AP photographer finds beauty at the Paralympics in capturing what’s not there

PARIS (AP) — Emilio Morenatti, 55, is the AP’s chief photographer for Spain and Portugal. His worldwide coverage has earned him numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize. Morenatti, who lost a leg in Afghanistan in 2009, was in Paris to cover his third Paralympics this summer. This is his account of the experience.

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When I’m covering the Paralympics, I feel I get a lot back from the athletes. What you see is a lot of energy. Athletes are pushing themselves to the maximum.

Sometimes I focus not on the first athlete to finish, but the last one. It’s kind of a metaphor for highlighting the strength of people with disabilities.

My own disability helps break barriers. When the athletes see my prosthetic, they know that like them I had to overcome some obstacles in my career, and that creates a connection between us. Sometimes we talk about prosthetics and the complications with them. The conversation creates empathy between us.

I try to be as respectful as possible. I try to make beautiful photos of a disabled body. My aim is to capture the part of the body that is not there anymore, an absence that needs to be accepted. Many athletes are helped by technology, a prosthetic or something that helps the athlete to run or jump. Except in swimming. In swimming there’s just a body. There is a beauty in that.

An athlete who impressed me is Gabriel Araujo from Brazil. I followed him from London and Tokyo. He’s an incredible swimmer without arms, with short legs, with an incredible energy.

His only way of celebrating is showing his tongue. When he shows his tongue it’s like when others raise an arm. It’s a different type of body language. It’s something really special.

When I lost my leg in 2009, I was in one of the best moments of my career. And then I thought, ‘this is the end. This is where I have to shift to become an editor, because my mobility is gone.’ But that feeling stayed with me only for a few months. Then I decided that my amputation is not in my head, but my leg, so I will find my way.

From that time, I decided I will try to get my cameras back again and continue being a photographer and doing what I really love. Somehow, I found my way.

I’ve been able to get closer to people with disabilities. I’ve found a way to describe disability through photography. I feel very useful doing it. I won’t say that the amputation helped my life, but it helped me find this new angle to my photography.

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AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games