Yemen work published in Washington Times

Writing is something I truly enjoy, but between you and me, I really don’t like straight news writing. As a journalist, it’s harder than you think to pull yourself completely out of the writing and make the reader believe that you were nothing more than a fly on the wall – a privileged observer. The same goes for quality photojournalism, but even more challenging.

The advice that I live by, given to me by some of the industries top photo editors, is to get as close to your subject as possible. This inherently is where some of the biggest challenge and reward in photojournalism lies. How do I get close but not be a distraction and take away from what I am essentially trying to achieve as a photographer? How do I get close and yet craft an image that to the viewer it looks as if I really am a fly on the wall? Some of the best photojournalists only use one or two lenses and they are often fixed focal length. Basically by not using telephoto lenses or even mid range focal lengths, forces the photographer to get close to the subject matter. It’s a method that I have found useful over the years and consistently creates some of my best work and lasting memories.

It’s these memories that I want to write about. It’s the process of trying to get close to my subject and what happened when I finally did that brings out my best and enjoyable writing. I love blending the topical relevant news story with some of the musings of the journalist; this is why I read so much op-ed foreign reportage. I think my blog contributions for the World Policy Journal are far more insightful and colorful on the goings on of a fleeing refugee population than the 800 words for the Washington Times.

Acting as a writer, photographer and blogger  has its challenges and yet the creative process of all brings the best quality out of each. If I wasn’t writing the news aspect and went in as simply a traveler I wouldn’t have gotten close enough to get good quotes and images. It’s the fact that I do write straight news that makes my images that much better. It’s the starting the day knowing I need to have colorful personal accounts, straight news and facts, and above all have engaging high-quality images for a variety of clients, that makes me as a journalist function as an individual in the field. So regardless if I like it or not, if it makes my images better, I will continue to do it.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 am and is filed under Opinion, Pages & Pixels, The Middle East, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.