Beyond the lens: A conversation with award-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario

Framed in black, the photographs dominated the minimalist white walls of the Lyles & King gallery in New York. 

Lynsey Addario RAW, installation view at Lyles & King, New York (Photo: Courtesy of Lyles & King)

Lynsey Addario RAW, installation view at Lyles & King in New York. (Photo: Courtesy of Lyles & King)

The RAW exhibition, the first solo gallery show of award-winning American photojournalist and author Lynsey Addario (She was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for International Reporting, in Ukraine in 2023, and in Afghanistan in 2009), showcased scenes of war and conflict, alongside intimate portraits, human moments and striking images of wildfires.

Cal Fire firefighters work on the Dixie fire, which has already burned more than 730,000 acres across Northern California, and continues to burn, outside of Susanville, California. 26 August 2021. (Photo: Courtesy of Lynsey Addario and Lyles & King, New York)

The Calfor fire rips through the canyon from Strawberry Lodge toward Lake Tahoe basin in California, as firefighters with Cal Fire and other fire departments try to protect homes and shelters across the area. 29 August 2021. (Photo: Courtesy of Lynsey Addario and Lyles & King, New York)

Curated by Danny Moynihan, RAW challenged the traditional boundaries of photojournalism, presenting Addario’s selection of images (some previously unseen to the public) in a fine art context. 

A Hindu woman prays at dawn in the holy city of Varanasi. India, 2000. (Photo: Courtesy of Lynsey Addario and Lyles & King, New York)

Medical staff of Doctors Without Borders provide care to internally displaced Afghan women and children in Kahdestan, in Herat, western Afghanistan. 17 October 2023. (Credit: Lynsey Addario for National Geographic)

The photographs were displayed without labels, encouraging viewers to reflect on the power of an image in isolation. Can a picture stand on its own and speak for itself? As Moynihan explained on the exhibition’s release, this unlabelled approach allowed for “a rare and sacred pause” amid the relentless news cycle. 

“RAW … inevitably (ushered) in new viewers of Addario’s work, but with her subjects placed on the gallery’s walls, released from their first homes in the pages of newspapers, magazines or screens, even those already familiar with her oeuvre (were) afforded the opportunity to witness, up close, a photographic alchemy that is all Addario’s own — an image of beauty and violence.

“By showcasing (Addario’s) life’s work in a fine art context, RAW (provided) the space and time needed for what has always been a hallmark of a Lynsey Addario photograph, an invitation to ask more questions, and to linger,” said Moynihan. 

A Ukrainian mother tends to her newborn in a basement maternity ward as Russian forces fight Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. March 2022. (Photo: Courtesy of Lynsey Addario and Lyles & King, New York)

Manu Abu, 21, from Valunia Chiefdom, is transported by ambulance from the Gondama Government Clinic to the Gondama Referral Center, where she will have her second cesarian section at the GRC in Bo District, Sierra Leone. 27 October 2012. (Photo: Lynsey Addario/ VII)

About the selected images, Addario explained that “All photographs hold significance for various reasons. They all illustrate different stories I have taken, journeys I have made — both physically and psychologically — and also people I have connected with”.

If you read The New York Times or National Geographic, chances are you have already encountered Addario’s work. 

Addario was born in 1973 in Connecticut to hairdresser parents; speaking on Condé Nast Women Who Travel podcast, Addario explained that she had “a pretty crazy family life growing up”. 

“I was raised by hairdressers… We travelled a lot as a family… We are four sisters… and when I was eight, my dad left my mother for Bruce, his now husband; they’ve been together for 35 years… and they opened their own salon.” 

“My household was always very creative, really fun, really an emphasis on respecting people for who they are and being nonjudgemental so that sort of prepared me for a life of travel; that helped me… gave me the tools to meet people around the world and to respect their culture and to embrace difference,” she said on the podcast. 

Read more: Frames of reference — Gérard Rudolf on why photography and poetry ‘make me love this life’

Dalal, 21, a Syrian refugee from the Damascus suburbs, stands in front of the cave she and her family have been staying in since crossing into Lebanon roughly a week prior, in Baalbak, Lebanon. 22 January 2013. (Credit: Lynsey Addario for The New York Times)

As a photojournalist, Addario often tries “to make the most compelling (and) striking images to draw in the viewer so he or she will engage with the subject matter and ask questions. 

“… I am often working in very charged situations in conflict, or with refugees or migrants, or with people who have survived traumatic events. 

“I am often working quickly, and because of the ethics of photojournalism, I cannot alter or control or move my subjects. So I am always looking for beauty, for light, for composition and information in my viewfinder in the moment — in a quick, often fleeting moment. And I’m always hoping I can capture something beautiful and compelling in that time,” she explains. Addario says that her aim is to convey the essence of a moment or a person while maintaining a thoughtful and respectful approach that acknowledges the subject’s personal space.

Daily Maverick spoke to Addario via email, a few days before the exhibition closed.

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DM: What ethical considerations do you take into account when deciding how to portray individuals and communities affected by conflict and crisis?

LA: There is an entire conversation just to be had on this question. I am always cognisant of whether or not the image I make will come to endanger the life of a subject in some way once it is published, and once family members and the community see these images.  

I generally have a long conversation with my subject about this and we go over the risks, and what the parameters are of how I can portray the subject in the photo i.e. face or no face, etc. Whether the subject is of age and of sound mind to make the decision to be photographed, etc. Often the subject will have a family member present, or someone from an international or local organisation present to help make these decisions. 

Opposition troops stand atop the pillars of a fence to look out for Libyan government soldiers as the move toward frontline flighting positions in Eastern Libya. Dangerous confrontations had been going on between opposition forces and those loyal to Colonel Qaddafi across Libya. 5 March 2011. (Credit: Lynsey Addario for The New York Times)

DM: How has the rise of digital technology and social media impacted the safety of journalists, both in terms of online harassment and physical threats?

LA: Social media has impacted the safety of journalists by providing platforms which perpetuate the spread of disinformation, hatred and distrust of the media as a whole. 

This, coupled with advances in digital technology — which have the ability to alter reality and create images through AI, lead the public to question what is real and what is invented. And, sadly, believe posts and images that have been constructed by technology.  

DM: You’ve spoken openly about the impact of trauma on your mental health. What strategies have you found helpful in coping with the stress and anxiety associated with your work?

LA: I have various strategies to cope with trauma. 

The primary would be surrounding myself with family and friends and loved ones — a tight community — when I’m not on assignment. This helps me live in the moment and ensure I have some time to decompress and be with my loved ones, laugh and share meals, talk about and process the stories I have witnessed and covered, and replenish mentally and physically before I go away again. 

I would only add that this work comes with natural ebbs and flows due to the news cycle, and I have learned over the years to enjoy and utilise my downtime constructively when I am not in the field, because sometimes assignments are back to back, and I won’t have quality time at home for a while. So best to take advantage of time with the family whenever possible.

DM: How important is a strong community of fellow journalists in providing support and advocating for safety measures?

LA: Personally, I think a strong community of journalists and conflict journalists is very important — particularly since journalists have increasingly become the target of killings, abductions and imprisonment from government and militias, and anyone else who does not want their actions covered by the press. 

And often these targeted attacks are done with impunity and without consequences. The more we share information and tactics for dealing with danger and trauma, the stronger we are as a community. 

DM: What influences have shaped your work? 

LA: I am constantly looking at the work of colleagues for inspiration — not just war photographers, but all types of photographers, like Sally Mann, Mary Ellen Mark, Nan Goldin, Barbara Davidson, and also, of course, war photographers like Gilles Peress, James Nachtwey, Carol Guzy.   

Noor Nisa (right), 18, in labour and stranded with her mother in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. November 2009. (Photo: Courtesy of Lynsey Addario and Lyles & King, New York)

DM: What do you envision for the future of photojournalism in an increasingly digital (and AI-ed) and polarised world?

LA: People will need to be vigilant about curating their news sources — like if they are trusting social media posts as their news source, they need to ensure they know who is posting, and whether there is fact-checking, and verifying photographs and videos. 

I trust very little I see on the internet, on X, for example, if it is not being posted by a journalist or publication I know is reputable. 

DM: What legacy do you hope to leave behind?  

LA: I hope my work resonates over time, that people can look to it as a historical record of current events, conflicts, humanitarian and environmental crises.  

I also hope I can educate people through my photography on issues or places far from people’s reach, perhaps upend misconceptions or preconceptions about a subject or a culture. 

Soldiers with the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army sit by their truck, waiting for it to be repaired, as a sandstorm approaches in Darfur, Sudan. August 2004. (Photo: Courtesy of Lynsey Addario and Lyles & King, New York)

DM: Despite the challenges and dangers faced by journalists, what gives you hope for the future of the profession and the impact of photojournalism on society?

LA: A free press is one of the tenants of a democracy. And as someone who has dedicated my life to illuminating the horrors of this world in order to affect change or bring some semblance of justice, I still have hope in the ability of a strong story and photograph to do this. 

DM: What is your favourite occupation when you’re not shooting?

LA: Exercising and writing. 

DM: What is your most treasured possession? 

LA: Laughter (and love.) 

DM: What book has had the greatest impact on your life and work? 

LA: There isn’t one book. There are various. 

Joan Didion’s “Slouching toward Bethlehem”; James Salter’s “A sport and a Pastime”; Michael Herr’s “Dispatches”; Dexter Filkins’s “The Forever war”. 

And then books of photography by Sebastio Salgado, Nan Goldin, Sally Mann, Magnum Photographers, James Nachtwey.  

DM: What podcast or radio show do you find most inspiring?  

LA: I know I am the last person on the planet to say this, but I haven’t gotten into podcasts yet. DM

This interview has been edited slightly.