Portraits of people changed by the war

Countless news reports and commentaries will mark the Iraq war's fourth anniversary, examining the war's progress and politics. Beyond that, The Seattle Times wanted to give readers something more personal.

The vehicle we chose is today's report, "Living with the war," short vignettes written by reporters Marsha King and Janet Tu, accompanied by photographic portraits by John Lok. These are stories from people on the home front — a counselor, an activist, two teenage brothers, a teacher and an Iraqi student — who are connected to the war in differing ways. "We wanted to find people for whom the war is personal," said Janet Horne, who edited today's presentation. "Other people care about the war, but more from a distance. We wanted to hear the views of people from different walks of life who have been changed by the war."

Our purpose wasn't to find out whether they support or oppose the war, and in some cases we don't know. Instead, we wanted to learn how it has changed them and how they are coping. To hear what they might say that we haven't thought about. To be touched by them.

Finding the right mix of people took a long time, but we believe this collection of experiences will connect with readers on many levels. "Everyone was very open. I was very personally touched by the people I talked with," said reporter King.

This presentation is not an attempt to sway opinions about the war in any direction. If anything, these accounts likely will affirm whatever convictions readers already have.

But, perhaps they also will help each of us to briefly suspend our attitudes about the war, whatever they are. And to appreciate that, behind all of the rhetoric, there are Puget Sound neighbors who truly are living with the war.

About those pictures

One of the immediately striking aspects of today's project is the photos. "It's very different than what people see every day," said photographer John Lok.

Lok felt the seriousness of this assignment called out for some special treatment. In an era of digital imagery, the pictures in the news are clear, clean and sharp, and he wanted something different that would cause readers to stop and connect with these people.

On assignment, he first photographed each subject with a digital camera and lens that costs about $7,000. Setting that equipment aside, he then used a Holga plastic camera he bought online for about $20.

Lok would show the small, cheap-looking camera to his subjects and ask for more time so that he could take their pictures with it. "Without fail, their eyebrows would raise, but they were just fine."

Lok and photo editor Fred Nelson said the Holga has a cultlike following in photo circles. "Optically, it's really crummy, but it produces a time-honored photographic effect," Nelson said.

He explained that Holga pictures have a narrow depth of focus, like the earliest photo images. The corners go out of focus and even go dark. Varying streaks appear in the photo because light leaks into the camera. "It has a certain dreamy quality," Nelson said.

The Holga uses large film, which had to be processed at a commercial lab because The Times no longer has traditional darkrooms.

"Its plastic lens, combined with its very low-tech, nonelectronic construction, yield pictures that often show light leaks and vignetting and blurriness around the edges. Normally considered faults in other cameras, these are exactly the features that make it popular among art photographers and others who seek to make unique and different images," Lok explained.

He bought the camera about six years ago, while still a student at Western Kentucky University, but he had never used it on a professional assignment. "Shooting it on assignment was scary. You have to be very careful with it."

Photographers using Holga cameras let go of a lot of the control that modern photo technology allows. "You shoot and cross your fingers. You click the shutter and you pray for the best. Holgas are notorious for leaking light. That's one of the endearing qualities."

Lok said he had taken personal photos with the camera and "loved the feeling that I got when I look at those pictures." The images have "a nice personal feel" that would befit these vignettes. "This seemed like the right story."

For something completely different

Check out Lok's photos in today's "Gender: F," an extra edition of Pacific Northwest magazine.

This is our fourth edition of "Gender: F," but the first published on magazine-quality paper. Today's focus is "Commitment, the state of our unions."

As with previous issues, this section is "a conversation among women. That's what all of the issues have tried to be," said Carey Quan Gelernter, "Gender: F" editor. The format is new, but she said the mission is unchanged — "We speak to women's lives."

Inside The Times appears in the Sunday Seattle Times. If you have a comment on news coverage, write to Michael R. Fancher, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, call 206-464-3310 or send e-mail to mfancher@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists