Putting politics in focus

Amy McArdle speaks to the photojournalists behind this year’s biggest political pictures

Politics over the past year has been tumultuous to say the least, and photojournalism has captured these moments in a way words can’t. Four photographers who have snapped some of the most infuential moments from the past year tell the story behind the pictures, and what it takes to create a powerful political image.

Hannah McKay, Reuters

A feeting picture for a feeting Prime Minister. Hannah McKay recalls arriving in Downing Street at 6am to capture this image. She needed to secure her place to capture Boris Johnson leaving as well as Liz Truss arriving. “I had to be in position from before Boris left,” she says, explaining the struggle with the hordes of national and international media. The world’s eyes wrestled behind the media cordon on Downing Street to try to capture something different that illustrated the moment. “It’s diffcult to take a unique picture of the situation because it’s such a controlled environment,” she explains.

Most pictures from that day presented Truss at the podium, smiling, waving, but McKay caught something entirely different. “I got lucky with a split second where Truss had turned to the door before it opened,” she remembers. “You can photograph them without showing their face, the foundations were all there with this image.” The image captures Truss’ hairstyle and provides a metaphor of her time at Number 10: recognisable, but not entirely memorable – in the door, and out again, with little to show for it.

Ernesto Benavides, Agence France- Presse

Over the past six months, Peru’s protests against the Peruvian Government have become more violent. Ernesto Benavides, an international photographer for AFP, took this image in January this year as violence resumed in the capital of Lima, after President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December. “It portrays people fghting for their rights, the government isn’t doing right, I thought there must be a way of showing what’s happening,” he explains.

Benavides explains that he has recently been forced to confront dangerous scenarios as a photographer. He recalls the scene behind this image: “Rocks were fying through the sky, and tear gas bombs. It made me aware of my safety.” Benavides has become accustomed to wearing a bulletproof vest, gas mask, and helmet, but the importance of safety was made brutally clear itself to fnding alternative ways of capturing events. He recalls a particularly symbolic image that he snapped. “I saw this guy with the hat and the fag, and the line of police puppeteers of the government. It portrays the confict in a minimalistic way that’s not too in your face; just right.”

Stefan Rousseau, Press Association

as he found himself in between protestors and police moments after this image was taken. “I got shot by pellets from the police, and hit by rocks from the protestors,” he says, resulting in a brief stint in hospital.

“The Peruvian media were lying a lot, and progovernment. The people were aware they were not doing right by them,” he explains. This widespread distrust of the media made it diffcult for him to work, and Benavides regularly needs to convince those around him of his benevolence. “I am constantly threatened and harassed, people try to steal my camera,” he says.

Benavides’ background in editorial photography lends

On the plane back from India, Stefan Rousseau was invited into a huddle of journalists surrrounding Boris Johnson, as he relayed the top lines from his meeting with President Modi. While the journalists listened intently, their pens scribbling furiously as Johnson held court, Rousseau snapped away. “They are hanging on every word it seems, and Boris is doing his classic gesticulation,” Rousseau recalls. “He is really in his element there, at the centre of everything.” The photography captures Johnson’s charisma and power, and Rousseau was delighted with the image. “The way they are all gathered around him with their dictaphones and notebooks – it’s really good”.

Rousseau has been photographing prime ministers since Tony Blair. Unsurprisingly, Johnson was his favourite. “He is unpredictable, you have to keep your eye on him at all times,” he says. Johnson makes for some striking images: “Politicians are so cautious now since Ed Miliband and the bacon sandwich moment. That was considered a disaster. They are very guarded which makes our job diffcult but [Boris] broke the mould. So that was fun whilst it lasted,” he laughs.

Transforming the monotonous work of politicians into a dynamic image takes real skill. “On the face of it, my job is pretty dull. I’m photographing people in suits standing around talking to other men and women in suits,” Rosseau says. Bringing out the excitement from the more mundane moments in politics is all part of the job.

At the centre of this image is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who represents a vastly different vision for Brazil to his opposition Jair Bolsonaro. The nation was engrossed in the vengeful rivalry between these two politicians. But this election was not about Lula and his spell in jail, or his opponent’s allegations of corruption. It is clear through this image, the election was about the people of Latin America’s political awakening and mobilisation.

There was a lot of pressure this day to get the shot, and personal emotions also contributed to the sense of necessity. “This time was not only about Brazil. It meant a huge political transformation for the continent, and, of course, that meant strong emotions for the person behind the lens,’’ Delacroix explains.

It is well known Johnson endeavours to emulate Winston Churchill, and the Renaissance painting style composition of Rosseau’s Boris photo certainly contributes to this illusion. Rousseau received praise from many Indian journalists for the picture, who commented on the comparative lack of access to their own head of state. “They hoped Modi would see this picture and learn from it,” he explains.

Matias Delacroix, Associated Press

Brazil: home to one of the most hotly anticipated elections of the past year. This photo taken by Matias Delacroix exudes the emotion and vibrancy of politics in this nation. Delacroix highlights the cultural and political importance of the street pictured – Avenida Paulista in São Paulo – which has served as a national meeting point for decades.

The streets were packed with Lula supporters, and there was great excitement. But the question of how to capture such vibrancy was a dilemma for Delacroix. Unable to move through the celebratory crowds, he looked for other options. “That’s when I decided to use a drone.”

Despite drones being forbidden in such a location, he decided the opportunity was too good. “I couldn’t allow myself to miss the euphoria of the moment,” he explains.

If the pressure of manoeuvring this machine over the busy streets – avoiding electricity cables and street lights – wasn’t enough, he also became increasingly aware of police becoming agitated by the drone. “I did it as fast as I could, and from the moment I saw the results, I knew I had the photo I wanted.”

Usually in his work, Delacroix focuses on capturing a unique and creative angle on an event. However, in this case it was all about the logistics – the crowd spoke for themselves. “I try to transmit that spark and energy in every frame. In Brazil the colours and energy are already there without me. I am just needed to feel and transmit it,” he says.

“I love fnding new ways to transform those ‘boring’ assignments into innovative pieces. And those images will stay forever intact.”

Ernesto Benavides, AFP