In an exclusive interview with Harker Aquila backstage after his presentation at the Flint Center on Friday, the renowned photographer Platon spoke about his inspiration to take on various projects as a photographer.

“We need to acknowledge that we’re all different, but there is a beauty in our differences, and we have to work together to make something perfect. If you become tribal and stop working together, it falls apart,” he said. “My job is to be the bridge between different tribes and say ‘The other side is not as bad as you think it is. Come together. You might need each other.’”

He also commented on how his occasionally dangerous career was hard to manage with his family life, discussing an anecdote about a woman he had met in Burma and her desire to make the world a better place for her baby.

Platon emphasized the importance of combining technique and emotional depth and intent in his photography.

“There are many photographers who get distracted by technique. You have to learn technique; it’s like breathing. You don’t think about breathing, you just do it,” he advised. “I learned technique, I mastered it, but I don’t think about it anymore. I now think about what I’m saying.”

He also offered advice to novice photographers interested in pursuing large-scale photography projects in the future.

“I started from nothing. I didn’t have anyone famous helping me,” he said. “What I did have was a healthy disregard for power, a respect of humanity, and more than anything, a willingness to learn and a determination that I needed to improve and stay in the game. I’m not scared of failure.”

Platon stressed the significance of capturing the raw emotion of the subjects that he photographs. He finished with a few words of advice when asked about the gear he used.

“Move people with the emotion in the picture,” he said. “That’s much more important than what camera you use and what film you use.”