enough is enough (the reality of photojournalism)

As my professional pursuit of photography has developed and evolved, I have enjoyed sharing my work and thoughts with those outside “the business”, and I have really appreciated all the feedback and support–it has meant the world to me.

And it has been a lot of fun. There’s been sports, car races, events, parades, and personalities–all the things that entertain us and make us smile.

Until now.

On New Years day, Richmond experienced two separate multiple homicides. One took place in a nice, quite, middle-class neighborhood where decent, known and loved familes aren’t supposed to have their their homes invaded in the middle of the day. Definitely not a place where a father, mother, and two grade school daughters would have their throats slashed. The other murders, though, took place in one of the neighborhoods where you come to live with senseless brutality.

I was called by the Richmond Times-Dispatch to cover a prayer vigil for the second family. The murder took place in a small home barely a block off US Highway 1, in a neighborhood that backs up to Philip Morris’s main manufacturing plant. In every sense, it is a struggling, forgotten, industrialized neighborhood that most of us thank God for the interstate that races us by it.

So I went, not having a clue as to what to expect. Even though I’ve seen the images and read the stories before, I had never been to one, or anything else like it. I was so totally unprepared…

We all ask ourselves these questions, “What would I do if I came upon a wreck on the highway?” “What would I do if I saw someone shot?” “What would I do if…” And the answer is what defines your reality. Not everyone is meant to work as an emergency room tech, as a pastor, as a policeman, as a soldier, or, as a photojournalist.

Well, this was one of one of those situations where I came face-to-face with the reality of what I am doing. Yes, I have experienced sadness and grief, and yes, I have been to funerals, wakes, celebrations of life, and other rites of passage. But, no, I have never been in a situation like this before. I was surrounded by so much and varied emotion. There was grief, anger, sadness, joy, frustration, love, concern, and rage. One of the victims was a 16 year old girl, who just happened to be home at the wrong time. She was shot dead, along with her father. The community had come together in front of their home to say “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!”

I had a job to do, and it was extremely difficult. Not only was I absorbing all the emotion, I also had be very careful not to intrude on some of the most private public moments I had ever witnessed.

In the end, I came away a very, very different person. I finally understand a lot of the things I see in the news media, both in print, and in video. I learned that I can do this work, whether I like it or not. And I came to realize just how awesome the responsibility is that comes with doing this type of work. The images have to capture and captivate an otherwise disassociated audience. It is a lot more than just pointing your camera at something or someone–it is a matter of pulling your subject through your lens, through your heart, and sending it straight through to everyone else. That’s the reality of photojournalism.

some notes & comments

Something I would hope to do

I would have to say those are probably the most powerful images I’ve taken to this point in my career. Will they make a difference? I don’t know. I am not sure if I will ever take ‘the image’ that changes someone’s life, but, if there is any one thing I could do here, it would be to inspire others to believe in themselves, to follow their dreams. Nothing is automatic, and nothing is a given. But, if you want something bad enough, and are willing to commit to it, YOU CAN DO IT! The only mistake you can make is to give up on yourself and quit trying.

Something I am not

I am not an employee of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In addition to 11 full-time staff photographers, 1 intern, 1 or 2 externs (unpaid interns), a photo quality control director, a director of photography, and a department assistant, they have a list of about 5 or 6 or more freelancers. I have the utmost respect for the RTD’s photo department; they are among the most creative professionals I’ve ever associated with–in any field. I have learned so much from the opportunities they’ve given me. I have no way of knowing where I am on the list, but my goal would be to be near the top of it, to be one of the first calls when they don’t have a staff photog available.

Approaching an assignment

There are some assignments I will probably never get (like being assigned to a President’s press pool), but all the same, I would like to think I could handle just about any assignment i’m given. The vigil was absolutely the toughest assignment I’ve ever had emotionally. Others have presented their own challenges, both in terms of technicals and logistics. The key is to visualize the assignment before you get there. Try to work it through in your head so that you don’t get completely overrun by the situation you are out to capture.

Approaching the vigil

As for this particular assignment, the only thing I could do to prepare for it was to remind myself that I had to treat this situation with the utmost respect. Depending on how I carried myself, I would be considered an outsider, just someone there to exploit the situation, or I would be considered a compassionate professional, someone who could be trusted to walk among the crowd without intruding. I believe I succeeded.

“Do you get names?”

The question always comes up, and the answer is…yes, I did get the name of the young woman in the image that was on the front page. She was the victim’s best friend. No, it was not easy. I gave her time to collect herself after the vigil was over before even thinking about approaching her. And rather than putting her in an uncomfortable situation of talking to a stranger, I did something different. I found a friend from another paper who I had observed talking to one of the preachers who spoke. I got him to introduce me to the preacher, who in turn, introduced me to the young woman. Approaching people is tough, and this type of situation makes it even tougher, but, with practice, it becomes second nature and you just do it.

PJ might not be for you, but that’s ok

Photojournalism has to be one of the toughest disciplines of photography. You really don’t know what you are going to be shooting from one day to the next. Usually, if you’re lucky, it’s not stuff like this. But, when it is, you’ll learn real quick as to whether or not you can do it. Along these lines, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. one, there is a HUGE difference between shooting for a daily paper and a weekly paper. Weeklies rarely have to dig into stuff like this. Two, you can still be a working photojournalist and contribute to papers on a regular basis without having to do stuff like this. There are many, many other types of stories that fill the paper, and most of them have images to help illustrate them, and most of those images are not like these. So, don’t feel that you have to give up on a career in photojournalism just because you don’t think you can stomach this type of assignment. The main thing is to find what works for you, then make every effort to excel at it.