CityView Magazine

& FEATURE Dodging Burning An Army photojournalist shares lessons learned in combat A By Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod 1BCT, 82nd ABN DIV PAO t the schoolhouse for Army photojournalism, instructors tell new soldiers they���re in luck ��� they landed the best job in the Army. It���s true. After four years on the job, with tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan, that is exactly how I describe it. Like any job, it is what one makes of it, but unlike many jobs, the daily rewards of ���telling the soldier���s story��� can be both immediate and profound ��� a photo of soldiers in combat is picked up by a national media outlet, resulting in a slew of ���attaboys,��� and an unexpected morale boost for troops on the ground; parents thrill to see their deployed daughter in a brigade Facebook post; the final picture of a son lost in battle is received by his grieving family, a priceless photo if there ever was one. In a combat environment, the challenges for military photographers are many ��� constant and dangerous travel, gaining quick entry into tight-knit infantry units, keeping the ubiquitous, abrasive desert dust out of sensitive camera bodies and off expensive lenses, and of course, getting ���the shot��� without getting shot. After a few hundred thousand frames, I have learned a few things about photographing paratroopers: Telling a story in a photo is always about showing relationships, whether the relationship is between two soldiers or two enemies; a relationship with the landscape, with equipment or even with one���s self. A bullet striking dirt behind a running soldier���s foot says that he is fast and perhaps lucky. The brief smile of a sick Afghan baby says the medic is good at her job. A child���s handprint in the mud wall of a compound being searched by soldiers speaks of a shared humanity. If a photo requires a caption, it doesn���t tell a story. Photos either work ��� or not. 50 | January/February ��� 2013

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