The DVIDS Journalist of the Month for January repeatedly stands out for his photography, including being among the finalists for Journalist of the Month in the past. Chief Petty Officer Joshua Ives documents the operations of... read more
The DVIDS Journalist of the Month for January repeatedly stands out for his photography, including being among the finalists for Journalist of the Month in the past. Chief Petty Officer Joshua Ives documents the operations of Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah in Afghanistan.<br /> <br />
Ives' photos were downloaded more than 1,000 times and viewed more than 4,600 times during the month. From KETK-TV and Mother Jones to the Military Times and the Examiner, a range of media use his images. <br /> <br />
His photojournalism deserves recognition because of the way he captures his subjects and documents the work of service members in Farah is timely. <br /> <br />
"Chief Ives has done a tremendous job of supporting our team's communications efforts at PRT Farah," said Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup, public affairs officer with PRT Farah. "Josh, a career Navy corpsman and hobby photographer, jumped at the chance to support our team's communications efforts when we deployed without a full-time combat cameraman." <br /> <br />
Ives submitted all but a few of his images on either the same day the images were taken or within two days. Many deployed military journalists are unable to match Ives' timeliness due to certain outside factors that often affect military journalists, like location and mission length. Being able to overcome some of those limitations further makes Ives' timeliness commendable. <br /> <br />
The way he captures his subjects makes his images more engaging. Examples include his framing of service members against the environment and portraits of Afghan children, whom service members encounter during operations. Some of the portraits are featured in the image gallery "PRT Farah meets with provincial director of agriculture, irrigation and livestock." <br /> <br />
Ives also gets down on eye-level to capture his subject more from his subject's point-of-view, for example a PRT security force team member on the ground receiving aid during medical evacuation training. <br /> <br />
Overall, Ives' photojournalism documents the PRT's work at Forward Operating Base Farah very well. One of his image galleries covers PRT Farah attending a gender strategy working group, which is extremely timely with the recent announcement about allowing women in combat. <br /> <br />
Some of his other image gallery topics feature other missions for PRT Farah, like the PRT Farah medical treating Afghan National Police, a meeting with the education director in Farah, medical evacuation training and even photojournalism training in Farah City. <br /> <br />
"He's been a tremendous help to us cover missions that I can't always be on, and has helped us effectively communicate with our key audiences," said Stroup. "His work is incredible and we're blessed to have him on our team." <br />
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Ives' varied topics combined with his technique and timeliness highlight his strength as not only a photojournalist, but the DVIDS Journalist of the Month. <br />
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