War zones through the lenses of photojournalists at Xposure 2018

International Photography Festival, Xposure 2018, has hosted two world-renowned war photojournalists, Sir Donald McCullin and David Burnett.

Titled ‘Recording Change’, the interactive and highly attended session was moderated by Maan Habib, member of the National Press Photographers Association in the USA, and attended by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Council, SMC, and Tariq Saeed Allay, Director of Sharjah Government Media Bureau, SGMB.

The acclaimed photojournalists spoke about their photographic experiences in conflict zones around the world, facing guns with their lenses. They also discussed the circumstances surrounding the coverage of events that forever changed human history such as the Vietnam War, the Iranian Revolution dethroning the Shah, Bangladesh war, the African famine, and covering the war in Syria and the Iraqi city of Mosul recently.

McCullin said, “What hurts the photographer most during such times is their inability to make a positive impact of those who are being affected by these wars; photojournalists are neither qualified doctors nor members of relief teams.”

Burnett discussed the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that might affect war photojournalists. “You cannot be detached while shooting humanitarian miseries. The horrifying scenes I have seen during these wars are traumas I never thought I would recover from,” he said.