Table Of ContentSOM E W H E RE W E ST OF LON E LY
SOM E W H E RE
W E ST OF LON E LY
My Life in Pictures
STEVE RAYMER
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Half title, A quartet of king penguins, who breed Facing, Viewed from a French colonial–era hotel,
on the beaches and coastal grasslands of the the Vietnamese Central Highlands city of Dalat
Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the is peaceful, like the country itself. Dalat is often
South Atlantic. In 1982, Great Britain and Argentina called the “City of Eternal Spring” or “Le Petit
fought a bloody ten-week war for control of the Paris” thanks to its year-round mild temperatures
778-island Falkland archipelago, which today is and unblemished colonial architecture.
a sanctuary for as many as a million penguins.
Unless otherwise noted, all images are courtesy
Frontis, Fresh from a Baltic storm, snow brightens of Steve Raymer/National Geographic Creative.
the ninety-six neoclassical columns of the Kazan The images appearing on pages ix, 30, 117,
Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, capital of imperial 140–41, 161, and 181 are courtesy of Getty
Russia. The cathedral was completed in 1811 Images. The image on page 176 is courtesy of
during the reign of Tsar Alexander I, whose Brian Harris. The map and the images that
ambitious construction schemes transformed appear on pages 31, 33, 37, 39, 42, 49, 54–55,
Saint Petersburg into a European capital with an 132–33, 134, 136–37, and 138 are courtesy of
architectural lavishness rivaling that of Rome. Steve Raymer. All images used by permission.
This book is a publication of This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Indiana University Press Manufactured in China
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350 Cataloging information is available
1320 East 10th Street from the Library of Congress.
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
ISBN 978-0-253-03360-4 (cloth)
iupress.indiana.edu ISBN 978-0-253-03414-4 (ebook)
© 2018 by Steve Raymer 1 2 3 4 5 23 22 21 20 19 18
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
viii
DEDICATION
x
CONT ENTS
AUTHOR’S JOURNEYS
2 CHAPTER ONE 28 CHAPTER TWO 62 CHAPTER THREE
OLD AND NEW THE TUG OF ASIA ADVENTURE AND
FRONTIERS
MISADVENTURE
102 CHAPTER FOUR 142 CHAPTER FIVE 174
AN OUTSIDER THE END OF THE EPILOGUE
LOOKING IN COLD WAR
190
SOURCES AND
FURTHER READING
DEDICATION
After I gave a keynote speech at a creative festival after being shot by a sniper in El Salvador. Olivier had my
in Dubai in 2017, a British reporter asked me, “Why, at back in several tight spots during the 1980s.
the age of seventy-one, are you still running around the I also honor Anja Niedringhaus, a German-born As-
world shooting photographs and teaching university stu- sociated Press photographer who died in Afghanistan—
dents?” There was a note of incredulity in her voice that America’s longest war. She covered the Arab and Muslim
demanded a serious answer. My reply came easily. world for more than twenty years, studied its culture and
Over the last five decades, I have had too many friends history, and cared deeply about what was happening to
and colleagues who lost their lives doing their jobs as its people. And I remember Oscar-nominee Tim Heth-
photojournalists. I owe it to them. I feel a deep-seated erington and photojournalist Chris Hondros, who died
obligation to continue using my skills and knowledge for together chronicling the gritty violence in war-torn Libya,
as long as I can. To this end, I dedicate this book to my and David Gilkey, a National Public Radio photojournal-
friends and National Geographic colleagues Gordon W. ist and videographer who chronicled the pain and beauty
Gahan, Cotton Coulson, and William (Bill) Weems. We of Afghanistan.
were part of a band of brothers who believed shooting Finally, I salute the countless other photojournalists,
pictures for National Geographic was our highest calling. mostly young men and women, who have lost their lives
Gordon, Cotton, and Bill died doing what they loved— or personal freedoms taking an unblinking look at con-
telling the stories of the world. This book is also dedicated flicts in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan,
to Olivier Rebbot, a French photographer who perished and elsewhere, as well as in political upheavals in Russia,
viii
Vestige of the past, a
combat boot decays in the
rust-red laterite soil of
the old US Marine Corps
combat base at Khe
Sanh near the former
demilitarized zone that
once separated North
and South Vietnam.
Turkey, Egypt, the Philippines, and China. These coun- and governments. I have been fortunate to have a great
tries rank among the world’s most dangerous places for many friends and professional colleagues who showed
journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Jour- me how to get the picture, which is what photojournalists
nalists and Reporters Without Borders, which produces do. They accepted the risks not for the sake of fine art
the annual World Press Freedom Index. or financial reward. Instead, their motivation was to help
In her 2015 book It’s What I Do, photojournalist citizens be free and self-governing. This is the role and
Lynsey Addario, whose work appears in National Geo- function of journalism in a democracy, say media scholars
graphic, Time, and the New York Times, says “few of us are and authors Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their book
born into this work. It’s something we discover acciden- The Elements of Journalism. It is a message I repeat often in
tally.” Indeed, photojournalism is a calling that matures the classroom and even to myself. Too many friends have
with travel and exposure to a variety of people, cultures, died in the pursuit of these goals to do any less.
ix
