War Photographer - James Nachtwey

War victim of machete attack
James Nachtwey

Last night my photography class watched the documentary, War Photographer. It documents the photos and work of James Nachtwey, a world- renowned war and conflict photographer. The movie was filmed in the late '90's and 2000. It was released in 2001.

War Photographer is a difficult movie to watch. Some students had to leave because of the harshness of the images. For me, the toughest scene is where Nachtwey is photographing a Kosovo family grieving at a funeral. The deceased's mother sees the coffin coming toward her and she starts screaming and crying, "My son is here... my son is here." During this time, Nachtwey is up close using a wide-angle lens, shooting away. At first some students were disgusted with his intrusiveness during such a tragic private moment. None of the family told him to go away. He became a fly on the wall and wasn't noticed.

After the class, we discussed the movie. A sharp teenage student wondered what the difference is of Nachtwey being so "instrusive" and a paparazzi. Good question. We floated it back and asked, "What is the motivation of Nachtwey and what is the motivation of a paparazzi photographing Paris Hilton coming out of a bar?" That question answered hers. She said, "He wants people to see her suffering, to see what happened. Paparazzi just want trash."

In the movie, Nachtwey comments on how obsessed our culture has become on celebrity. This was before American Idol and other cultural celebrity fixations appeared.

Here are some of his most important quotes from the documentary:

For me, the strength of photography lies in its ability to evoke the sense of humanity.

If war is an attempt to negate humanity, then photography can be perceived to be the opposite of war. If it is used well, it can be a powerful ingredient in the antadote to war.

In a way, if an individual assumes the risk of placing himself in the middle of war in order to communicate to the rest of the world what is happening, he's trying to negotiate for peace. Perhaps that is the reason those in charge of perpetuating war do not like to have photographers around.

In the field, what you experience is extremely immediate. What you see is not an image on the page of a magazine 10,000 miles away with an advertisement for Rolex watches on the next page. What you see is unmitigated pain, injustice, and misery.

It's occurred to me that if everybody could be there just once... to see for themselves what white phosphorous does to the face of a child or what unspeakable pain is caused by the impact of a single bullet, or how a jagged piece of shrapnel can rip someone's leg off. If everyone could be there to see for themselves, the fear and the grief just one time, then they would understand that nothing is worth letting things get to the point where that happens to even one person, let alone thousands.

But everyone can not be there and that is why photographers must go there. To show them. to reach out and grab them and make them stop what they are doing and pay attention to what is going on. To create pictures powerful enough to overcome the deluding effects of the mass media and shake people out of their indifference. To protest and by the strength of the protest, to make others protest.
(Bolded for emphasis by SB)

Here is a clip from the movie. He attached a small video camera to the top of his Canon SLR to capture what he sees. I recommend you see the whole movie.

Wounded Bosnian Soldier
James Nachtwey