Gorilla Murders

It’s 11:10pm in DC and I just got back to my apartment from the premiere screening of Gorilla Murders at the National Geographic Society. Guests squeezed in to the remaining few seats as National Geographic Editor-in-Chief Chris Johns opened the proceedings.

The film takes a fascinating look not only at the plight of the few remaining mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also at the root cause for the decline of these magnificent species. The co-existence of people and gorillas is causing conflict, and the gorillas are losing. Desperate for fuel to cook food, ancient forests are being decimated and turned in to charcoal which can be used for heating. Armed forces occupy the Virunga National Park where they chop down large swathes of forest and turn it in to charcoal. A small force of park rangers do their best to resist those forces but 110 of them have been killed and more are thought to be targeted.

Gorilla Murders looks at the likely cause of the “execution” of seven gorillas in 2007, captured, heartbreakingly, in still images by South African photojournalist Brent Stirton, who answered panel questions after the film had been shown.

Gorilla Murders will be shown on the National Geographic Channel on July 1, 2008, and released outside the US on July 13.

This is a must see for any photojournalist who has challenged him/herself with the commitment to make a difference. The deeper message is the co-existence of humans and gorillas, as well as the underlying greed of those who want to generate income no matter the cost.

Thanks to A. Vitale for the invitation!

Newseum Update

As I had yet another weekend in DC, I decided to head back to spend some quality time at the Newseum.

Located on Pennsylvania Avenue, within view of the Capitol Building and right next door to the Canadian Embassy, the Newseum is a new museum about news. It is FULL of interactive exhibits that allow you to sit at various computer screens and see/learn more about the major stories and events that shaped the news over the last several decades. The computer screens employ very good touch-screens and even some iPhone-esque features such as zooming and dragging with your finger on the screen.

As well as a myriad of computer screens covering subjects as diverse as ethics in news to “you can play rookie reporter”, there are small movie theaters showing short films about various aspects of the news. Some of these mini theaters are no more than booths with a few bench-type seats. Others are a little larger including one that features interviews with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers including the late Eddie Adams.

Original sections of the Berlin Wall are on display as is a part of the actual aerial from the top of one of the New York World Trade Center buildings that was brought down on 9/11/2001. A mock TV studio allows you to sit in a news-style set and you can even practice reading a teleprompter into a television camera.

In the basement you will find a good food court (although the hours are a little short), more theaters, each showing a program of different films about various aspects of news reporting, including sports journalism, and an exhibit space that, during my visit, featured FBI cases captured by the media, including some original artifacts such as the Unabomber’s garden shed and a 50 caliber gun from the Waco take-down in Texas.

On one level is a large map of the world that color codes those countries where there is a free press, those with a semi-free press (go figure) and those with no free press. The United States is colored green for a free press. Some may argue.

On the same level is a memorial to journalists who have been killed in the line of duty. Sadly, there is space for more photographs and more engraved names on the walls that list/show the journalist’s details. The memorial is rededicated every year to include the details of the latest journalists who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Annoyingly, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Public, with their extended guts, sheet white legs and baseball hats could not get through this area fast enough, looking for the next round of touch-screen fun…

Also annoyingly, the gift shops are full of the usual crap. I wanted to get a little something for myself and something for my wife. I picked up postcards and t-shirts emblazoned with “Trust Me I’m A Reporter” or “Not Tonight, Darling, I’m On Deadline”. And I put them all back. VERY overpriced. Eventually I whittled my selection down to a baseball cap with the phrase “Got Freedom”. But at $16.99 plus tax I just couldn’t bring myself to waste my money.

Is the Newseum worth $20. I think so, yes. You can spend a lot of time there and learn a lot. There is even a section on journalism ethics that should be mandatory for everybody in our profession. Some of the newsreel-like movies do get a little repetitive. Photo credits are not always displayed. Kids seem to love playing with the screens because the technology is something new, not because of what the screens actually show. And the tourist attitude seems to be more in wonder of this shrine-like connection with major news organizations. All that aside, it’s good to connect. The photographs and interviews, the memorial, the review of major stories over the past several years, brought back memories. That is where I saw value. Others may see it differently.

Do I recommend it? Yes, with reservations. But those reservations are based on personal preference. If you are going, avoid weekends and peak seasons if you can.

Why Should Anybody Let You Photograph Them?

I get emails from photographers at all stages of their careers, from those who are considering a move in to photojournalism from another career, and those who are already shooting for a newspaper or magazine looking for guidance on how to grow their career, to those who are in school, testing the waters in different fields of photography. I am always happy to hear from you all and I hope that my responses, and this blog, offers you some value.

Here is a recent response to a photojournalist in India:

Question:

Hi Mike,

Recently I had some interesting experiences. Let me explain to you
with two examples. In the first case I went to an NGO here who works
with AIDS afflicted people and transgenders. Actually they asked me to
submit a portfolio CD with them some time back. But when I went to
meet them in their office the first question I faced is whether I am
affiliated to any organization or its an independent effort. I told
them mine is an independent effort and it seems to take away all the
interest from their voice.

In the second case I called up this chairperson of a migrant Nepalese
organization since I am interested in doing an ethnographic study of
different communities living in my city. I requested him to allow me
10mins so that I can explain my ideas to him face-to-face. He asked me
whether its some government initiative or from some social
organization. As I told him that its an independent effort he promptly
asked me what would be their gain and mine. I explained to him that
its something am interested in and it will help to make the people
from mainstream society aware of theirs neighbours and thus will help
building mutual understanding. But he seemed to lose interest in my
project and asked me to call him a month later. I think he will again
push it back for a month if I call him up after a month.

And this is very confusing and frustrating. It seems if I am
affiliated to some organization, say a news service or some photo
agency, then I would be more acceptable to them. Probably they are
thinking that I will not be able to give them exposure that they need
as I am working independently.

What should I do? Can you please give me some suggestions regarding
agencies? whom to approach? how to approach? If you feel I have some
limitations that will not allow me to work in this mode please let me
know how to overcome it.

I am looking forward to your suggestions.

Thanks and regards

name withheld for privacy purposes

Answer:

Yes, it is frustrating but you already nailed the reason. They all want to
benefit in some way and I don’t blame them. Anything you do, anything that
you propose, has to have an “upside” for the involved party (the subject).

If they are not getting anything out of it (or nothing tangible or
confirmed) then they will think that they are giving you time to grow your
career, possibly get sales from your work, and they will not benefit in any
way. It’s a selfish society but, as I said, this is a basic tenet of sales
and marketing.

Always be thinking – what’s in it for them?

So, to the agency side. I would think that given your location, you should
not find it too difficult to find an agency to represent you. They normally
work on a 50:50 split on any proceeds from sales of your work. This may
seem excessive but if you consider that they are doing all the marketing,
all the contact with newspapers, magazines, TV networks etc, then you will
find it’s worth 50%. They will normally ask for a three year commitment for
any photographs you submit to them. That means that any photographs that
you file with an agency will be exclusively theirs to sell for that period.
After that time, should you choose to do so, you can ask them for the
photographs back (or ask them to delete them if they are digital files which
they most likely will be) and take your photographs to a different agency.
It’s up to you.
Now, for agencies that might be interested in working with you, here are a
few that you should try:

www.ZUMAPress.com (in California)
www.WorldPictureNetwork.com (in New York)
www.RexFeatures.com (in London)
www.panospictures.com (in London – kind of hard to deal with)

There are others – I recommend that you scout around the photo web sites
(Lightstalkers.org, Sportsshooter.com, others) and take a look at which
agencies photographers with a similar style to yours are shooting for. Then
feel free to approach the agency directly.

Then, when you approach a subject, you tell them that your story will be
filed with an international news agency that will distribute the work to all
major news and picture editors around the world (which they will because
they want to get paid!).

Now there is another angle which involves cutting out the middle man (the
agency) and that is to be your own agency. That means dealing with
publishers by yourself. You will need to pitch (sell) the concept of your
proposed story to a photo editor of a magazine who says that they would be
interested in running it (whether or not they do is, at this point, not your
problem, as long as you get paid). With that commitment, you can tell your
proposed subject that you have confirmed interest in the story from a major
(or not so major) weekly/monthly magazine in the European market, for
example. All perfectly reasonable. You can also throw in that they will
print the story depending on the depth of subject matter that you capture.
This may motivate the subject to open more doors for you and allow you
access to photographs that would not normally be available.

Newseum

For anyone who is, or wants to be, working as a journalist, photojournalist, or related field, and I am not talking about the joke that is our mainstream media, get yourself to Washington DC and visit the new Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue.

If you have valid press credentials from many organizations, you get free entry. For all others there is a $20 fee.

The building is spread out over six levels and from the sixth floor terrace, visitors get amazing views down Pennsylvania Avenue all the way to the Capitol Building.

www.newseum.org