As the Iraq War was unfolding, Kyle Ludowitz M.J. ’17 became interested in understanding what drives people to violence and war. In 2009, urged on by a photojournalist and a curiosity to experience conflict firsthand, he bought a camera and a ticket to Palestine and has never looked back. Since then, he has traveled to Egypt, Syria, India, Thailand, and other regions to document critical situations.
As a student in the Graduate School of Journalism, Ludowitz won this year’s esteemed Dorothea Lange Fellowship, named after the photographer best known for her searing Depression-era portraits of the nation’s poorest peoples. Ludowitz will use the fellowship to photograph both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border and chronicle the stories of Mexican activists, newly deported immigrants, and those who are doing the work of preventing immigrants from entering.
“I want to tell stories that humanize groups of people who think and act in a more extreme fashion than most, as well as law enforcement agents who think they’re doing the best job they can for their country,” says Ludowitz.
