Stuart Isett

I first saw the work of photojournalist Stuart Isett in a December, 2004 The New York Times article about the Millau Bridge in France. Like most newspaper photographs, the image was meant to illustrate the story, but this one overwhelmed it. My eyes were drawn again and again to Isett’s image of a bridge that is “higher than the Eiffel Tower, longer than the Champs-Élysées”:

Strangely, however, this image of the monstrous bridge floating amid layers of thick, cottony clouds — a picture that seemed to place the bridge not in France, but rather in a vast, fantastical realm of mist and myth — was not representative of Isett’s work as I would later find it on the photo-sharing site Flickr. There, I would see most often among Isett’s photographs not towering shots of massive architectural objects, but rather street-level images of everyday life in Asia — images such as this one, which Isett took in Nanjie, a model Communist village in China:

As I combed through Isett’s work on flickr, I began to trace the outlines of the man behind the camera. Isett’s work is dominated by a strong social, empirical vision that manages to be both empathetic and investigative at the same time. His captions disclose the political and humanitarian interests that underpin his photography.

I wanted to know more about Isett, and to find out why this man, who had the ability to publish his photographs in the pages of The New York Times and on the cover of Time magazine, felt a need to publish his work on Flickr. I contacted Stuart and asked him for an interview; he gracefully acceded to my request.

on your formative years as a photographer

Q. When did you first become interested in photography?

A. When I was about 13. My Grandfather was a hobby photographer and he let me use one of his old 35mm, Zeiss cameras from the 1940s. With such a simple camera, I was really forced to learn quickly about camera basics which helped spark my interest in photography.

Q. What was the first photograph that you remember making an impression on you?

A. I think was amazed at all my first photos. Not amazed because they were great photos, but amazed by the mechanics of capturing the world and then having that world permanently stored onto paper. I like photos because of their sense of time and place, how they remind me of the time I took them.

Q. Can you describe the first photograph you took that made you, or someone else, think that you might have a calling as a photographer?

A. The first photo that made me think I wanted to do this as a professional was taken at the Statue Of Liberty of all places. I was 19 at the time and taking a intro photo class at university. I was looking for a different angle on the statue so I stood underneath and shot up.

It taught me early on to try and look at the world differently, see beyond what is normal, what is standard and what is expected.

Q. Do you feel that your identity changes when you lift the camera to your eye? Do you act differently?

A. I’ve always felt that being a documentary photographer requires that you ‘act’ to a certain amount. Whether I’m with gang bangers in Chicago, Yakuza in Japan or Khmer Rouge guerillas in Cambodia, you have to take on a certain personality that helps you to blend in and work. Maybe it’s being quiet and discreet, maybe I’ll be in your face and more aggressive. I’ve also described the process as being like dancing—sometimes you lead, sometimes you’re led, but you always have to be aware of the rhythm, tempo and form of the music. I’m a lousy dancer but when I photograph, I try to keep a finely tuned sense of what is going on around me at all times.

Q. Which photographers have influenced you most?

A. Too many to list and every week I’m influenced by someone new. Early influences were Eugene Richards, Philip Jones Griffiths and David Douglas Duncan. More recent influences have been Philip Blenkinsop, Weegee.

on photojournalism

Q. When you’re on assignment, and have submitted shots to an editor, do you find that you have differences of opinion over which shots should run in the paper? Or is it usually pretty easy to agree on the strongest images?

A. It’s never easy and deadline pressure often makes it impossible to have much say. Depends on whether I’m working with newspaper editors or magazine editors. The latter give you more time to have input. My editors at The New York Times are good and often go with my lead image when I file. When shooting, though, ultimately I photograph for myself. If an editor butchers the work there’s not much I can do besides look at the work myself and find its strengths and weaknesses.

Q. What’s the wildest thing you’ve done to gain better access for a shot?

A. Well, I’m not paparazzi so when I climb walls or take motorcycle taxis to a war zone, it’s usually to cross a simple physical barrier. I find talking is the best way to get any kind of access and sometimes that requires a certain ‘creativity’.

Q. What types of assignments attract you most?

A. Long term, documentary projects. The ones that sadly don’t exist much these days so I usually self finance them. I enjoy working at night, with shady characters in dingy cities. Something about Weegee’s style of work, showing the dark underbelly of life appeals to me.

A Manila policeman points to a man arrested after a drug raid.

Q. Have you ever not taken a photograph because you didn’t want to embarrass the person in front of you? Have you ever destroyed any of your shots for similar reasons? Has anyone else sought to destroy or confiscate them (or your camera) because they didn’t like the shots you took?

A. I’ve been detained and questioned a few times (China, Burma and in Cambodia) and have been forced to hide film in a few situations. Again, if there’s a problem I often try to politely talk my way out of it. Plenty of times I’ve not taken images because I could tell the subject did not want their photo taken. When people are in a tough situation I always make it clear what I’m doing—I will never just jump in, snap a shot and then take off.

Q. Recently, conservative blogs have criticized a New York Times photojournalist, Joao Silva, for his photograph of a Mahidi Army sniper. They imply that, by spending time with Iraqi insurgents, and by photographing them instead of relaying their locations to the U.S. Army, Silva was “sleeping with the enemy.” As a photojournalist, how do you respond to these accusations?

A. Nonsense. Trying to blame the press for failed policies never works for any government but we make a handy scapegoat. Joao’s doing his job, showing us the reality of what is happening in Iraq. People who want to hide this kind of information are simply divorcing themselves from reality, an attitude which seems to sum up pretty well our failed policies in Iraq.

on flickr

Q. The first time I viewed your flickrstream, I was amazed by your photos. But my incredulity doubled when I saw that you had taken a photo that I had noticed in The New York Times. Why post your photos on flickr when you’re already reaching such a wide audience?

A. Two reasons. I never get any feed back from my work in the New York Times. People rarely write letters to the editor about the images!! Also, I don’t even get much feed back from my editors beyond a ‘great’ or ‘thanks’ so it’s nice to here from people to hear what they think of my work. I’ve always preferred that kind of one on one feedback, shooting for a newspaper is a way to make a career but personally I sometimes don’t find it satisfying for the very reason that I don’t learn how my images affect people.

A surgeon at Sisophon Hospital prepares to amputate the leg of a soldier who stepped on a landmine.

Q. What do you think of Flickr? What are some of the good and bad things about it? What have you gotten out of posting your work there?

A. Well, what’s good and bad about the Flickr is the same as what’s good and bad about any public space. You get clowns but you also get people passionate about photography and passionate about the subjects I shoot. People use it for different reasons, for me it’s to see which of my images are affecting people and in what ways. I hope it helps my work.

Q. Can you name some photographers you’ve encountered on flickr who deserve a wider audience?

A. Tokyo Danz. Great work from Japan.

on the stories you’ve told

Japan’s Far Right

Q. Two of your photo sets on flickr are particularly stunning. Let’s start with Japan’s Far Right.

My sense is that many Americans don’t know much about his movement. Can you tell us a little about it, and what led you to cover it?

A. Americans don’t know much about what happened in Japan after the war and complicity of the US government in resurrecting many of the same war criminals who started the war. The uyoko are an ever present force in Japan and are very effective at limiting democracy and debate in Japan. Opponents to the Imperial Family, apologists for the war, union leaders, pacifists, ethnic minorities, all kinds of ordinary Japanese have been attacked and murdered (and many more silenced) by the right-wing extremists in Japan.

Q. Why do you think young people, like those pictured here are drawn to the Uyoko?

Young right wingers harass opponents on the streets of Tokyo.

A. For many it’s simply a job. For many, it’s also a place to find a home. Many come from broken homes and tough backgrounds so the uyoko can provide them with a sense of importance and power that they feel they lack. It’s why young people do stupid things in many countries and it’s how older people manipulate young people to do stupid things for them.

Q. Were you in physical danger while taking these shots?

A. None at all. They were actually quite nice. Being a foreigner helps, you’re kind of an oddity so they enjoyed having me around, if only to watch my odd foreign ways. I obliged them by playing the role of the dumb ‘baka na gaijin’ or foreigner. I generally find that people in any society or situation are usually motivated by the same things. Show some kindness, be genuine and polite and there’s rarely a problem. I often find humor is the best way to disarm people in difficult situations.

A Japanese yakuza gangster in the door of an extremist’s group sound truck.

Q. I found this photograph to be amazingly striking. The man’s style seems to come right out of Dick Tracy. He’s obviously posing for you, which leads me to wonder whether or not he saw you as a vehicle for promoting his message. Would it bother you if one of the effects of this photograph was to spread that message?

A. Actually he wasn’t posing but he briefly froze in the door when he saw me.

Easter Crucifixions

Q. First, I just want to say, “Wow.” This is quite an impressive set of photographs. What led you to take them?

A. For the same reason you said ‘wow’. It’s actually a well photographed event but something I wanted to try. It wasn’t easy. It was extremely hot and there was lots of blood flying around from the whips. By the time I got to the crucifixions I was so exhausted I don’t think I even noticed the nails being pounded in. The crowds and the crush were crazy so getting up front for to photograph required a lot of shoving. It’s not something for the faint of heart.

Q. As I look at shots like this, I wonder what you were thinking as you stood so close to someone about to have a nail driven through his hand. So . . . what was going through your mind when you took this shot?

Annual crucifixions are held by devout Filipino Catholics to celebrate Easter in San Fernando, north of Manila. Before being crucified participants whip themselves, or are whipped by locals, for penance.

A. I swear, I was so tired I didn’t notice until I got the film back that I caught that moment. It happened very quickly and I only got 2-3 frames. This one just worked out perfectly.

Q. Was this man aware of you when you took this shot? How did he react to you?

A. There were all in a trance basically so I’m sure they didn’t notice us.

Q. What was the toughest part about taking these pictures?

A. Heat, blood, dust, crowds. I’d never do it again.

on the profession

Q. What do you wish you’d known about the profession before you entered it?

A. I’d never get rich. Just kidding. I wish I had some staff work at a paper somewhere, I think it would have taught me more discipline. I’ve always freelanced so had to learn a lot of things the hard way.

Q. Do you enjoy your work? What are the best and worst things about it?

A. Enjoy isn’t a strong enough word. I’m lucky to do what I do and know there’s not much else I can do at this point.

Q. What techniques do you use to photograph people on the street without making them aware that you are shooting them?

A. I don’t sneak up on people or use long lenses. Quite often I enjoy the reaction I get with the camera but most often if I want a more unaffected scene I simply wait and shoot slowly until the people get bored of me and carry on doing what they do.

Q. What cameras and lenses do you use most often?

A. Nikon F100 35mm, small and compact, and a Nikon D2X for digital assignment work. I have all the Nikon F1.4 lenses so can never really leave Nikon, I love these lenses so much.

Q. What’s the most important quality a photographer needs to have?

A. Perseverance.

Q. What goes into a good crop?

A. I rarely crop my images so can’t really say. I have no problem with slight crops (less than 10%) to clean up an image a little, maybe clear off the edges but never more than that.

Q. What books do you recommend to people hoping to learn more about photography?

A. Actually I think the best way to be a good photographer is to have interests other than photography so I’d recommend reading anything other than photo books but about subjects you want to photograph. You have to be careful to see that photos are simply a means to an end, not an end in themselves.

I’d like to thank Stuart for taking the time to answer my questions. You can find his work in the pages of The New York Times, on Flickr, and on his portfolio site.

Related: Previous Interviews on The Tattered Coat

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