However, when it comes to the work, there is the deepest professional respect I have ever known from a writer to a photographer. He intrinsically understands that someone with a camera can say and tell things that someone with a pen never could. And I intrinsically understand that someone with a pen can draw out nuances and enlightenment in a way that can render somebody with a camera nothing but a blunt instrument carrying a mugger magnet that makes too much noise.

What Nik’s attitude tells me is that I have been working with someone who has the grace and humility to acknowledge the limits of his art/craft but also the nous to realise that with the right photographer there is someone with whom he can work in harmony, which ultimately suggests that his confidence in what he is capable of producing is not in doubt. Those who are most comfortable with themselves are nearly always the most welcoming and the most collaborative. He knows his reputation is secure so he has no problem in sharing the work or the glory.

“Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”

http://tinyurl.com/26kwmf

Walker Evans and James Agee. No idea how it really was, though, on a day to day basis. Lots of things get forgotten in that many years.

allthough I havent experienced writer #2 , what I have experienced of the ” you are my photographer ” type usually becomes unstuck because of
- being unable to drive.
- being unable to work his mobile phone.
- locking himself in his hotel room by accident.
- being in the bar when the days happenings are happening.
- not being able to accurately describe events as the photographs show because he was at said bar.
- putting unleaded petrol in a car that runs on diesel.
- being forced call you a month later for the phone number of the subject of the fantastic, cover worthy photo you took but he did’nt bother to talk to.
I could go on but I might add that Chris’s # 3 works only when there is mutual respect for each others roles and a genuine desire to produce something worthwhile free of ego and excuses.

1 - “You are my photographer and are here to provide a visual affadavit to my own musings. Take a picture of that toilet!”

2 - “I am going to sit on the sidelines with a notebook and watch you dive in there while I work out how to play this damn thing because I’m intimidated by the confidence that your equipment confers upon you.”

3 - “This is a collaboration and if we go about it together but independently by checking back in with each other on a periodic basis then hopefully we can produce a stereo picture that is more enlightening than 2 detached and unconnected mono performances.”

No. 3 is the one that always produces the best results.

This begs the question about self-produced editorial packages. I’ve had several editors - APE included - say how unlikely this combo is. Either you write or you shoot well. Nobody does it all well.

I’d agree this is true for time-sensitive stories and moving targets, but I’ve read some terrific think-pieces out there that come from the keyboard and lens of the same author.

Of course, there is the chance that this same scenario could play like rocker Ian Hunter’s 1979 album: “You’re never alone with a schizophrenic”, but I digress… no I don’t … oh, shut up!

http://www.whatsthejackanory.com/2007/08/collaborator-davey-rothbart.html

What “famous” writer, and writers in general, seem to forget is that a story is a collaboration and an interpretation, no matter how they want to look at it. The best photographers will, and should not, solely illustrate the story they are given. Beyond that, I often find that writer have execrable visual minds and hardly ever make intelligent suggestions about photography, sometimes so much so that it becomes a rather entertaining comedy of errors. I, personally never, ever suggest what a writer should write about, but writers seem compulsively driven to either suggest or outright demand certain pictures from a photographer. In that respect, thanks to editors, the good ones at least, tend to always disregard those suggestions.

Writers and photographers should stick to what they do best and trust each other to do so. The editor’s job is to foster those relationships and couple the proper personalities. This is when a good editor becomes more than just an editor but a psychologist. Female editors, in my personal experience, are often very good at this…..given the chance.

It was a first for Smithsonian to allow a photographer and writer to work together. Usually, the story was written and the photographer illustrated the piece.

Jay and I were friends so it made it easy. But it was great to be able to shoot things happening that he saw - such as a possible heart attack and how the police are cross-trained as medics and firemen. I was shooting and he was writing as it happened. It made a difference in the story and I felt that it was a more real and honest portrayal of this mini-city.

I enjoyed working with a writer and went on to do several other stories for them in that manner.

The only time I cringe is when I writer introduces me as “their” photographer, as if I am working for him. It sets up a defensive dynamic and I prefer to stay away from that type of situation. Usually, I stay quiet, shoot what is needed and try to find time to shoot what the writer is missing or what I can discover to add to the piece.