Lindsay Addario's book, It's What I Do

- For a lot of people the word photographer conjures images of a person on assignment documenting a place or an event, in other words, for a lot of people the word photographer means photojournalist. Most photographers, of course, are not photojournalists and fewer still are conflict or war photographers, and with good reason. If getting a good photo is hard under normal circumstances it's especially difficult when someone is shooting bullets at you. Lynsey Addario is a conflict photographer and she's very good at her job. Good enough to have won a MacArthur genius fellowship and innumerable other awards.

Widely published, you have likely seen some of her images, and you can now read her memoir, It's What I Do, A Photographer's Life of Love and War, which was published in 2015. More than just a book for photographers, It's What I Do is an exciting story that's very well told. For those interested in photography it provides an in-depth look at how Addario found her way into photojournalism, and particularly conflict reporting. Even if you have no interest in pursuing this type of work getting a look at the methodology and thought process of another photographer is never a bad idea.

Addario starts the book in Libya in March of 2011 at the beginning of the Arab spring. "I had been a conflict photographer for more than 10 years "and had covered war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, "the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Lebanon. "I had never seen anything as scary as Libya. "The photographer Robert Capa once said, "'If your pictures aren't good enough, "you are not close enough.' "In Libya if you weren't close enough "there was nothing to photograph. "And once you got close enough "you were in the line of fire.

"That week I watched some of the best "photojournalists in the business, "veterans of Chechnya and Afghanistan and Bosnia, "leave almost immediately after those first bombs fell. "'It's not worth it', they said. "There were several moments when I too thought to myself, "this is insane, what am I doing? "But there were other days when I felt "that familiar exhilaration when I thought, "I am actually watching an uprising unfold, "I am watching these people fighting to the death "for their freedom, I am documenting the fate of a society "that has been oppressed for decades. "Until you get injured, or shot, or kidnapped "you believe you are invincible "and it had been a few years "since anything had happened to me." Things do happen to her, including two kidnappings, but she carefully builds the story, so that you get to know her, her past, and her progression into the profession of photojournalism.

She effectively brings you into the world she inhabits and by doing this she lends a particular flavor to the intense events that she experiences. She presents these events not as things that happen to her, but rather simply as the sad reality of life in the parts of the world that she's journeying through. And as bad as things are for her, at least she knows she can leave. "Ajdabiya was a prosperous, low-slung, North African city "of peach, yellow, and tan cement buildings "with thick-walled balconies "and vibrant storefront signs in painted Arabic.

"The few civilians on the streets were fleeing. "They ran with conviction, "carrying their belongings atop their heads. "An endless stream of cars sped past us "in the opposite direction. "Families had crammed into every inch "of pickup trucks and four-door sedans, "blankets and clothes packed haphazardly "into rear windows spilled out the back. "Some families crouched under tarps. "It was the first time I actually saw women and children "in the town of Ajdabiya. "In a conservative society like Libya's "women often stayed indoors. "I was seeing them outside their homes now "only because they were leaving, "heading east as the fighting "pushed into the city from the west." There's a clarity to her vision as situations get more intense.

Though she never denies being afraid and is often plainly in fight or flight mode, in these intense circumstances she never loses her ability to stay attuned to the reality of those around her. Attuned enough that she can convey their reality with great effect. Now one could argue that this is benefit of hindsight and simply the way that she's choosing to tell the story now, except that there are these photos, and this book is full of them, they prove that in the moment she really was empathizing and feeling the tragic humanity of the situation going on around her, and she was doing that under great duress.

That ability more than courage under fire is what makes her such an effective war photographer. And that's one thing that I think is fascinating about this book. It allows you to feel the emotional state that is required by a conflict photographer. Story is not all refugees and flying bullets, Addario starts in her childhood and works quickly into her career as a journalist. These sections are interesting for anyone who's ever wondered how somebody finds their way to such a career. And she does a good job of demonstrating the type of drive and dedication that is required to advance in the field.

A couple of friends have read the book and said that they thought her voice was a little whiny, but I never got that feeling. She is shockingly honest and earnest and is plainly a very sensitive person. Perhaps some of that sometimes reads as over-sensitive and so can sound whiny, but again, I never felt that way. What's more, it's obvious that that sensitivity is a critical factor in her success. For those looking for details of photographic process you won't find any of that here, there's no discussion of gear or photographic theory of any kind, but there are plenty of places you can get that information.

What Addario offers is a look into the emotions, mindset, and logistical process of great photojournalism and that is not something you can learn in a class or school. If you're uncomfortable with graphic violence or depressed by war stories, don't worry, there are no graphic details in this book. As for depressing war stories I found the overall atmosphere of this book to be more melancholy than tragic. Addario does a great job of conveying the complexity and confusion of life in a conflict zone. For those of us who sit here in safety where it can be easy to assume that there are simple black and white solutions to foreign policy, her view of the world is, I believe, a very important perspective to hear.

A few years ago there was that book and movie about the guy who got his arm stuck under a boulder out in the desert and so he had to cut his own arm off with a spork or something like that, and when we hear those kinds of stories we can't help buy wonder what we would do in the same situation. You will probably find yourself asking those kinds of questions here and there in this book, but for many people the compelling question is not what would I do in that situation? But why would someone put themselves in that situation in the first place? Personally, I get frustrated with hearing how quickly some people write off journalists and other people who work in conflict zones as adrenaline junkies.

I think it's a fear response that people have. By casting such people as drug addicts we can ignore the important work that's being done by them. In one of my favorite parts of the book Addario addresses this very question. "Journalists can sound grandiose "when they talk about their profession. "Some of us are adrenaline junkies, "some of us are escapists, "some of us do wreak our personal lives "and hurt those who love us the most. "This work can destroy people. "I have seen so many friends and colleagues "become unrecognizable from trauma, "short tempered, sleepless, and alienated from friends, "but after years of witnessing "so much suffering in the world "we find it hard to acknowledge that lucky, free, "prosperous people like us might be suffering too.

"We feel more comfortable in the darkest places "than we do back at home "where life seems too simple and easy. "We don't listen to that inner voice "that says it's time to take a break "from documenting other people's lives "and start building our own. "Under it all however are the things that sustain us "and bring us together. "The privilege of witnessing things that others do not, "an idealistic belief that a photograph "might affect people's souls, "the thrill of creating art "and contributing to the world's database of knowledge. "When I return home and rationally consider the risks "the choices are difficult, "but when I am doing my work I am alive and I am me.

"It's what I do. "I am sure there are other versions of happiness, "but this one is mine." Sometimes it can be hard to find motivation as a photographer. Addario's book is not only a fantastic story, an interesting look into a difficult profession, and an important perspective on important world events, it's also a nice reminder that you don't need a reason to enjoy photography, or anything else for that matter. It's fine to go out and shoot in whatever situation you want simply because it makes you happy. And if you find yourself lacking the time to shoot then reading Lynsey Addario's It's What I Do, A Photographer's Life of Love and War is a great way to get in a little vicarious photography.