It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War - Review

    It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War is a spectacular book by photojournalist Lynsey Addario. I would describe this book as a page-turner. It’s a cliche term that appears as if I am exaggerating the quality of the storytelling; but it really was a great book that had me wanting to read the next chapter, paragraph, and sentence. 

    One story that I stayed up late to read is about Addario’s trip with her friend and fellow photographer, Elizabeth Rubin, to the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan where the battle was taking place. Rubin was three months pregnant and going into an insanely dangerous warzone. The story was incredibly compelling, interesting, intense, and entertaining. Lynsey’s telling of the story perfectly captures her emotions and throws them onto the reader. The Korengal Valley experienced 70 percent of the bombs dropped in Afghanistan. Rubin was three months pregnant and had to hide that fact. Addario had to lie for her friend as well so that they might not get kicked out of their embed. There were no rules stating that a pregnant journalist can’t go on an embed, but the military had probably not ever run into such an issue. The story began slowly but picked up quickly. Lynsey and Elizabeth traveled to a U.S. military base, where they got access to the Tactical Operations Command center to view the live feeds of attacks in the warzone. The access was limited due to the fact that they were not allowed to capture the screens in focus. They were being monitored the entire time they shot. When an officer was going through Addario’s photos with her, she was pressed about Rubin’s pregnancy. Addario lied to the U.S. military to protect her friend, informing them that Rubin was not pregnant. Shortly after moving to another military base, Rubin slipped and fell, a possibly dangerous outcome for a pregnant woman. Addario traveled back home for a few weeks, constantly receiving updates from Rubin about the war.

    When Addario returned to the Korengal Valley, she traveled on a narrow path from village to village. It was a long journey that required them to follow all military orders at the drop of a hat, typically instructing them to run or get on the ground. The weeks consisted of long days filled with fear and carrying heavy equipment. Fortunately, when the battle came, the photojournalists decided to stay back with the overwatch team that would come in behind the First and Second Platoons that would be on the front line. One night, the military and photographers got into Black Hawk helicopters and headed for the mountains. The Taliban spotted the helicopters and started advancing. One morning, Addario decided to sneak away from the military to use the restroom. While preparing, bullets started flying past her. She hid behind a log, waiting for the battle to reach a lull. A soldier had been hit by a bullet and severely injured. This goes to show how close she was to death. Shortly after, the military had to get a fellow soldier who had been killed. She had the courage to ask for permission to photograph the dead soldier in such an intense moment that affected everybody. That night, she decided that she was going to return home. 

In these photos, you can see the emotion in the faces of the soldiers, you can understand the emotion that they are feeling. But it also shows that the emotions they are experiencing are so much stronger than that of a regular civilian. The photos are right in the action, up close and personal, showing the massive amounts of blood the soldiers lost from their injuries. I would say that this is one of her trademarks. There are a couple of photos in the book that displays the blood lost. One captures a soldier receiving care from another soldier, his uniform nearly covered in blood. Another photo shows a soldier being propped up by two fighters helping him walk. He is wounded and appears to be exhausted beyond measure.

These photos captured by Addario are extremely important for the world to see. Although it is a difficult job to accomplish in terms of physicality, skill, and bravery, it must be done. War photos convey the most extreme emotions that humans can experience. It can show the humanity or lack thereof, depending on the situation.

In this book, she shows her care for other people by respecting their customs, even if she didn’t agree with them. She always jumped into the action. She always wanted to get a little bit closer to the subject. Addario’s style inspired me this term to strive for more. I didn’t act on it much. I wish had done more, but I definitely extended beyond my comfort zone and tried for more, which is something that I hoped I would accomplish this term. My interviewing skills did improve a fair amount this term, something that I can credit Addario for. It is best to make your subjects comfortable with your work. I started to act more like a human, making small talk with my subjects, instead of becoming a robot that just asked questions.

One of my favorite photos is at the top of chapter 11. It is an insane photo that exhibits a few children playing near a dilapidated car that is actively burning at dusk. In the background are skyscrapers of Benghazi in Libya. The lighting in this photo is perfect. You can see everything clearly and understand the situation. It does really well at communicating the insanity that was taking place as an uprising occurred, even if you don’t see any people rioting.

(Source: http://lynseyaddario.com/afghanistan-pakistan-and-iraq/korengal-valley/1afghan070905_03846/)

This photo is another great photo because it tells a great story. You can see a man who appears to be a medic, taking care of a wounded soldier. He appears to be shocked or possibly apprehensive. A soldier stands in the foreground, seemingly concerned for the wounded soldier on the cot. Addario’s extended caption gives a spectacular overall short story around the photo.

While traveling to Islamabad, Addario was involved in a car accident. Soon after, she was transported to a hospital. Addario wrote, “I wanted to file a selection of images from my hospital bed and get them published in the paper, as if somehow this horrific day would have been justified by our work.” Even after being injured in a car accident and slipping in and out of lucidity in a hospital bed, she pushed to get her work done. She really put the story before herself, caring about the pictures being published instead of making sure she was healthy. This shows the insane amount of work she puts into telling the story that she feels needs to be heard.

The stories told in this book are important and must be told. Lynsey told them in an amazing fashion that really grips the reader and pulls them into the book. Even if the stories are older, she got them out as quickly as possible while she was experiencing them. I think everybody needs to be made aware of these vital stories and would recommend this book to everyone, not just those who are interested in photojournalism.