Q&A with AP Photographer Laura Rauch

Shawnee Mission North and University of Kansas alumna Laura Rauch recently returned from France where she covered the D-Day anniversary for the Associated Press. Her photography assignments have included war (Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq), sport (Olympics, Final Four) and hollywood (Oscars). Laura was kind enough to answer some questions:

FJ: Was this your first trip to Normandy? Give me your impressions of the landscape and the graveyard.

LR: It was my third trip to Normandy and it won't be my last. I have yet to visit the famous Pegasus Bridge along with Gold, Sword and Juno beaches, which were taken by British and Canadian forces on D-Day. Like most Americans, the cemetery at Omaha Beach is the most powerful for me. When I look out over the sea of crosses and stars of David, I am overcome with an understanding that these men truly were among the greatest generation of Americans. They fought the good fight for all the right reasons. Anyone who doubts France's gratitude to the U.S. for the sacrifices of WWII need only go to Normandy to put their minds at rest. These people have never forgotten what the allied forces did for them and they're making sure their grandchildren don't forget either.

FJ: What surprised you the most about the WWII veterans you encountered?

LR: Just how spry they all remain and what great memories they have. They're so patriotic, I get choked up writing about them. They're mostly just folks. Some are kind and some are grumpy, but they're all great to me because of their incredible sacrifice for the people of Europe and for democracy. They give me hope because they represent what's best about America. I'm so saddened by our disjointed and partisan society of today. They remind me of what Americans are capable of when we work together. I know that sounds terribly sentimental, but it's so true.

FJ: You weren't the only North grad in Normandy that day. Tell me the story.

LR: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and fellow SMN graduate Richard Myers attended one of the events I covered in St. Mere Eglise, France. I was following him and photographing him with WWII paratroopers and he turned to me and asked me if I'd take his picture with one the veterans.

"Sure," I said, "anything for a Shawnee Mission North graduate."

He stopped and smiled and said, "I suppose you went to Hocker Grove too?"

"Yes sir, as a matter of fact, I did." We chatted for a moment and then went back to work. He's a very polite man.

FJ: Sometimes you go from shooting a pop culture event like the academy awards to a ceremony remembering our fallen war dead. How do you prepare yourself emotionally for such contrasting assignments?

LR: That's a good question Fowler because it does take a toll on me. It is hard for me to look at the pomp and circumstance that surrounds celebrity events. The public has a voracious appetite for entertainment news so I take it very seriously and do my best, but it doesn't come easy. You know in Russia, they revere their writers, painters and scientists they way we revere our movie stars and athletes. Don't get me wrong, I love sports and I love the movies, but they're leisure activities. It's difficult for me to watch the value placed on winning an Oscar. That so and so is a brilliant actor and made so many sacrifices for this picture or that picture. Please, it's called doing your job. Why isn't there an Academy Award equivalent for teachers, scientists or drug researchers?

FJ: People may not realize that in addition to being a talented photographer, you're also a very capable writer. When will we see more of your pen?

LR: You're very kind. I just wrote a short piece about Cirque du Soliel to go with a series of images I did on Cirque in Las Vegas. It's so difficult to write and shoot well at the same time so I'm not doing it much anymore. I do think about writing a book someday on some of my observations as a journalist. It would be awfully personal, though, so I may not have the guts to do it.

FJ: What's the most important lesson you learned while working for the University Daily Kansan?

LR: Make deadline and get the name and hometown of the person I photographed. It sounds simple, but it serves me well in my current job.

FJ: What instructor at K.U. had the biggest impact on your work?

LR: Paul Jess taught me to be a journalist. Wally Emerson taught me to see pictures. Mike Kautsch taught me to be responsible and to tell the truth. Mary Wallace believed in me the most. I would say the journalism school at KU is a classic example of the sum of its total being greater than its parts. It was a place of excellence and it challenged me not to fail. No other institution has ever done so much for me, that's why I remain such a loyal alumna.

FJ: Who are the photo-journalists working today that you idolize?

LR: War photographer and Seven agency founder Jim Nachtwey is the best there is and the best there ever was. Fellow Seven photographers Christopher Morris, John Stanmeyer and Ron Haviv are brilliant. I've recently discovered Getty photographer Ami Vitale and just love her work. I'm also a big fan of several Associated Press photographers: Jerome Delay, John Moore, Amy Sancetta, Lefteris Pitarakis and David Guttenfelder, just to name a few.

FJ: While working for the Wichita Eagle newspaper, your photos of a refurbished Air Force One received wide exposure. What did you think about that at the time? What year was that?

LR: How do you know about this? You're amazing, you really should have been a reporter.

I was on my way to shoot a baseball game and my editor called and told me it was my lucky day and to get over to Boeing. The new Air Force One was being delivered a month early because of Gulf War I and they needed a pool photographer to document it before the Air Force took possession of it. It was 1990, I believe, and my resales on the pictures changed my income bracket that year ( I also learned a lot about taxes). Nearly fifteen years later it's my understanding that those photos remain the only commercial images of the inside of Air Force One. By the way, the people of Wichita are really proud to have built that jet.

See more of Laura's work or read another Rauch interview.