Heidi Levine is the 2015 winner of the Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award. She is one of the few female war photographers. She is an American freelance photojournalist who is based in Jerusalem, who started her career in 1983 at the Associated Press in Israel then moving to Sipa Press in 1993. Levine attended London College of Communication where she earned her Master’s in Photojournalism and Documentary photography. Throughout her career she has been documenting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while also doing coverage of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and capturing critical moments in the Middle East, such as Libya, Syria, and Egypt, including the Israel-Lebanon war. The 2015 Anja Niedringhaus jury said the following about Levine:
“Living in the region and raising her three children, Heidi Levine experiences the story on both a professional and very personal level, facing the same dangers as her subjects in a war zone, with rocket fire and air strikes a consistent reminder. Unlike many journalists who can cover a story and get on a plane to the safety of their own homeland, she is an integral part of the community and has shown profound concern for people, even moving her Palestinian assistant days before their home was reduced to rubble and putting down the camera to hug an anguished mother. Her passion for bearing witness over three decades is evident, even as her heart endures the loss of friends and colleagues to the conflicts.” — Award Jury
Levine in Jerusalem
Photo Courtesy of IWMF
Image source: https://www.iwmf.org/blog/2015/03/24/heidi-levine/
Background Compliments: The background shows a car on fire. One might think it distracts from the main subject but I think it compliments the message that Levine is fearless. She is dedicated.
Subject's Expression: The subject looks to be in a dangerous and chaotic environment, yet she looks relaxed. She seems focused and dedicated to capture what she is there for. She shows no sign of fear.
Besides winning the Anja Niedringhaus Courage Award, she also is a recipient of other awards such as the silver Award in the video and multimedia feature category at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards, an honorable mention at NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism for the International News Picture Story, and an Emmy nomination in 2012. Levine stated in an interview, "When I started there were definitely fewer women working in conflict zones than today and it wasn't as accepted. Once in Libya a veteran correspondent started shouting at me, "What are you doing here? You have three children." I was really upset. It was my daughter's birthday that day, and believe me, the last thing I wanted was to be killed on my own child's birthday. I never forget that I'm a mother".
Background Compliments: The background shows a car on fire. One might think it distracts from the main subject but I think it compliments the message that Levine is fearless. She is dedicated.
Subject's Expression: The subject looks to be in a dangerous and chaotic environment, yet she looks relaxed. She seems focused and dedicated to capture what she is there for. She shows no sign of fear.
Obvious Main Subject: The subject is centered. She is centered to be the main focus. Allows you to understand the meaning of the photo.
Why did I choose the image?: I chose this image of Heidi Levine because I think it captures who she really was,, and why she won the Anja Niedringhaus Award. She willingly puts herself in the same dangerous environment of her subjects and shows no fear. This photo just brings me such pride as a women.
Why did I choose the image?: I chose this image of Heidi Levine because I think it captures who she really was,, and why she won the Anja Niedringhaus Award. She willingly puts herself in the same dangerous environment of her subjects and shows no fear. This photo just brings me such pride as a women.
When you think of a successful working woman what do picture? A social worker? Maybe a receptionist? Or what about a Nurse? According to LearnVest, “You are 90% more likely to have a female nurse than a male nurse. And the few men in the profession make an average of 5% more than a woman in the same job”. When most people envision the hospital setting they imagine a female nurse and a male doctor. The Chief of surgery or the Chief of Medicine is usually a male. Why? Where are the female superiors? Not in medicine! The role of a doctor has always had a masculine title just like war zones and construction sites, like Marianne Fulton states, “Catherine Leroy entered a totally masculine world: war and war photojournalism”. In recent years the number of female doctors has increased, but are they still being payed according to their gender? Philip Cohen from The Atlantic states, “Women make less money than men in these fields—and are more likely to drop out” “…female doctors are earning just 62 percent of men's median earnings”.
It is believed that female providers are more likely to drop out or only work part time due to the responsibility of their children, families, and household upkeep. Not only are women expected to work in today’s society they also are expected to be a “housewife”. Even as Sherry Ricchiardi states in her article, “Zoe Smith described women who excelled in the profession as self-motivated, highly competitive, versatile, in love with adventure and traveling. However, many never married; others were divorced once or twice. Only a few found they could combine the demands of their work with a husband and children”. How many stay at home fathers do you see today? Not many, as that is labeled as a “feminine” job. It’s hard as a female to choose a profession such as a doctor, when it is a male dominant environment. It’s like throwing a mouse to a cage of lions. Eventually one will bite. Female doctors also find it difficult to rise to leadership jobs in the medical profession. The role of a leader can still be male dominating. Not only is the role of nurses considered more for females, they even seem to dominate the Nurse Practitioner professions, but they still work under the M.D. (the male). It’s like they created a position that requires more school and advancement in medical training for women to feel closer to working as a medical doctor but still are below them.
Dr. Leslie Latterman of Point Breeze has made a doctors' coat that fits a woman, with pockets and compartments better suited to a woman's needs.
Image source: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2014/12/02/Local-doctor-Leslie-Latterman-designs-lab-coats-to-fit-women/stories/201412020015
Subjects Expression: The subject has a simple smile. Her smile shows her excitement and happiness for her creation of a jacket to symbolize women as doctors.
Quality of light: The sun is shinning in the background. To me it symbolizes how this photo represents a piece of progress for women. The light is shinning on her, giving her the focus.
Obvious Main Subject: The subject is centered. She is centered to be the main focus. Allows you to understand the meaning of the photo.
Why did I choose the image?: I chose this image because it relates to my topic of women being discriminated in the health field. This photo represents a female doctor who created a lab coat that fits women. It allows women to feel independent and equal to male providers.
An equal pay for women demonstration in London, 1969.
Photo by: Stan Meagher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Image source: http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/04/women-cant-end-the-wage-gap-on-their-own.html
Subjects expression: The subject's expression seems appropriate for her surroundings. She looks like she is screaming and trying to voice a message.
Rule of Third's: The subject is off to the left in outer third. The background of people are in the middle and to the right. The subject seems to the left because it looks like she has crossed the barrier to really prove a point.
Background Compliments: The background really compliments the photo. It allows you to see the message behind the photo. It shows that even though the main subject is in the outer third, she is not alone with her feelings and wants.
I chose this image because it allowed me to reflect on the fact that women's rights and equality has really been an issue for a long time. It also shows that were still trying to fight the same battle as in the photo for equal pay, as we still have an issue with males being paid more in the same fields.
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