Photo exhibit highlights the news

We all remember pictures of Monica Lewinsky during the infamous trial with President Clinton -- Lewinsky in the crowd, vying for a chance to speak to the president, or Lewinsky running away from the paparazzi and frenzied press that pursued her for weeks. But photojournalist David Burnett presented a different view of Lewinsky in his photograph, when he captured her from the side, sipping a Cosmopolitan martini.\nAvid photographers, art lovers and anyone interested now has the opportunity to see the images Burnett has captured on film. His exhibit, "Measures of Time," will be shown through Feb. 27 in the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery. Burnett selected IU as one of the dozen universities with nationally known photojournalism programs where his exhibit will be shown.\n"This all started last year at my 35th college reunion," Burnett said. "My classmates wanted me to assemble an exhibit which incorporated pictures taken since we graduated until the present." \nA graduate of Colorado College, Burnett began working as a freelance photographer for Time magazine, and later Life magazine. Though initially based in Washington D.C., Burnett worked for two years in Vietnam during the war. He then joined the French photo agency Gamma, and continued traveling the world for the agency's news department. \nIn 1975, Burnett co-founded Contact Press Images, in New York, and has since worked for most of the major general interest and photographic magazines in the United States and Europe. Among his many prestigious awards are "Magazine Photographer of the Year" from the Pictures of the Year Competition and the National Press Photographers Association. Today, Burnett continues traveling around the world, producing photographic essays for Time, Fortune, ESPN magazine and many others.\n"Measures of Time" captures much of Burnett's work from the past 30 years. \n"His work ranges anywhere from art and entertainment, to sports, to key moments in history," said Susan Wilhoit, a junior human biology major who attended the opening of the exhibit. \nFrom Bob Marley to Flo Jo, to Bill Gates, Burnett captures a vast span of history and culture in an exhibit of fifty-one photographs. These photographs capture more than just the faces of famous figures in history. \n"A good photo has something that reaches out to you and gets you," Burnett said. "It should touch upon your sensibility, on some emotion, and you should immediately see the human element in the photograph."\nOne photograph on display that garnered such attention was the famous shot of Mary Decker in the 1984 Olympics. The 3000 meter long distance runner was favored for the gold medal, but forced out of the race upon colliding with runner Zola Budd. Burnett was able to capture the injured Decker, with a look of both pain and disappointment in the place where she fell.\n"I had been jammed in at the finish line with all the other photographers, and I only had minimum equipment," Burnett said. "I went to find a quiet place on the track away from the rest of the photographers, and Mary Decker just happened to fall right in front of me."\nLucky students and attendees who were present on the opening day of the exhibit were able to hear this story and many others from Burnett.\n"He really captures the emotions of people that you might not see everyday," said Carrie Johnson, a junior film and history student. "And other pictures you see and wonder 'how did he get that shot'?" \nBurnett was often able to get great shots in just one role of film. \n"He's really the consummate Washington photographer," said Professor Steven Raymer, friend and colleague of Burnett. "If you look at the contact sheet from his pictures of Iatola Khomeini, you see he got three photographs out of that one sheet. That's like hitting the jackpot for a photojournalist."\nFrom black and white to vibrant color, from comical to serious, Burnett's photographs offer a wide variety of people and events to see. \n"There is a power to a still picture that stays in our minds longer than any other form of communication we have," Burnett said.