Because I think some of the posters on this site are not photographers, I would like to point you to a posting from yesterday on the New York Times photo blog, Lens. In it, photographer Tyler Hicks describes what conditions were like in Libya Wednesday. This post, and his photos, will give you a good idea why so many good photographers working today, Hicks, David Guttenfelder, Jack Gruber, Justin Sullivan, Julie Jacobson, anyone from VII, et. al. deserve recognition and respect. This is what galls a lot of photographers - bullshitters are common, but to say you are a part of a small group of people who put their lives on the line to bring back photos to the public about the horrible nature of war, conflict, famine, strife, etc. when you are not, really pisses some people off. I am guessing most of them don't even know of Fish, and if they do, they don't give a fuck (ooops, I dropped the F-Bomb again - please don't report it to my company again Steven).
True, Steven did go to Iraq. And he sat on a boat with the Coast Guard. Him claiming he was in a war zone is like me claiming I won the Pulitzer Prize, when it was my paper that won it for public service in 2009. Sure, I had photos in the package that won, but it was the reporting and the work of a lot of people at the paper that won the award.
Anyway, here is the link (please, take a moment to read it and look at the photos - it will give you an understanding of what I am talking about):
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/in-the-thick-of-libyas-brutal-fighting/
Be sure to read the comments from all the people thanking Tyler for his spectactular photos.
Thank you Sam. Thank you Tyler. Thank you Fishfraud blogger. They are amazing photos. They are amazing people who make them.
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