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A Brazilian Photojournalist's POV Video Captures the Moments Before His Stunning Photos

For all the stories that stunning photographs can tell, the one we often don't hear is how the photo was captured.

The photojournalist may be a dying breed, which is an unfortunate turn for all of the news reading public. Shooting breaking news, especially when things get ugly, is an art that takes years of experience to master, one that can't be replicated by telling reporters to just snap some photos with their phone.

With that in mind, this cool video by Brazilian photojournalist Michel de Souza offers great insight into just what a photog has to do to get killer photos. The protests and resulting riot he photographed took place in Rio de Janeiro last week, all part of nationwide protests against public transportation fare hikes, the incredible amount of money Rio has dropped on World Cup preparations while still ignoring spending on basic public services, and general dissatisfaction with corruption in the Brazilian government.

De Souza's obviously prepared for the worst, and is shown wearing goggles and gas masks at various points in the video. It's fascinating to watch how smoothly he moves through the crowd, and has an impressive ability to get close to the action and shoot low, both of which are key to getting impressive shots.

For all the stories that stunning photographs can tell, the one we often don't hear is how the photo was captured. De Souza's video adds a lot of context to his final shots, and also shows his ability to find photos before they happen. (The photo of the guy bent over in front of a storefront at 2:25 is a perfect example.) Will more photojournalists start mounting GoPros on their lenses as they shoot? Now that de Souza's shown how impressive the end result can be, I'd hope so.

@derektmead