© Michael Heller
PHOTOJOURNALISM: A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
I was included in the book The American Character, by Dr Norman Vincent Peale, because I put down my camera in order to pull some people out of a burning truck wreck on a remote stretch of interstate in New Mexico. What else was there to do? The accident happened right in front of us. There was no one else around. "It was a no-brainer," I told Dr Peale.
In the 1940s, the U.S. Government had Navajo Indians mining uranium in the mountains of Arizona and Utah. The government knew, but did not tell the miners, that the uranium dust in the mines was lethal. It took until 1993 for the US government to admit this shameful fact. By then, most of the Indian miners, entire communities, had died of lung cancer. That was one of many stories I worked on during 16 years covering the Southwest for the New York Times. It is rewarding when you can work on a photography project that genuinely does good and you come away with good front page art.
During 20 years in New Mexico I was also the Photography Editor for The New Mexican, the daily paper in Santa Fe. The image of the photographer with the view camera was made at the church in Ranchos de Taos while I was out looking for 'features'. The church was made famous in one of Ansel Adams' images. He is still one of my favorite photographers. I tend to lean towards the traditional black and white side of photojournalism, but now I work in Photoshop color on a daily basis.
I've been lucky enough to collect some local, regional and national awards. Luck is often a componant of a good image. You have to be there at the right time, you have to see what is unfolding, and you have to capture it well. The two pictures on this page were part of the portfolio that brought me the Best of Gannett award.
In a daily paper, especially a small town daily, shooting all-around assignments exposes a photographer to a lot of different situations at the right time. Some assignments genuinely make a difference in people's lives and others are simply dog-meat. You just never know, but arriving at the decisive time helps you be alert when the decisive moment occurrs.
On this website I share some of the images I have made and the things I have learned.
I hope you find it interesting.
