‘One of the best jobs in the world’
MONGLA, BANGLADESH: Mother and child, July 22.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
In the almost four decades that I’ve been a photographer for the Monitor, I’ve never known exactly where photo assignments will take me. There’s joy in the not knowing, excitement in finding out what will happen next. Sometimes I don’t know where I’m going until the day before I fly.
The year 2023 was special because of the amount of travel involved, with one trip after another. In addition to going to Turkey to document the aftermath of a massive earthquake, I was assigned to a big project about young climate activists. Two of the countries we covered were new to me – Bangladesh and Namibia. The third trip was to a remote part of North America – an Inuit village on the northern edge of mainland Canada. Each time, I met people living completely different lives than I do. As always, I felt connection and wonder in the meetings.
All of my big trips were far, far away. In some cases, the travel took more than 24 hours, with multiple connections and delays. Some countries require visas that were difficult to obtain. In Bangladesh, one of the wettest countries in the world, the steamy weather was a challenge for both me and my cameras. Fogged lenses could take up to 20 minutes to clear. I learned long ago that some of the most uncomfortable trips are usually the most memorable and produce some of my best images.
My career gives me permission to go places I’d never go on my own, and meet people I’d never ordinarily meet. I have one of the best jobs in the world.