BEN SMITH

View Original

216 - Corinne Dufka

© Corinne Dufka

Corinne Dufka is an American photojournalist, human rights researcher, criminal investigator, and psychiatric social worker.

Following completion of her master's degree in social work, Corinne worked as a humanitarian volunteer and social worker in Latin America. She volunteered with Nicaraguan refugees during the country's revolution, and with victims of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. She then moved to El Salvador as a social worker with the Lutheran church. While in El Salvador, Corinne became close with local photojournalists, and was asked by the director of a local human rights organization to launch a program to document human rights abuses through photography.

Over the course of her subsequent twelve year career as a photojournalist she covered more than a dozen of the world’s bloodiest armed conflicts across three continents and was honored with the Robert Capa gold medal; a World Press Club Award; a Pulitzer nomination; and the Courage in Journalism Award.

In 1998 Corinne went to Nairobi, Kenya to cover the bombing of the American Embassy. She arrived hours after the blast, and was deeply frustrated by 'missing the scoop.' Later, upon watching the news coverage of the attack, Corinne realized that she had lost “compassion” for the subjects of her work, and resolved to end her career as a photojournalist.

After leaving photojournalism, Corinne joined Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organization. In 2003, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, alternatively known as a ‘genius grant’, for her journalistic and documentary work documenting the 'devastation' of Sierra Leone and the conflict's toll on human rights.

Corinne left HRW in 2022 and is now an independent researcher and advisor, focusing on helping countries mitigate the risk of armed conflict. Corinne has a daughter and a foster son and lives in Maryland with her four dogs. Corinne’s new book This Is War: Photographs from a Decade of Conflict is out now, published by G Editions.

In episode 216 Corinne discusses, among other things:

  • Her reasons for publishing a book of her photograhs

  • The experience of revisiting her archive

  • Her transition from psychiatric social worker to photojournalist

  • How she learnt the basics of photography in El Salvador

  • How her family history and a challenges in childhood formed her independence

  • Getting badly injured in Bosnia

  • The relative dangers of different types of conflict

  • Her experiences of violence in Liberia

  • The epiphany that led her to walk away from photojournalism

  • Her work with Human Rights Watch

  • ‘Curiosity and compassion’

  • Making an impact


This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Capture One Pro, the professional photo editing software that allows you to shoot, edit and collaborate whether in the studio or on the road.

Bring your vision to life with Capture Pro. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to try Capture One yourself and get an exclusive 20% discount on your first year’s subscription HERE

THIS EPISODE OF THE PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY THE CHARCOAL BOOK CLUB. NOW OPEN! CALL FOR ENTRIES TO THE 2024 ANNUAL CHICO HOT SPRINGS PORTFOLIO REVIEW AND PUBLISHING PRIZE! FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO APPLY, VISIT CHICOREVIEW.COM

INFORM THE MIND, INSPIRE THE SOUL

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Pic-Time - An all-in-one platform to deliver, share and sell prints.

Try Pic-Time Free for 30-Days! and enter the code ASMALLVOICE to get a bonus month when upgrading to any Pic-Time paid plan.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by MPB - transforming the way people buy, sell and trade in photo and video kit. An online platform for used photography and videography equipment, MPB is a destination for everyone, whether you've just discovered your passion for visual storytelling or you’re already a pro.


See this content in the original post