It seems to be that, even between journalists, the grass is always greener. LaBelle seems plagued by the search for the perfect picture, the quest to capture a moment - the chance to be there to glimpse and record a baby's smile or a soldier's tears. I've never considered myself a photographer because I don't think I have the eye for it. Yet, I also thought photography was somehow easier; a writer must search to find the perfect person for a story, then work to get that person to open up to the writer. But a photographer, I thought, just has to be there - they just have to snap a photo.
I can see that I was wrong. I know far too little to make this guesstimate but I now see that within every 100 photos, there's one good one - maybe. And of course, that natural eye is so important.
David Snider's pictures were breathtaking. I think I underestimated what it takes for a person to let a photographer into his/her life as well. Snider's pictures were out in the open, but it must take so much for someone to let a photographer follow him/her around; a good picture can be so much more powerful and hard-hitting than words.
Ultimately, it seems that both writers and photographers must have that same observing eye; that same keen sense of curiosity and wonder about the world. We're all journalists, after all.
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