In Memoriam: Michel du Cille (1956 – 2014)

4 minute read

In 1987, photographer Michel du Cille immersed himself in the lives of Miami crack addicts inside a dangerous apartment complex known to its residents as the Graveyard. Working alongside the tough and talented young reporter Lynne Duke, du Cille produced a definitive document of the social and human tragedy that was the crack epidemic. Michel’s work for the Miami Herald’s Tropic magazine won the Pulitzer Prize—one of three Pulitzers honoring this important and influential photojournalist.

His editor on the piece, Gene Weingarten, was struck by the fact that Michel went to work without a camera. For weeks, he haunted the Graveyard with empty hands, learning to see human beings before making them his subjects. Knowing them meant revealing himself. “I want them to get to know me as a person,” Michel said. “First comes trust, then the work.”

Du Cille died this week as he lived, taking the long, honest path. He despised shortcuts. At 58, he was hiking miles of remote West African trail in pursuit of the Ebola epidemic for the Washington Post. Evidently, he suffered a heart attack.

A great news photograph—and Michel du Cille made many of them—reveals its subject in a way that writing can never match. What may be less obvious is that a great photograph also reveals the photographer. Writers can sketch scenes based on interviews; spin tales from notes and transcripts. The photographer must be present at the critical moment; there can be no substitute. This almost always means hours, days and weeks of preparation before the moment comes.

I was honored to work with Michel for many years at the Herald and the Post, and I remember him as a journalist of unrelenting integrity. He spoke in a soft voice with the faintest seasoning of his native Jamaica, and his was the still, soft voice of conscience. He demanded the best from himself and expected nothing less from the rest of us.

Together with the brilliant and hilarious editor Joe Elbert, du Cille built the Post’s photography department into one of the most distinguished in newspaper history. They were yin and yang, boisterous Joe and quiet Michel, but they prided themselves on their shared commitment to utter candor. They critiqued portfolios like Marine drill instructors, breaking the photographers down before rebuilding them in stronger form.

Wounded soldiers during a morning formation. Walter Reed Medical Center. 2007.
Wounded soldiers during a morning formation. Walter Reed Medical Center. 2007.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images

When Michel stepped down from senior newsroom management to resume life as “a shooter,” he immediately reminded us that he could walk the walk. His deeply humane work documenting the neglect of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center perfectly complemented the wrenching investigation by writers Anne Hull and Dana Priest, and earned the Pulitzer gold medal in 2008.

That he eagerly volunteered to go into combat in Afghanistan after cancer treatment and a pair of knee replacements tells you a lot of what you need to know about Michelangelo Everard du Cille. That he wrote with searing openness about the challenge of honoring the dignity of Ebola patients while documenting their wretched suffering tells you the rest. He worked in images, but his passion was reality. No picture could be worthy unless it was honest.

Chip Somodevilla of Getty Images says that he leans daily on a lesson he learned from du Cille. “He said to always look at the subject—the action—from all angles. He said to literally walk a circle around your subject to see it from a different angle, and wait for the surprises to come. That is very sound and sage advice from a man who never stopped telling stories that surprised, touched and moved us all.”

Esther Tokpah, 11 an orphan, weeps as Dr. Jerry Brown tries to console her before she was released from care on Sept. 24, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
The following photographs are from Michel du Cille's assignment in Liberia, Sept.-Nov. 2014 Esther Tokpah, 11 an orphan, weeps as Dr. Jerry Brown tries to console her before she was released from care on Sept. 24, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Moses Tarkulah stands by as colleagues enter the suspected Eloba case ward Bong County Ebola Treatment Unit, Sept. 16, 2014.
Moses Tarkulah stands by as colleagues enter the suspected Eloba case ward Bong County Ebola Treatment Unit, Sept. 16, 2014.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
The body of Jacqueline Morris is carried to the back of a pickup truck by a county health burial team on Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia.
The body of Jacqueline Morris is carried to the back of a pickup truck by a county health burial team on Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Relatives mourn after the body of Jacqueline Morris is taken away by a Lofa County health department burial team Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia.
Relatives mourn after the body of Jacqueline Morris is taken away by a Lofa County health department burial team Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Alexander Morris lays flat on his back after fainted due to the extreme heat inside a protective suit while the Lofa County health department team buried his sister, on Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia.
Alexander Morris lays flat on his back after fainted due to the extreme heat inside a protective suit while the Lofa County health department team buried his sister, on Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia. Days later the health department said an Ebola test on the body was negative.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
A Lofa County health department burial team rolls down a dirt road to bury Gulu Mulbah, 45, on Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia.
A Lofa County health department burial team rolls down a dirt road to bury Gulu Mulbah, 45, on Nov. 7, 2014 in Voinjama, Liberia.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Ebola survivor, Makula Dunor a nurse, poses for a portrait on Nov. 7, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Ebola survivor, Makula Dunor a nurse, poses for a portrait on Nov. 7, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Deedee Urey whose husband and 4 month old baby died in September of Ebola, cries as she ponders her ordeal on Nov. 11, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Deedee Urey whose husband and 4 month old baby died in September of Ebola, cries as she ponders her ordeal on Nov. 11, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Klubo Mulbah, a survivor from the ELWA 2 Ebola Treatment Unit-- directed by Dr. Jerry Brown, from poses for a portrait on Nov. 9, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Klubo Mulbah, a survivor from the ELWA 2 Ebola Treatment Unit-- directed by Dr. Jerry Brown, from poses for a portrait on Nov. 9, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Decontee Davis, an Ebola survivor, spends a moment alone pondering during a music video launch party to raise awareness on Ebola, Nov. 12, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Decontee Davis, an Ebola survivor, spends a moment alone pondering during a music video launch party to raise awareness on Ebola, Nov. 12, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Ebola survivor, Stephen Kpoto walks through West Point slums, which has been hit hard by Ebola on Nov, 11, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Ebola survivor, Stephen Kpoto walks through West Point slums, which has been hit hard by Ebola on Nov, 11, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
U.S. military and the U.S. Public Health Service staff unload cargo at the Monrovia Medical Unit on Tuesday Nov. 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
U.S. military and the U.S. Public Health Service staff unload cargo at the Monrovia Medical Unit on Tuesday Nov. 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Medical staff simulate treating an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit on Nov.4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.
Medical staff simulate treating an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit on Nov.4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Medical staff members LT. Junior Grade Lauren Ryszka acts as a patient in bed while LT. Junior Grade Victoria D'Addeo simulate treating her as an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit on Nov. 4, in Monrovia, Liberia.
Medical staff members LT. Junior Grade Lauren Ryszka acts as a patient in bed while LT. Junior Grade Victoria D'Addeo simulate treating her as an Ebola patient inside the Monrovia Medical Unit on Nov. 4, in Monrovia, Liberia.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
The American built Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU) for treatment of health workers.
U.S. Public Health Service Commander Thomas Janisko simulates straying solution on Lt. Commander Jennifer Danieley, with LT. Victoria D'Addeo and Commander Paul Garney on Nov. 4, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Mary Wargbo and her son and daughter, Cornelius and Joyce harvest rice on Nov. 6, 2014 in Foya, Lofa County, Liberia.
Mary Wargbo and her son and daughter, Cornelius and Joyce harvest rice on Nov. 6, 2014 in Foya, Lofa County, Liberia.Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Staff from Orphan Aid, Liberia unload a truck of food and supplies for families affected by Ebola on Nov. 5, 2014 in Dolo's Town, Liberia.
Staff from Orphan Aid, Liberia unload a truck of food and supplies for families affected by Ebola on Nov. 5, 2014 in Dolo's Town, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
Mbolowilee Kollie, 17, waits with a can of cooking oil after her family received their share of food items from WFP's food distribution on Nov. 6, 2014 in Kolba City, Liberia.
Mbolowilee Kollie, 17, waits with a can of cooking oil after her family received their share of food items from WFP's food distribution on Nov. 6, 2014 in Kolba City, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images
People load bags of Bulgur-wheat and cooking oil after they received a share of foof items from WFP's food distribution onNov. 6, 2014 in Kolba City, Liberia.
People load bags of Bulgur-wheat and cooking oil after they received a share of foof items from WFP's food distribution on Nov. 6, 2014 in Kolba City, Liberia. Michel du Cille—The Washington Post/Getty Images

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