Pulitzer Prize winning photographer discusses her success

Dallas Morning News senior photojournalist Cheryl Diaz Meyer talks about her life, the prize, and her career

by Dawn Withers

Cheryl Diaz Meyer has been a senior staff photographer at The Dallas Morning News since the year 2000. Ms. Diaz Meyer won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography with fellow staff photographer David Leeson for their body of work from Iraq. She covered the U.S.-led war as an embedded journalist attached to the Second Tank Battalion of the First Marine Division, and spent the aftermath of the war with Iraqis in Baghdad. Aside from The Dallas Morning News, her work from Iraq was published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and Spiegel magazines, in Corbisí Desert Diaries and Lifeís The War in Iraq. Click here to see some of Cheryl Diaz Meyer's work from the Dallas Morning News. For her Pultizer-winning photos, click here.. What made you decide to become a photojournalist?
When I was studying for my first degree, which was a Bachelors of Arts with a major in German and a minor in French, I became quite interested in photography and painting. More so painting, actually. I decided to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Versailles, France for a year. Thatís the art school. They didnít have a painting teacher, instead they had an energetic photography teacher who took a liking to my work and encouraged me to explore taking pictures in Paris. By the time I returned from France to continue my education at the University of Minnesota ñ Duluth, I was hooked on photography. I would spend hours in the library perusing photo books and sometimes crying over the images. There were times I simply thought I was high as I studied the great masters of photojournalism. I knew I wanted to make pictures about life. I knew I wanted to be a witness to the world and its events. I eventually found a school that taught me the ropes and my career has been careening along ever since. You were born and raised in the Philippines but you and your parents immigrated to Minnesota in 1981. How has this change in your life affected your photography?
Photography is a lone sport, as is running marathons or cooking. One does it alone. When my family immigrated, I was 13 years old and the move was difficult. All the things that I had been taught in the Philippines didnít seem to make sense in the U.S. So I learned to keep a lot of thoughts to myself and became a bit introverted. I thought a lot about life, I thought a lot about myself and how I fit into the world, I thought a lot about what kind of person I wanted to be. The experience made me very comfortable with myself and I have learned to deal with change easily. The move forced me to adapt so I am very adaptable. Also, I think because it was such a difficult move, I have a lot of understanding for people who are struggling. Iím not a sap, but I have empathy for people. Many of your past photojournalism assignments have taken you to places like Afghanistan, Eastern Europe and Iraq. What have your travels taught you as a photojournalist?
Traveling has taught me that there are wonderful people that inhabit this earth, and there are wretched people as well. But by putting out good energy, one receives the abundance of good that the universe has to offer. I know that may sound esoteric, but in my life, I have found that serendipity plays a large part. I simply try to live my life honorably and try to treat others as I might want to be treatedówhether we speak the same language or not. Invariably good things happen. I donít know, I truly am a very lucky person. How did the Iraqis react to seeing a woman among the soldiers you embedded with?
With the Iraqis, I was an anomaly. They were quite surprised to see a woman in fatigues. I had to wear the chemical suit during the invasion, and that was standard fatigue design. I think it softened them. Many times I would see women pointing to me and smiling widely. With the Marines, I was treated with a lot of courtesy and respect. They treated my reporter, who was male, also courteously, but I was embedded with 1,000 men. They really went out of their way to be helpful to me especially with my physical limitations. One sergeant said that I reminded him and the men to be polite, so that when things got really stressful they didnít insult each other as badly. That way, the next day they could still look each other in the eye and work together. What kind of relationship did you develop as an embedded journalist with to the Second Tank Battalion, First Marine Division you traveled with in Iraq?
As journalists, we had a very trusting relationship with the commanding officers of the Second Tank Battalion. That was due to Lt. Col. Mike Oehl who took us into his confidence and shared a lot of information with us. He explained to us what information could endanger the mission and we, in turn, were respectful of the boundaries. He was an extremely generous man. I have tremendous regard for him as a leader and as a human being. With the Marines, I had a professional, courteous relationship. Although we got to know each other in very close quarters and knew probably more than we wanted to know about each other, we related on a purely professional level. Itís hard to imagine that from this side of things. I remember a moment when there were bullets flying and a Marine covered my body with his and then dragged me to safety. Then there were times when we thought we might be killed together and I knew these guys would protect me with their lives, yet we remained professional colleagues, of sorts. That is just how it had to be. What kind of relationship did you develop with the Iraqis you photographed?
I really thoroughly enjoyed my interactions with Iraqis. There were so many wonderful souls among them, people who humbled me because they were so honorable amidst terrible conditions, people who chose the right path when it wouldíve been so easy to commit crimes, people who stunned me with their grace despite all the ugliness. I fell in love with Iraqis. I have several dear friends from my travels whom I miss terribly. I wish I could help them more. The war has been so hard on so many innocent people. Many of these locations were (and are) embroiled in major conflicts. What is it like reporting from war zones?
Itís a rush! First, one has to have all the logistics lined upóand those can be a nightmare. Itís important to be prepared for any kind of dilemma, technologically or otherwise. Then, covering the conflict itself is very very exhausting, both physically and emotionally. There are so many decisions to make and many of them could be fatal. Ultimately though, I find it to be a very intense and rewarding kind of assignment. Covering a war pits one against oneís ultimate fears and weaknesses. It forces me to find strength inside myself that I didnít know existed. What do you think is the biggest discrepancy between whatís going on in Iraq and how itís reported or photographed in American mainstream press?
I think Americans are not very familiar with the Muslim world and what role the U.S. has played historically. So the basis of the news is skewed. The events are reported as they happen, but the context is lacking. Itís very disturbing. In your photographs from conflict zones, what are you trying to communicate that may not be in written news reports?
I hope my photographs help people understand the ugliness of war. From afar itís easy to demonize Iraqi people, but they have suffered tremendously because of this war. They were victimized by Saddam Hussein, and now they feel colonized by the U.S. From afar itís also easy to glamorize our military men and women serving in Iraq, but their lives are pretty wretched. At the crux of it, I hope that people will see how we are really all the same. We may look different, talk different, practice different faiths, but we still bleed blood, we still need to feel loved, we still must eat and drink to stay alive. We really have so much in common but instead we rip each other apart over our differences. Youíve recently won the Pulitzer for breaking news photography. Youíre work has been well received in the past and youíve won other major awards like the Daily Press Award just last year. How is winning the Pulitzer different?
Winning the Daily Press Award was a big thrill for me! I screamed over that one. Winning the Pulitzer is the dream Iíve never even dared to dream. Because it is the highest award a journalist can attain, it somehow makes me feel like all the choices Iíve made thus far have been meaningful and that the values I have embraced are somehowÖ right. People keep asking me if I have some grandiose plans after winning-- but I donít. Making pictures is really perfectly pleasing to me and I hope to continue doing that for many more years.