I am deeply fascinated by all things photography. Both of my parents have a love for the camera and I think it fostered a mutual desire to use the lens to capture what is going on around me.
I have also long had an obsession of sorts with newspaper photographers. Recently there has been quite a bit of coverage relating to all matters concerning the reporting of news and the photographic images that go along with them.
I have also long had an obsession of sorts with newspaper photographers. Recently there has been quite a bit of coverage relating to all matters concerning the reporting of news and the photographic images that go along with them.
First, the very famous photo of Samar.
During the Iraq war, the rest of us around the world relied on newspapers and news stations to keep us up to date with the latest happenings. We heard about violent foot patrols and read about tragedies and deaths ... but until you see a photo like this, it doesn't seem to really set in or ring true.
As is stated in the article, because the country was dangerous for photographers, there were not many photographs of the Iraq war that hit a nerve. The article goes on to discuss Samar and her life since the war.
(I had no idea that Mr. Hondros - who photographed Samar - was asked to leave his assignment after those photos were taken due to military rules)
In April of this year, New York Times photographer Chris Hondros, was killed in Misurata, Libya -- while on assignment. One other photographer was killed and two photographers were also wounded, all working beside him at the city's front lines. The piece on his death was moving. Chris Hondros' blog is also quite amazing.
Equally as inspiring and moving? The follow up piece written by the Editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller. Keller talks honestly about what our nation's media owes the people of the country and what risks should be taken to ensure that our insatiable and sometimes grotesque hunger for shocking news is fed.
During the Iraq war, the rest of us around the world relied on newspapers and news stations to keep us up to date with the latest happenings. We heard about violent foot patrols and read about tragedies and deaths ... but until you see a photo like this, it doesn't seem to really set in or ring true.
As is stated in the article, because the country was dangerous for photographers, there were not many photographs of the Iraq war that hit a nerve. The article goes on to discuss Samar and her life since the war.
(I had no idea that Mr. Hondros - who photographed Samar - was asked to leave his assignment after those photos were taken due to military rules)
In April of this year, New York Times photographer Chris Hondros, was killed in Misurata, Libya -- while on assignment. One other photographer was killed and two photographers were also wounded, all working beside him at the city's front lines. The piece on his death was moving. Chris Hondros' blog is also quite amazing.
Equally as inspiring and moving? The follow up piece written by the Editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller. Keller talks honestly about what our nation's media owes the people of the country and what risks should be taken to ensure that our insatiable and sometimes grotesque hunger for shocking news is fed.
Covering conflict is perilous for anyone — reporters, local stringers, the drivers and interpreters we depend on — but photographers are more exposed, in at least two senses of the word. They need a sustained line of sight to frame their photographs; a reliable source is never enough. And they cannot avert their eyes; they have to let the images in, no matter how searing or disturbing. Robert Capa’s famous advice to younger photographers — “Get closer” — translates in combat to “get more vulnerable,” both literally and emotionally.
Then there is Kevin Carter. He shot this photograph while on assignment in Sudan.
After this picture made its way onto our laptops and television screens, Carter was asked "what happend to that child?"
Carter didn't know.
He had simply captured an image ... (which, according to another photographer, the child was not alone or in a menacing situation, as there were adults nearby).
Mr. Carter committed suicide just a couple of months after receiving the Pulitzer Prize ... receiving an award ... for this photograph.
Carter didn't know.
He had simply captured an image ... (which, according to another photographer, the child was not alone or in a menacing situation, as there were adults nearby).
Mr. Carter committed suicide just a couple of months after receiving the Pulitzer Prize ... receiving an award ... for this photograph.
“Sometimes we fail our own moral compass, our own emotional compass,” Greg Marinovich said (fellow photographer). “Kevin [Carter] was a bloody warm, generous and fantastic guy, and I’m surprised that he didn’t pick up the kid, just to make himself feel better.”
***
In March of this year, New York Times photographer Lynsey Addario was freed from captivity in Libya, along with Tyler Hicks, Stephen Farrell and Anthony Shadid. (more about their ordeal)
Some comments to this story about Lynsey's capture included words like “How dare a woman go to a war zone?” and “How could The New York Times let a woman go to the war zone?”
Lynsey's response?
Lynsey's response?
To me, that’s grossly offensive. This is my life, and I make my own decisions.
If a woman wants to be a war photographer, she should. It’s important. Women offer a different perspective. We have access to women on a different level than men have, just as male photographers have a different relationship with the men they’re covering.
In the Muslim world, most of my male colleagues can’t enter private homes. They can’t hang out with very conservative Muslim families. I have always been able to. It’s not easy to get the right to photograph in a house, but at least I have one foot in the door. I’ve always found it a great advantage, being a woman.
People think photography is about photographing. To me, it’s about relationships. And it’s about doing your homework and making people comfortable enough where they open their lives to you. People underestimate me because I’m always laughing and joking. That helps. They let their guard down.
I try to do women’s stories when I can, but I don’t want to be pigeonholed as just a women’s photographer, because my interest is in covering the whole story — and human rights abuses and humanitarian issues. Ironically, I don’t think I saw more than a handful of women the entire time I was in Libya.
I will cover another war. I’m sure I will. It’s what I do. It’s important to show people what’s happening. We have a unique access to what unfolds on the ground that helps our policymakers decide how to treat certain issues.
Speaking of soldiers and the frontline ... did you happen to read the article "After Coming Home"? It's the final article in a series following the First Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan
A snippet ::
For a year, they had navigated minefields and ducked bullets, endured tedium inside barbed-wired outposts and stitched together the frayed seams of long-distance relationships. One would think that going home would be the easiest thing troops could do.
The whole series can be found at the New York Times. The video is quite long (10 minutes) but there are some great the photos are amazing and it's worth a poke around.
There is a lot to digest here. If you stuck with the whole post, what say you? Did anything strike a nerve?
There is a lot to digest here. If you stuck with the whole post, what say you? Did anything strike a nerve?
