I never met Michel du Cille! I know of him from his work and advocacy for great photojournalism. He loved telling stories so much he did what few people do; he stepped back from a great job as an editor and director of photography to go back out and sweat, cry, put himself in fear and danger in order to shed a light on an ill world in hopes his work (through his eye, his temperament and heart) will make it better.
He died of a heart attack this week in a foreign land on assignment doing noble work! "This is what we do." apparently was one of his phrases.
It is as completely complex as that. "It's what we do." Yes, it sounds like its an easy way of explaining what a photographer does, and it is, but the true meaning of these words is anything but easy or simple.
'This is what we do' means the same as the great line by James Nachtwey 'if not us, then who?"
Photographers are born to observe in a way few others do. Not just with eyes and a firm understanding of the equipment, but with a heart that seeks to find the essence of a situation and organize it into a frame in such away that others take note, perhaps feel a little something and gain knowledge they didn't have before.
Great photographers do this consistently and no matter what the story is. It can be as small as a softball game where friends share a moment - to the eyes of Mother Theresa in a portrait that helps us understand her depth - to a war photo that shows us that its not some glory heroic calling, but a job done people thrust into an unthinkable situation that they now must act succinctly with great courage in order to survive.
A photographer does what he or she does because it has to be done if we are to understand ourselves and our world. And it should be done very well so that that understanding reaches more people by standing out and not lost in the minutia of the endless stream of un thought out images captured by billions of people each day just pointing and clicking.
We lost an important story teller this week. We lose them all the time. Fortunately there are enough people picking up on the lessons of these folks and carrying on the work. Losing Michel du Cille and Chris Hondros a few years ago are hard to take because they had so much more to give and where in the midst of doing great work. And there are others, dozens each year who put themselves in dangerous situations and die in foreign lands alone and even near home while doing noble work, informing us - showing us who the human race is today.
I saw this post above on Facebook and many great photographers from around the world are making this their profile picture tonight. I elected to write a little about it instead, its my way of trying to understand and perhaps pay a little tiny tribute to someone I've never met. Photographers seldom become famous, their images might and a few rare ones become known outside photographic circles by name, but the good ones don't do the work to become famous, It's just what they do.
He died of a heart attack this week in a foreign land on assignment doing noble work! "This is what we do." apparently was one of his phrases.
It is as completely complex as that. "It's what we do." Yes, it sounds like its an easy way of explaining what a photographer does, and it is, but the true meaning of these words is anything but easy or simple.
'This is what we do' means the same as the great line by James Nachtwey 'if not us, then who?"
Photographers are born to observe in a way few others do. Not just with eyes and a firm understanding of the equipment, but with a heart that seeks to find the essence of a situation and organize it into a frame in such away that others take note, perhaps feel a little something and gain knowledge they didn't have before.
Great photographers do this consistently and no matter what the story is. It can be as small as a softball game where friends share a moment - to the eyes of Mother Theresa in a portrait that helps us understand her depth - to a war photo that shows us that its not some glory heroic calling, but a job done people thrust into an unthinkable situation that they now must act succinctly with great courage in order to survive.
A photographer does what he or she does because it has to be done if we are to understand ourselves and our world. And it should be done very well so that that understanding reaches more people by standing out and not lost in the minutia of the endless stream of un thought out images captured by billions of people each day just pointing and clicking.
We lost an important story teller this week. We lose them all the time. Fortunately there are enough people picking up on the lessons of these folks and carrying on the work. Losing Michel du Cille and Chris Hondros a few years ago are hard to take because they had so much more to give and where in the midst of doing great work. And there are others, dozens each year who put themselves in dangerous situations and die in foreign lands alone and even near home while doing noble work, informing us - showing us who the human race is today.
I saw this post above on Facebook and many great photographers from around the world are making this their profile picture tonight. I elected to write a little about it instead, its my way of trying to understand and perhaps pay a little tiny tribute to someone I've never met. Photographers seldom become famous, their images might and a few rare ones become known outside photographic circles by name, but the good ones don't do the work to become famous, It's just what they do.