TRAVERSE

THE CORRESPONDANT
QUIET
MOMENTS AMID
THE CONFLICT
IN UKRAINE
WRITTEN BY DAN STONE
Photographer Ed Ou describes
the challenges of documenting
the unfolding crisis and the patience
that’s required. Two weeks
into the crisis in Ukraine, tension
between Russian and Ukrainian
soldiers continues to build. While
TV screens around the world show
images of marching troops and
military hardware, Ou has tried to
capture what’s unfolding as people
talk, soldiers argue, and opinions
are expressed. The photos he has
posted on Instagram (@edouphoto)
reveal an international conflict
playing out in tones that are sometimes
more subtle, far from the
politicians and their harsh words.
How is the situation unfolding on the
ground? Can you describe the tension?
It’s weird saying this as a journalist.
From the outside world, it probably
seems like what’s happening in Crimea
is absolutely insane. But the truth is that
life is still going on. People are adapting
and doing their thing. The story most
of the world is hearing is a political one.
Here’s it’s easy to see life as normal. A
lot of the tension is in people’s minds.
Do you feel threatened photographing
Russian troops?
It’s an interesting dynamic. Every experience
for a photographer is painted by
his or her past experience. As someone
who has worked in the Middle East, my
experience is attuned to conflict. There
are periods when it seems that things
are clearly created for the media. A
few days ago, several soldiers near the
airport wanted to be photographed.
That felt orchestrated, allowing Russia
to project its dominance. Sometimes
it feels like everything is just political
theater, and we’re being used for that.
How do people react to your cameras?
People here are very supportive of the
media. They’ve been open to telling
us what their thoughts and opinions
are. But people on the Russian side
have their biases against Westerners.
I’ve had people come up to me and
accuse me of being a provocateur
or a spy. In any kind of time like this,
tensions can sometimes run high.
With isolated pockets of activity
and tension, how do
you know where to go?
Well, Crimea is huge. Keep in mind
that there are a lot of photographers
and journalists who have come to tell
this very intangible story. Every day
you have to call other reporters and
journalists to see what’s happening.
There’s this demand for pictures and
video. We’re always kind of tense, on
call, to find the flash points. Every day
there’s a rumor that a military installation
is being taken over. We just
have to gauge where we need to be.
You’ve chosen to share your
photos on Facebook and
Instagram for free. Why?
With Instagram, sometimes it’s a
personal space just to show life as it is.
A photograph doesn’t have to be frontpage
news. I’m working on assignment
now shooting video. That footage will
be published in the mainstream media.
I purposely post photos on Instagram
that probably won’t be published
anywhere else. What’s cool about
Instagram is that you can show things
that you know won’t be used otherwise
and might never be seen. With
Instagram I get to have my own way in
publishing. I get to be my own editor.
How long do you plan to stay?
I think it’d be nice to stay for a bit.
I’m finding great feature stories left,
right, and center every day. Every
time I want to photograph a culture
story, I get a call that there’s escalating
tension somewhere else.
What kinds of things have soldiers
told you?
Soldiers from both sides feel very
resigned to what the politicians are
doing. Many say they’re just trying
to follow orders. They recognize that
they’re pawns in the game that the
politicians are playing. They recognize
that if they have to fight each other, it
will be brothers fighting brother
14 TRAVERSE