James Nachtwey (1948-)

James Nachtwey is not a household name but many of his photographs are easily recognizable and make him rank as one of the leading photographers of our time.

Nachtwey is a photojournalist and war photographer. He has covered events such as the Rwandan genocide attempt by the hutu tribe; the poverty that exists in Indonesia; the battle between the Israeli soldiers and Palestinians; famine in Sudan; and the war in Kosovo. His images are incredibly powerful and have won him many awards in the 20 years or so in which he has been working tirelessly in this field.

In war the first thing to suffer is the truth. James Nachtwey's mission in life is to see that does not happen, and he is willing to put his life on the line every single day if necessary to ensure that the truth be known to the world. This comes across in his work which has a power of its own because of the extraordinary courage he possesses.

To get an idea of the power of Nachtwey's work check out the video below before reading on. It is a series of his photographs set to Pink Floyd's Goodbye Blue Sky. Best watched full screen by pressing the icon in the bottom right of the frame.

Although Nachtwey seems to be shy and reserved and looks as if he belongs behind a desk or in front of a classroom full of students, he is a self-possessed man whose ability to deal with fear in the face of unspeakable horror, has allowed him to take intimate portraits and pictures of the suffering of the world's people at a minimal distance which most war photographers would find uncomfortable if not downright scarey.

Because of his close proximity to the centre of the action Nachtwey has been injured on several occasions, including one incident in Iraq where a grenade was thrown into the vehicle in which he was travelling. Nachtwey was hit with shrapnel in the arms and legs and in the stomach where his armored vest ended. His companion, senior correspondent Michael Weisskopf, threw the grenade out of the vehicle but it exploded as he did so and Weisskopf lost his right hand.

Many people are cynical about the press and photographers in particular but don't realise just how often they lay their lives on the line in order to bear witness to the events of the world, and to bring back the images which we consume through magazines or on the television set. But it is important to realise that photojournalists like Nachtwey act as the voice of people who may have no voice otherwise. The photographs he makes bear testimony to the suffering and horror which Nachtwey believes must be seen, must be witnessed so that we may put an end to the atrocities and stop the barbarities from recurring.

Young war photographers often die during their first visit to a battle-torn zone as they lack the experience and intuition needed to just stay alive. If they survive their first battles they can go on for years but then the danger lies in thinking that they have somehow become bullet-proof.

Nachtwey has been around a fair while now and is perhaps beginning to sink into that bullet-proof mentally. Not only that, he is no longer a young man, he is in his early 60s, and perhaps should be thinking of retiring. But on September 11th 2001, as fate would have it, he was very near to the two towers of the World Trade Centre.

Nachtwey made his way to the area where the first tower had fallen and as he was photographing it the second tower began to collapse. Fortunately for him, it collapsed away from where he was standing but he still found himself beneath a torrential downfall of debris and was lucky to escape by diving into the escalator of a nearby hotel lobby.

It is said that journalism reinvented itself as Nachtwey's pictures on www.time.com had over two million page views on the first day. During the following days, news sites became more popular than pornography sites!

This supports Nachtwey's belief in the power of the still image, a power that other forms of communication do not possess. And as a photographer, he has established credibility with the press and feels a big responsibility to continue with his work.

"As far as I can see right now I am still healthy, I understand the value in it and I think I still have a place. Having a place is a privilege and a responsibility that I cannot turn my back on. I have to continue." For Nachtwey, hanging up his camera bag for the last time would seem to be a way off yet.

If you are interested in war photography as a genre, follow the link to read my article which looks at the Vietnam War and Iraq in particular, and how photographs of a war-torn country can change our perceptions. There are also articles on photojournalism and one on documentary photography which you might find of interest.