James Nachtwey Article

http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.usc.edu/pqdweb?did=908295301&sid=18&Fmt=3&clientId=5239&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Above is an example of how close James really did get to the action...

For whatever reason...blogger isnt letting me post the link to the site but the url is right below the image so. Im sorry but this thing is pissing me off . anyways..

this article was very useful in getting into the mind of a war photographer. James Nachtway is in his 50's and is a professional war photographer. This article is an interview taken from Esquire magazine about what exactly it was like to photograph war.
There were a lot of great things said about being involved during combat and listening to bullets whiz by your head as you attempt to reload your film. He talked about how being fearful fueled him...not paralyzed him. It kept him alive. It kept him alert. In no way was the man invincible. He has shattered pieces of grenade lodged in his leg. He is half deaf now from all of the noise. But that was his choice. He could have used ear plugs but he didn't want to. He wanted to hear. He had to hear to make it more real for him. But then something very interesting was said. In reference to the first article i posted about "How can one take a picture of something that is happening in front of his eyes...like a man being shot" ...Nachtwey talks about how if given the oppurtunity...where he is the only one who can stop something bad from happening...he will suspend his journalistic job and save them. He talks about the times during lynch mobs that he has intervened and saved someone. Thats really cool to me. These photographers arent machines. They are real people trying to make a difference in the cultural aspect of it all...but at the same time make the right decisions in the process. There are a lot of great things said in this piece and ill continue to learn more about these photographers. So interesting