book
Evidence of My Existence (Scripps Howard/Ohio University Press; 318 pages) is my 2008 memoir on my life in photojournalism. It is written as a travelogue, with each chapter detailing my experiences in a different place.
Here's the official blurb:
"From a leper colony in India to an American research station on the Antarctic Peninsula, from the back rooms of the White House to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, Evidence of My Existence tells a unique and riveting story of seventeen years spent racing from one photo assignment to the next. It is also a story of photojournalism and the consequences of obsessive wanderlust."
And some back cover reviews:
“Set against a backdrop of the most stunning settings the world has to offer—from India to Antarctica—Evidence of my Existence is an intimate and intricate exploration of ambition and the difficult decisions artists are forced to make in search of a balance between work, the love of work, and love itself. Jim Lo Scalzo serves as a brilliant guide—at turns hilarious and heart-torn—and has created a masterful memoir, an exquisite debut!”
—Julianna Baggott, author of Which Brings Me to You and Compulsions of Silkworms and Bees
"In a world where courage and integrity spend ever more time on the Endangered Species List, Jim LoScalzo's "Evidence of My Existence" is a bracing tonic--funny, unsparingly honest, an astonishing and wonderful account of a brilliant young photojournalist's decision to fling himself and his prodigious talent against the appalling bulk and ugliness of the world and bring back the most beautiful images he can find. An utterly compelling tale that should inspire us all to greater heights!"
—Brian Duffy, NPR
"I am immeasurably touched by Jim Lo Scalzo's headlong dive into the crocodile-infested waters of professional photojournalism. Evidence of My Existence is not only a great memoir for those in the media (or backwards-looking boomers), but an excellent primer for those looking forward to a career in photography and journalism. Best of all, the author emerges from his swim a better human being, and so do we for having joined him on the journey."
—James O’Reilly, publisher of the Travelers’ Tales series and editor of Stories to Live By
"This is what it's like to be a photojournalist living on the front lines of the best stories in the world. From Afghanistan to Alaska, Lo Scalzo captures the rush, the payoff and the personal sacrifice that comes with making great pictures. He's not only got a great eye for finding the shot, but a great ear for telling the tale."
—Brian Kelly, editor US News & World Report
"A great photograph is as much about the central subject as it is the composition of the open space that isolates it. The brilliance of Jim Lo Scalzo's engrossing memoir is found in the tension that surrounds, and thus frames, the central story of his life as a contemporary photojournalist."
—David Griffin, director of photography of National Geographic magazine
Check the book out here at AMAZON.