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| In The Lens of James Stanfield: Anxious Eyes |
| After 23 hours and 22 rolls of film, photographer Jim Stanfield knew he got the perfect shot. He�d captured the anxious eyes of Dr. Zbigniew Religa tracking the vital signs of a heart-transplant patient. �I never let him out of my sight, never turned my back on him,� he says. �This was the payoff.� It was 1987, in an outmoded operating room in post-Soviet Poland. Stanfield was looking for an image that would portray the critical state of the country�s free health-care system�and that�s exactly what he got. His lens not only focuses on a dedicated surgeon�s eyes, but also on a patient hooked up to technologically outdated equipment. Stanfield also includes a weary staff member (far right) sleeping after assisting Religa with two transplants during an all-night session. �Each of these elements,� says Stanfield, �gives dimension and drama to the photograph, while helping tell a story. �In this day and age you need more than a pretty photograph, you need information,� he adds. But before a photographer can get that kind of information, they need to put in a lot of time. Stanfield studied Religa carefully, established a bond of trust, and then assumed a quiet presence in the surgeon�s surroundings. �My skill probably lies in my ability to enter into the flow of people�s lives,� he says. |