Lynsey Addario Book Report

 

Reading Lynsey Addario's book It's What I do was incredibly eye opening for me. It truly showcases the reality of not only being a conflict photographer, but also gives insight into the lives of people we do not typically see in America. My favorite part of the book was actually when she and her colleague were kidnapped and had to pretend to be husband and wife. Addario takes control of her situation and remains as calm as possible. Thinking quickly about what she needed to do and say in order to come out of the situation unharmed. Addario goes about photography differently than many photojournalists. This is partially because she is a woman and is given different access and opportunities than male photographers. “I tried to dodge the police as I continued documenting the scene. They pushed me away again. I tried a different angle. I knew I had to shoot as much as I could.– This was terrorism on a world scale. They zeroed in on me again, the woman.”

Addario refuses to be quieted just because she is a woman. She finds ways to work with a situation in order to get the shots she needs. She is very aware of her surroundings and also wants to show respect to the people she is photographing. She likes to get to know her photo subjects before actually taking pictures and be sure they understand why she is taking pictures.

The work she is doing, going into heavy conflict zones and putting her life in danger to tell the stories of these people and situations I think is very commendable. I personally would not be able to do this kind of work. But I respect Addario and her commitment to it. The stories she covers are ones that should and need to be told. It is so easy to treat war and the people who live in the conflict with the mindset “out of sight, out of mind.” But they should not be out of sight out of mind. By getting to know her photo subjects Addario is really able to tell their story from a more authentic point of view.

This was a big lesson I took from her book and was able to use myself while photographing. I have started spending more time sitting and waiting and learning. One photo that I feel is a good example of Addarios work and really shows the kind of stories she is trying to tell is a picture of a woman named Kahindo. She is a victim of rape in Eastern Congo who was held for six years before escaping her captors. She gave birth to two children due to the men who kidnapped her. This woman and many others face horrors we can not imagine. They deserve to have their stories told and that is exactly what Lynsey Addario is doing.

This book has been a very valuable insight for me into the lives of people I can never understand, as well as the different difficulties a traveling photojournalist might face when they work in areas of conflict. I would definitely suggest it to anyone who has an interest in photojournalism or would like to know more about the lives of people who live in active war zones. It is a valuable point of view and makes you question how you look at media and news coverage.