Tuesday, October 17, 2017

James Nachtwey- War Photographer

James Nachtwey

With over 36 years of experience in active war and conflict documentation, James Nachtwey is considered to be one of the greatest war photographers in recent history.  His rise to war photography started with his first foreign assignment in Northern Ireland, covering the effects of the IRA hunger strikes within the jail system in 1981.  Since then, he has covered stories of war, conflict, social upheaval and suffering in more than 30 countries world wide.  Many of which have won him some of the most respected awards in the photography profession to date.  Though he wishes his work to stay independent of his personal achievements, it is hard not to take them into account when stating that he is one of the most accomplished photojournalists from the United States.

Despite being pivotal in the distribution of information on many worldly conflicts, very little knowledge is accessible on the photographer himself.  James Nachtwey was born in 1948 in Syracuse, NY.  He grew up to attend Dartmouth College where he majored in Art History and Political Science.  This is where his personal life seems to end and his distinguished work life begins.  Nachtwey was heavily influenced by documentary photographs of the Vietnam War and the American Civil Rights movement.  

These images are what made him want to be a war photographer.  He was self taught in the skills of a digital camera and in 1976 he started working for his first newspaper in Albuquerque, NM.  This gave him steady work until he was able to move to New York and start a life of free lancing in 1980.  After his assignment in Northern Ireland, Nachtwey became an officially employed photographer for Time Magazine in 1984 and from then on, he continued to add heart wrenching proof of human struggles to his impressive portfolio of foreign issues.

Throughout is career, James Nachtwey has always stayed true to his heart as well as his passion in covering stories that he felt the world needed to see.  Occasionally, he would take an interest in foreign issues that was not shared by supporting magazines, in which case he would finance these trips himself.  Documentation of The Romanian Orphanages and the great famine in Somalia were all done by his own production and ambition. 

Nachtwey is known for his talent of getting up close to his subjects.  He believes that in order for a photograph to be great you have to be “in the same intimate space that the subjects inhabit.”  Making his work incredibly personal.  With his camera as his tool, he only intends to “tell the truth, document the struggles of humanity and wake people up and stir the to action.”  His humble mindset has shown in several interviews where his skills and technique have been compared to those of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa.  However, he resents such comparisons.  James stated, “I’m not trying to make statements about photography.  I’m trying to use photography to make statements about what is happening in the world.” 

One of my favorite photos by Nachtwey is of a boy who survived a Hutu death camp in Rwanda.  I feel it shows the epitome of his work and how he does not shy away from social controversy.  He brings light to the truth and uses his talent to spread news about issues that are hard to face for outside audiences.


http://www.jamesnachtwey.com

Because of his photography, he is able to put a human face to the struggles with evil many suffer through every day.  James Nachtwey wishes only to teach others about those struggles too and to be a catalyst for action and change in our world.


Sources:
The Editors of Encylclopedia Britannica. “James Nachtwey.” Britannica, Encylcopedia Britannica Inc., 2006,
www.britannica.com/biography/James-Nachtwey.

“James Nachtwey.” National Geographic, www.nationalgeographic.com/contributors/n/photographer-james-nachtwey/.

“James Nachtwey Speaker.” Edited by TED Team, TED, TED Inc., 2007, www.ted.com/speakers/james_nachtwey.


Nachtwey, James. “James Nachtwey Biography.” Witness Photography, James Nachtwey, www.jamesnachtwey.com.

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