The Sunday Still from Patrick Farrell: Violence at the Venezuelan Border

Photojournalist Patrick Farrell has joined the blog with his weekly feature, The Sunday Still. Farrell selects one image each week that showcases the best photojournalism by photojournalists from around the world. The feature runs weekly in The Sunday Long Read. The goal of the newsletter, edited by Don Van Natta Jr. and Jacob Feldman, is to put the week’s best journalism in your hands every Sunday morning.

The Sunday Still from Patrick Farrell

Violence at the Venezuelan Border  Sometimes you have to use your feet to zoom in rather than the lens. Marco Bello of Reuters risked personal harm on Feb. 23 to deliver a tight shot that delivered us to the Venezuela-Colombia border, where the Venezuela National Guard and protestors clashed over the delivery of U.S.-backed emergency food and medical supplies to the crumbling country.   Patrick Farrell, the curator of The Sunday Still, is the 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winner for Breaking News Photography for The Miami Herald, where he has worked since 1987. He is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Media Management at the University of Miami School of Communication.

Photojournalists C.M. Guerrero and Patrick Farrell take buyouts at Miami Herald

On Thursday, several of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald’s finest took buyouts. In the photography department, C.M. Guerrero and Patrick Farrell will no longer be working for Miami’s newspaper of record. Charles Trainor's Miami Herald newsroom goodbye email to Guerrero and Farrell reminded of how fortunate I have been to work closely with Guerrero plus the Miami winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Photojournalism who I have worked with in Miami; Patrick Farrell, Michel du Cille, Carol Guzy, Brian Smith and Alan Diaz. Smith won the Pulitzer as a staffer at the LA Times before joining the Herald and Alan Diaz won it for the Associated Press. We have lost Michel and Alan, Carol has moved on to Washington, DC, Smith is a celebrated portrait photographer for the stars and now Patrick and Guerrero are no longer a staffer at the Miami Herald. When I started working at the Herald we had over 35 photographers on staff. As I said, I have been fortunate to work with so many outstanding award-winning photojournalists and I'm sure it has made me a better photographer. 

Below are Trainor’s goodbye emails to Patrick and Guerrero.

PATRICK
My friend and colleague Patrick Farrell is leaving the Miami Herald to pursue other opportunities in photography. Patrick and I started together in a small bureau in Hollywood and, together, we shared a passion for our work and the Miami Herald. During those few years, I saw a photographer with an eye unlike any I’ve ever studied or work with. He saw his images with such a unique perspective. 

When Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992 it was a tragic time for South Florida, but our photo staff rose to the occasion and produced incredible images that helped the world see the tragic consequences of the storm. The Miami Herald won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The photo staff didn’t win the photojournalism category, we were finalists but we were fortunate to be able to say we were part of the newsroom's effort. 

Then in 2009, Hurricane Ike struck Haiti. Patrick Farrell and Jacqueline Charles were on the island, with great possible consequences to their well-being. Their coverage of the story grabbed the hearts of the world. Jacqueline’s stories and Patrick’s images to this day can bring a tear to the eye of the viewer. Patrick, with two small children at home, had his heart ripped out watching the parents and friends hold their sons and daughters who were lost in the floods. Those of us close to Patrick could see the emotional and physical toll it took on him. 

Patrick’s work in Haiti was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News in Photojournalism, one of three Pulitzers in Photojournalism that photography staffers have won for the Miami Herald. He joined a talented legacy paved by Carol Guzy and the late Michel du Cille for winning the Pulitzer Prize in Photojournalism at the Miami Herald. Their names on that incredible wall in our lobby. 

I accompanied Patrick on his last Miami Herald assignment. It was at the University of Miami, where he attended college and is now a professor of photojournalism – a fitting final assignment. As we talked about his time at the Herald, he remarked, “I’ve never seen finer coverage of a hurricane than our staff did with Hurricane Andrew. Each photographer had so many remarkable images, each had a Pulitzer entry of their own.” That’s quite a compliment from the 2009 Pulitzer winner in Photojournalism. It demonstrates how Patrick always deflects attention and always supports his colleagues. We will miss his generous spirit and his talent.

The Photographer’s Storm: Patrick Farrell and His Photos of Storm-Ravaged Haitihttps://vimeo.com/8729472

GUERRERO
Today I would like to bid farewell to another colleague, Carlos Guerrero. Carlos’ tenure at the Miami Herald and El Nuevo has been marked with excellent work and a flair to describe a moment in time with words like no other. It has always been a pleasure to have a conversation with Carlos. And we will never forget his iconic image of the man standing in water, disheveled and shocked after Hurricane Andrew. It ran the full page on 1A, a striking photo that to this day can be considered the iconic image from the storm. 

I’m honored to have shared an acknowledgment with Carlos. Carlos and I were recognized by a committee at Knight Ridder for photographing two of the most important images taken by photographers at the Miami Herald: Carlos’ Hurricane Andrew photograph of the man and my image of the women in the raft during the Cuban rafters crisis. That is something he and I will always share. 

I have covered countless Miami Dolphins games, Carlos contributing to that coverage, and to this day I will always admire his image of Miami Dolphins receiver Chris Chambers’ one-handed touchdown catch in the end zone. Carlos scored that day, too. 

I can speak for us all in the photo department when I say that, “Carlos, we will miss you, but we will always be friends!”