Lynsey Addario Book Report

     Lynsey Addario is a well known American photojournalist who was born in 1973. She’s best known for covering conflict, humanitarian crises, and women's issues around the Middle East and Africa on assignment for The New York Times and National Geographic. She released a biography in 2015 in which she pieced together the timeline of the life she had lived thus far.

     My favorite story she told within the memoir was her first hand experience of the event on September 11. She explained it from the start, “One morning in September… We darted up the stairs to Marions apartment. I sat down in front of her television and saw the twin towers on fire. Half- asleep, I didn't realize the planes had smashed into them on purpose… People were jumping. My mind flashed to the women in wedding gowns I had once photographed on the roof…”(Pg 65) This part of the story stood out in my mind as it was shocking that as a photojournalist she experienced two different events at these towers. One beautiful, one tragic and world changing. She had knowledge of territories like Afghanistan and Pakistan so she knew that was where she’d have to go. 

    Addario was always so honest about her experiences which I think has a huge impact on the authenticity of the stories. Her style of photography is different from others in the way that she manages to find the quiet moments within the chaos. As a viewer you can still feel the chaos out of the shot but somehow Lynsey can separate a moment from the bigger picture. A specific example coming to mind is the photo she took of, “an Afghan woman, Noor Nisa, stands in labor on the side of the mountain in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, November 2009.” This photo captures vast emptiness in the background and a giant event in the foreground; yet the photo holds peace.

     I could never personally do what Lynsey Addario chose to do with her life. Her passion is like no other; but it is inspiring to see someone doing exactly what they want with their life without worrying about the opinions of even the people they love most. She follows her dreams no matter where they lead her or who they lead her away from. I was inspired by Lysney Addario's photos in the way that they don't seem to be posed. I couldn’t always apply this to my work this term due to problems with social interactions. It took her years to become that comfortable taking photos of complete strangers and interacting with them too. After reading the book I can definitely see a slight improvement in my photojournalism confidence.

     My favorite examples of her work are the one of the Women in labor as well as, the photo labeled, “Left, Bottom: Gul Agha after itar dinner with supporters” This photo really grabs my eye; Lynsey was able to capture each man in the photo with their full attention on Kandahar Interim governor Gul Agha. Lastly my favorite photo of them all, the one that has so much emotion and trauma within it; a photo of Mapendo, 22, lying in her home in Burhale, South Kivi, weak and covered in a skin rash. Mapendo endured a series of traumatic events such as rape, death of a child, death of a husband. She holds so much strength within a body that must feel so tired. The angle the photo is taken at matched with the overhead lighting brightening her face completely hits the reader with every emotion felt by Mapendo.

     I would definitely recommend the book It's What I do A Photographer's Life of Love and War by Linsey Addario because not only is it helpful for new and old photographers, it is extraordinarily eye opening to what happened in the world in recent history, and it’s inspiring to anyone who may feel held back by anything to just break free and believe in yourself.