How I Photographed My First New York Times Assignment 

Great work Bryan, a respectful approach and you're awareness of the situation goes a long way.

Beautiful images. Keep it up

This is a topic that I have been incredibly curious about for the longest time. Like you say, no one really talks about these other dynamics of these sorts of projects. Appreciate the knowledge. 🖖

That was incredibly fascinating to watch. It was interesting to hear about your insecurities on the assignment, and I can't imagine how tough that must have been. I myself often feel paralysed with trying to capture photographs of people, and strangers, so it was great to listen to you describe in detail how you managed those feelings and were able to overcome them to get the work done. Loved seeing the photographs too - thank you!

Outstanding work Bryan. You told the stories in a really compelling way more like an artist than a journalist I would say, but without any personal bias or sensationalism. Very inspirational

Bryan, it was an honor to see images after the destruction this town faced and to hear about your experience of covering this assignment. Congratulations on all your hard work to get to the point of making work for NY Times. I admire your courage in taking on this assignment. I really appreciated your honesty with us in n your video and with the people of this town. I cannot imagine how challenging, uncomfortable and overwhelming this would have been to document and cover this disaster-so much tension between wanting to share the stories and experiences of these people and also not wanting to be in the way or cause more problems for them. I deeply appreciated seeing your fantastic images, the stories they tell and how you approached the situation and people with kindness, respect and understanding. Thank you for sharing your experience with us-I admire you and your work.

It's always a bit strange to comment on an old video but it just appeared in my feed. As someone who's not really interested in photos of vintage cars and such like, I was very impressed to see your work in a real life situation. I completely understand the awkwardness as a first assignment in the face of such a tragedy. I hope you get more assignments because you've done really well.

This is such a great video! Honest and really helpful to anyone who's interested in documentary photography.

Fantastic photos and you handled the whole situation like a professional. Can’t wait to see you progress with the next assignments

A fantastic look into a world not many of us are familiar with. Your honesty and humility here is remarkable.

Your success speaks for itself. NYT! Being honest, polite and straightforward is best in all things. Congrats.

Something I appreciate about your work is the transparency and honesty you show. Like that situation with cops letting you in and you reflecting on that feeling. It just seems right to acknowledge that. Also sharing insecurity and thought process with friends and even people on the spot. Out of curiosity, are photo editors open to film nowadays? Considering assignments and fast turnover.

Far out I enjoy listening to you talk about your experiences. And also, looking at your images. It's all so bloomin' wonderful!

Heartfelt and honest, Bryan. Thanks. I also prefer the b&w edits.

great job, im sure this is the first of many life changing assignments

Some powerful images - a “Baptism of Fire” for your first professional assignment, well done.

you are really outstanding in your position as a photography content creator on this platform in my eyes. I really dig the honesty and the way you talk about experiences rather than gear or other useless time consuming stuff (even though I love content of gear, don't we all do?) Anyway, the next publication might be yours ! Keep it up

Congratulations and great work on the first assignment Bryan, Seemed like a tricky one to start of with too!👏🏾

Man.... I really enjoy watching your video, work. It makes me want to shoot more ...unfortunately the area where I'm at nowadays isn't really inspiring :( (Belgium, Brussels) THAT FIRST photo of the lady next to here camera is just perfect!!!

This was so insightful Bryan, thank you for sharing the story. Great work on the respectful and thoughtful approach you had and the results speak for themselves. I can't yet imagine making work of this kind, so it was highly interesting to listen to your experience. Congrats on the assignment, hopefully more will follow.

Good job man. Never ever be timid or act undecided or scared. You have to look as if you are in control, respect people's feelings and be courteous, but after that, be like a bulldog. I'm only where I am now in my photographic career because I never took no for an answer, just acted as if I was meant to be there and people will look up to you. I'm a professional gig and events photographer in Perth, Western Australia. I wear my press pass around my neck and once folk see that, literally 98% of everybody will allow you to get your photo. People are basically fantastic and they all want their face emblazoned across a page or spread somewhere. Heck - I even have them 'wheel' their kids out to be photographed. All my shots that have sold well and got me to where I am today, was because I just pushed in as if I was meant be there and got my shot. I'd always look back and the timid photographers were standing back with the their long lenses getting the same boring shots. I was in people's faces with a wide angle lens and got the money shot. Take a look if you don't believe me. All the best for your future and go for it young man - you'll do well. philipsuttonphotography.com

You took some incredible photos. And good on you for facing your fears and discomfort and speaking honestly to the victims of this disaster. Their story deserves to be told and you honored them with your photos. I hope this leads to more assignment work for you. Thanks for sharing.

Incredible video and photos. As a hobbyist, I really appreciate the candid insights into the profession, the thought process and your feelings towards such a heavy assignment. Thank you!

Excellent video Bryan thank you and yes I learned a lot. Congratulations on your first assignment and I loved the work. Great to see someone going in to such a difficult situation with self-awareness and humility.

I have been involved with disasters for many years all over the Us & the Caribbean & it is always a difficult time for the victims & the people who help in what ever capacity. Your video, to me, portrait that feeling.

Great insights, thank you

You can have an exhibition in the town when its rebuild with the intervjus

thanks for the insight. good on you for being so conscientious and thoughtful

Can't imagine how hard it was to walk up on the people; I have no doubt your approach was appreciated after seeing how a lot of "journalists" get right in people's faces with no respect. Strong work and agree the B&W conveys the sense of situation best.

Awesome work. Really glad you're doing this kind of work.

Great work! Thank you for sharing it. 👍🏻

Congratulations. Beautifully work. Raw, filled with truth and just the right amount of hope

Great work Bryan. Thank you for sharing this journey you are having with the New York Times, its very exciting and educational to hear your about you moving into this space.

Love this video super insightful. Great work!🌸✨

Congratulations on your first assignment. Great work!

Awesome work, Bryan. So cool to hear how you approached this. I appreciate your openness and vulnerabilities. Congratulations on the job opportunity and looking forward to following the more to come. Love the photos, as always.

Thanks for sharing thoughts and process Bryan ! It was a very interesting experience for you and i can’t wait to see your progression for the next ones !

Its hard making money out of other's misfortune. But by showing the situation you ultimately help them. I think you did a great job, sensibly handled with care. Nice photos. And congrats on working for the NYT. Pulitzer coming up in the next few years? Mono really suits the scene. Well done. So pleased we don't get storms like this in the UK. And our houses are made of bricks!

Great work ! As someone who’s shy I literally struggle w the same thing when taking photos so this was definitely inspiring ! Keep it up

This is super interesting and educational. Thank you so much for sharing with us on how you got to be in the position that you could be called on to do this. Everything you said about interacting with the people really resonated with me. Well done.

Great video Bryan and congratulations on completing your first assignment with The NY Times. You are to be commended for being so candid in revealing your feelings experienced while approaching this tragic story. Bravo!

Great video Bryan. Love your personal approach with people that just went through a very difficult experience. Kudos to your best bro for supporting you.

Really great video mate. Sounds and looks like you did a great job for your first time. Specially under the circumstances. One you’ll never forget for sure!

Really great man, especially for your first assignment! Honesty & humbleness will take you far!

I didn’t expect that as next video. Congrats on how you managed the hole thing. We are watching the beginning of a long long career.

Great video Bryan, very insightful, it’s been really interesting and eye opening to see how your career is developing, allowing this kind of insight into the process of becoming a NYT photographer is really unmatched. Thanks so much for sharing all this, you are inspiring more young photographers than you know!

congrats man

Good on you for succeeding on your first assignment, fantastic images, but hearing you take about the way you got to where you are now is the most interesting part.

Awesome work bud and I appreciate the insight into how it started. Those images were stellar, really moving - I appreciate the small blurs from what I assume are raindrops on your lens. It really adds character to the images and helps illustrate the chaos of it all.

Thanks as always for you thoughtful approach. I love listening to you videos and seeing your work. It seems like you got some great results given the incredible stressful situation for everyone involved. You captured some very powerful images of the chaos and desperation - yet your usual sense of inner calm (visual style) comes through. I am curious, insomuch as you like to shoot film, what type of gear you chose to uses for this situation? Thanks again for sharing!

Congrats on the job! Nicely done. Regarding the photo on the left with the guys smiling. Even though it doesn’t fit the somber narrative/story of sadness and distraction, it certainly still tells a story on its own. The very first thought I had when viewing that photograph was, WOW, they are seeing their friends, family and neighbors for the first time after a tragic event. They are so happy to see each other. But yeah, the sad hug photo was probably the better one for the story as a whole. Out of curiosity, did you just verbally tell the officer you were on assignment for the NYT, or did you have an official press pass or something to verify you were legit? I’d feel pretty baller too, not gonna lie. Keep up the good work.

I think you are the right person for this job. The b/w-fotos are impressed. I wish the best for these people.

Great video Bryan. Do newspapers in North America publish a lot of black and white photos? I study photojournalism in Sweden and over here there are barely any black and white work at all.

Not an easy first assignment Bryan, the photos look amazing. Thank you for making this video, it was really inspiring.

Beautiful work with your first assignment. I can imagine how hard it is to begin with such an event...

Great job

Well done getting through it. Very articulate about why one image works and another doesn't (such as the women hugging, or the stoic dog). Your aesthetic is large format fine art photography tradition so it was a big ask to come up with photos that a newspaper would use.

Kudos!

This is a very interesting and compelling video. I think you did a very good job on your first assignment for the New York Times.

Wow, what an awful situation for those folks. I really appreciate the insight you gave in this video, Bryan. Some pretty strong images in there. Congrats on what I would consider a job very well done. Hopefully there's more opportunities coming your way!

Great Video, Congrats for your NY Times Assignment!. looking forward to seeing you with Brae 😆

Some really good images but the video is fantastic - your honesty about your reaction to the task is valuable - we all feel like this at some point.

Congratulations! Did you ever get to the car show in Forest Park? Also, a great location with a couple of old cars and trucks, McCausland and Southwest...east of McCausland on Southwest, Abbot and Southwest, near Southwest Diner...

You don't see videos like this that give information on what to do or the resources to do it. People are very protective these days on their methods and it sucks for people that want to know or want to be in the dame field. That information doesn't belong to anyone so it should be shared more.

I haven’t finished watching yet. But it’s great seeing you out here creating amazing work and working for the NYT! I love this for you! Also what gear did you take with you?

This is great work. I like your distance to things and people. I like the space and breathing you gave in your images. Turned backs don't matter as much as they tell the story of the catastrophe that just happened. I do miss one or two full frontal portrait like you know how to do. But overall the story you just told is the one of a small town missouri that saw a night of apocalypse and it is very well told. I hope it does get published someday.

thank you so much for sharing, I'm really happy for you. can I ask you if when you sent the people's photos to the editor, did you also explain their stories?

So good, dude. Do you have a link to the NYT article?

I really appreciate this video. I would like to know what lens did you use here and what aperture on most of those wider shots. These photographs are truly great.

This is great. Do you think you’ll revisit the subjects in a few months time?

Would you be comfortable sharing editorial feedback on this assignment ? I think that'd be really great because in my opinion some of the shots were worthy of publication. Maybe the information is too sensitive and the NYT doesn't allow it.

Question; What camera/gear were you using? I take it GFX or something digital? I just associate you as a large format shooter, and with this kind of assignment (and necessity for quick delivery) then this was not a feasible option (or even desirable)?

Great job! Curious about the photojournalism standards you had to follow, if any. Did they want just jpegs or could you shoot raw? (For a minute I thought these were 4x5 film...) Interesting to hear what you were "allowed" to do with each photograph. Also, could you have followed that man into his house and taken more photos? It would be incredibly powerful to experience someone eating a meal in their destroyed dining room. Thanks for taking us along for this ride.

Coming to this late Bryan, could you have worn something with “Press” visible on it (say a high vis vest or something similar)?

I see a Bryan Birks video uploaded, I press play

What lens did you use?

wonderful stuff hope squarespace doesn’t get upset that you super imposed their logo over the devastation… 😉

Can I ask how much you paid for the assignment?

Dude the cops hate the press do you know why? It's because they're always catching them doing sh*t they shouldn't be doing.

Are you familiar with Sean Tucker on RU-vid? Take a look, similar thought process.

it is very sad to see how a youtuber stole work that supose to be to a profesional photojournalist.