Lyndsey Addario’ s book It’s what I do: A photographer’s life of love and war immediately draws you in as you read the prelude. I just wanted to dive right in and immerse myself into her life. It is one of those novels you find yourself reading and reading. At times I noticed myself getting lost in Addario’ s recollections of her career. There were too many anecdotes to narrow it down to one favorite but after taking the time to skim back over my pencil marks within the pages I found one. One that I felt was a significant moment in her life which became the realization of her life's purpose. Okay so it was after she had moved to Argentina and met Miguel. One afternoon Addario went to an exhibit of Sebastiao Salgado’s work; this was a turning point in her career. She had been heavily contemplating which direction she wanted to take with her photography. But as she was viewing and processing [also sobbing] Salgado’s exhibit she was “overcome by his images” in those moments of self discovery her perception of photojournalism shifted from in her words “pretty scenes to a way to tell a story.”
The heartfelt intentions she spoke of when sharing what she was destined to do with her career were “I hadn’t known that my hobby could be my life. I knew then that I wanted to tell people's stories through photos; to do justice to their humanity, as Salgado's had done; to provoke the kind of empathy for the subjects that I was feeling in that moment. I doubted I would ever be able to capture such pain and beauty in a single frame, but I was impassioned.” This stood out to me because of its deeply selfless intent. It speaks to her altruistic personality that is predominant throughout the book. This sense of duty that she exhibits throughout her career correlates with that personality type, I however am not fond of risking my life in the ways she has. I don't think she as you termed it “has a screw loose” but that she was created with the internal tools and capacity to go out and risk everything to tell others stories. To me that is more than a sense of duty, it's her calling > purpose. Addario and others like her are essential players in documenting historical humanities. Addario uses techniques that allow her to get that great shot. Her ability to do just as she set out in the quote above “to provoke that empathy”, to capture moments of emotion and raw truth was spot on. Unfortunately I am nowhere near the talent addario illustrated throughout her career. I was not capable of executing her techniques in real life and or the endless determination that she displays. In fact I have a hard time having a device in hand and not experiencing life as is atop of not having any experience with cameras or taking photos. Overall the book still kept its momentum and even if you aren't camera savvy or headed towards that career choice. Addario’s story is captivating and is relatable.
Below is my favorite photo. The composition is exquisite, the lighting perfect, especially the way it shines through the treeline, the way the trees are uniform and symmetrical, the vibrancy of the hues of color, and the ominous feel of the forest. It is just breathtaking.
From “Of Love & War” With Photos By Lynsey Addario: Bhutan, August 2007 >
A man walks through a forest in Rethung Gonpa village outside of Trashigang,in east Bhutan, August 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment