Lynsey Addario Report

The book “It’s What I Do,” by Lynsey Addario, already starts the book off excellent, just by the title alone. When you read the story and see all the crazy challenges she had to go through, and you realize this is what she does on a day to day bases, it is scary to think about, but "It's what she does."

My favorite anecdote from the book is definitely the chapter “I Am Not as Worried About Bullets .” Lynsey Addario moved to Istanbul. She got an email from her from one of her editors saying that she needs to be equipped with the necessary gear to over the war. The gear needs to protect against combat and chemical attacks. Also She talks about how she had to learn the language of war. She had to learn what weapons were what, where they are located, and where possibly the enemies have theirs located, but the most important is knowing the ones that are targeting you. Every time I read that part it just gives me goosebumps. There are definitely more interesting parts to the book, but just the way her editors explains that it’s mandatory that she has a war outfit in combat, and knowing the weapons is tariffing to me. If I got an email saying put on these clothes, and by the way you need to learn these weapons, I would be in shock. Just knowing that you are risking your life, and knowing that some people are trying to kill you.

I feel what separates Addario from other photographers is, she is great at bonding with other people's culture. Because in some of the cases she was going through some of the dangerous as the other people, and soldiers in this story. For example she was really close with some of the soldiers, and she was even in the middle of the war shooting at the soldiers from Afghanistan. Her going through the same events and dangers with the soldiers brought them together, and it was like she wasn’t a photojournalist to them. No, some of the soldiers thought of her as one of them. Her work was separated from others because she was living through these events.

My favorite quote from Addario is “Journalists can sound grandiose when they talk about their profession. Some of us are adrenaline junkies; some of us are escapists; some of us do wreck our personal lives and hurt those who love us most. This work can destroy people. I have seen so many friends and colleagues become unrecognizable from trauma: short-tempered, sleepless, and alienated from friends. But after years of witnessing so much suffering in the world, we find it hard to acknowledge that lucky, free, prosperous people like us might be suffering, too. We feel more comfortable in the darkest places than we do back home, where life seems too simple and too easy.” I believe this quote summarizes who she is exceptionally well. What she went through, she was hurting her family's heart. They didn’t know if she was going to live or die. I feel she can take her work too far. She wants to always accomplish her work going above and beyond. She talks about being a “junkie,” and that’s exactly what she is. She is a little bit crazy, she isn’t afraid to die over taking great photos. I understand that this is her career, and passion, however her actions can be Ludacris at times.

My favorite picture that Addario took was the one of the soldiers on chapter 9, “The Most Dangerous Place.”



This was my favorite photo because it fits so well with the title of the chapter. You can tell they are not in a safe area, and it is dangerous without even reading the book. The way the soldiers are carrying a wounded or dead soldier really brings out some type of frightened emoticon when you look at the picture.

Lynsey Addario’s work has taught me that I need to stand out from the crowd of people in order to make it in any career. The aspects that stand out of her work is out is how specifically and vividly her scene or event that is happening is. Its is always sharp, and gets your attention. She definitely has an eye for what stands out, and her photography photos really show that.

I would definitely recommend this book to other people. Not only is it a crazy true stories, but the book is original. What makes Her different from other photojournalist again is that she was apart of the war. She was kidnaped, and had to fight back. Honestly, most journalist probably wouldn't of been able to deal with all the danger that Addario did, I know I wouldn’t be able to. The book gives you lessons, but i think the biggest lesson you get from the book is, how far will you push yourself for the things you love. Are you willing to die for it?