Photographer Yannis Behrakis

My Thoughts:
One of the first images I encountered was this one of Yannis. It is his profile photo for Reuters|The Wider Image.

They say that the eyes are the window to the soul. You can see a lot of heartache in this mans eyes. It is obvious in his eyes, that he has seen many things in his life that he probably wishes he could forget. Unfortunately, that is not how the mind works. Yannis stated, "The emotional impact of covering the refugee crisis is devastating. I have suffered from insomnia and nightmares, and felt guilty many times for not being able to do more. I have refugee blood myself, and I am a father."
You can see in his eyes the pain, and sorrow he has seen. I can only image the emotional torture that he has experienced. Being a photographer, I don't think I could stand back and take photographs. I would want to help the people instead.
Under Yannis' profile is the following quote, "The best photojournalist is the invisible one!" That would mean that you would have to emotionally detach yourself from any human emotion whatsoever. I think with him stating that, that he also trying to say that he doesn't want to be seen. He doesn't want to feel the guilt of standing there taking photographs, and not helping.

An ethnic Albanian man places the dead body of two-year-old Mozzlum Sylmetaj into a coffin next to the coffins of three other relatives, killed by Yugoslav army troops.

I found this image on Reuters to be intriguing. Yannis commented on this photograph saying he likes to create something unique. To create something that has never been seen before, or will again. I feel that he tries to look at things from a different perspective, to see things in a different light. His main goal is to create some type of emotion for the viewer. He wants them to feel something, to create awareness, and to hopefully get people involved and help. Yannis Behrakis describes this photograph as something magical. He said, "It almost looked like his spirit was leaving his body for the heavens." He used a slow speed/zoom effect from above to create this image. Honestly, it is all about being in the right place at the right time. I'm sure as a photojournalist this is even more important. You have to be able to anticipate what is going to happen next, and act on that. Another part of this is actually being able to visual what look you want. Being a photographer, you need to be able to know your equipment. This is especially true as a photojournalist. Behrakis takes these photographs as they unfold. He is not able to direct his subjects to do something, as with other types of photography. I feel that this image shows exactly what is happening. The way that it is taken using this technique draws the viewer right into the image and tells exactly what is happening. I think that also because of the motion in the photograph it adds to the emotion of it as well.