living dangerously with a canon A-1

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caffeinemessiah - 29 Sep 2005 07:41 GMT

Hi,
I suppose this is the best forum to ask this question. It's a
hypothetical, of course. Suppose one wanted to get involved in the kind
of photojournalism that takes you to the front lines of combat or
locations ravaged by inhumanity, perhaps in search of some visual
indications of any remnants of humanity. I'm sure many photographers
have thought about this at some point (especially after movies like
Harrison's Flowers), but how do you convert such a pipe dream into a
set of plane tickets (other than the obvious Travelocity solution)? I'm
a little confused about the means (and perhaps even the ultimate
purpose) of accomplishing such a venture. Does anyone have any thoughts
about this? What kind of agencies would be interested, and what would
the minimum required experience be? Before anyone asks, I wanted to do
something like this after I finish my dissertation (which is in the
sciences, not arts), so I'm not some wide-eyed 16 year old.

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Martin - 29 Sep 2005 17:45 GMT

> Hi,
> I suppose this is the best forum to ask this question. It's a
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> something like this after I finish my dissertation (which is in the
> sciences, not arts), so I'm not some wide-eyed 16 year old.

I thin you have to be very careful these days. Journalists are now seen as
legitimate targets by terrorists and plenty have been killed in the many
recent conflicts which seems very different from the past. I guess this is
because the terrorists now have their own media people who film their
activities, publish them on the Internet and so on, so western journalists
are no longer seen as "helpful" perhaps in the way they were 20 years ago.

Martin

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caffeinemessiah - 29 Sep 2005 18:34 GMT

Thanks - I hadn't considered that. The danger notwithstanding, I'm
still interested in such work, possibly in conjunction with
humanitarian organizations (?). Moreover, conflict is never in short
supply, and while the near-suicidal situation for journalists in Iraq
is definitely not appealing, there are plenty of other places that are
witnessed less. Could anyone give me some pointers on how to go about
achieving this. Thanks!

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DBLEXPOSURE - 29 Sep 2005 18:51 GMT

Enlist.

Or, if you have the credentials, get on with a publication that would be
covering these type of situations. Going it alone, besides a bad idea, may
be very difficult not to mention, dangerous. You have to have a support
network that can A, get you in and B, get you out. And C, no when you have
gone missing. If you where to get stopped in Iraq or Afghanistan and your
only credentials are a US driver's license and a passport, Good luck.. One
man wondering the streets with a camera and no press credentials makes a
good target and would also have to answer allot of questions if approached
by the good guys.

I don't think a wide-eyed 40 year old would last too long.

Get experience and build a name for your self. Perhaps volunteer with the
red cross and in you spare time on one of their missions you can find time
to take picture in a still dramatic but much safer environment. Build a
reputation, meet people, network...

>> Hi,
>> I suppose this is the best forum to ask this question. It's a
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> Martin

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Martin - 29 Sep 2005 19:11 GMT

> Enlist.
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> to take picture in a still dramatic but much safer environment. Build a
> reputation, meet people, network...

Yep, that Japanese guy got beheaded in Iraq and he was on his own, I don't
think he was a photo Journalist as such just curious. It got his head
chopped off.

Martin

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