Surreal and mysterious, North Korea was a black hole to outsiders wanting a glimpse of the country. That all changed in 2012, when Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder led the opening of the bureau's newest office inside North Korea.

A seasoned crisis reporter, Guttenfelder spent his 20s photographing bloodshed in Africa and his 30s on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan. He became obsessed with the idea of reporting in North Korea after his first trip to the country in 2000, and he ultimately helped lead the formation of a full-time AP bureau in the country in 2012.

Guttenfelder now spends more than 100 days a year in North Korea, photographing whatever he can wherever he can, shedding light on the country through the AP wire and on Instagram.

Webby

Year: 2014

Place: Winner

Category: Documentary: Series

NPPA's Best of Photojournalism

Year: 2014

Place: Honorable Mention

Category: Visual Column

Since 1985, the International Center of Photography has recognized outstanding achievements in photography with its prestigious Infinity Awards. The awards ceremony is also ICP’s primary fundraising benefit, with its revenues assisting the center's various programs.

Harbers Studios commissioned MediaStorm, on behalf of ICP, to create a short film about each of the recipients to screen at the awards ceremony and to later remain online. The films serve as an introduction of the recipients to the audience as well as a showcase of their work, highlighting the motivations for honoring them with Infinity Awards.

David Guttenfelder spent the past 20 years of his life in some of the worst places in the world. He spent his 20s photographing bloodshed in Africa and his 30s reporting on the war in Afghanistan. Now the chief photographer for Asia, where he is primarily based in North Korea, Guttenfelder owns a body of work worthy of 30-minute film, if not a feature documentary. The challenge in this project was trimming the narrative in a way that met the client’s need for a concise piece about North Korea, while also informing the story with his earlier body of work.

We dedicated extra attention to the creation of the narrative in this piece. We made several script revisions before adding any visuals to our timeline. We wound up cutting the piece with an introduction to Guttenfelder’s crisis reporting that struck a balance between our need to inform the audience about his early work and the desire to focus on North Korea. Ultimately, the way the narrative is cut now allows for future development of the piece.

MediaStorm interviewed the recipients and gathered images to create stories about each of their careers. The resulting eight short films serve individually as biographical glimpses into the recipients’ work and collectively as a portrait of some of the important contributors to photography today.

This film was a collaboration with Harbers Studio and the International Center of Photography.

Harbers Studios turbocharges the efforts of charitable entrepreneurs by helping them tell their stories. Our goal is to help them articulate and share the value of the work they do so they can inspire others to help them do it. Working with some of the best filmmaking talent in the world, we create compelling visual narratives that enhance the endeavors of organizations working to make the world a better place.

The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to the practice and understanding of photography and the reproduced image in all its forms. Through our exhibitions, educational programs, and community outreach, we offer an open forum for dialogue about the role images play in our culture. Since our founding, we have presented more than 500 exhibitions and offered thousands of classes, providing instruction at every level. ICP is a center where photographers and artists, students and scholars can create and interpret the world of the image within our comprehensive educational facilities and archive.

As a privately funded nonprofit arts and education organization, ICP depends in large part on friends such as you for support. Your generosity is vital to ICP as it continues to grow and succeed in its mission: to present photography's extraordinary power to the public.

There are many ways to give to ICP: Donate to the Annual Fund, create a scholarship, sponsor exhibitions and education programs, contribute to the Collection, or make a planned gift.

Since 1985, the International Center of Photography has recognized outstanding achievements in photography with its prestigious Infinity Awards. The awards ceremony is also ICP’s primary fundraising benefit, with its revenues assisting the center's various programs.

Harbers Studios commissioned MediaStorm, on behalf of ICP, to create a short film about each of the recipients to screen at the awards ceremony and to display online. The films pay tribute to the contributions of each artist to the craft and field of photography and demonstrate ICP's commitment to them.