Stories In the First Person

In class yesterday we were talking about journalism in the first person. I thought this was a great time to highlight some photography and multimedia done in the first person.

This discussion began after watching the intro of Dan Habib’s (photo editor at Concord Monitor) documentary, Including Samuel, on his son Samuel and inclusion for children with disabilities. Check out the Concord Monitor’s film review on their website.

A couple of weeks ago, I also came across a piece Chris Tyree from The Virginian-Pilot did on the death of his father-in-law. While this is not in the first person it is about someone very close to him in his life. In an email I received back from him a couple of weeks ago, he said this about the project:

It was definitely the most emotional project I’ve ever done but one that I have grown from.

Sometimes these are the hardest stories to tell. I know this as last year my sister was in a horrible car accident and while I wanted to document her recovery and the eventual restoration of her eyesight, it was extremely hard for me to take photos. After a couple of days of documenting this, I decided to put down my camera.

About a year has gone by and I think because of my growth as a photographer in that year, I am seeing that desire to tell the stories in my own life grow. I wish now that I would have continued to shoot her progression, despite how hard it was to see her pain behind the lens. I applaud Chris for his courage to tell this story despite how hard it must have been.

And then there is the multimedia piece Matt and Melissa Eich helped Media Storm produce, Love in the First Person.

Also on Media Storm, filmmaker Julie Winokur and her husband, photojournalist Ed Kashi tell of their experience taking care of Julie’s father with dementia in The Sandwich Generation.

This discussion comes at a great time as today on NPR’s Morning Edition, Diana Walker talked about her experiences as a White House photographer.

It is amazing the stories that we can tell from our own lives. Every time I see a project done in the first person, I am encouraged to tell the stories that are placed in my life rather than always searching others’ lives.