James Nachtwey, anti-war photographer

Taking pictures is important to me, as much as discovering existing work in photography. You probably have seen some of the pictures I will show you in newspaper, magazine, advertising; they are a key part of information, entertainment. However if you look for the small text hidden somewhere, you will find there are a couple of names that keep coming back: James Nachtwey is one of them.

We had the chance to have a public exhibition of his work in Luxembourg. Even if you think you do not know him, I am sure you have already crossed the path of one of his pictures. They are a testimony to humanity, a reminder of events that would be forgotten without them.

James Nachtwey is a one of a kind war photographer: he started is career as a freelance photographer in 1980 and covered Northern Ireland in 1981. Since then he has been extensively covering conflicts and critical social issues in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Thailand, Guatemala, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, South Africa, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnia, Kosovo, Romania, Brazil, and the United States.

In 2007, he won the TED-prize. His wish is: “I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.” We are still waiting for his story to be told (here if you want to help)…

“Every minute I was there, I wanted to flee. I did not want to see this.Would I cut and run, or would I deal with the responsibility of being there with a camera”

To know more about James Nachtwey, and to truly understand what a war photographer is, how important they are for us, you can watch War Photographer.