The New York Times is conducting a long term project covering the 87th Infantry Battalion out of Fort Drumm, N.Y., on their year long deployment to Afghanistan. One component of their coverage was documenting the soldiers before they deployed. I am drawn to this piece in particular because it touches on an aspect of war and the military that often gets overlooked- family. Wherever the service member in question is going, whatever government they take orders from, and whatever conflict they participate in, the fact that they are leaving people they love is timeless. In the New York Times' video the pain and regret felt by those leaving their families for 12 months is tangible. It's also important.
Media Storm also published a series of stories focusing on war's impact on families. The journalists followed the families of soldiers who died in Iraq. The interview audio is brimming with emotion and the images are impressive considering the confines of a subject matter that is hard to show. Not only is the photographer challenged to portray the absence of someone, he is required to do so for 2 minuets or so throughout each individual story.
This 2004 photo essay by Mike Kane entitled Desert Vigilance, interests me for both its subject matter and the skill with which Kane photographed and edited. I am drawn into the story because it shows a different side to an issue that is of national concern. I had no idea there were people who would volunteer to patrol the border and travel from all over the country to do so. Whatever your political stance on the issue, the fact that these people believe so greatly in their cause yields an impressive series of photos with depth to them.
Kane's use of light, composition, and angle is striking. I am drawn into each photo and held there. The story has a beautiful progression to it (spotlight: case in point). I know when I've reached the end and I've learned a lot along the way. I also leave with my curiosity piqued, which I believe is the mark of a successful journalist. One story can never encompass the entire issue, but if a story can interest viewers enough to start them on their own quest for information and involvement the story teller can rest easy that night.
