When does a news
photographer keep shooting pictures rather than intervene in an attempt to
prevent more harm to the subject?
That’s the thrust of reaction
to a Time Magazine photo essay by Ohio University graduate student Sara Lewkowicz
documenting domestic violence.
 |
| Sara Lewkowicz |
She spent much of her
first semester of graduate school photographing a young mother and her
boyfriend who was newly released from prison, to demonstrate his struggle to
integrate back into the community.
The relationship ended with the man’s arrest
after a violent argument unfolded in front of the photographer and the woman’s
2-year-old daughter.
Time published Lewkowicz’s 39 photos on its
website.
Among the thousands of commenters, some questioned the victim’s
fitness as a mother. Others defended her.
But many questioned whether it was
appropriate for Lewkowicz to continue shooting pictures rather than intervening
in the assault.
Lewkowicz, who is 5-foot-2, said there were
two others in the room who did not intervene because they were afraid of the
assaulter and that, if she had hit the offender with her camera as some
suggested, she might have been charged with assault herself.
So, when does a news photographer stop taking
pictures to intervene in the event that is being photographed?
If any current or former BJ photographers
have come up against this situation, and they would email jo4wvu@neo.rr.com with their reactions and
experiences, BJ Alums will publish their comments in a follow-up article.
Sara was a free-lance photographer for the Baltimore Sun (2007-2011), has had her work published in various magazines and got her bachelor's in journalism from the University of North Carolina.
To read the entire article, click on http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/making-sense-of-news/205841/powerful-photo-essay-on-domestic-violence-stirs-backlash/
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