Award-winning French photographer Rémi Ochlik was killed in Homs, Syria on Tuesday when shells hit the makeshift media center he was staying in. He recently won the World Press Photo Award due to his coverage on the current Libyan conflict.
As a little boy, Ochlik yearned for excitement and adventure. He grew up wanting to become an archaeologist until his grandfather gave him an Olympus OM1. It was that exact gift that would open Olchlik’s eyes to the adventurous wonders of photography.
Ochlik’s eventful photography career began when he traveled to Paris to study at Icart Photo School. When he was only twenty-years-old, Ochlik journeyed to Haiti, where he documented the political riots concerning President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. His photographs of the riots were so well received that he was awarded the Francios Chalais Award for Young Reporters. His work was then exhibited at Visa pour l’Image International Photojournalism Festival.
In 2005, Ochlik and his partners, Chritophe Bertolin and Grégory Boissy, formed IP3 Press, a photography agency that was deliberately established to cover conflicts around the globe. In addition to his work in Haiti and Syria, Ochlik also voyaged to Congo and the Arab Spring. His work has been featured in Le Monde Magazine, VSD, Paris Match, Time Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.
At only 28-years-old, Ochlik had lived the adventurous life he sought after as a little boy. Although his death was unfortunate, untimely, and unforeseen, he will forever remain in the hearts of visual creatives in the journalism and photography worlds.
Image Credit: The Washington Post | Via PopPhoto
