Topic 1: Photographer of the Week:

Bernie Boston Worked as a photographer for the Washington Star, the Dayton Daily News and the Los Angeles Times during his career. Prior to his successful photography career, Boston also served 2 years in the Army practicing radiology in a neurosurgical unit and studied at the School of Aviation Medicine for the U.S. Air Force. After his service Boston took on a roll as a professor teaching Photojournalism classes at Northern Virginia Community College as well as Rochester Institute of Technology.

The attributes that most stands out to me about Boston's photos were that he liked to capture things that mattered. He focused on the detail and shot in a black an white. He was drawn to scenarios that symbolized change and real emotion and he captured that through his photography. Bernie Boston's rise to fame began long before the iconic "flower power" photo. He was known for his photography with The White House where he captured an iconic picture of a young man placing a carnation in the barrel of a rifle during an anti-war demonstration on October 22, 1967. "Flower Power" is among many of his greatest photos and it is number 30 of 100 for greatest war photos of all time.


Topic 2: Lynsey Addario:

Reading a book that can take you back to war is often than most, a conflict of emotions. Throughout the prelude and the first chapter, I caught myself bouncing back to my deployment in the Middle East and the familiarity of “war zones”. The book translates the scene and the adrenaline perfectly. I was most impressed at how accurate Lynsey Addario was when it comes to describing the moments she had or the emotions you can feel through her writing when she is describing her doubts or fears, all while in this war zone. In the first few pages, she describes an all too familiar layout of the type of place she is at. She describes the people, the scenery, the emotion from the rebels and the emotion of her and her colleagues. Addario’s work captures the realness of these areas and what war destroyed, it’s amazing how perfectly she did that.

I think the lessons that can be applied, based on the learnings of Lynsey Addario, are always listen to your instinct. There were a few moments where she knew she needed to leave but she seemed conflicted because “someone” needed to continue the work and then went to the opposite emotions and questioned why she was even in this situation. Every picture is important no matter how quick you take it or how long you ponder on taking it, every picture does matter. Addario said “French journalist, in general, are known for being fearless and crazy. The joke was that if a French journalist left a combat zone before you, you were screwed… (Laurent Van Der Stockt) he turned to me and said, “we’re leaving”.” That quote happens to be my favorite so far because not only does it describe how brave some of these journalists have been portrayed to be, but it showcases the ambiance of this war and how dangerous it was to be there and even the most “brave” photographers have their limits.

There are a few photos that stood out to me, but my favorite has to be of the three men standing in the street while the entire background of the photo showcases run down vehicles and “junk” complied on the side of the road. This picture depicts the results of war and what seemed to be a busy street is now filled with deserted items and people who don’t know how to move forward, like they are stuck in a place they used to know. It is both tragic and emotional because they used to live in a place that was full of life and because of war, it tore their country apart but also the way of life as the used to know it.