Addario book report

Nico Wolff

5/28/19

Book report

My favorite moment in the book about Lynsey Addario is when she was shooting some of the troops in Afghanistan but then ambushed by the Taliban. She talked about how them losing their life there was a crazy experience. She talked about how the soldiers were guys that she had gotten comfortable with. Although this helped her photograph them, it also made it incredibly difficult for her to accept that some of them lost their lives.
The main thing that distinguishes her from other photographers is the fact that she would submerse herself within a culture and ultimately become a fly on the wall like no other. Her photographs come from the perspective of someone who’s living through these events, making it all the more personal and intimate compared to other photographers.
I understand wanting to accomplish meaningful work in your lifetime, but I think Addario takes it too far and perhaps has some sort of weird desire to accomplish something remarkable. It’s hard for me to rationalize her actions without thinking she is a little bit crazy, as regardless of how great her photographs are and meaningful her work is, dying over it and losing family makes it not worth it. I’d honestly compare her to one of those adrenaline junkies that hang off the sides of buildings, risking their life for what ultimately just ends up being a great picture.
In terms of her work relating to me when I take my photos, I can’t relate very much. I think becoming a fly on the wall and learning to take photos without bothering anyone was a valuable skill, but I didn’t have to do anything serious compared to her.

This was my favorite picture from the book, I think it really puts into perspective what being a soldier is like. Soldiers come back from war and often times have ptsd and struggle with rationalizing some of their experiences. This photo sums up why, to see and live through such a negative scene can potentially damage them mentally for years after the fact. But it also reaffirms my ideas of Addario being a bit crazy, when I look at this photo it’s gives me the feeling that I should never enter a place like that, especially not willingly, yet she is there for the sake of a photo. It takes a crazy person to leave their comfortable home here in the United States for an attempt at living through potentially traumatic experiences so she can push forward her career as a photojournalist.
I would recommend this book to someone else, not for the purpose of marveling at the blasphemy that Addario committed, but for the sake of appreciating a field of work that sometimes is overlooked. At one point I didn’t appreciate the person behind the camera, not thinking about what they potentially had to go through to capture that image and facilitate my understanding of real world events. But I guess that’s what photojournalism is all about, she really epitomizes making sacrifice so people can get the truth of an event, her work made me appreciate photojournalism as not only a job; but as service to our country.