Interviewer- Ashley Alvarado
Interviewee- Tim Hetherington
Ashley-
Hi how are you doing today? Can you tell me a little about your history into
photojournalism?
Tim-
I am doing great today thank you. Well as a child I was a curious kid always trying
to find new experiences, so I think that is why my love for photojournalism is
so strong. But I actually first graduated from Oxford in 1992 with a degree in classics and English, quite different from photojournalism, right? After
graduating I went to India for two years and I had an experience that I could
never even explain, it was great. Now when I first realized I wanted to change my
career to photojournalism, was when I went with a friend to watch a film, that film expressed everything that I felt inside that I couldn’t express in words,
and from that moment on I knew a change was going to be made. So, I went to
Cardiff University and graduated in 1997 with a degree in photojournalism. Immediately
after graduating I began work.
Ashley-
Wow what an experience. Now you said you began working right after graduating
can you tell me a little about the places you’ve worked?
Tim-
So after I graduated I actually got a job from the school’s bulletin board for
a paper called the Big Issue, which was sold by homeless people. I also worked
for the Independent Newspaper. Then I decided I wanted to branch out into some
international coverage, I was just always so committed to showing my audience
what fascinated me. So, my first assignment was in 1999, where I worked for Vanity Fair, in West Africa. I ended up spending eight years there exploring
consequences of conflict and documenting it. Vanity Fair were also the ones who
partnered me up with Sebastian Junger. My interest in trying to understand the
causes of violence brought me all around the world. My next big assignment was
in Afghanistan, for one year studying the American wars and later I went to
Libya (unfortunately this was where Tim was killed on April 20th,
2011).
Ashley-
So you’ve had your fair share of traveling I see. Can you tell me a little
about the era you work in and the technology you use to photograph and document?
Tim-
As I said I graduated with my degree in photojournalism in 1997, so I have a
little more of an advantage and more choices than past photojournalists. I work
in a time that there’s been so much conflict, which gives me a ton of stories
to cover. I began covering war in medium format, black and white was a cliché view of Africa, so I decided to change to color. I was trying to work in metaphors
with color and medium format was the best way to do that. Even though it was a
little complicated I took the challenge to give my audience a better image. For still images I shot with the 5D, but I usually shot with 28-70, sometimes a 135 prime. For documenting I shot on a Sony Z1.
Ashley-
What motivates you as a photojournalist?
Tim-
If I start saying that it came out of desire to change the world, that’s very suspect. My motivation comes from a place of personal curiosity. I just love
creative freedom I don’t like that sense of authority, it’s fun. My journey
with photojournalism is a journey about my own identity. My examinations of young men and violence was also me trying to understand my own fascination with violence. I use my work to build bridges between me and my audience. Simply witnessing
events is never good enough for me, I need to experience the lives of my
subjects, it makes my work more powerful.
Ashley-
I like how you created your work based on your own fascinations, I’m sure that
inspires so many people. Have you ever encountered any ethical dilemmas during
your career? Also, do you have any biases when photographing or documenting?
Tim-
I always have to ask myself what I need to shoot or film or even edit images in
a way that stays true to my subjects. My assignments with Sebastian and the fact that we kept going back for more gave us so much credibility. This allowed
us to give our audience exactly what they wanted by staying true to them. I always
try my best to remain unbiased because I never want my audience or subjects to
think I am trying to deceive them or portray them in a certain way. I never wanted to be a stereotyped photographer” and I think that is what makes my work
so different.
Photo by Tim Hetherington
Image Source: http://www.nesta.org.uk/tim-hetherington
The first principle I am using to describe this image is “rule of
thirds.” Hetherington avoided placing the subjects in the middle of the image
and if the photograph were to be divided into thirds, they would be placed on
the outer right third. I believe he did this to put emphasis on the ships in
the background, so we could see what these young boys were playing around. This
brings me to the next principle, “background compliments or detracts from
composition.” The ships in the background help to complete the picture, as I said
so we can see these war ships in the background of what these boys are using as
a playground. The last principle is “is the image black & white or color.” This
image was taken in a time where the color of the image was the choice of the
photographer, I believe he chose black and white because it emphasizes the
condition of these boys during that time.
Photo by Tim Hetherington
Image Source: http://www.famousphotographers.net/tim-hetherington
The first principle I chose is “quality of light.” The
lighting of the image is directly on this exhausted soldier, I believe this
helped to really show how tired this soldier really is. Next, I’m going to use
is, “contrast appropriate.” The contrast of this image is high, there are very
bright and dark areas as I said I believe this was done to show that this image
was focused on the soldier. The last principle used it, “obvious main subject,
about 1/3 to 2/3 of image area.” Seeing as he is the only one in this image and
he covers most of the image the main subject is obvious.
Photo by Tim Hetherington
Image Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21041645
The first principle I chose
is, “in or out of focus.” The image is sharp, I believe this connects to the
overall feeling of such a young boy with a riffle in his hand, it’s unfair. Next
is, “depth of field,” the area of focus is right on the young boy. This helps
to direct the viewers’ attention solely on him. Lastly, is “texture,” the
texture of this image is quite rough. I believe this helps to create the
feeling of the rough like this young boy is living.
Photo by Tim Hetherington
The first principle I chose
is “subject’s expression.” The subject doesn’t look relaxed, he looks very
tense ready to shoot his riffle. His body language does fit his serious face. The
next principle is, “keep it simple,” this image is very simple. The background is
mostly blurred out and you can only see one guy in the background, which helps
us to focus on the seriousness of the young boy. Lastly is, “what feelings does
the image create,” this image makes me sad as mother to a young boy myself. I could
never imagine my son being this young fighting in war, so to me this photo is
very upsetting.
Impact & Viewpoints
Unfortunately,
Tim Hetherington’s life was cut short and “he died at the age of forty, whilein Liberia, on April 20, 2011.” Due to his life being cut short he never really
lived to see the impact of many of his images. He was a very brave and courageous
man who used his images and traveling as a journey of self-discovery. His
partner Sebastian Junger said, “Tim was one of the most courageous andprincipled journalists I have ever known. The good that he accomplished—bothwith his camera, and simply as a concerned person in some of the mostdevastated countries in the world—cannot be measured.” This explanation of him
just explains how good of a man Hetherington was and how highly people thought
of him.
Your Major at AIC
I am
a nursing student. As you would look at nursing and photojournalism you would
think they are total opposite careers, but if you think about it there are a
lot of the same morals and beliefs. Hetherington who didn’t just photograph
people he truly respected his subjects and their life. That is just as in
nursing we must respect our patients no matter what kind of background they
come from. He also worked to show people there needs to be change in the world,
as nurses work to educate our patients on the importance of making change in
their health to create a healthier world.
In Memory of Tim Hetherington
Image Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21041645
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