So maybe ‘legendary’ is a little overstating it, but Spencer Platt is one of the most established photojournalists out there today. This photo happened earlier this year, while I was still in New York, and had arranged to tail the Getty Images photographer on one of his daily shooting assignments. The whole ‘operation’ probably lasted no more than two to three hours, but it was a humbling-yet-nourishing experience seeing him work and simply chatting over coffee.

Image courtesy of NPPA

Memories of this day rushed back as I read his “Notes on the Field” on the latest issue of Digital Journalist, a monthly, online magazine. Looking at his shocking photos of Somali refugees in Kenya, I was reminded of his photos taken on 9/11 and in Beirut, one of which won the high honor in the World Press Photo awards. His photos are technically simple, yet they convey brutal truths of the world to anyone who views them. My interactions with Platt also gave me hints that he’s a straight shooter — he behaves cool and collected, but he’s fully aware of reality around him and in the world.

I believe that’s why he’s traveled to Lebanon in wartime, and now to Kenya. When he hears about an social issue that needs to be covered, he goes. It’s a noble characteristic that I admire greatly. Photojournalism was my original intention when I turned a pro shooter, yet I find it so difficult to cover what needs to be covered, without the insurance, the backing of a media organization. Perhaps the biggest challenge to a photojournalist is to have the courage to dive into the middle of the ocean on your own, with all your gear and no life jacket.

Right now I’m leaning on other genres of photography to make rent and keep my refrigerator full, but I still harbor ‘fantasies’ of being a full fledged photojournalist. I rely on inspiration from great photographers. Spencer Platt’s one of them, and I’m honored to have met him, even if I never quite reach to his heights.

Instead of running away from criminals, I run towards them, all guns blazing. Those guns are my cameras, of course. Till today, nothing tops the adrenaline rush I felt while covering one morning of Bernard Madoff‘s trial in April, 2009.

Back then I was still in Columbia University’s journalism school. My photojournalism professor is also a freelance shooter for the NY Times. He was assigned to shoot Madoff leaving his house for court, and encouraged me to go shoot.

Dozens of reporters, anchors and photographers crowded outside his garage, and possibly none of us got a clear image of him, as he shielded himself with black sheets in the back seat. Dragging myself out of bed at 4:30am and hanging out in the cold for 10 minutes of action may sound like sheer lunacy.

But a thrill was present. History was being written in front of us and I (and the other journalists) had the opportunity to document it. Naturally my favorite medium is the still image, which is why I became drawn into being a photojournalist while at Columbia.

Photojournalism (or documentary photography) is tough because the rewards are not easily reaped from a ground increasingly devoid of funding. Even though papers and publications are cutting back on spending, it’s still important to have an institution back you up in stressful, and even dangerous, times.

Having a commercial photography business probably equates to a more financially comfortable lifestyle, but photojournalism is the only form of shooting that, for me, can deliver nourishment for the soul. If you want your photography to be bigger than yourself, turn to photojournalism. And though there’s a distant, fuzzy dream that I can be a successful photojournalist, who truly knows where my lens will ultimately be focused on?

See my photojournalism portfolio:

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