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| Inspired by life – Working as a photojournalist |
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Edward Linsmier was inspired to become a photojournalist by the compelling nature of black and white humanitarian photography. “There was a moment that I remember very clearly. I had just put down a book and I made a decision that that was what I wanted to do with my life,” said Linsmier, “I wanted the opportunity to affect others the way I had been affected.”
Although a great deal of his work is digital, Linsmier prefers to work with film, especially with a rangefinder camera. These pictures were made with the Biogon T* 2,8/25 ZM lens on the Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera body. “Nearly all of my photographs are made in on-the-go situations where light has the ability to change quickly, so it’s important that my equipment can keep up with me.”
“Haiti is one of my favorite places to travel, specifically an area called Citi Soleil,” said Linsmier. The area has a long history of violence and the residents still endure gang violence on a regular basis. Through these hardships the people have developed a character of tough resilience that keeps drawing Linsmier back.
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| The slums fester on the edge of the capital city Port au Prince. |
“I prefer not to shoot scenic pictures with a shallow depth of field, so when I came across this scene at dusk I knew using the rangefinder would be a benefit. I could use a slower shutter speed and a smaller f/stop to achieve a greater depth of field without fear of camera shake, which would have been a problem if I were shooting with an SLR.”
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| Field-clearing in Cap-Haitien, Haiti |
Linsmier’s work takes him face to face with dirty reality of how many people around the world have to struggle to survive. “Some stories remind me how important photography is and how important it is that the rest of the world see what is going on. We were working in a trash dump just outside of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where an entire community sustains itself by living off whatever they can scavenge from the garbage. It was heartbreaking.”
When not traveling or on assignment with the NGO, Linsmier works on domestic photo essays. One of them is a street photography project that documents quirky, fleeting moments found on South Florida beaches, where for decades the old and young have come seeking a piece of the mythical Florida dream - white sands, warm sun, palm trees and a welcoming expanse of sea and sky. Naturally, the reality of how this dream is fulfilled is a little different because the reasons that people strike out across the sand are as varied as the people - for solace, refuge, exercise, relaxation and even titillation. “I like the photo of this boy because it looks almost as if he’s trying to topple this massive structure above himself.”
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| "I found the beach to be a place where all sorts of interesting people came together and it was just natural for me to want to shoot pictures there." |
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| | About Edward Linsmier
Edward Linsmier graduated from a university in January of 2007 with a degree in photojournalism. He was hired as one of two staff photographers at a non-governmental organization (NGO) operating in Central America and the Caribbean and since then he spends much of his time traveling in those regions.
www.edwardlinsmier.com |
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September 2008 |
About Edward Linsmier
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