War Photography Journalism.

Documentary on James Nachtwey(war photo Journalist)

What kind of subjects does Stern magazine cover?

Stern Magazine is a German magazine. It publishes a lot of war photographs. There has been a lot of deaths of war journalist linked with stern. Advertisers hate their products being associated or being in the same magazine as war photographs and mostly the worst of the worst of situations photographed are chosen.

what do i think of James Nachtwey's approach to photographing people in crisis?

He feels channeling your emotions through your work instead of breaking out right there helps to bring out the true emotions because, people can not feel or touch what you have touched in a picture unless you have felt exactly how your subjects have felt.

James gets up, close and personal in his pictures, for me that's what springs them to life.
He gets drawn to the surroundings on the places he visited and the people affected.

What issues and conflicts did he cover in the film?

He mostly didn't cover conflict, he mostly covered issues surrounding the war-zones.

One of the conflicts he covered was in Vietnam during the civil war, when a man was massacred because of his race. He was not a criminal or a murderer but he was tortured to death and James ran along with the mob and the man taking pictures of him. James was the only war photographer in area who got really close to the situation, he even got down on his knees to plead on behalf of the man to spare his life, the rest of the photographers ran away shooting from a distance.

Why did he become a war photographer?

In the early 70's James was influenced by the images of the Vietnam war and the civil rights movement. The situation there affected him so much that he felt emotionally drawn to the people. Then in 1976 he started a career in war photography. He felt like he was witnessing history. In 1980, he decided to become a war photographer for Times magazine and started going to war-zones. He wanted to tell the stories of these people involved to the world through his pictures. 

What kind of personality do you think a photo journalist such as James Nachwey have?

James Nachtwey projects a kind of calm collectivist and humble grace. These aspects of his personality are reflected in his pictures. He is one of the rare photographers in this genre who do not seem to be aware of their effects on others. He is not seen as egotistic or self-conscious and as a result, he tends to have accesses that other can not get especially in tough war situations. He finds places that nobody else can or would want to get to. This has produced a mass of images involving impossible captures.
James is a bit of a loner and a mystery according to Christiane Amanpour (Chief international correspondent for CNN). His isolation helps with the emotions of the issues. It is much easier to seclude yourself from any distractions and free your mind of other thoughts that could interrupt your pictures. He has secluded himself from everything else and just focused on his work which has had incredible influences on his pictures.
James always refers to himself an anti-war photographer.

What kind of pictures end up being used?

The worst of the worst pictures end up being used a lot in war magazines. This has turned most war photographers into monsters, waiting and wishing for the worst cases to happen so they can get their pictures and be on their way.


Famine in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh India.
Photograph taken by Nachtwey.