AS WE quickly approach the New Year, we find ourselves looking back on 2008 and reflecting on all events - both good and bad that have transpired. I feel there’s really no better way to remember the passing of time than through pictures. 

This year seemed to bring about a stormy upheaval, with more bad news than good. Natural disasters in a variety of forms - the devastating earthquake in China, hurricanes and wildfires buffeting the US and a continuous series of man-made disasters that rocked the world economic communities - flourished without relent.

It seemingly started with the sub-prime mortgage crisis, followed by a Tsunami like ripple effect, causing havoc throughout the global financial industry. And if that wasn’t enough bad news, the web of global terrorism continued to widen its reach in new ways, on new frontiers.

On a more positive note, China sent three astronauts or “Taikonauts” as they’re called in China, in to space and the United States elected its first black President.

While perhaps not all of this year’s events are framed by what I would consider truly iconic images, there are generally always pictures to serve as a visual reference and document the passing of time historically.

One picture that left a lasting impact on me was one from the earthquake in China. It’s actually a picture from the Sichuan earthquake that took place in August. Of all the pictures I looked at from the earthquake coverage, this one seemed to stand out.

Source: Associated Press

The picture shows a woman shielding a child, their bodies being unearthed in a fallen house by Chinese soldiers. The woman and child lie almost angelically in a red clay soil and the soldiers, dressed in red-clad camouflage carefully digging around them with their hands. The woman and child were apparently buried in falling debris inside a house during the quake. 

I found the picture quite surreal really; it was almost like the soldiers were carefully unearthing a relic at archaeological site. I was touched by several elements of the pictures, the colour, the symmetry of the subjects and the message it conveyed. A woman shielding a child in harm’s way, only to end in vain was quite touching.

This is the cover image of The Straits Times Saturday Special Report entitled “Upheaval”, which is running on 20 December
 
As a photographer, getting those iconic images that seem to capture the essence of a defining moment of an event doesn’t come easily.

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a truly gifted French photographer and is frequently thought of as the father of modern photojournalism. He was also one of the co-founders of the most esteemed photo agency Magnum. For him, a great picture was all about the “decisive moment”, a point he chronicled in one his books with the same title.

Cartier said: "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment." It’s frequently a split second that separates a great image from all the others.

I am the proud owner of a signed original print of By the Marne River, taken in 1938. I purchased the print at a charity auction only a year before his passing.

Capturing an iconic image not only starts with being at the right place, at the right time, it also requires mental preparation and a bit of luck. As renowned French chemist Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favours the prepared mind.”  I think this really applies here - always watching your subject or the elements of a story closely, being prepared or anticipating the decisive moment. This is the craft of a true photojournalist. 

A good example of an iconic image is the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winning image by Reuters photographer Adrees Latif. His single picture captured the moment a Japanese videographer was shot by a soldier in Myanmar. There are endless examples of how being at the right place, at the right time and focusing on the decisive moment have made a difference amongst the truly iconic images, for these are the images that keep appearing in historical journals and text books in perpetuity.

It’s interesting to note that although there were three wire service photographers travelling with President Bush on his recent trip to Iraq, that none of them had pictures of the now famous shoe throwing incident.  Add to that, they had two opportunities at getting a picture, one for each shoe.  A poignant example of it’s not just being at the right place and time.

As the picture editor of The Straits Times and a seasoned photojournalist, I always think of the year’s events as they are chronicled through iconic or defining images. One of the realities of working at a newspaper is that it’s not all about pictures. Pictures work together with stories, providing our readers with a visual reference.  While I always like to see better use of pictures in the paper, it is, in the end, a give and take.

That said, the times when pictures can really have great impact and make a difference for our readers, The Straits Times will rise to the occasion. This year’s tragic earthquake in China and the Beijing Olympic Games were two such occasions.

In part one of a two part Saturday Special Report in The Straits Times, entitled “Upheaval”, we’ll start to take a look at the year from a visual perspective, highlighting global events, as well as some of the regional ones that shaped the year. We’ll try and end on a happy note with some of the positive things that have happened in Singapore through the eyes of The Straits Times photographers.  

Let’s hope 2009 brings us leaves us on a happier note.

Read the Saturday Special Report "Upheaval" and see more photos here.