Monday, September 12, 2011

A Foghorn assignment leads to awkwardness...

For my first assignment as Foghorn staff photographer, I was told to photograph the 9/11 Memorial Mass at St. Ignatius on Sunday night. Simple, right? I show up with my badge and camera to begin shooting but realize quickly it could be a much more difficult feat than i had expected. The objective my editor gave me was to capture personal reaction to the mass, but with no flash allowed, getting up close and personal with those attending seemed downright inappropriate. I was forced to shoot blurry, impersonal, shots of the speakers and choral group. Doesn't really make for stunning, reactionary photographs, but what choice did I have? Photographing subjects up close under deep emotional stress seemed rude, so I got a nice shot of St Ignatius and called it a night. It didn't occur to me until now that photojournalists have the same, and different, ethical obligations that news reporters do. Respect is key.