YAHSHUSH, Lebanon (AP) — Emilio Morenatti is a photographer who has covered conflict zones and documented funerals across different cultures. He is based in Barcelona and is the chief photographer for Spain and Portugal. He’s a multiple Pulitzer Prize winner and has been with the AP for over 22 years.
Here’s what he had to say about this extraordinary photo.
Why this photo?
Covering funerals in conflict zones can be a deeply meaningful and essential way to understand the magnitude of a tragedy. Funerals offer a unique opportunity to capture the harsh reality and pain caused by war. I have had the opportunity to photograph hundreds of funerals in various war zones around the world, and although every culture has its own distinct characteristics, grief is ultimately universal to all of them, and funerals provide those emotional moments where photography can humanize the conflict.
How I made this photo
The anger and grief of the mourners hung heavy in the air. Dozens of gunmen brandished their weapons, firing hundreds of bullets skyward as the two coffins — carrying the bodies of Pierre Mouawad, an official with the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party, and his wife, killed the previous day in an Israeli strike on their apartment in a Christian village east of Beirut — moved through the crowd.
The screams and wails of grieving relatives were swallowed by the relentless crack of automatic gunfire. We were warned not to photograph the gunmen; they made it clear they would turn their weapons on us if we did. The challenge was to work unseen—to photograph without being noticed, and still frame the coffins in the background.
Then I saw the gunman raising his pistol above the crowd. Without hesitation, I shifted position, placing him in front of the passing coffins. I zoomed in, tightening the frame, and fired a burst just as he emptied his magazine into the air. I knew I had the image.
Why this photo works
In photojournalism, an image must convey a feeling and evoke an emotion, and I believe this image succeeds in evoking the tension I experienced at that moment, where the rage of the gunman firing his gun into the air also serves as a tribute to those who have lost their lives for a cause.
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