Sunday Times Telling Freelance Photogs Not to Submit War Images From Syria
“Deadly sniper shot through the lens.” That’s the title of a photoblog entry published over on Reuters last week by staff photographer Goran Tomasevic, who’s covering the deadly conflict in Syria. The photo above was accompanied by the text, “A tank fired a couple of shells onto the top of the building and rubble fell down around us.”
The images offer a grim first person view into what it’s like to find oneself in the midst of the fighting. They also sparked debate over the ethics of putting photographers directly in harms way for the purpose of journalism. At least one news outlet is now taking a strong stance: The Sunday Times is reportedly refusing to receive photos from freelancers due to the risks involved.
How close exactly are photographers getting to the conflict? Well, the main series of photographs featured in Tomasevic shows two Free Syrian Army fighters being struck by sniper bullets. The photographer writes,
One moment, I heard two incoming shots. I was already aiming my camera on these two Syrian rebels. I heard the scream and saw one of them get shot. He was still alive as I was shooting but dying as he was carried away.
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Another point made is how newspapers will need to try to help captured photographers that work for them. That gets even more difficult in the instance of freelance photographers. All I can say is these photographers do the globe a service by exposing wars terrors.