"The way conflicts are covered has undergone a transformation so profound that it is reshaping every aspect of reporting," said photojournalist Nicole Tung during her talk, 'What is Left', on Saturday at Xposure International Photography Festival (Xposure 2024)’s Stage X.
“The immediate power to report and spread information has irreversibly altered the way conflicts are covered. The internet and social media have quickly become conduits for news delivery and audience engagement. Accessibility to technology has granted individuals the authority to voice their experiences directly to a global audience, often bypassing traditional journalistic channels," she said, underlining the challenge for photojournalists.
"Today's photojournalists must be as proficient with modern tools such as smartphones and social media as they are with their eye for capturing evocative images," she noted.
For years, Nicole has used the power of her lens to capture the despair, misery, challenges, small joys, and hopes of people caught in societies that were transforming in ways beyond the control of the collective conscience, such as in Iraq and Syria.
Her recent work took her to Ukraine, where war fatigue is palpable and is altering society in ways that are incomprehensible. "I was thinking about how to do a story in Kyiv. The challenge was to portray trauma, which often does not get reflected in pictures well. So I thought of visiting the soldiers who were being treated in rehabilitation centres in between their turns on the front line," she said, as she shared pictures on the screen of various moments captured by her lens. Each photograph was a story in itself, reflecting the pain, joy, suffering, and even nonchalance of her subjects.
Talking about the impact of conflicts on the psyche of photojournalists, she shared that covering these situations can be hard and takes an emotional toll. “When I become a little overwhelmed, I accept the feeling. I step outside the room, if I have to. But I don't go there trying to be emotionless because I think that affects the photos. You have to absorb what's going on around you."
The eighth and biggest edition of Xposure runs until March 5 at Expo Centre Sharjah. More than 400 visual storytellers from over 50 nations are participating with 2,500 of their best images at the weeklong festival.
