How a PRI correspondent uses Pixel to capture stories from the field

Jun 15, 2017

[[read-time]] min read

Richard Hall is the Middle East correspondent for Public Radio International, based in Beirut, Lebanon. He travels all over the region, reporting on the Syrian civil war, the refugee crisis, and everyday life. Recently he started using a Pixel to capture photographs for his stories—so we asked him to tell us a bit about his approach to reporting and how Pixel plays a role. Hear more from Richard and see some of his photos below.

My job requires me to do a little bit of everything—radio, writing and photography. I used to lug around a big camera with me on stories, but it got in the way. Good radio requires a conversation and making a connection. Setting up a camera to take a shot can interrupt all that; it puts up a barrier between me and the subject. My aim is always to take the best shot with as little fuss as possible—to keep that conversation going.

Fares Saydo, a 60-year-old Yazidi man, on top of Mount Sinjar, where thousands of Yazidis have sought refuge since the Islamic State committed genocide against them. March 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

Syrian refugee children outside their makeshifts homes at a camp in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon. Lebanon has taken in more than one million Syrian refugees since the war began next door in 2011. Lebanese authorities do not allow Syrians to build decent shelters, fearing that they may stay even after the war is over. January 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

Rescuers from a Save the Children ship approach a boat full of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Libya. The charity rescued 635 people in one day—its biggest ever. May 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

Lina Shahab survived a U.S. airstrike that killed more than 100 people in Mosul, Iraq, during the battle to recapture the city from the Islamic State. But she lost her 14-year-old son, Abdul Rahman. Taken at a hospital in Erbil, northern Iraq. March 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

A child plays with a kite at a camp for displaced people on top of Mount Sinjar, northern Iraq. The mountain became a refuge for people of the Yazidi faith after their home was captured by the Islamic State. Three years later, they are still here. March 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

Migrants are taken on a life boat to a Save the Children ship during a rescue in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Libya. May 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

Migrants bed down for the night on a Save the Children ship on the way back from a rescue. The boat took in 200 over its capacity, so people had to sleep anywhere they could find a space. May 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

A boat full of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Libya. More than 1,400 people have died so far this year trying to reach Europe from Africa in boats just like this. May 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

A migrant from Bangladesh sees land for the first time in days. He was one of 635 people rescued from unsafe boats in Mediterranean during save the Children's biggest rescue ever. We had been on the boat for a three days when we first saw Sicily in the distance. May 2017. Photo by Richard Hall.

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How a PRI correspondent uses Pixel to capture stories from the field

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