to catch their eye. If they say no, I honor that. I try not to pay money to children – or any one for that matter – for photos. Charging photographers for photos has been growing increasingly popular in Nepal…but in my experience people shut down with payment and you don’t capture their true personality.

Some quick tips that worked for me: spend a few moments with the person – they are not tourist sites. Learn a few words of their language, tell them something about yourself, show photos of family back home or ones you have taken of them, as some may never have seen a photo of themselves. Learn some things about their culture and if it isn’t appropriate, then don’t shoot! Enjoy some time without your camera.

As humans, it is easy to confuse the things that we do not understand or find repulsive – different to what we know. Kate Berardo came up with the perfect word in describing what the attributes of a great cultural photographer are…“culturosity”. She describes this as “an ongoing interest in other cultures that leads to developing the skills needed to interact cross-culturally. Culturosity helps photographers see beyond the surface culture and capture a deeper, richer culture on film.”

In the end, if you respect people with (and without your camera), your images will portray that and your experiences will become your journey.

5. What did you learn about the role of women in indigenous cultures while shooting Beyond Survival?

I learned that integral to the continued growth of indigenous culture is education for women, specifically in things like family planning and health care. It also made me recognize how lucky I am to be born into a culture that respects and protects women’s rights.

6. What are your next steps?

Breathing life into my next dream assignment: getting hired for a photo shoot that would make a difference in the big picture of ocean preservation.