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| DoD photo by Stacy Pearsall |
| Click photo to see more images. |
AP: Tell me about your photography now. What is a typical week like for you? How much are you shooting, why types of stuff, and where?
SP: I just shoot for the troops. I try to pack as much information and emotion as I can into one frame. I find that my biggest weakness is my biggest strength, and that is really getting in touch with my subjects. Most of the time, if they are suffering, so am I. I shoot what is around me and try to convey that energy with the use of light and body language.
As I mentioned before, I never stop learning. So I have taken this last year as an opportunity to practice with lighting and sports. I already have a solid grasp on both, but I would like to know more. Photographers like Bill Frakes, who is a sports legend, make me want to try new angles and Joe McNally, a lighting master, encourages me to improve my strobe skills.
Most of what I have shot this year has been in Charleston, South Carolina, with the exception of the Kentucky Derby and the DoD Workshop.
AP: How is being a military photographer different from being any other kind of photographer? Does it influence what images you make or which of your images are distributed?
SP: Well, it's hard to say how I differ from other photographers because being a military photojournalist is all I have known. However, I have the same education as any civilian journalist and am held to the same ethical standards. My imagery has been used in many types of media such as newspapers, online new sources, and magazines.
It is pretty rare that the military will dictate what I shoot in the field. I usually have free reign because I am there to document for the service. However, our Public Affairs Office (PAO) will determine what is considered okay for public release to the civilian media. That said, the PAO usually has a good reason why they will not release a picture.
AP: What is in your usual camera bag? You probably subject your equipment to more difficult circumstances than most photographers; what kind of things have you had to deal with and do you have any good tricks you've learned?
SP: I have a tan Domke bag, which I use to transport my gear. But I usually use a shooter's vest in the combat zone. I have to carry a weapon as well as my camera gear, so I stuff the pockets with camera batteries, M-9 bullets, and lenses.
The biggest problem I faced was wear and tear. I lost one camera to bomb fragments and one from being banged around too much. The sand gets in every possible crack and crag, so canned air and lens clothes were my saving grace. When I was on a mission, I would clean my camera every chance I got.
Traveling light was essential, because I would have my body armor, camera gear, and weapons. I weighed myself one day and I had an excess of 70 pounds worth of gear. Plus I would have to lug that for days at a time. In my camera vest I would store water and snacks. I also had to keep a first aid kit too.
In keeping with my "travel light" theory, I would only bring two lenses and one flash. But I have to say I rarely ever used a flash. My lenses were a 17-55mm and a 70-200mm Nikon. Most of the time, I was up close and personal, so I shot mainly with my 17-55mm. I believe that your equipment is a tool. It doesn't matter what you are shooting with, because you are what makes the photo.
AP: Being a military photographer must be a difficult job for anyone, but did you ever feel that it was particularly difficult as a woman (in what I can only assume is a predominantly male industry)? Are there advantages to being a female photographer as well? Or did gender not make that much of a difference?
SP: There have been successful women journalists before me and they set the bar high. I can smile knowing that I raised it a little higher. I can also be happy in the fact that I have raised the standards for the men too!
Being a woman has its disadvantages. We are few in number and often not taken seriously right away. I have been in situations where I have had to work with all-male Special Forces or infantry units. These guys are used to seeing "Army-types" and NO WOMEN. Then I show up (Air Force and female) and they do a double take. Most of them stare and others whisper. But I go in there with confidence and let them know that I can hang. After a grueling day of marching through ankle deep mud, firefights, and 100-degree heat, they realize that I am no different from the rest. I just let them draw their own conclusions based off of my tenacity and drive to complete the mission and provide the best pictures I possibly can.
There is an upside to being a female too. I get to see what it is like to be a woman service member and male photographers don't. I get access to places men might not, so that has come in handy.
AP: What is the most difficult part of your job? What is the most rewarding?
SP: It is difficult being away from my husband for months at a time. We both do this job, so being together for any length of time is a miracle. So we take advantage of our time together by shooting projects and just enjoying photography together.
The most rewarding part of this job is touching people's lives. I can make someone feel so important when his or her picture is published. I can make war-weary soldiers laugh at themselves over goofy photos. I can make them weep when I share the last photo ever taken of their comrade. I document history -- I make history. That is rewarding.
AP: Do you also work outside the military. If so, has that work been influenced by your military photography?
SP: I have shot some projects for USA Today and have assisted Sports Illustrated photographer Bill Frakes. I was told many years ago during the DoD Workshop that I should do some freelance work. Well, I took what they said seriously and pursued some civilian projects. So you can say the military encouraged me to shoot outside of the Air Force.
My work on the outside has shown me that I have to learn a whole new process of picture making. The assignments are similar: Go make contact with a subject, shoot a story, caption, and transmit. However, the terminology is a bit different, so there is a learning curve.
I also volunteer at the Eddie Adams Barnstorm Workshop. So I have picked up quite a bit from the staff there. They have always been very welcoming of military and willing to show us the civilian side of the journalism world too.
I would like to thank the Air Force for giving me such great opportunities these last ten years. I am sad to let it go.
More of Pearsall's work is available at f8pj.com.
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