By Yasmine Abu Tarboush
Patrick Baz is the Agence France Presse (AFP) Middle East Photo Manager; the French photojournalist was born in Lebanon in 1963, where he witnessed the tragic war in his homeland at the age of 12.
The neighborhood he lived in was termed a demarcation line where he began shooting war scenes using his camera, and getting a taste of the adrenaline flow which grew on him. “Perhaps that was a sign for me,” he told The Star in an interview on Wednesday.
In 1989, Baz covered the first Intifada for AFP and from then on it was all action for him with the 1st Gulf War in 1990, Kurdistan in 1991, Somalia and Sarajevo in 1993.
The Lebanese photojournalist earned his spot then as a regional photo manager for AFP in the Middle East in 1996; but that hasn’t stopped him from going on field as he went to Iraq in 1998.
During the American occupation of Iraq in 2003, he headed the AFP administration office in Baghdad.
Baz told The Star that the Arab world in particular faces numerous challenges in photographic journalism as the visual aspect and its importance are not always realized. “Sadly, Islamic and Arab cultures didn’t have a visual culture all along; as the images present in cultures usually give you reference to build your ‘photage’ on, we don’t necessarily have that,” he said.
“That left our Arab culture covered by western lenses for a long time,” he added.
Furthermore, he explained how the visual aspect of photojournalism has more effect on people, and how the reaction it leaves behind can be immensely powerful.
“Everybody can take photos but it’s the image that stirs emotions or makes you think—something that the viewer couldn’t have seen or captured through his/her eyes—that is counted as a great photo,” he explained.
“Photography has changed big time and so did photographic journalism of course,” Baz said adding that with the up-to-date technology “we have all the means to become photographers somehow as we have a set of new gadgets to use; but at times it’s left unrealized”.
In a field where a picture is worth a thousand words, the photojournalist says that “even though we are endowed with an overwhelming number of photos, yet each person views something different in a certain image; everyone sees something that others may not”.
When it comes to war, Baz said that after covering war for considerable time periods, one acquires more maturity and interest in people who face war on a daily basis. His sightings and experiences in Iraq led him to write his book “Don’t take my picture. Iraqis don’t cry”.
The book, published by Tamyras, presents far more than a set of images; it is a human journey through the war conveying a different aspect of his coverage in Iraq from 2003 to 2005 through Baz’s images and accompanying words.
The project was launched at Bayeux-Calvados Award for War Correspondents, which was held from October 5 – 10, 2009; “Don’t take my picture. Iraqis don’t cry” has been well received by the public, and the French and international press.
The Bayeux-Calvados Award is meant to honor journalists who carry out their profession under dangerous conditions in order to provide free information to people everywhere.
As for Baz’s future aspirations, he says, “I would like to photograph things and situations that showcase more tolerance, peace and various choices, as I respect all cultures and life styles.
