Adrees Latif (’00)
Risky Photo Wins Pulitzer Prize For UH Alumnus

Last year, with little regard for his own safety and with one click of his camera, Adrees Latif ('00), a UH alumnus and Reuters photojournalist, captured a moment in time— the fatal shooting of Japanese videographer Kenji Nagai amid the violent protests in Myanmar against the Burmese government. Earlier this month, Latif’s photograph received the highest national honor in print journalism—a Pulitzer Prize.

“As I am filled with joy (for winning the Pulitzer), I must take a moment to remember videographer Kenji Nagai — a fellow journalist whom I photographed in his final moments of life, while covering his last assignment,” said Latif.

Latif’s award-winning breaking news photograph can be directly related to his bravery. In September 2007, he decided to sneak into Myanmar (Burma) without media credentials, since foreign journalists were prohibited from entering the country during nationwide protests against the government. He arrived at Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, with only clothing, a camera, two fixed lenses and a laptop.

A few days later, in the middle of town, demonstrators gathered, taunting soldiers, who threw barbed wire coils across the roads. Eventually, the crowd grew from hundreds to a few thousand. “Two dark green, open-top army trucks approached, followed by dozens more packed with riot police,” Latif explained. “They were hit by a barrage of water bottles, fruit and abuse from the crowd.”

Two minutes after Latif had prepped his camera, the shooting started. He photographed four frames of a man on his back. Unaware of the man’s identity, Latif first thought the man had been trampled, but his colleagues in Japan later identified the man as Nagai.

The announcement of Latif’s Pulitzer came as the UH alumnus was asleep in Nepal. He was awakened when his friend and fellow photojournalist, Paula Bronstein, called to notify Latif of his groundbreaking accomplishment and congratulate him.

“I believed her, but I needed a second source,” said Latif. “I called my wife and told her, ‘I think I won the Pulitzer. Can you go and check the Internet?’ It’s bittersweet because it’s a picture of a fellow journalist who’s just lost his life. You’re not celebrating a great moment—more than anything, I’m celebrating the fact that this moment has been stamped into history.”

A native of Pakistan, Latif moved to Houston with his family at the age of seven. His passion for photojournalism led him to attend UH, where he also served as a photographer and photo editor for The Daily Cougar. He currently works for Reuters in Bangkok, from where he covers news across Asia.