woensdag, november 07, 2007
Het tweede paar ogen van Jerry Lampen
Reuters-fotojournalist Jerry Lampen brengt op de website van Reuters een ode aan alle fixers en chauffeurs die hem de afgelopen jaren hebben geholpen bij zijn werk in oorlogsgebieden:
As a child I would get really angry when others called me four eyes. I was not cross eyed but did wear glasses. Usually this resulted in a fight with my older sister mediating and bringing a small gift to the victims of these close encounters with a garbage can and/or me. If I had only realised at that time having four eyes, or more precisely, a second pair of eyes is a huge advantage over anyone with only one pair.
On one of my last trips, to Lebanon, I began to realise just how important it is to have a good driver. Some call them “fixer”, others “driver” but to me it became clear that they were my second pair of eyes.
Photographers try to show the world as objectively as possible but do not always manage to do so. We only have one pair of eyes and can only look in one direction at a time and so we do miss beautiful or dramatic pictures. We are lucky to have our drivers, fixers and translators. Sometimes they have been watching us for years and years, they may even in some circumstances be better photographers than us. They take the necessary step back. They have the overview that we sometime don’t have - the framed, well cropped or perfected view on a story or on the world. Often they tell you of the small things happening to your left or right that you can’t see because you are concentrating on the obvious.
They are the ones who carry your extra camera body with a long lens or your backpack with all that extra stuff you need. They are the ones who tell you to put on your flack jacket or take cover when things get hairy. They are the ones who see you cry when you come back from shooting something horrific who put their arm around you, give you some comfort and help you to accept what you have just photographed.
Lees het hele verhaal en bekijk de foto's op Reuters Photographers Blog.
As a child I would get really angry when others called me four eyes. I was not cross eyed but did wear glasses. Usually this resulted in a fight with my older sister mediating and bringing a small gift to the victims of these close encounters with a garbage can and/or me. If I had only realised at that time having four eyes, or more precisely, a second pair of eyes is a huge advantage over anyone with only one pair.
On one of my last trips, to Lebanon, I began to realise just how important it is to have a good driver. Some call them “fixer”, others “driver” but to me it became clear that they were my second pair of eyes.
Photographers try to show the world as objectively as possible but do not always manage to do so. We only have one pair of eyes and can only look in one direction at a time and so we do miss beautiful or dramatic pictures. We are lucky to have our drivers, fixers and translators. Sometimes they have been watching us for years and years, they may even in some circumstances be better photographers than us. They take the necessary step back. They have the overview that we sometime don’t have - the framed, well cropped or perfected view on a story or on the world. Often they tell you of the small things happening to your left or right that you can’t see because you are concentrating on the obvious.
They are the ones who carry your extra camera body with a long lens or your backpack with all that extra stuff you need. They are the ones who tell you to put on your flack jacket or take cover when things get hairy. They are the ones who see you cry when you come back from shooting something horrific who put their arm around you, give you some comfort and help you to accept what you have just photographed.
Lees het hele verhaal en bekijk de foto's op Reuters Photographers Blog.
# posted by Jan-Edward : 19:21
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