Looking Out for the BAG

I wanted my readers to know that I’m a little off my usual pace this week.  This is partly due to some “field work” I was doing for the “Punching up the Orange” post below. 

If you’ve been following the thread, the photographer who took the NYTimes photo I critiqued, Alan Chin, joined the comment thread from Baghdad.  Alan snapped the featured image as part of a home raid carried out by U.S. and Iraqi forces under the code name “Operation Lightening.” 

As a result, a number of BAGreaders and I have been going back and forth with Alan on any number of issues, ranging from the visual and editorial practice of of news photo editing; to the ethics of embedding journalists; to the (sometimes maddening but somewhat amusing) subject of how Alan Chin knows that he’s really Alan Chin.  Although I stated it in the “Comments,” I am grateful to Alan for lending us his experience and insight in his brief down time.

I’ll be back to my usual in the next day or so.  I’m working on a few things right now, including: the incendiary image of Colonel Sanders (at least to the Pakastanis);  the right wing’s current “trial by yearbook” attack strategy.  (And yes, thank you for the emails reflecting on the high school snaps of Kerry and Bush).  I’m also looking at how Howard Dean is being “set up” through the careful selection of photos.

BTW, I kept the comments open on this post for you to offer suggestions as to other images or visual themes right now you’d like me to consider.  Over the past few months, I’ve been getting an increasing stream of emails from many of you with fantastic links, suggestions and even commentary.  I can assure you, I study each one, have run with several, and deeply appreciate everyone who is “looking out” for the BAG.

Hang in there with me.  If you think it’s been good, it’s only going to get better.

–Michael