Brandon Carr
Professor Rob
May 26th, 2021
JN134
It's What I Do
Lynsey Addario in my mind isn't just a great photographer, but an amazing writer as well. She proves that point in her book she wrote, "It's What I Do." She traveled the world and documented a lot of the world's largest war-events. My personal favorite story inside the book would be when Lynsey reunites with her husband after being captured by the Libyan men and Qaddafi. On page 239 and page 240 it talks about how one of the Turkish diplomats handed Lynsey a phone with Paul on the other line. It was a short but sweet phone call due to the circumstances that Lynsey was in. Lynsey, Tyler, Anthony, and Steve all took a flight to Tunis, and that's where Lynsey's husband Paul was waiting for her. It was also nice to see Lynsey find a husband that respected and compliments her work, not take away from it like before when she had to fly back home right after the 9/11 attack because her boyfriend wanted more time with her just to find out he's been cheating on her and found emails.
Addario's style from other photojournalists is very different from others before and after her. Lynsey's style is different because it's super dangerous, and not too many people have the guts to do what she's done. Some examples of what shes done is photograph the before and after of 9/11 of the Taliban and USA, burnt down villages in Darfur, showed a culture of violence against women in Congo, and of course the kidnapping by Qaddafi's forces in the Libyan war. To get the images that she has captured you have to go through a lot.
When Lynsey was on these adventures she had a duty. I would say I don't think I can relate to her duty, because I do work hard on getting the best pictures I can get and turn in my best work. Lynsey had the duty of capturing the world's largest war events with her camera. She was also exposed to the war and could've very easily got hurt or killed on this journey. She is very bold though to go to these places during these events, not much protection and her camera.
The book has taught me a lot of new tips that I can acquire to improve my photojournalism skills. I learned to not be shy while taking a picture and going up to the subject and asking some questions. Lynsey was also really smart and I think that helped her with improving her photojournalism skills and learning a lot from others. I also learned to take advantage of a good picture and see the world in a different way not just in my eyes but through the subjects. Lynsey also never had it really easy throughout the book; she was struggling with money and moving from place to place. I learned from this to keep working hard when life isn't going your way.
My favorite example of her work would have to be from the Taliban series for the New York Times, in 2008. She has one picture with a bunch of kids with pots and pans gathered real tight trying to fill them up with water. I thought this picture was sending a strong message about how other countries we might not think about everyday have harder struggles and are not as fortunate. In the photo I enjoy all the facial expression and emotion throughout the photo when they're getting water. Some faces are happy, crying, focused, or excited. My second favorite of her photographs would be the one with the 2 ladies in Afghanistan and one of them is in labor. I like this picture because it's so clear and on top of a mountain side. You can see the blue sky and then the brown ground and mountain tops mixed with 2 women in bright dark blue clothing. Addario also captures a couple blankets folded on the ground for giving birth.
.
Addario said a lot of inspirational and mind sticking things throughout her story. One that is going to stick with me and that I found interesting was when she said, "I choose to live in peace and witness war—to experience the worst in people but to remember the beauty.” This quote stood out to me because it talks about 2 totally opposite behaviors, how fast people can change and the terrible choices people can make. But Addario chooses to live in peace.
This is one of the better books I have read recently. This book teaches you a lot about a very talented photojournalist and her crazy story. She wrote the book, so you really understand all the little details. With all the pictures you hear about that she takes, you get to see them as well. The book always had some sort of mystery going on; where she was going to next, if she would stay safe, what would the pictures look like, and many more.
