Lynsey Addario:

A Photojournalistic Profile

IMAGE : LYNSEY ADDARIO

Career Path• Lynsey Addario had no photographic training when she started her

professional career as a photographer in 1996 for the Buenos Aires Herald. On a regular basis, she works for well-known magazines: The New York Times, National Geographic, and Time Magazine. She has documented stories in conflicted areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur and the Congo. Besides covering war, she has done stories on important issues such as the Syrian refugees (The New York Times) and maternal mortality in Sierra Leone (Time). She also had a series called “Veiled Rebellion: Afghan Women”, which won the Overseas Press Clubs’s Olivier Rebbot Award, one of many she has earned. Additionally, she has a “New York Times best-selling memoir, It's What I Do, which chronicles her life as a photojournalist coming of age in the post-9/11 world (http://www.lynseyaddario.com/info/bio/).

Image by: Lynsey Addario

Era

• Lynsey Addario is a modern-day photojournalist, and has been working since 1996. With the boom in social media and internet, she is working on the most advanced era of photojournalism. Along with the news agency she works with, she also posts her work via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. With sp much war and terrorism going on around the world, photojournalist like her are needed to visualize the true condition of events to the people.

Image by: Lynsey Addario

Motivation• When asked about whether she will cover another war, She

said, “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”. For her the motivation is to provide truthful coverage to the public, and let policymakers decide how to solve conflicted issues.• (http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/lynsey-addario-its-

what-i-do/)

Image by: Lynsey Addario

Technology

• Lynsey’s first camera was the Nikon FG, which her father gave her. Today she uses cameras like Nikon D810 and a Nikon D4. She says, “I like the smaller size of the 810 because when working in sensitive situations I can go in more discreetly,” Addario says. “But the D4 is great if I’m shooting breaking news and have only one shot that needs to be taken very quickly.” She is also the brand ambassador for Nikon camera.• (http://www.shutterbug.com/content/war-stories-

photojournalist-lynsey-addario-has-been-hell-and-back#HwKhgT6QY5HD3uq4.97)

Image by: Lynsey Addario

EthicsShe defines her ethics towards photojournalism as something embedded in her. She told a gripping story about her time embedded with a US medevac unit in Afghanistan in 2009. One night, a badly injured US marine, Lance Corporal Jonathan Taylor, was brought in for emergency treatment. The medical team tried desperately to save him for half an hour, but they were unsuccessful. Addario photographed the entire incident, from the moment the gravely wounded solider was loaded into a Black Hawk helicopter right in front of her, to the point where his body was covered with an American flag. While she felt that the full series of photographs told a powerful and vital story about the death of a soldier and the struggle to save his life, his family would have to approve the more sensitive photos before they could be published. When LCPL Taylor’s father finally reached out to her, they shared a heartbreaking phone call and she provided him the details he craved about his son’s death. She also got permission to send him all of the photos, at his request. In the end, the father wouldn’t sign off on the full set of images. He couldn’t bear the thought of his younger daughters seeing them. She did not use any of the image were his face or identifying marks were visible.(https://mightyfinepeople.com/lynsey-addario/)

Image by: Lynsey Addario

BiasWhile there has been no incident where she seems to involve her personal interest in any of the incidents, there were times she used the fact that she is a woman to cover news, which her male counterparts could not. “Muslim world are societies where women and men are often segregated and the role of female journalists is fundamental to get stories that focus on women and life in the home. Traditionally, men who are not a direct relative or married into a family cannot visit a home where there are women present, so female journalists are necessary for these types of stories. This is an instance where gender matters but most stories can be covered by men and women alike”.(http://www.elle.co.za/meet-war-photographer-lynsey-addario/)

Image by: Lynsey Addario

This image was taken in 2009, and Addario used different techniques like keep it simple, use of shadow and depth of field. The photojournalist kept the image simple by only showing the two-woman covered in burka. It is primarily done to grab attention towards the custom practiced in Afghanistan in which women must be covered entirely with clothes and forced to see through the narrow net in front of their eyes. The role of shadow in this image is to show that there are only two women present in that area. Similarly, Addario has made a perfect use of depth of field to illustrate the vast land of desert, as well as the beautiful cloud over their heads.

Image by: Lynsey Addario

• This image was taken in 2009. This image shows Afghan Policewomen shooting rifles at a firing range outside Kabul. The photojournalist has used the rule of third and placed the main subject in the lower end. This is to show the main action on this image. It is done to illustrate about how the training goes on in the camp. This image creates a feeling of safety around the Afghan community with their preparation to combat terrorism in those areas. The background of this image shows their range or the bull’s eye placed in front of them. The dusty smoke in the background also compliments the essence of this image.

Image by: Lynsey addario

This image is of a coal worker in India and was taken in 2010. Addario has done a great job of capturing a candid shot. There is no hamming in the image, and the subject seems relaxed. She also managed to focus on the subject’s ideal expression, which clearly illustrates the emotion of the subject as well as the toughness of the job. The image also presents the clear picture of a working-class man. The dirty clothes and paleness of eyes illustrates the low standard of living. The overall image illustrates the true condition of a working class family in India.

Image by: Lynsey addario

This image was taken in 2011. The texture of this image shows a lot of things going on. The hazy cloud of dust indicates the intensity of the situation. The soldiers must be moving very fast while carrying a bag, which seems to be a body of a fellow soldier. The use of lines shown by the trees, as well as the grass, directs our attention to the running soldiers. Addario must have used a low exposure time to really seize the moment and create an intriguing situation. This adds to the essence of this image.

Image by: Lynsey Addario

Impact

Lynsey Addario’s work has clearly impacted our society, evident from when American Photo Magazine named her as “one of the five most influential photographers of the past 25 years” in 2015. (http://www.lynseyaddario.com/info/bio/) The infamous incident of the photojournalist’s abduction, along with three other male counterparts, illustrates the trouble taken to inform us about the incident. Many of her images depict the true condition of the war and urges people to act towards them. In many cases, these images have grabbed international attention toward the ongoing conflict or tragedy. Her images managed to get on covers of many famous newspapers and magazines.

Image by: Lynsey Addario

My Major at AIC

I have a major in sociology and a minor in psychology. The role of images in society is deeply rooted. The fact that people cannot go everywhere to know about a situation that is going on makes images more important. I believe images help to define and evaluate a situation. As a sociology major, I too can use these images to evaluate conditions and human right issues in war zones, as well as the affect of different customs like child marriage and the use of Burkas. For example, the famous image of the Syrian child has escalated the question about human rights in Syria, and how to find a solution.

Image by: Lynsey Addario

Viewpoints• Addario has gotten emails from translators and drivers all

around the Middle East just saying, "I'm so sorry that this happened to you," and "I'm so embarrassed that this has happened to you. We are not like that. This represents sympathy towards her for the incident that happened in Libya as well as the thankfulness of people for doing such a job.

• She has also received many awards like OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, World Economic Forum Young Global leaders Class of 2013, POYi Awards 2011, PULITZER PRIZE 2009 among many others. The world respects her courage and is thankful to photojournalist like her who depict the truth to the people. She also stands as a role model for every young girl who dreams to be a photojournalist.

• (https://cpj.org/blog/2011/04/qa-nyts-lynsey-addario-on-libya-sexual-assault.php)

• (http://www.lynseyaddario.com/info/awards-education/)

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photographer.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/katiecouric/lynsey-addario-isis-lynsey-addario-has-a-

122517234038.htmlhttp://itswhatidobook.com/http://www.elle.co.za/meet-war-photographer-lynsey-addario/https://mightyfinepeople.com/lynsey-addario/http://www.shutterbug.com/content/war-stories-photojournalist-lynsey-addario-has-been

-hell-and-back#PEVKHxIY5fD1OkR8.99http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/lynsey-addario-its-what-i-http://www.lynseyaddario.com/info/bio/http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/breakfast/2014/01/20/Lynsey-Addario/stories/20140120

0022http://www.thewomenseye.com/tag/lynsey-addario/• http://www.radiolab.org/story/sight-unseen/• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/photos-lynsey-addarios-life-as-a-witness-to-war/