making her feelings known to everyone.
That’s quite common in somewhere like
Iraq to express yourself, to mourn out
loud in public like that. I wouldn’t have
walked in there myself. I knew what was
going on because I could hear everyone
wailing and we’d just seen the guy
coming out, and my medic who was with
me – we always travel with a security
adviser and a medic – had tried to save
the guy’s life, but there just wasn’t
anything he could do! The guy had all
this shrapnel in his chest... It was a really
powerful scene and I wouldn’t have taken
that image unless I had been forced to
take it. When you’re asked to shoot
pictures like that you can’t refuse
because otherwise why are you there?
If you’re not going to take photos that
people want you to take and tell their
story then you really have no
business being there.:LOOWKH0LGGOH(DVWFRQWLQXHWREH
WKHIRFXVRI\RXUZRUN"
I won’t be able ever to fully step away
from the Middle East and not cover it. But
,GHÀQLWHO\IHHO²DQGLW·VQRWRYHU,6,6LV
not over – that with the end of the
caliphate, it feels like I’m drawing a line
under it and I would like to step away
from the region and that story for a while.
I’ll be drawn back by something, I’m sure,
but I’m thinking about where I want to
work next and what I want to do next.'RQ·W\RXHYHUORQJIRUDTXLHWOLIH"
I do sometimes! I can certainly see myself
wanting to slow down in the future and
have a family, but we’re not there yet.IVOR PRICKETT
War and conflict photographerSince 2016, Ivor Prickett has
photographed the fight to defeat ISIS in
Iraq and Syria. Working exclusively for the
New York Times, he spent months on the
ground reporting in both words and
pictures to produce the series, The Battle
for Mosul. Ivor has been based in the
region since 2009 and documented the
Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Libya.
Between 2012 and 2015, he documented
the Syrian refugee crisis in the region and
Europe, working closely with UNHCR to
produce the body of work, Seeking
Shelter. His early projects focused on
stories of displaced people throughout
the Balkans and Caucasus, culminating in
the portfolio, Returning Home. Ivor’s
photography has been recognized by
many prestigious awards including
Pictures of the Year International, the
Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, Foam Talent
and the Ian Parry Scholarship. His images
have been exhibited at the National
Portrait Gallery London, Foam Gallery
Amsterdam and Getty Gallery London.
His new book, End of the Caliphate,
documenting the fall of ISIS in Iraq and
Syria, will be published later this year by
Steidl and followed by his first UK solo
exhibition at the Side Gallery, Newcastle.
http://www.ivorprickett.com0910PROFILE
The Canon Magazine 73
IVOR PRICKETT
Next issue: Dave Rogers, Canon
professional rugby photographer