Lynsey Addario Book Report

    Lynsey Addario’s “It’s What I Do” is a very compelling and gripping life story. It details the struggles of not only photojournalism, but of a woman in the industry and as a woman in the world.

    One of the lines in Lynsey Addario’s book that stands out the most to me is when she's told to move seats on her flight to Turkey. The book states “... a male Afghan flight attendant came over and stirred me from my solitude: “‘Madam. You Cannot sit here. This is an exit row.’ ‘So?’ ‘Women cannot sit by the exit door. If there is a flight emergency, a woman wouldn’t be capable of opening the exit door.’ I got up, and as I moved to my new seat I watched the attendant usher over a frail old man with a white beard, hunched with osteoporosis, to sit by the exit door.” This quote stood out to me because it is a moment where Lynsey is really down and exhausted due to the battle she just went through on the front lines, watching soldiers she knew personally die. She has spent her whole career fighting to prove that her being a woman doesn’t hold her back, and in a low moment for her, the stereotypes put in place against women come back to add insult to injury and kick her while she’s down.

    Her drive to capture photos in perilous situations, endangering her own safety, in order to provide the story she wants is shown several times throughout the story. I personally think her drive to capture these photos is respectable and commendable, but I do not share her thinking at all. I don’t believe putting your life on the line for photos and a story is worth it, but I can respect the journalist that do this work. I think the in-depth stories that these journalists capture, giving people a view into the parts of the world we never see, is extremely valuable for society.This mindset Lynsey displays has given me some guidance on how I should approach my photography. Her fearlessness is a trait I try to add into my own photography, as I tend to hold back on opportunities for good photos due to my own discomfort.

    One of the photos Lynsey Addario was able to capture was of a young, 18 year old woman who was going through labor working to get to a hospital with her husband. I like this photo a lot due to the vast expansive landscape and sky she was able to capture, and how she was able to make those fit naturally in with her subjects and not take away from one or the other. Another photo I like a lot is in chapter 5 with the title “Kurdish peshmerga fire rockets at Ansar al-Islam territory near Halabja, northern Iraq, March 30, 2003.” This photo shares similarities in its ability to capture landscape and sky along with its subject, but it also showcases just how embedded in these conflicts journalists are to be able to witness rockets getting fired into enemy territory. One more photo I like is the first photo in chapter 7. It does not have a description or listed title in the chapter. It does similar practices to the other photos with capturing landscape and subject, but this one also plays with lighting. The clouds blocking out the sun and the fire illuminating the woman's face give this photo a lot of strength.

    This book is full of stunning photos and compelling stories involving them. I would definitely recommend this book to others, as Lynsey writes her life story in a compelling and very open way. You really get to see into the emotions and thoughts that fill her mind in certain moments, and how they influence her decisions. It does a great job of grabbing your attention and not letting go.

Noor Nisa, about 18 years old and pregnant, being taken to the hospital by her husband, which is a 4 hour drive away from their home village of Badakhshan Province, due to her water breaking.

Source:

https://www.lynseyaddario.com/afghanistan (for the photo)