We are excited to introduce the first Click Photojournalism Fellow, Patricia Chaira, based in Beirut Lebanon. She had been on the ground in Beirut capturing the conflict as it’s happening on Click.

Click by Patricia Chaira:

These images not only represent a compelling account of the conflict, but are some of the first cryptographically verified images to be coming out of a conflict area in history. With the world becoming increasingly more dangerous, many news agencies are not able to get people on the ground where it matters. Even when media is coming it, vast resources are spent fact checking images, and attempting to communicate with those on the ground.

The Click App represents a new tool to use the smartphone to capture photos that are cryptographically verified (Using Adobe’s C2PA image provenance standard)  and the Ethereum ZKsync blockchain to secure images.

We interviewed Patricia Chaira, to get her account of capturing reality as it happens:

Edited for context and brevity

Kinsman: Thanks Patricia for chatting with us and congratulations on your nomination as a Click Fellow

Patricia: Thank you! It is absolutely my pleasure!

What are your official associations and titles today?

I am a journalist, writer and film director foremost, but my passion is really photography. I am working out of Lebanon on a SIPA Press (French photo agency) contract now  and work on TV documentary.

What got you into photojournalism?

I have time in front of me. Before I had a full time job for French TV, which kept me busy in the field. Last year, I decided to be a Photojournalist professionally. It was like a dream to be a photojournalist.

I started in TV and it was very difficult to change professions. In France, once you are in TV it's very difficult to work for a newspaper or [other similar professions], being a photographer is the most difficult because the market is down, and it can be difficult to make a living out of it.

How did you end up in Lebanon?

(A French man in the background laughs, her boyfriend): it was a good idea you did move.

Patricia: The adventure! I had a very good job in Paris in 2018. I was the head producer of a press agency, and executive producer for documentaries, for example about the ISIS attacks in Paris.

I had covered the middle east for 20 years. In 2003 I was a journalist and reporter for a French channel in Baghdad. I spent more than a month there during the American invasion, and after that I continued to cover the Middle East. It was thrilling, but as a freelancer and reporter it’s difficult to be paid for this job. I was constantly changing contracts, I used to go for different French press agencies, and I was in Afghanistan, and all of the “burning parts” of the world. After the action I had to come back and I had to find a job to make my life, so I became a producer.

Once I became head of a large agency in 2013, the agency decided to close 5 years later because they did not see revenues, and they weren't making enough profit. And I was 50 years old! [At that age] It was tough to find a new, exciting job in France. So I decided to leave Paris and to not just go back to the Middle East, but to go and live in the Middle East. I chose Beirut, of course because of its amazing story, and because I did not know the country. And it is a fascinating place for a reporter.

I arrived 3 years ago for a documentary for Canal +, and when I finished I decided to stay. Last year I decided to become a photojournalist so I have the time to write, make movies. And I feel I need to do that.

Did you fall in love? This happened to me once in India, I almost built a life there.

Patricia: Laughs yes! One year ago in November I met Jean.

Jean (boyfriend): I think It was a good decision!

Patricia: I am really free, I feel free all my life, and I feel free and alive in Beirut. I am quite a lover. I love life and I love love. I am incredibly passionate about life and freedom, and by the Adventure with a capital A!

Is it like the action movies or is it less romantic?

Yes it is a big adventure, and in my blood I have the DNA of a photo reporter. It is in my blood. I have never done anything other than being a journalist.

Click by Patricia Chaira:

Are you worried now about the conflict, shaking things up around you or does being able to document what is happening around you excite you?

Patricia: Yes I am really worried. What has happened now really is a historic moment. In a sense I am worried about what happened in Lebanon. There are a lot of people here in the streets and people dying, children dying… but in another sense, maybe, hopefully, this country will find another, more prosperous way to live.

Jean (boyfriend): On one part there is war and raids, we are seeing this live on TV now. And on the other side the country has enough vitality to go out, people go to work, children go to school. We see hope that after history unfolds before us, there is a way out for Lebanon to become a normal and prosperous country once again. Lebanon never really came out from the civil war that erupted 50 years ago. Since 2019 it has been unbelievable, a financial crisis, people losing their money, then the huge explosion at the port. Most of the city collapsed. After that we had COVID, and now the war! Yet this country persists.

Click by Patricia Chaira:

Tell us about some of your favorite work to date:

Patricia : Once I am in the field everything is my favorite. Being immersed in the action is my favorite. My Job as a photojournalist is to go out in the field and be as close as possible, and tell the story as accurately as possible.

Do you think you are attracted to the chaos?

Patricia: No, but every war reporter, if they don’t tell you they are attracted by the chaos they are not being honest with themselves. It is like a drug, adrenaline is so important that you need to go back to the war. But it doesn’t mean you want it to last forever. Of course I want the war to stop! But for my job and for photojournalism- you know, when I cover war around the world I am really affected by the life conditions of the people.

But I don’t forget one thing. I chose to come. I made a conscious decision to come, so I never complain.

Click by Patricia Chaira:

Moving onto the future, How is AI impacting your work?

As a writer it is catastrophic! Many online publications are having articles written that are not written by reporters. There is no one in the field.

Have any photos recently convinced you of the power of photography?

Yes, for me the photo of this war in Lebanon is not mine, with my equipment I cannot do it, but the picture is of a commercial plane landing at Beirut airport where there had been a missile strike. It was landing while the smoke was emerging from the city. And this was a very powerful image.

I could not take it as I did not have a zoom lens, and I shoot with a compact lens. This photo shows how there is a way, and how this country never falls, the airlines are continuing to fly for regular people to go away or come back.

This was powerful.

What does “proving reality” in photojournalism mean to you and what were your thoughts on Click?

I will be very honest with you. I was curious because I love Micha (Click Cofounder), I love this man, and he told me about the app and I said OK I will try Click. It is really smart, and this creates a proof! You cannot change reality.

It is really smart and important. But for the professional photographer, there has to be a way to monetize the images though Click. It is critically important to allow photographers to earn a living.

In general I am curious about new technology and have a totally open mind. The guarantee that Click offers (Image provenance), this is what agencies also sell to their clients, this does the same job, but the agencies today provide a way to monetize.

This is something we are focusing our efforts on today, providing a new way for photographers to make money with images. We really appreciate the feedback.

With Click, we want to highlight people at the boundaries of photography that impact the world, when does photojournalism become art and vice versa?

Ah! When the photographer dies! Laughs.

My model in my life is Lee Miller, she’s a famous American woman. She was an icon of the surrealists, and she was a model for Vogue. During WWII she decided to become a photo reporter. She wanted to go to Europe, and Vogue pushed back. She insisted and became embedded with the GIs and was the first woman to cover the liberation of the concentration camps.

What is the difference between her photos and the other? First she was a woman, and she was an artist. She had a different eye. Now when you see her photography you see that it is not just photojournalism but it is art too.

What advice would you give your younger self pursuing a career in photojournalism? Any other final thoughts or comments?

GO! GO GO GO! Of course just do it! It is the best job in the world!

Thank you Patricia Chaira, we are excited to see what comes next.

Click Photojournalism Fellowship

Are you interested in becoming a Click Photojournalism Fellow? Learn more about the program and apply here. We’ll be back in touch with you shortly.

-Team Click