{"id":8208,"date":"2017-05-31T21:19:40","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T21:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/in-south-sudan-i-was-photographing-not-the-war-but-the-people\/"},"modified":"2017-05-31T21:19:40","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T21:19:40","slug":"in-south-sudan-i-was-photographing-not-the-war-but-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/hay\/2017\/05\/31\/8208\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIn South Sudan, I was photographing not the war but the people\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

American photographer Adriane Ohanesian<\/a> is one of those documentary photographers who prefer to work in dangerous parts of the world, to describe what\u2019s happened in a fresh and unhurried way and sometimes through people on the margins.<\/p>\n

Adriane went to Sudan for the first time for a short time but stayed there for two years, documenting South Sudan\u2019s civil war, the formation of a new state, and the lives of millions of victims and refugees, and creating impressive photo stories. <\/p>\n

Later she also photographed the clashes in Burundi and Myanmar. Her work has been published by Al Jazeera, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, and TIME magazine. And her photo series have received awards from National Geographic, World Press Photo, and Getty Images Emerging Photographers.<\/p>\n

In Armenia, Adriane tried to reinterpret her Armenian roots. \u201cI would like to spend more time in Armenia, travelling and photographing,\u201d she said at an I Am the Media meeting organized by the Media Initiatives Center [also responsible for this site].<\/p>\n

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Deceive neither the audience nor yourselves<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now anyone can take a photo. And do anything with it. People can put text on it, crop it, do Photoshop. And more and more this will be an issue for professional media. <\/p>\n

As a professional, I understand that main thing is for people to trust images. I think we lose that trust with all those images that come out from social media. That frustrates me because people who do work for the media seriously are kind of pushed aside in all this information coming out. <\/p>\n

We are just trying to be honest about what we are doing, what our intentions are. Who are you? Are you a journalist or documentarian? Let\u2019s not kid ourselves.<\/p>\n

Photographers often interfere with reality, add, convey sharpness. I\u2019ve always wanted to be honest and don\u2019t add anything. I show reality as an official document.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I want my photos to be used at the time when they were taken. Or at least some time later, as documentation, that will help gain an understanding of what happened in the recent past.<\/p>\n

Of course, I also try to make my photos visually attractive. I organize and clean my photos, working very slowly. I always talk at length with people, not rushing them. I wait till I get things the way I want, to arrange a frame. I don\u2019t just snap away. I think I make not an emotional, but a more conscious choice.<\/p>\n

I try to contain what I see, to explain what has happened in one frame.<\/p>\n

As a photojournalist, you have to be on the scene before everyone and leave the scene after everyone. I left South Sudan after everyone, and I go back regularly, since I appreciate and love the people there. Their hospitality, kindness, and humour propel me to return to Darfur again.<\/p>\n

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In South Sudan<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In 2010, for the first time I went to Sudan, where a referendum was to be held. I stayed and worked there for two years, but I didn\u2019t publish any photos. In photojournalism, generally, the process and the result are not the same. Initially, I would patiently send my photos to various media outlets, but I didn\u2019t receive a response.<\/p>\n

I was forced to work for different NGOs, saying, if you take me with you, I\u2019ll take some photos for you. But now I collaborate with different media outlets and organizations, now for pay.<\/p>\n

When I first went to South Sudan, I had no backing from a media outlet; I went with my own funds. It was hard working there. Apart from travel and transportation costs (which were quite a lot), I needed to settle security issues. I was a freelance journalist, I had no agreement with any media outlet, since I myself didn\u2019t know what to expect. Many said that going to South Sudan was a dumb move.<\/p>\n

Especially the fact that you\u2019re a foreign journalist, that immediately exposes you as a specific target. The government targets journalists in particular and in different ways prevents them from entering the country. But I didn’t regret my decision for a minute.<\/p>\n

And since I went of my own accord, it turned out that I had entered the area thanks to the rebels, because the government army doesn\u2019t control anything there. That was a difficult journalistic decision. But you need to always remember that as journalists we\u2019re not party to the conflict. <\/p>\n