Lynsey Addario complements her vivid storytelling and writing by incorporating visual aids within her novel, It’s What I Do, in order to establish a more personal connection with her readers. This is crucial to her story as a photographer; photographs of her work and what she has accomplished and seen over the years are necessary to help her readers realize the atrocity of some areas of countries that were necessary to be in for her career, despite feelings of fear or anger.
One of the first pictures that caught my eye while reading Addario’s story was the scene of the car bomb explosion in front of the British Consulate, the picture on page 1 of photographs right after textual page 210. This image shows the absolute havoc and destruction surrounding the Consulate that the explosion caused, but what strikes me as odd when looking at this picture is that the scene is not desolate; many are staring at the building or picking up objects around it, and there seems to be a lack of law enforcement or medical assistance. This image shows me that because this area of the world is so war-torn and these events are normal, everyday occurrences for many citizens that reactions are quite different there than they are in the United States.
Additionally, on page 11 of photographs in between textual pages 210 and 211 is an image of a woman crying with the caption, “Bibiane, twenty-eight, South Kivu” (Addario). This image strongly resonated with me once seeing it because of the personal level that is reached between the reader and Bibiane’s photo, established by Addario. Bibiane is showing raw emotion in this photograph, something that is often forgotten of in hardened areas of the world where war has done its destruction.
This can connect to my own blogging practices. By incorporating photos and videos throughout my blog posts, I will be able to establish a connection between myself as the writer and my readers, in case any gaps in what I’m writing about that are present can be filled in. I personally don’t like to read articles where there are a lack of pictures, so I want to make sure that reading my blog posts are enjoyable for others.
Hi Olivia, I liked your choice of both of the photos displayed in the book. Addario did complement her stories and descriptions by incorporating vivid photographs. I liked how you point out Addario was writing also as a photojournalist and the photos supported her pursuit of her job. Addario’s photographs successfully highlighted the danger and depress of war like you said. But how about the connection between Addario’s text and her picture? I think it also contributes to Addario’s account of the beauty and equality within human beings. I have read your blog post and it will be amazing to cooperate it with more descriptive photos. Your account of making people enjoyable when reading your blog post is awesome. I am looking forward to read more of your blogs.
Ruiqi Yin