ZORIAH - A PHOTOJOURNALIST AND WAR PHOTOGRAPHER'S BLOG

In The United States - Exhausted

I am back in the US, after a series of unbearably long transfers from trains to taxis to airports to cars. I have been trying to get the energy together to put the finishing touches on the Homeless Afghan Refugees story I just shot, but I cant seem to get motivated to spend more days on something that I have already been working on for several weeks. I am so, so exhausted.

It is funny, the exhaustion, because it hits at unexpected times. I have been working in Europe for the past two months, which is by no means difficult when compared to a lot of the other places I find myself. I expected to be up and running pretty quickly here. I think sometimes the effects of this work are cumulative.  

I am lying here for another day, in bed with my computer on my lap. As the sun sets outside my window I notice that the bug sounds are different here—they always are from place to place—but I don't always notice. My e-mail box is packed, missing just a couple of days can allow several hundred messages to go unchecked, and that drives me nuts. I gave up on my Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitter, VII, TipIt and MySpace mail ages ago (sorry for all of you that have written, I just cant keep up). To be very honest, I can't stand dealing with all of these "social networking" sites, but I have found them to be a truly fantastic way of getting work seen by the public. The same images that editors claim are too graphic or depressing to print, seem to actually have meaning to great many people who discover them online. So it's ended up being a love/hate relationship.

It is nice to come back to the States. I am usually most excited about the food, as there are things that I crave when I am far away. For instance, I rarely eat Taco Bell, but I always seem to crave it when on the road. In 2007 I got a good laugh when I was with a platoon of soldiers in Iraq, stuck in tank for a long mission, and they all began to talk about how much they were craving Taco Bell. I have had several meals of Mexican and Vietnamese since I have been back...oh how I love them both! However, I wish there was some truly good Middle Eastern food in the States, I have yet to find it.  

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I am working on several stories and will post them soon. I should have the Homeless Afghans in Paris story up early next week and am re-editing my series on Teoul Sleng, S-21 prison in Cambodia, and will post that soon after. I think I also owe a Behind the Image post and will work on one while I am here.

Anbar Suicide Bombing Anniversary

A year ago today, I asked to be taken off of a patrol with my assigned platoon in Iraq and transferred to a different patrol, and because of that decision I am still alive today. A massive suicide bomb blast tore through the meeting hall where I was originally assigned, killing or severely injuring nearly everyone within one city block. The blast took the lives of dozens of Iraqis and was the second-deadliest suicide bomb attack during the entire Iraq war in terms of the number of U.S. casualties. That day changed the course of many lives, including my own.

I am often asked in interviews if I would make the same decision again. The answer is, without hesitation or second thought, yes. Although the decision to post those images had a huge effect on my life, and the life of my family, I stand by my decision 100 percent. I do not take what I do lightly and presenting anything other than what I did would be at the very least unethical.

First off, I would like to offer my condolences, once again, to the families and friends of all of those, both Iraqi and American, who lost someone that day. 

Second, I would like to thank all of you who stood by me through this and supported my decision to present the images I took that day in an uncensored and honest way. War is graphic and horrible and I refuse to let my images lie or sanitize what happens in its wake. I would like to thank the many Marines and members of the armed forces who have stood by and supported my decisions despite the controversy. I would especially like to thank the family members of the Marines who were killed that day who have written to me in the last year. The fact that you are able to understand, and even support my decision to show these images to the world is incredible to me, your strength and understanding is so admirable! It is my greatest desire that my documentation of the lives lost that day, along with the realities of war all around the world, could some day save others from what you have had go through. I suppose this is a lofty dream to have, but I will continue to pursue it as if it was perfectly attainable. 

Photojournalism Technique - Research

Photojournalism Technique - Thoughts and Theory Behind Capturing Images of Conflict, Crisis and Disaster

I advocate an approach to photojournalism that is not at all accepted or popular. Your photojournalism professors may give you bad marks if you try to convince them of this and professional photojournalists may look down on you as an amateur if you try to argue this point with them. However, it is something I believe in and is one of the reasons I am able to get the shots that I do. I also believe this industry needs some drastic changes in thinking and approach, so here we go:

Don't over-research your subject matter before ever even getting out into the field!

I know this goes against everything that is taught about photojournalism and documentary photography, so let me explain a bit more. Photojournalism is about observing and also about telling the stories of those you observe, in their own "voices." If you are open to learning from your subjects—truly learning from them, not just placing your pre-conceived notions upon them—you will then be able to accurately tell their story to the rest of the world through photographs (I also think that this way of thinking would apply to all forms of journalism, not just photojournalism).

I can't begin to tell you how many times I have run into professional photojournalists in the field who start talking about what they are there to shoot. They have made up a big proposal to a publication, spent weeks researching it, called local fixers and told them exactly what they are looking for and asked them where they can find it. And yes, they usually come away with the story that they were there to get. But the question becomes, was that really the most important story to be told or was it just what the photographer thought was the most interesting story based on the reading they did before their project?

When you go into a story with tunnel vision, you close yourself off to so many things. You might not even see that there is a much more interesting story right there in front of you.  

Research happens when you are in the field, not when you are preparing to shoot your project! Your research should come from talking to people, listening to their stories, living life as they live it—not from an encyclopedia or website. You will learn things far more interesting from your experiences with your subjects than you ever could have learned during pre-production research. 

Going into a story without pre-conceived ideas and rigid plans allows you to document what the story actually is and not just what you interpret it to be.

This is another problem I have with mainstream, corporate media. They have "angles" and when they tell a photographer or journalist to get a story, that angle is the one they want no matter what—even if that really is not the true story. Reality suffers, truth suffers. And it is sad, because I think most journalists get into the field for the right reasons. Then after struggling to make ends meet, it becomes far to easy to just take that assignment that is offered to you, whether or not it is a good one. And editors are under pressure from the publications they work for, who are in turn under pressure from the advertisers who pay for their publications. When the top of the ladder in journalism ends in a dollar sign, we can't expect to ever get the full true story. 

The next time you head out to do a project, try doing your learning in the field and from your subjects; who better to tell the story than the people themselves? If you feel you need to learn about your subject matter ahead of the project, make sure you keep yourself open to the possibility that things may be different than you expected. Keep your mind open, be passionate about what you do and care about your subjects and always be willing to listen to all sides and hear all voices. You will find that you will be able to capture stories that no one else has. This is what journalism and storytelling is all about.

Photojournalism Workshops - Documentary Photography Workshop

My photojournalism workshops are designed to give advanced level students, photography enthusiasts and those interested in pursuing a career in photojournalism or documentary photography an intensive, real-world experience in which they will be pushed to learn and grow more than they ever thought possible. Unlike established workshops where students work in large groups and have limited access to the professional photographers teaching them, my workshops are one-on-one, for the entire workshop, giving the students unprecedented access and the ability to learn hands-on in a real, in-field working experience. Each workshop is tailored to the individual student's needs and no two are ever the same.  AND, workshops help me fund the work you see on this site!

More information on Zoriah's Photojournalism Workshops is available here

My most recent workshop brought Nancy Farese , a California-based professional photographer, to Kenya for 10 days of one-on-one study. The workshop was designed to fit Nancy's needs with a focus on pushing her photographically and personally to test the limits of her work and her comfort level. Nancy has more than 30 years of photographic experience and was interested in focusing on digital editing, breaking barriers in photographic creativity and documenting subject matter that she may shy away from on her own.

The workshop began in Kogelo, Kenya, where Nancy was guided through shooting an assignment on deadline. The story focused on the village of President Barack Obama's family during his inauguration.  I provided instruction and tips for Nancy on how to approach clients, which led to a newspaper in San Francisco being interested in the story. The focus for this segment of the workshop was on visual storytelling, producing stories for newspapers and other publications, working with professional editors, and transmitting images from remote locations via FTP clients, and more.

The workshop then moved to Kisumu, Kenya, where we documented local fishing villages, which have made a huge impact on the environment and region. The focus of this segment of the workshop was on photographic creativity, using light, framing, alternative camera angles and in-depth work each afternoon and evening on digital work-flow, editing and image post-production processing.

A short flight then took us to Nairobi, Kenya, where Nancy was pushed to go outside of her personal comfort zone and into the slums of Kibera and the city's garbage dump sites, where thousands of impoverished Kenyans scavenge for food and other items. The focus was on personal safety and working in difficult situations while still capturing the highest quality images and respecting those who live in these difficult situations.

The final segment of the workshop took place in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. Nancy was coached in approaching and building relationships with aid organizations and built upon prior experiences with the International Rescue Committee. The final product was a feature story that will be printed and used online by the IRC for fund raising and awareness on the famine, which was just declared a national emergency by the Kenyan government.

It was a wonderful experience for both of us and I wish Nancy the best of luck in all of her future endeavors and look forward to seeing the growth of her brand new organization, PhotoPhilanthropy!

Photographer Nancy Farese photographs children in Nairobi's Kibera Slum during a Photojournalism Workshop.

"I had really wanted to be pushed to have new experiences, and shoot new stories. Zoriah created opportunities for amazing access, and wonderful support for shooting and editing.

I never will forget sitting in the remote, dusty bar in Kenya, having just captured the inauguration celebrations for President Barack Obama in his family village. We edited for hours, so excited to see what we had captured from such a momentous event.  It was one of the most extraordinary things I have ever done!"

Nancy Farese
Founder, PhotoPhilanthropy

Below are just a few of the wonderful images Nancy produced during the workshop. You can find more of her work on her personal website. All of Nancy's work here is used with permission under copywrite, so please contact her directly if you would like to re-publish it.

President Obama's inauguration day:

Fishing on Lake Victoria:

The Kibera Slum:

Working Nairobi's dump sites:

The Kenyan Famine:

For more information on Zoriah's Photojournalism Workshops, click here.

Homeless Afghan War Refugees - Feature Story Coming Soon

A homeless man who fled war-torn Afghanistan is reflected in the window of a bus that brings refugees to a shelter on the outskirts of Paris. Every night hundreds of Afghan refugees get in line for the bus, but only a few can be accommodated. The rest spend their nights on the streets.