This is the Dutch cover, but it is the same as the English version |
The reason
we know what is happening far away from here or on the frontline, is because
there are very brave men and women who do their jobs in these places.
When you
are in a warzone, you must be able to go against your instincts. Most of
us will want to run away when a bomb goes off, a war-photographer will run
towards it and will start making photo’s.
Lynsey Addario never thought she would become one of the most
respected war-photographers in the world, when her father gave her her first
camera when she was thirteen.
She grew up
in Connecticut and had an unusual and eccentric childhood. Photographing was a
huge hobby, but it soon became more. She also thought about travelling and how
she could combine the two.
She learned
the ins and outs of photographing in South America and returned to the US where
went to work as a freelance-photographer, but this was just the beginning.
Lynsey Addario is a woman who is driven by her calling to
report the news. Not as an adrenaline-junkie or in a need to score the best
photo, but she wants to show what war means for the civilians in that area,
how they are affected by it.
Lynsey Addario made photographs in Afghanistan, was there
when the invasion of Iraq took place, made photographs in Dafur, south-Sudan,
Libia, Gaza and many other places.
She worked
as an embedded journalist, but also went into conflict zones on her own or with a
couple of colleagues.
She did
both news items as long reportages and her photo’s were for example published
in The New York Times and National Geographic. Her hard work and beautiful
pictures earned her many prizes and the respect of her colleagues.
Every now
and then you read a book that is so fascinating and interesting that it is
impossible to put it down.
I saw It’s what I do in the bookshop and when
I read what it is about I decided to buy it immediately. This was a good
decision!
It’s what I do does only give a very personal account of the
conflicts that have broken out around the world in the past years, it also
tells us what war-journalism is like. One moment you are in a hotel with your
other colleagues waiting until something happens, the next day you walk around
in a bullit-proofvest, making photo’s of the victims of a bomb or you hear a
colleague has been killed.
Lynsey Addario shows how difficult her work can be, how much preparation
is needed and how much danger there is sometimes. But she also shares the joy a
journalist can feel when a photo they made is published on the front page and perhaps has
the power to influence public opinion.
At the same
time it is also a very personal story; how can you justify to your family what
you do, how do you deal with the risks and how do you find somebody to love who
understands what you do?
Finally,
but that is certainly not the least thing, this book gives you a whole new
respect for the many brave men and women who do their jobs in difficult and
often dangerous circumstances and who see bringing the news as their calling,
even if it will cost them their lives.
It’s what I do is a very special and utterly interesting and
fascinating book, the many beautiful photo’s Lynsey Addario made, make it even better.
I loved
this book and I think it will be in my top=3 of this year.
Original title:
It’s what I do. A photographers life of love and war
Published
in 2015
Comments
Post a Comment