Loading...
Our photographer鈥檚 climb was hard. What he discovered paid off.
It took a long hike to get to his fire tower shoot. But once there, the Monitor鈥檚 Alfredo Sosa met with a dedicated subject whose joy in her important work was worth sharing.
Under some circumstances, photojournalism can become an athletic event.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a contact sport, almost,鈥� says the Monitor鈥檚 Alfredo Sosa. 鈥淎nd the equipment is heavy. However, in terms of getting to [an] assignment, this has been the hardest.鈥�
Alfredo is describing his recent shoot to capture the high-altitude work of Samsara Duffey, a veteran wildfire lookout for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana鈥檚 Bob Marshall Wilderness. Ms. Duffey鈥檚 increasingly critical job during a time of raging western wildfires is to survey the landscape to pinpoint smoke.
Besides the rigors brought by the climbing and the cold, Alfredo was faced with doing his intrusive shoot in the tight space of the tower. Yet the thing he was struck by the most was Ms. Duffey鈥檚 joy in doing the work she does. Not just in stewarding the land, but in taking care of the surrounding communities. And the views don鈥檛 hurt.
鈥淓verything is new all the time,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 hard to put a value on that. And I can see how that is what keeps her coming back.鈥� He adds: 鈥淸I]t鈥檚 just you and nature. It makes you realize... It humbles you. It humbles you in a really nice way.鈥�
To read about Ms. Duffey's work and to see Alfredo's photos, visit the story here.
Episode transcript
Samantha Laine Perfas: Welcome to Rethinking the News. I鈥檓 your host, Samantha Laine Perfas.
[Bird song and sound of walking.]
Alfredo Sosa: 鈥淲e鈥檙e walking in this national forest. It鈥檚 beautiful, lonely.鈥�
Laine Perfas: This is Alfredo Sosa, the Monitor鈥檚 director of photography. Here, he鈥檚 with our reporter Noah Davis. And they鈥檙e hiking up Patrol Mountain in Montana鈥檚 Bob Marshall Wilderness, to meet wildfire lookout Samsara (sum-SAR-ah) Duffey. For more than 25 years, she鈥檚 spent summers in a mountaintop cabin with 360 degree views. Alone on fire watch, she鈥檚 developed a complex view of environmental responsibility as the West continues to battle the effects of climate change. For Alfredo, it was an assignment unlike any other. Here, he talks about this experience, and his secrets to taking a great photo.
[SHORT PAUSE]
Laine Perfas: When you and the reporter arrived to start hiking up the mountain to go to her fire tower, what happened? I heard there were some emergencies that you guys had to navigate.
Alfredo Sosa: The night before, there was a big storm. We encountered a mudslide that completely blocked the road. So after a few seconds of panic, we both agreed that, you know, we had reached a point of no return and we have to keep going no matter what.
Sosa: We left the cars on the side of the road. We鈥檙e walking, hoping for the best.
Sosa: The problem is that we were still, I will guess, at least 10 to 15 miles from the trailhead. And luckily, we came across some people who were camping on the other side of the mudslide. They were kind enough to give us a ride. And then 20 minutes later, we were dropped off at the trailhead, ready to go.
Laine Perfas: I feel like this assignment specifically was very physically strenuous. Have you had to do that a lot throughout your photography career?
Sosa: Well, to be honest, photography is a very physical activity. We know how many things can go wrong or how difficult it is to get a good photo. So we shoot a lot more than the regular person, but also we move around. We鈥檙e like up, down, around the person, the subject, climbing things. It鈥檚 like a contact sport almost. And the equipment is heavy. However, in terms of getting to the assignment, this has been the hardest.
[Sound of a river.]
Sosa: So the time has come to cross this river. I鈥檓 just hoping that my equipment doesn鈥檛 get wet if I take a fall. We鈥檒l see.
[Clip fades out. Short pause. Sound of footsteps, accompanied by heavy breathing, fades in.]
Sosa: I鈥檓 feeling the altitude I think. But鈥eep going.
Laine Perfas: So, being up in the mountains with Samsara, what was it like photographing her in this environment?
Sosa: Well, I was actually a little concerned, because I鈥檓 thinking: I鈥檓 going to go and meet a person who chooses willingly to spend weeks and weeks at a time every year by herself on top of a mountain. So I鈥檓 thinking, this person obviously doesn鈥檛 enjoy casual conversation with strangers 鈥� to put it mildly. Right? I鈥檓 thinking: OK, I鈥檓 going to show up there. I鈥檓 going to have a camera. Photography is very intrusive also. Like I said, we take a lot of photos. And the space where she is 鈥� I鈥檓 going to be generous and say 15 feet by 15 feet. And there鈥檚 stuff in there: a bed, a desk, a stove. So there鈥檚 zero room for moving around. This is a bad combination. So I was really worried. But to prove me wrong, we just arrived at the mountain top and she comes out, she has lemonade for us, and she鈥檚 already talking: Welcome.
Sosa: Hello!
Samsara Duffey: You finally made it!
Sosa: We made it.
[A dog barks.]
Sosa: She has a border collie that keeps her company.
Sosa: What鈥檚 her name?
Duffey: Mae.
Sosa: Hi Mae!
Sosa: So she herself broke the ice immediately, which was a great gift to me. Because normally as a photographer, I am the one who has to break the ice. I always tell people that the first photos that I take never work. And it鈥檚 when you create this connection to the person, and both of you 鈥� photographer and subject 鈥� implicitly agree to have this dance, that things work. With her, I was so surprised 鈥� she was just ready for it.
Laine Perfas: What do you mean? 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a dance.鈥�
Sosa: It鈥檚 like a dance with somebody who you never danced with before. You will step on each other鈥檚 toes at first, right? Until you learn. OK. This person likes to go this way. Or with photography the same way. I pulled out a camera. I put it in front of you. I鈥檓 walking around and it [isn鈥檛] until that person understands the process and is willing to be comfortable, that then the real stuff happens. A photographer can control the lighting, composition, but really the connection with the subject 鈥� that has to be given to you.
Laine Perfas: What struck you most about her and her personality?
Sosa: She was very joyful.
Duffey: I love the flowers up here. I love listening to the weather change. The joy here is getting up every day and being able to look at this landscape, and learning how things change.
Sosa: I only spent one night, but I learned that, by being there, that she gets this amazing light show every night and every morning, something that I had never seen before. I mean, how the sun comes from behind the mountains, and it lights the mountains, and every 10 seconds it鈥檚 lighting the mountains in a different way or different mountains are being lit. It was impressive. It was a fleeting moment, and it was so amazing that I was outside running around the tower like a madman, taking photos. I鈥檓 not wearing anything warm. It is like, you know, 45 degrees at 8,000 feet. I was not willing to come inside and put a jacket on, out of fear that I was going to miss the two minutes where everything was happening. And she gets this every day.
Laine Perfas: Did experiencing that yourself give you insight into why she has continued to persevere in this job and do it for so long.
Sosa: For sure. The whole landscape. It鈥檚 very dramatic. Many times you are at the same height as the clouds. And the clouds change colors. So everything is new all the time. And it鈥檚 hard to put a value on that. And I can see how that is what keeps her coming back.
Laine Perfas: It seems like a huge responsibility to look after the land in the way that she does.
Sosa: It is. And she is not just looking for fires. The only electricity she has is she has two solar panels to power a radio. So she has no electric lights, nothing. But there is a radio that works. And Forest Service crews are always working in the area. All the crews check in with her in the morning.
[Radio noise.]
Duffey: I鈥檓 gonna get my first radio call of the day in a moment.
Sosa: And then in the evening she doesn鈥檛 sign off until every single crew has checked in. And they don鈥檛 all check in at the same time. Once everybody checks in, then she says, OK, I鈥檓 off the clock. And she relaxes. So she has responsibility towards the people also. Their safety.
Laine Perfas: Well, before we go, is there anything else about the trip that struck you that would be cool for people to hear?
Sosa: Living on the East Coast, you know, everything is close together, full of people, and the views are kind of limited by structures or trees. And when I was there. You could see as far as you could. It really makes you think about your position in the world as this little tiny individual. It鈥檚 an experience I would recommend to people. It was made stronger because I did not have my comfort things with me. So no running water, no electricity, nothing. So it鈥檚 just you and nature. It makes you realize... It humbles you. It humbles you in a really nice way.
[MUSIC]
Laine Perfas: Well, thank you so much, Alfredo. I鈥檓 glad it was such an amazing trip.
Sosa: I鈥檓 glad I could do it.
Laine Perfas: Thanks for listening. To find links to the story featuring Samsara Duffy and photos by Alfredo, visit csmonitor.com/rethinkingthenews. This story was hosted by me, Samantha Laine Perfas, and co-produced with Jingnan Peng. Edited by Clay Collins. Our sound engineers were Jeff Turton and Noel Flatt. Copyright by 海角大神, 2022.