SINGAPORE — For photographer Justin Mott, occupational hazards include swimming in elephant dung and going blind for a day.

The latter was the result of a commercial assignment involving welding and, apparently, the Hanoi-based American had stared at the UV light way too long. “The doctor was getting such a kick out of it and there I was, s**t-scared about the diagnosis,” he recalled.

As for the elephant dung? It involved another photo shoot in Phuket, which entailed having the huge animal inside a swimming pool. “People don’t know that when elephants go to the bathroom, it’s really large. And when the elephant pooped, we had to beg the model to swim back into the pool,” he laughed.

“The next morning there were these Thai cleaning guys scratching their heads and wondering how they were going to clean the pool!”

The 36-year-old’s latest project takes place in front of the cameras. Photo Face-Off is a new television reality show that pits him against local amateur photographers from across Asia, including Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

“Photography is so subjective, I could be thinking that I crushed the guy, but the judges could like his style and not mine. Also, the locals have an advantage of (knowing) the local culture, its little secrets and even the language.”

The Rhode Island born-and-bred photographer is an avid admirer of South-east Asia, having travelled around the region extensively for his work before settling in Vietnam. “When I got to Hanoi, I just fell in love with the people, their culture, the curious textures on the walls and the different colours and architecture.”

The self-described visual storyteller counts among his more important projects a series on the victims of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, which illuminated the plight of 124 abandoned Vietnamese children, 80 per cent of whom were severely disabled, mentally and physically.

“I think I’ve trained myself to be a little numb in order to focus on telling the story the right way,” he said. “(But) you never forget the things you see, and although I don’t cry, it hits me because I keep looking at my work, be it on my site or when I’m tweaking my edits.”

On a less sombre note, his time in Vietnam has made him somewhat of an expert on places photography lovers should go to.

“Lonely Planet would tell you to visit Sapa, but you should visit the Ha Giang Province instead. It’s beautiful, with great markets, and no built-up hotels. Everything’s really raw but you get rewarded. Rent a motorbike and drive around!” suggested Mott. “Stay at cheap hotels, but you’ll see the beauty of Vietnam.”

Photo Face-Off premieres on Sept 23, Every Tuesday at 10.30pm on the History Channel (Starhub TV Ch 401).