Photographers Facing Danger And Death
15th September 2014
New York Times
Lens
Photographers Facing Danger and Death
BY JAMES ESTRIN
Though the conversation at the Visa Pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, France, often turned to the lack of editorial assignments and support for news photographers, last week’s dominant theme was not the slow death of big media.
It was the violent death of photographers.
On the final evening of the projections, Jean-François Leroy, the festival’s director, called for all the working journalists in the audience to come to the stage to remember the freelance journalist James Foley who was beheaded by his ISIS captors last month after almost two years of captivity.
Many on the stage had worked alongside Mr. Foley in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
SHOWCASE
DESCRIPTION
Coverage from the 2014 Visa Pour l’Image festival featured on Lens.
Vietnam’s Photographic History, Told by the Winners
Revisiting Life and Death in Africa
A Photographer’s Paradise in America
Circus Tent Boxers in Australia’s Outback
Getty Grants for Personal Photo Projects
Standing next to Mr. Leroy, was Manu Brabo, 33, a Pulitzer Prize-winning freelancer who spent more than six weeks in captivity with Mr. Foley in Libya during the spring of 2011. Earlier in the week, Edouard Elias, 24, who was held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria alongside Mr. Foley for over eight months, was at the festival. When his fellow captive, journalist Steven Sotloff, was beheaded last week, there were tears and anger throughout Perpignan. Nonetheless, both Mr. Elias and Mr. Brabo are back photographing internationally.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that there are about 20 journalists still being held captive in Syria and that there have been 36 journalists killed worldwide this year, most of them working in their own countries.
In Perpignan there was an exhibit of images by Anja Niedringhaus, an Associated Press photographer who was killed in April in Afghanistan. Chris Hondros, who was killed in Misurata, Libya, along with Tim Hetherington in 2011, also had an exhibition. In addition there was a show of images from the past winners of the Ian Parry award, named after the young British photographer who died during the revolution in Romania in 1989. And the Rémi Ochlik award, named for the young photographer killed in Syria in 2012, was given to Maxim Dondyuk for his photographs from Ukraine.
Photo
Civilians seeking medical attention after a militia attack near Boali that left 12 people killed and 14 children wounded.
Credit Camille Lepage/Polaris
Civilians seeking medical attention after a militia attack near Boali that left 12 people killed and 14 children wounded.
At the festival there were also many panel discussions about the dangers of working as a freelancer in war zones and the obligations of news organizations to provide safety equipment and training to both foreign and local photographers.
And a new award for young photojournalists benefited from proceeds from the sale of a photo book by Camille Lepage, who was killed in the Central African Republic in May.
Mr. Francois had met Ms. Lepage at the New York Portfolio Review in April and was taken by her intelligence and determination. He offered to project her photographs from Africa at Perpignan. She wrote her mother two days later telling of the meeting and her excitement of going to the festival to see her work.
Mr. Leroy did project her work from the Central African Republic last week, but Ms. Lepage was not there. On Thursday, Mr. Leroy sat in his office sobbing inconsolably as he talked about her.
“It’s sad because Camille Lepage died for pictures that almost nobody was interested in,” he said. “Nobody in the photography business cared for Camille Lepage before she died. Nobody gave her a guarantee. Nobody gave her insurance. Nobody gave her a helmet or a bulletproof vest. Suddenly she dies, and everyone says she was a talented young photographer.”
“I would love for people to care about young talented photographers before they are killed.”
The festival’s award winners were:
Tyler Hicks of The New York Times won the Visa d’or News prize for his photographs of the Westgate Mall Massacre in Nairobi, Kenya. He won the same prize in 2002 for his coverage of Afghanistan.
Guillaume Herbaut received the Visa d’or Feature award for photographs from Ukraine while Meeri Koutaniemi and Helsingin Sanomat were awarded the Visa d’or Daily Press Award for their report on female genital mutilation in Kenya. Samuel Bollendorff and Olivia Colo won the Web Documentary Award and Viviane Dalles received the Canon Female Photojournalist Award.
Follow @Visapourlimage, @JamesEstrin and @nytimesphoto on Twitter. Lens is also on Facebook.
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Showcase, Anja Niedringhaus, Camille Lepage, Canon Female Photojournalist Award, Edouard Elias, France, Guillaume Herbaut, Helsingin Sanomat, James Foley, JamesEstrin, Jean-François Leroy, Manu Brabo, Maxim Dondyuk, Meeri Koutaniemi, Olivia Colo, Perpignan, Samuel Bollendorff, Steven Sotloff, The Committee to Protect Journalists, Tyler Hicks, Visa Pour L’image festival, Viviane Dalles, Westgate Mall Massacre
Previous Post
Vietnam’s Photographic History, Told by the Winners
Lens
Photographers Facing Danger and Death
BY JAMES ESTRIN
Though the conversation at the Visa Pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, France, often turned to the lack of editorial assignments and support for news photographers, last week’s dominant theme was not the slow death of big media.
It was the violent death of photographers.
On the final evening of the projections, Jean-François Leroy, the festival’s director, called for all the working journalists in the audience to come to the stage to remember the freelance journalist James Foley who was beheaded by his ISIS captors last month after almost two years of captivity.
Many on the stage had worked alongside Mr. Foley in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
SHOWCASE
DESCRIPTION
Coverage from the 2014 Visa Pour l’Image festival featured on Lens.
Vietnam’s Photographic History, Told by the Winners
Revisiting Life and Death in Africa
A Photographer’s Paradise in America
Circus Tent Boxers in Australia’s Outback
Getty Grants for Personal Photo Projects
Standing next to Mr. Leroy, was Manu Brabo, 33, a Pulitzer Prize-winning freelancer who spent more than six weeks in captivity with Mr. Foley in Libya during the spring of 2011. Earlier in the week, Edouard Elias, 24, who was held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria alongside Mr. Foley for over eight months, was at the festival. When his fellow captive, journalist Steven Sotloff, was beheaded last week, there were tears and anger throughout Perpignan. Nonetheless, both Mr. Elias and Mr. Brabo are back photographing internationally.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that there are about 20 journalists still being held captive in Syria and that there have been 36 journalists killed worldwide this year, most of them working in their own countries.
In Perpignan there was an exhibit of images by Anja Niedringhaus, an Associated Press photographer who was killed in April in Afghanistan. Chris Hondros, who was killed in Misurata, Libya, along with Tim Hetherington in 2011, also had an exhibition. In addition there was a show of images from the past winners of the Ian Parry award, named after the young British photographer who died during the revolution in Romania in 1989. And the Rémi Ochlik award, named for the young photographer killed in Syria in 2012, was given to Maxim Dondyuk for his photographs from Ukraine.
Photo
Civilians seeking medical attention after a militia attack near Boali that left 12 people killed and 14 children wounded.
Credit Camille Lepage/Polaris
Civilians seeking medical attention after a militia attack near Boali that left 12 people killed and 14 children wounded.
At the festival there were also many panel discussions about the dangers of working as a freelancer in war zones and the obligations of news organizations to provide safety equipment and training to both foreign and local photographers.
And a new award for young photojournalists benefited from proceeds from the sale of a photo book by Camille Lepage, who was killed in the Central African Republic in May.
Mr. Francois had met Ms. Lepage at the New York Portfolio Review in April and was taken by her intelligence and determination. He offered to project her photographs from Africa at Perpignan. She wrote her mother two days later telling of the meeting and her excitement of going to the festival to see her work.
Mr. Leroy did project her work from the Central African Republic last week, but Ms. Lepage was not there. On Thursday, Mr. Leroy sat in his office sobbing inconsolably as he talked about her.
“It’s sad because Camille Lepage died for pictures that almost nobody was interested in,” he said. “Nobody in the photography business cared for Camille Lepage before she died. Nobody gave her a guarantee. Nobody gave her insurance. Nobody gave her a helmet or a bulletproof vest. Suddenly she dies, and everyone says she was a talented young photographer.”
“I would love for people to care about young talented photographers before they are killed.”
The festival’s award winners were:
Tyler Hicks of The New York Times won the Visa d’or News prize for his photographs of the Westgate Mall Massacre in Nairobi, Kenya. He won the same prize in 2002 for his coverage of Afghanistan.
Guillaume Herbaut received the Visa d’or Feature award for photographs from Ukraine while Meeri Koutaniemi and Helsingin Sanomat were awarded the Visa d’or Daily Press Award for their report on female genital mutilation in Kenya. Samuel Bollendorff and Olivia Colo won the Web Documentary Award and Viviane Dalles received the Canon Female Photojournalist Award.
Follow @Visapourlimage, @JamesEstrin and @nytimesphoto on Twitter. Lens is also on Facebook.
SAVE
SHARE
Showcase, Anja Niedringhaus, Camille Lepage, Canon Female Photojournalist Award, Edouard Elias, France, Guillaume Herbaut, Helsingin Sanomat, James Foley, JamesEstrin, Jean-François Leroy, Manu Brabo, Maxim Dondyuk, Meeri Koutaniemi, Olivia Colo, Perpignan, Samuel Bollendorff, Steven Sotloff, The Committee to Protect Journalists, Tyler Hicks, Visa Pour L’image festival, Viviane Dalles, Westgate Mall Massacre
Previous Post
Vietnam’s Photographic History, Told by the Winners