Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maddison October. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Maddison, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I consider myself an empath to fault. That might sound weird, but emotions and the cliche “put yourself in their shoes” is exhausting and sometimes debilitating.

I have had the privilege of traveling worldwide, creating beautiful photographs of people going about their daily lives. For some, I’ve asked for permission; sometimes, asking wasn’t possible.

I’ve gone home multiple times and sat at my desk wondering what I do with these images. There I am, staring at a photograph on my computer of a woman pumping water from a donated well, a child sitting on a bench in a classroom without shoes, or a child selling food on the side of the road.

How could I sell these images of them for more money than they may make in a month or even a year?

The answer is I don’t.

The only time you’ll ever see me selling a photograph of a person is if they, in some way, are receiving something monetarily. Either directly or through a non-profit that is in direct connection with them.

And now all my images that I am currently selling have a portion of the proceeds going to an organization that helps them, whether it’s penguins at Boulders Beach in South Africa or the White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

Because I have taken, I will give back.

Maddison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi, my name is Maddison Rose October. I am a documentary photographer based in Los Angeles, but I am willing to travel anywhere that involves a story and/or adventure.

I consider myself a conversation photographer in that I document moments and things for generations to come. My background is in journalism; I majored in photojournalism and minored in anthropology, so letting the image unfold before me without manipulating the scene is kind of engrained in me.

To me, conservation is not just plants and animals; it’s communities, it’s families, it’s cultures, it’s our story.

Currently, I do international documentary work for a non-profit based in Southern California. I go to their project sites, photograph them, and write stories about the lives their work is impacting.

I also help other companies with their social media content, both creation and strategy.

To me, intention and purpose are the most important things when it comes to connecting with an audience. So, I try to help these companies figure out the “why.” Because not only should we be conscientious consumers individually, but we should also be conscientious distributors.

I myself, always try to ask “why” with my work because I understand how anthropology and documentary photography can sometimes do more harm than good. We’ve seen it happen in the past and seen it happen still.

Through that work and my love for exploring, I have an online print store where I sell photographs of the scenes I’ve been able to witness.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

In traveling internationally for work, I found that there was a steep learning curve you could say. I don’t necessarily get sent to the most touristy areas, there’s usually a tiny plane ride or long bus ride after a major flight to get me to the town or village where I am being sent to.

My second work trip was to Malawi, which is in South East Africa, and on my way there, I had a connecting flight from the East Coast of the US to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia where I sat next to this lovely woman, and we chatted a bit.

She asked me if I was traveling alone, and I said no, that I was meeting people in Malawi.

Yet, to my confusion, she still commended me for traveling alone and said it was very brave.

I hadn’t realized until that point that it was a brave thing to do, and from that moment on, I was very aware of this brave thing that I was doing; I hadn’t been nervous until that moment. So thank you, kind lady from Connecticut.

The flight went smoothly; we landed in Addis, said goodbye, and went on to find my connecting flight to Malawi.

My ticket had the gate number on it, I found the gate hidden underneath a random stairwell, I didn’t see any signs that indicated what flight was currently boarding, so I went to the desk and asked for “Malawi?” the desk attendant who was scanning just waved me to the back of the line, so I took that as a yes, thought “hey, if it’s the wrong flight my ticket won’t scan.”

My ticket did scan, so I sat on the plane, and through the staticky intercom, I heard them mention Malawi. All anxiety went away; thank you, woman, from Connecticut, and I fell deeply asleep on the flight only to wake up when we landed.

I got my bags together and recorded myself walking on the tarmac to the airport building. When I got inside the doorway, an airport employee asked for my previous boarding pass.

Confused, I had to shuffle through my stuff and find it because who keeps their previous boarding passes handy?

I handed it to her. She looked at it, handed it to me, and reached for another traveler’s ticket.

Over her shoulder, she told me, “Wrong country.” And then, with her head, she motioned towards the plane I had just gotten off of.

Confused, I said, “I’m sorry?” She said, “Get back on the plane.”

Now, I was born a little before 9-11, so for me, I only really know post-9/11 American airports, and you don’t mess around with them. You don’t just walk on a tarmac to a plane you got off of willy-nilly.

I walked a few steps and looked at her to make sure she saw what I was doing and could have a chance to correct me, but she kept looking at other people’s boarding passes and letting them go into the airport.

At that moment, I really disliked that Connecticut woman because everything was going fine until she had to say I was brave and I somehow ended up in the wrong country.

I did my walk of shame and legit fear that I’d get tackled by some airport security all the way back to the plane. I walked up the steps and the flight attendant looked at me confused, I said, “Wrong country?” and she smiled and laughed and motioned for me to sit back in my seat.

Let this experience teach you that some planes in Africa make stops along the way, even if it’s not noted on your boarding pass…

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

What I love most about being a creative, it sounds simple, but it’s the ability to create.

I love all aspects of it, from imagining something and then getting the process rolling to holding it in your hands, seeing it come to life, and finally, seeing other people be able to see it, too.

That last part is something new that I have never quite experienced before. Your loved ones always will tell you how amazing your stuff is, but when strangers start to connect with it, to start seeing things in the creation that you didn’t see before, it’s powerful.

That happened to me when I did my first solo showing last year. People would come up to me and tell me what certain images felt like to them, what drew them in, or who that person reminded them of. It was a really beautiful experience to know that the images I connected with connected to others maybe in similar ways but sometimes very different ways, and that’s art, subjective, right?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maddisonroseoctober.com
• Instagram: @maddisonroseoctober
• Linkedin: Maddison Rose October