I think it's important to have perspective and to look at what yo... by Lynsey Addario

I think it's important to have perspective and to look at what you don't necessarily want to see.

Lynsey Addario

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People think photography is about photographing. To me, it’s abou... by Lynsey Addario

People think photography is about photographing. To me, it’s about relationships.

photography people thinking

I hope that my work helps people - that's the thing that drives m... by Lynsey Addario

I hope that my work helps people - that's the thing that drives me and keeps me going.

Journalists dedicate their lives to covering war - they make many personal sacrifices, and it's not something that's gender-based. In a place like Libya where there's heavy fighting, it doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman.

sacrifice fighting war

I just pray. And I'm not very religious at all - I was raised Catholic, but probably haven't gone to church since my Holy Communion, when I was about 6 or 7.

catholic church religious

In a place like Afghanistan where the society is completely segregated, women have access to women. Men cannot always photograph women and cannot get the access that I get.

afghanistan photograph men

There are ways to minimize the risk if you are a woman working in the Middle East: You can dress modestly, wear the hijab, cover your head, always travel with a man.

risk over-you men

I've worked for over 11 years in the Muslim world, and the one thing that I feel like I've learned - who's to say if it's true or not true, it's just my experience - is that men don't like to see really strong, aggressive women in that area of the world.

strong men years

The goal for me is to pull in the reader and to have them ask que... by Lynsey Addario

The goal for me is to pull in the reader and to have them ask questions.

asks reader goal

I found that the camera was a comforting companion. It opened up new worlds, and gave me access to people's most intimate moments. I discovered the privilege of seeing life in all its complexity, the thrill of learning something new every day. When I was behind a camera, it was the only place in the world I wanted to be.

learning-something-new intimate-moments photography

If women are all of a sudden complaining all the time about getting sent to Pakistan, then if I were an editor, I probably wouldn't send a woman.

pakistan editors complaining

When I read about women living under the Taliban, I really wanted to travel there and see for myself: Is it that bad? What is the situation? I remember the night before I left for my trip, I called my mom and said, "I'm going to Afghanistan tomorrow."

tomorrow mom night

I was assigned a Taliban "minder" who followed me everywhere. But he couldn't follow me into homes where there were women, so I took photos inside people's homes.

follow-me home people

I've always been interested in the rest of the world. My family is very eccentric; my parents have always been very supportive of travel and doing whatever I thought I needed to do.

supportive parent world

I'm incredibly focused. I think it's a blessing and a curse. I'm so driven that nothing else can stand in my way. For many years, I didn't have a personal life.

blessing years thinking

Mortars and artillery don't discriminate against gender. by Lynsey Addario

Mortars and artillery don't discriminate against gender.

artillery mortar gender

Before Lukas, you know I didn't really think about my mortality, becoming a mother hasn't necessarily changed how I shoot, but it certainly has made me more sensitive, and it certainly makes it much harder for me to photograph dying children.

When I first started out I really felt like :' I'm a journalist, I will be respected as a neutral observer, and I don't feel like that holds true anymore. I don't think people respect journalists the same way they once did.

I'm at the point where I've been kidnapped twice, two of my drivers have died, I've lost so many friends, and every time something happens it does set me back a bit, but I don't think it's just one event that will basically turn me away forever, I just don't think that's the kind of person I am.

I feel bad that I'm not there, i know my perspective on these things is the complete opposite to so many people. But I feel a responsibility, I feel like I need to do it because I have the tools to cover war, and because I've done it for so many years.

I do take it away with me, and I'm sure I do suffer from trauma. But I feel as though I'm pretty well adjusted, i do think that the more I cover war, the luckier I feel. I was born in the U.S.... in Connecticut of all places, and so I think it's very important to not forget that.