Lucy Nicholson Multimedia » Video

Route to Recovery multimedia portraits

lucynic — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:53:44 +0000

Reuters multimedia project Route to Recovery: A trip through the epicenters of the American recession

Reuters Times of Crisis multimedia

lucynic — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:58:57 +0000

I followed Sheriff’s Deputies evicting people from foreclosed homes, shooting photos, video, and audio, for a story which formed part of the REUTERS ‘TIMES OF CRISIS’ multimedia package.

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Reuters Wins POYi’s Documentary Project of the Year

It was tense every time Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Mendoza approached a foreclosed home. He readied his hand on his gun. Trailing him with a camera to show the human cost of the housing crisis, I followed at a safe distance.

Many homes were already empty, and Mendoza would walk through the eerily silent rooms, gun drawn, making sure nobody was there.

Mexican immigrant Aida Lemus, a frail 70-year-old, looked scared as she opened her front door and peered through the crack.

Mendoza told her he was taking possession of her home for failing to pay her mortgage.

She needed to let him in, gather a few belongings and leave.

Aida opened the door. Happy family photos lined a well-kept living room, reminding me of visiting my grandparents’ home as a child. She spoke little English and immediately phoned a man who was giving her legal advice.

Mendoza found a bilingual neighbor to tell her she needed to end the phone call and leave so he could change the locks.

She began to cry and clutch her stomach as she talked about her grandchildren’s bottled milk. Paramedics came to check on her, and left after calming her down.

She eventually picked up only her handbag and a towel and left her home, quietly sobbing.

It was horrible to watch, and Mendoza and I were silent for a while as we drove to the next foreclosed home.

California is one of the states hit hardest by mortgage foreclosures. Hundreds of thousands defaulted on subprime loans that fueled a buying frenzy. One in 10 prime borrowers are in foreclosure or overdue on payments.

Mendoza has told me about finding senior citizens, small kids and pitbulls left behind in the homes. His colleague, Deputy Ramona Figueroa, says many homes are in an appalling state. Mold is eating through the roof, meat rots in the refrigerator and animal feces and urine soil the carpet.

One man was growing marijuana upstairs, another took his life when a deputy arrived.

The people who had been evicted often seemed to leave behind a couple of belongings after emptying their homes: a crocheted baby’s sweater, a single plate of uneaten food. Many obviously left in a hurry. I tried to picture them from their remaining possessions.

Women’s refuge in Afghanistan

lucynic — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:18:25 +0000

Patooni Muhanna, who works at a women’s shelter in Kabul, speaks about women’s rights since the fall of the Taliban. Patooni says that despite some positive changes, domestic violence and self-immolation are still concerns.

According to a 2006 report by the UK-based NGO ‘Womankind,’ anywhere between sixty and eighty percent of marriages in Afghanistan are forced, 57 percent of brides are under the age of 16, and 87 percent complain of domestic violence. Afghan women suffer from the lowest literacy rate in the world, at 13 percent.

Photos and video: Lucy Nicholson

Producer: Jill Kitchener

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Afghanistan election 2009

lucynic — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:05:34 +0000

Soviet helicopters, pick-up truck racing, Kalashnikov-carrying security guards, banquet lunches. Photographing Afghan presidential candidates as they traverse the country before the election on August 20, is campaign travel at its quirkiest.

Lucy flying with Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah to a campaign rally in Samangan province. Photo: Tyler Hicks

In Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, the traveling press piled into the back of pick-up trucks following Abdullah Abdullah, Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s main rival, from the airport to the Shrine of Hazrat Ali.

Supporters race to keep up with Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s convoy as he arrives to give a campaign speech at the Shrine of Hazrat Ali in Mazar-i-Sharif. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Around 50,000 supporters jostled between the cars in the convoy, so each truck would accelerate, then slam on the brakes. Abdullah supporters were grasping the back of the truck and trying to climb up. It was really challenging to stay standing to take photos without being launched into the crowd every time we went from 30-0 mph in 3 seconds.

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah is mobbed by supporters as he arrives to give a campaign speech at the Shrine of Hazrat Ali in Mazar-i-Sharif. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

It was 104 degrees Fahrenheit at the shrine, and all the sweaty media members got separated as we fought our way through the throng. People were horribly packed and a few ended up in hospital with injuries and heatstroke. It was brutal fighting my way through the crowd. Even hard to breathe at one point. The crowd was all men so I was fighting off wayward hands. The lens hood broke off one of my lenses and the filter on the front of the lens smashed.

Campaign workers attempt to cool off Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah with water before he gives his campaign speech at the Shrine of Hazrat Ali in Mazar-i-Sharif in Balkh province. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

After Abdullah’s speech, the whole crowd was trying to fight its way back into the mosque. The security guards forced the door shut against the crush. I kept knocking to be let in and they eventually opened the door, but the force of the crowd propelled me backwards onto the floor of the mosque. I was sweating profusely and breathing fast, so a man poured water on my head, soaking all my camera equipment.

Lunch, as always in hospitable Afghanistan, was a beautiful contrast. Time slowed down as we drank tea from delicate china cups in an anteroom at the governor’s mansion with spinning chandeliers. Upstairs we entered a banquet hall and were served at least six different meat dishes, rice, naan, okra, soup and watermelon. Bollywood music videos, and later Abdullah’s speech played on the flat screen television next to Karzai’s portrait.

Then came the rally car drive back to the airport with all the young drivers in the convoy racing each other. Guys with Kalashnikovs hung out of the back of many of the pick-up trucks and the whole convoy drove at high speed. They overtook on roundabouts, sounded police sirens, shouted at each other, and screeched tires on every turn, slamming on the brakes for cyclists and donkeys.

Cars tend to barrel towards you on both sides of the road in Afghanistan. Drivers in both directions abuse their horns until one driver loses his nerve and swerves away from the impact. We joked about dying, but laughed most of the way because it was just such a relief to not be at the mosque.

The view home flying over the Hindu Kush is a beautiful distraction from the noise, fumes, and claustrophobic heat of the Soviet-era MI-17 “flying truck” helicopters and troop planes the candidates use on the campaign trail.

Beijing Olympics multimedia blog

lucynic — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:30:24 +0000

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Watch the video on the Reuters photographers blog

Editor & Publisher

MediaStorm multimedia workshop, New York

lucynic — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:55:45 +0000

“One Man Brand” by Lucy Nicholson & Jassim Ahmad:

After meeting at the gym, Robert Burck and Cindy Fox started dating, but he was elusive about his job. To find out for herself, Cindy went to Times Square and was surprised by what she discovered.

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This is a multimedia project I made with Jassim Ahmad, Reuters Head of Visual Projects, and MediaStorm producer Bob Sacha at the first MediaStorm multimedia workshop in New York City, May 3-10, 2008.

Digital Journalist interview

Wall Street Journal article

MediaStorm

The MediaStorm Workshops

Pixcetera article

Kobre Guide article

Kobre Guide: Top 20 for 2008

Kobre Guide

AOL article

Multimedia Evangelist article

Multimedia Evangelist, Rob Galbraith

Jassim’s Iraq multimedia project: