David Peterson

A couple of weeks ago I went to see a speaker at the library. His name is David Peterson and he is a Pulitzer-Prize winning photojournalist who shot the Iowa Farm Crisis in the 1980s. Frankly, I didn't know anything about a farm crisis, but apparently land prices plummeted and a lot of small family farms were forced to foreclose.

Anyway, David Peterson took three months off of work to go to rural Iowa and shoot the story which ran in a 30-something page special section in the Des Moines Register.

His pictures were on display in the library and they were absolutely amazing. They were so heart-wrenching and so emotional. It reminded me that a photojournalist's job isn't an easy one. Sure some of the job is showing up to events and concerts and church socials and taking pictures, but then there are times where you have to throw yourself into a really rough situation.

David Peterson had to witness people losing their homes and livelihoods. He took a picture of one woman whose husband had actually committed suicide because he was that depressed. How do you intrude on their lives? How do you be delicate? How do you be sensitive while ultimately broadcasting the pain of the citizens to the whole state?

He brought a bunch of copies of the special section his photos ran in 20 years ago and let us take them (mostly because his wife wanted them out of the basement) and I had mine signed. It was really cool and super interesting and definitely gave me a lot of perspective about photojournalists.