Week 8 Forum

As I get further and further into "It's What I Do," so Lynsey seems to get deeper and deeper into the sacrifices necessary for this career.  She stretches her self over more strenuous situations in order to show her true skills for telling a story through the lens of a camera.  Two chapters seem to really stand out throughout her journey.  My favorite was Ch. 9 with a close second of Ch. 13.

Chapter 9 brings to life a real and accurate reflection of what daily life can look like for a war/conflict photographer.  When she was in the Korengal Valley during active combat, they were just as much a part of the war as soldiers and were in no less danger.  During the first half of the book, most of her passion allowed her to overlook the serious consequences that her job can have.  She consistently had the attitude of "I have to BE THERE," "I have to GET that shot, NO MATTER WHAT."  The chapter, along with the brief ch. 12, where she receives news of Tim Hetherington's death, proves to the readers and to herself that she is not invincible, and the constant conflict and violence can be quite dangerous and scarring.

One of my favorite quotes was from an email she wrote, after a set of pictures was rejected due to an integrity issue.  Addario says, "We represent the New York Times.  We have a responsibility to put out material we get, not cower and question ourselves and worry about military scrutiny... We owe it to the Afghans, the soldiers, everyone we spent time with and promised to show the TRUTH.  Our readers deserve to see what's happening over here"(246).  I thought this was a true show of self defense against the censorship of something that might make the US look bad.  She felt to the fullest extent, what she had experienced in the Korengal Valley and she would not have it be for nothing.

As follows, my favorite photo from this section was the picture of Khalid, who was never included in the published New York Times, in print or online, because of too much uncertainty regarding the accuracy of the information in the caption.  I completely agree with Addario.  I believe that journalists are there to give voices to those who would be able to have one.  If we take that away with concerns that Americans won't be seen in the best light, then we are also causing the oppression that we claim to fight against.

This chapter taught me to stay true to the journalist intent.  To tell the story in raw detail, to show from all angles, good, bad, ugly, to relay events in their honest form without filtering to sell an image.

Ch. 13 was my second favorite because it also but a realistic spin on a seemingly unimaginable life of a photojournalist.  Lynsey became pregnant and was brutally honest in sharing that she did not feel overwhelmed by joy as most mothers do.  She was worried how it would effect her work and what it would mean for the future.  However, she also went on to share that after becoming pregnant, she had experienced the heart wrenching prospective of her documentation as a mother.  She felt more empathy for each subject she encountered and believed her work was better because of it.