From the editor: Graphic images below:

June 2021 — News Photographer magazine is now in a digital-only space. 

As I read Ross Taylor’s "The Image Deconstructed" story about Ben Hendren’s photography, I thought it might be helpful to note the editing process and context. Graphic pictures are difficult. With each circumstance, picture editors must evaluate what to show and why as each situation is different from the last. These are tough calls and never (in my experience) made lightly. I am of the opinion that sanitizing the news doesn’t help the public understand what happened, but there are always alternative options in how we present information as we ask who the stakeholders are in each situation. As you will see in the photographs below, violence is shown. If we don’t see the consequences, have we learned anything? Photographs bear witness when photographers are present.

In the story, Ross asks what the impact is on photographers — and all journalists, really — from being repeatedly exposed to conflict, and Ben Hendren talks about his experience in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last August.

As this story landed in my inbox, I was listening to a relevant discussion on the NPR program “1A.” At the 12-minute mark of “How to Slow the Doomscroll,” the conversation turns to how covering the news can impact the emotional health of journalists. It’s worth listening to as a companion piece to Ross and Ben’s conversation. And this story about the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma launching a clinician training program“ to aid journalists challenged by covering violence, crisis and tragedy” is significant.

– Sue Morrow, Editor, News Photographer

THE IMAGE DECONSTRUCTED

Documenting trauma can be traumatic for photojournalists themselves

By Ross Taylor

It’s a difficult photograph to view, and the trauma is palpable. I can’t help but feel for the person in the photograph and the people assisting him. It’s a painful reminder of the fragility of life. It’s also a searing photograph that asks more questions than it resolves.

As I looked over the image, I also thought about the photographer who made the image: Ben Hendren. What impact might it also have on him? When looking through Hendren’s Instagram account, it’s full of intensely driven news-oriented photographs. It’s a lot for someone who has worked as a photojournalist for only a few years.

The photograph is from the national news event in August in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The person in the photograph was killed by Kyle Rittenhouse. His name is Anthony Huber, 26. Huber was shot during protests about the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23, 2020.

Of all of Hendren’s photographs, this painful image of Huber stood out to me, and I kept thinking about the impact it might have on Hendren. I should be quite clear: I’m not equating the pain and suffering of Huber (and his family) to someone who witnessed it, but do I think it’s worth a conversation about the impact it may have on someone who documented the scene and the drive to do so.

“I always carry my camera, and I always have my radio (police scanner) on, and if I’m nearby to something, I feel obligated in a way to go cover it,” said Hendren. “I almost feel a duty to cover things.”

Hendren, an independent photographer, lives in Cumming, Georgia — just northeast of Atlanta, from which much of his inspiration stems: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, specifically staff photographer John Spink, the NPPA 2020 Southeast Regional Clip Contest Photographer of the Year.

“I’d say he’s one of the best spot news photographers around anywhere that I've seen,” said Hendren. “He’s been doing this for longer than I’ve been alive.”

Having someone to guide you is important for all of us, but especially for people such as Hendren. He didn’t attend a traditional photojournalism school. Instead, he took photo classes at a local park and recreational center while being home-schooled.

The 23-year-old carries his scanner with him throughout most of the day and even sleeps with it on. “Sometimes I’ll leave it on over wherever I’m staying.”

I wanted to know more about his drive to cover spot news.

“It’s a duty to remember what has happened. And you can make real changes by asking questions like, ‘What did we learn from it?’ ‘What can we do to prevent something like this in the future?’” Hendren said.

He recalls an example in his neighborhood. “We covered a couple of really nasty accidents in this one area that really desperately needed a traffic light. Essentially, the local people had enough. And we actually were able to get a traffic light installed, and it’s now incredibly safer for it.”

Before covering the events in Kenosha, he documented the protests in response to the death of George Floyd in May/June 2020, and the events impacted him substantially. “I really felt like I was capturing an important point in the history of our entire nation; I felt I was contributing to something much bigger than myself,” Hendren said.

This set the stage for when news happened in Wisconsin.

After the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 23, Hendren turned on his police scanner app for Kenosha and heard that protests were starting. Shortly after, he booked a plane ticket to Chicago. He rented a car and arrived in Kenosha late on Aug. 24.

“I got into town, and it didn’t feel real. It felt like I was in a movie set almost. There was no one on the road,” Hendren said. “All the windows had been boarded up. It was like a town that was preparing for a hurricane.”

After making some images for a few hours, he slept in his car. The next day was relatively quiet until the evening. The protesters and police gathered. “It basically became almost like a street battle with the police constantly pushing forward, pushing people down.”

Tensions continued to rise, according to Hendren, as heavily armed men clad in camo arrived. “I could feel that it was getting to be a very dangerous situation because you’re not dealing with trained police anymore.”

Hendren took a quick break to get water and call his dad to let him know he was OK. While he was on the phone, he heard gunshots. “I immediately told my dad, ‘I’ve got to go, I’ve got to go,” Hendren said.

More gunshots rang out. He put his gas mask back on and ran to the scene. “I remember saying, ‘Oh, no,’ out loud over and over again,” Hendren remarked. “I started to tear up a little because I knew these were real gunshots. Something was really happening.”

That’s when Hendren saw a man with a rifle running toward him. It was Kyle Rittenhouse.

“People were following behind him, saying, ‘That’s the shooter.’ I started hearing some more gunshots. I laid on the ground, put my head behind some concrete (for protection).”

Not long after, the horror of it became apparent. One person was screaming in pain, helped by a couple of people who applied a tourniquet to his arm. Across the street, Hendren saw a group of people surrounding a body. They were stripping off his clothes trying to find the bullet wound to treat him.

Hendren was in shock and felt paralyzed for a moment.

“He (Kyle) ran right past me,” Hendren remembered. “I just have chills even talking about it right now. I think in retrospect when something really awful like that happens around you, you don’t realize how much danger you were actually in in that situation.”

The gravity of it hit once he returned home. “I was by myself, and I just remember crying my eyes out for a long time.” Hendren also said he talked out loud to Huber, apologizing to him, saying, “I wish I could have helped you; I wish I could have done something.”

Hendren, like many, struggles with guilt about taking such a picture in that moment. And it’s relatable to me, too. I have felt like Hendren many times in my career while documenting the pain of others.

I asked Hendren what he was doing for self-care. It’s a topic that was not discussed much in my career, but thankfully we’re talking more now. The impact of witnessing trauma can have a profound effect.

“I know I had to skip the Fourth of July last year with my family because I couldn’t be around loud popping sounds like that,” he said. “Things like that, they’ll still catch me a little. It sends me over the edge, and I duck around loud noises.”

I asked how he was doing. “In terms of my mental well-being, I’m good at compartmentalizing things away from everyday life. But occasionally, it’ll catch me, and it’s awfully overwhelming.”

I asked Hendren for any advice he had for someone wanting to do the kind of work he’s pursuing. He stressed the importance of a shared community.

“Knowing that you’re not alone, that you’ve been through these things with other people is therapeutic in a way.”

I couldn’t agree more. It’s important for us to recognize the need for self-care and that documenting trauma can have lasting impacts on all involved. I appreciate Hendren’s approach, and I hope more of us mirror his open and honest reflection about what we’re doing and, importantly, why we’re doing it.

Ben Hendren is a freelance photojournalist based in Atlanta. He specializes in photographing in exigent circumstances. His work has been domestically and internationally published. Hendren’s work won best in show at the 2020 Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, and he has an image in Sir Elton John’s photography collection. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a new NPPA member.

Ross Taylor is an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. He’s on the board of directors for NPPA and is also the chair of the quarterly multimedia contest. Website: rosstaylor.net. He has been an NPPA member since 1998.