By Nicholas Persad
Youth and Darfur. These two words only seem to be linked when you think of the thousands of African children who have been displaced or killed by the tragic genocide that has been rocking the eastern African country of Sudan for almost a decade. However, in 2002, another type of kid was in Darfur. He was American, white, broke and fresh out of college. He was there to make a difference.
Ryan Spencer Reed didn’t always want to take pictures. He wanted to save lives. He wanted to be a doctor. When he entered university at Calvin College in Michigan, his home state, his prime focus was getting a bachelor’s degree that would set him up on his medicinal path. Photography, at the time, wasn’t a big deal for him. It was a hobby. It was only in the uncertainty of his sophomore year that a switch occurred. Reed realized he was more fascinated by the study of the human body than the actual practice. “The real practice of medicine in this country is full of compromises,” Reed said as his voice got somewhat stern and louder. “I knew I was going to be crushed by that.”
It was then that he morphed his hobby into his future career. His school, however, didn’t offer photography as a major. “What they allowed me to do was basically write my own major,” Reed said. “I took whatever journalism, photography and ethics courses they had that would lead to a career in photojournalism.” Upon graduating in 2002, Reed came to a sudden halt. He quickly learned that finding work in the photography industry was extremely competitive. “Ultimately to get work I needed to show my ability,” Reed said. “I didn’t know much about traveling and I knew that if I was going to spend time doing this career I would need to travel.”
It was then off to Africa.
Reed chose Africa after doing research and learning about the critical issues that were taking place. He was 22, the age where most people are still deciding what they want to do in life, but at this tender age Reed was taking action. In addition to being young and inexperienced Reed also had no money. “I had a jeep, and I knew that I could sell that and get a plane ticket,” he said while laughing as if reminiscing about his ‘younger years’.
Reed arrived in Nairobi, Kenya.
He knew it was a city that was relatively developed, and it would not be a huge contrast to what he was accustomed to. “I knew from Nairobi I would be able to dive into these issues depending on my comfort level,” he said. “I soon realized that I was able to handle some of the more extreme locations.”
In his first three months, Reed found himself witness to his first refugee camp. Ninety thousand people crammed together in Northern Kenya and 56,000 were from Sudan. It was in 2002 that Sudan was 19 years into a civil war. Darfur, however, was not an issue that was main stream when Reed arrived. When he returned to the states in 2003, he immediately approached editors about Darfur and related to them how it was on the brink of eternal destruction and death.
“I was completely ignored,” Reed said. “The media rely on us to report what is on the ground but in most cases they do not listen until it is too late.” The consequences of this dismissal caused Reed to be turned off from the media, and he questioned whether he should maintain the pursuit of being a photojournalist.
He wanted to tell a story. He wanted to save lives in a new way.
“The people of Sudan trusted me to take photos of them when they were in the most vulnerable part of their life,” Reed said. “This cause kind of hijacked my life in a way.”
It was not until the summer of 2004 that the media began calling the name of Ryan Spencer Reed. He explained how he got a call from Redox Pictures, a New York based company, asking him to try and get into Darfur. Reed had never gotten a visa for Sudan which he said, “forced me to be creative about getting into the country.” This time around Reed snuck into Darfur with the rebels through Chad.
He was in a war zone.
It was on this trip that Reed took the photos he would eventually showcase in numerous exhibits which lead to many public appearances at universities all over America. They allowed him to speak about his cause. Reed was surrounded by the youth of a nation devastated by war. He took the pictures of young children crying in pain, others searching for the mother whose blood stained their rags and those just waiting. Reed was a kid to. He was as lost as the youth in Darfur. He wasn’t in pain or suffering, but he was looking for the right path.
“It changed my life,” Reed said “This experience that I allowed myself to have helped me to accomplish so many things, and I don’t think I would be the same person I am if I had not gone to Africa.”
This journey has taken Reed too many different levels. His photography displays a country whose people are at their lowest point. They have nothing to live for, yet they continue to strive. The image of a young child’s face with tears running down his cheek haunts the observer and makes them want to know more.
Michael Hintlian, a documentary photographer and a close friend of Reed, describes Reed as a person who started late in the photography game. “I started when I was in high school,” he said. However, he acknowledges that Reed is committed and dedicated and it reflects in his current work and what he has achieved.
“I think photography chose Ryan,” Hintlian said. “I think he is looking ahead from his earlier work.”
Ryan agreed. He said he is still doing presentations about his time in Darfur, but it has slowed down. He is focusing his time now capturing the city of Detroit.
His work from Darfur will not be forgotten though. “I think Ryan’s pictures captured the essence of the problems in Darfur really well,” said Kempton, a blogger who interviewed Ryan when he presented at Calgary in 2008.
Ryan Spencer Reed continues to pursue a career in photojournalism even through his many ups and downs. Darfur will forever impact his life, and he uses what he learned there to try and better his homeland. “Ever since I have been back in the states I have really noticed how out of balance my country is,” he said.
He is no longer that young man searching in a war zone. Darfur made him a man.
This was a very intriguing read and it was well-composed. I felt Ryan's determination to immerse himself in what he loved, his shock at what he witnessed in Africa as well as his disappointment when no one would listen to him about the issues the country was facing. I also enjoyed Ryan's journey from just a kid to a man.
ReplyDeleteAs for suggestions, I would include a bit more from Hintlian and Kempton to better explain Ryan's personality, work ethic and art. I also would have made myself familiar with some of Ryan's photography and describe a few that Ryan believes to be his best. Also, The single line sentences are a bit awkward. Are those meant to be sub-heads? If so, I would suggest making them bold and cutting them down to read, "Africa," "Mission" and "War Zone."