Post’s Iraq Photo Correspondent

Yesterday’s post pointed out the sensitivity of covering spot news, especially for small newspaper photographers. It certainly is no easier for Andrea Bruce covering Iraq for The Washington Post.

Her most recent trip to Iraq where she earlier shot for the Post, gained her access to the rituals of female circumcision among Kurdish women. The Post slideshow opening screen warns the viewer they are about to see graphic images. The almost linear presentation moves through the circumcision of a seven-year-old girl

Most striking among the images is the one above at the moment of circumcision. Even the girl’s mother clamping her daughter’s legs wide, cringes at the cut and resulting screams of pain.

The moment of the girl’s loss of innocence is contrasted with the opening image of her in a mirror adorned with flowers as she sits quietly with three friends waiting for the party her mother has promised.

Gaining access to this rite of passage for some Muslim women,especially for a foreigner, lies at the strength of her photos. Bruce’s stark imagery details the trauma of the children forced to undergo the surgery, the family who will be affected, the elders, sight unseen, who ordered it and the woman whose income depends on it.

Bruce, whose sensitivities are probably more in keeping with her Western education and lifestyle, performed the tasks of a photojournalist with perfection. She told the story without complaint or interference respecting her subject’s different customs, mores and rituals

More about Bruce:

Single Images:
A portfolio of images from the past year, including photos from the D.C. area sniper shootings to a high school swimming champion.

Inch by Inch:
As captain of the Arlington County fire department, BJ Thomas was one of the first on the scene at the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Nearly one year after the terrorist attack, the retired Arlington County fire captain still suffers from post traumatic stress.

Gore’s Final Hurrah:
Former vice president Al Gore campaigned for fellow Democrats during the 2002 elections, a move many observers thought was a prelude to a presidential run in 2004. But soon after the mid-term elections, Gore surprised everyone by announcing that he would stay out of the running for the White House.

Andrea Bruce Woodall:
A video interview with the photographer and links to more of her work.