On the opening day of the 9th annual International Photography Festival (Xposure 2025) in Sharjah, award-winning photojournalist Karen Ballard shared her incredible 30-year career spanning war zones, history-defining moments, and blockbuster film sets, offering a rare glimpse into the human heart of photography and storytelling.

With passion and authenticity, she shared anecdotes about working in the chaos of war zones to the structured intensity of Hollywood, creating work that lies at the intersection of journalism, art, and storytelling. “We have pretty extraordinary lives as photographers,” Ballard said during her session, titled A Life in Stills. “From the Pentagon on 9/11 to Daniel Craig on the set of Quantum of Solace, my cameras have taken me to some surreal places.”

The winner of the William Randolph Hearst Award began by recalling her early days in the newsroom. “I started my first job in DC at The Washington Times, where I began the coverage of Bill Clinton and his presidency. I stayed there for six years. That was my first inauguration, and this past one was my sixth.” Over the years, she found herself at the heart of American politics, capturing pivotal interactions between political powerhouses. Speaking of one such moment, she said, “This photo was taken January 20, 2001, and you can see Bill Clinton in the background glancing at the exchange between him and Vice President Al Gore. Some people say it looks like Al Gore is about to punch him in the face, but really he was just putting on his coat.”

“Politics became a byproduct of starting out in Washington,” she explained. But her career trajectory changed dramatically when she transitioned to Hollywood, becoming a unit stills photographer for iconic films like  Quantum of Solace, Jack Reacher and Munich. Her work has graced countless movie posters, DVD covers, and promotional campaigns.

“I met Steven [Spielberg] years earlier when I was a newspaper photographer. Lo and behold, in 2005, he was shooting his film Munich and wanted a photojournalist to cover his movie in that style. My first time on set, it was a night shoot and I was still feeling my way around, and Steven said, ‘Just do what you do, get in there.’ So I just started shooting the way I would cover a news story.”

Ballard also entertained the audience with behind-the-scenes anecdotes of working with industry legends like Tom Cruise, Daniel Craig, Steven Spielberg, and Sylvester Stallone, during her time as a stills photographer for 20 feature films.

Despite her grit as a news photographer, Ballard acknowledged her limits. “I did not do a lot of conflict photography. I had the opportunity while embedded with troops, and I made three trips to Iraq and three trips to Afghanistan, but I’ve never claimed to be a war photographer. I was a photojournalist working in war zones.”

Highlighting her passion for immersive storytelling, Ballard also touched on her work in Africa, showing an image of Maasai warriors. “This was their rite of passage ceremony, something that only happens once every 12 years. The elders allowed me to photograph it. It was magical.”

Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB) Xposure 2025 is taking place in Aljada, Sharjah until February 26. To plan your visit, see https://xposure.net/