Mary F. Calvert is a renowned photojournalist, recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award (twice) and the Canon Female Photojournalist award. She doesn't do funny; her work focuses on (quoting her website) "the under-reported humanitarian struggle of women and children worldwide to secure the most basic human rights". We're talking serious stuff. And it's both moving and beautiful.

As is stated all over this website, I believe that photography lies at the intersection of the subject, the photographer and the observer, and that it should reveal something about one of the three. Great photography reveals something about all three. By this criterion - as by many others - Calvert's work is obviously great photography.

Mary F. Calvert, The Battle Within: Sexual Assault in America's MilitaryThe horror of losing a child, but also the beauty and dignity of a bereaved parent Calvert aims at revealing things about her subjects, and she does so in a very effective manner. As most masterful work about hard subjects, her photography doesn't fall prey to the mistake of a black and white (pun not intended) portrayal of the world. Though showing pain and suffering, she manages to let glimmers of hope shine through, to show strength, resilience, and beauty within horrible situations. This gives us a better understanding of the subtleties of her subjects, and ends up making them more real, because they exist with more dimensions than simply the struggle for which they were, we suppose, chosen to be included in Calvert's body of work. So of course Calvert's photography reveals a lot about her subjects.

Mary F. Calvert, The Battle Within: Sexual Assault in America's MilitaryA subject hinted at, with a significant yet empathetic and respectful treatment

Calvert's work also tells us about her. To put it very simply, her concerns are fairly obvious from what she chooses as subjects - the plight of others weighs heavily on Calvert's mind. Yet she manages to reveal beauty in otherwise horrendous circumstances, displaying her concern for aesthetics as well as ethics. And then it is striking that some of her strongest pictures are defined by an absence, the subject being guessed at, seen as absence, barely hinted at. This approach, for someone tackling harsh realities, indicates a concern for displaying the horrors of the world with empathy, a care for the individuals, and a strong sense of restraint so as not to invade too strongly on the lives of the people she depicts. In other words, her work reveals Calvert to be a humanist.

Mary F. Calvert, The Battle Within: Sexual Assault in America's MilitaryA powerful confrontation that begs the question: what would I have done to help, how would I have reacted, how can I help now? Then of course confronting Calvert's pictures is an experience for the viewer. How we react tells us about ourselves. It is interesting to note where we empathize, where we feel indignant, where we feel the need to look away - even though none of her pictures are voyeuristic in any way. Our own priorities and feelings towards the difficult subject matter she puts forward to us become clearer. What we consider beautiful also gets put into question, as we find pictures of appalling situations nevertheless beautiful.

I find it interesting that though Calvert provides interesting and enlightening captions to her pictures, they are absolutely not necessary to "understand" and feel them. They stand on their own and call the observer to better understand them. That is the sign of powerful work. 

For the sake of consistency, all pictures illustrating this post are taken from her series "The Battle Within: Sexual Assault in America's Military Part 2: The Survivors" series, but I urge you to take a look at her other projects as well. Calvert's is beautiful and important work.