James Nachtwey made the decision to become a war photographer in the early 70s when the Vietnam war was ongoing. It was the images which were coming out of Vietnam which pushed James to his profession. He believed that these images showed the straight forward truth of the cruelty and horror of the war and became deeply affected by these and decide to follow in the tradition. He felt such high emotions that it was the witnessing of human history, the history of real and ordinary people with human experiences and emotions. It was not until a night in 1980 when when he eventualy woke saying he was ready for the task and decided to head for New York.
What conflicts and issues did he cover in the film?
In the film James covered a variety of issues, at the beggining we were witness to his first conflict which was after the war in Kosovo. Here we saw pictures of the aftermath of war including the ruins of buildings, the loss of possessions and displacement with families and we also saw the effect it has on human life.
The second issue which James covered was poverty in Jakarta where he was photography the conditions in which people live. People who from his own words are "not drug addicts or dropouts" but rather people who have come searching for a better life who now find themselves sleeping beside and in-between railroad tracks. Here he also photographed a man who lost his leg and arm when he was hit by a train and through the images shows how he lives and copes while having a family to care for.
We also saw James cover a continuing conflict in Ramallah, Palestine and after this we then saw his work in relation to famine in Sudan.
What do you think of his approach to photographing people in crisis?
James Nachtwey has a very tough job in that he is capturing such an emotional aspect of life, one filled with death, murder, chaos and so much heart ache. It was clear from this documentary how much his work affected him yet he handles himself with such composure and deals with it in a very respectful way. It is clear he does not intrude upon peoples lives but works towards making himself welcome by his subjects. James says himself that "normal codes are suspended... I would not be taking these photographs unless I was accepted". It is an approach that he handles with great care and balance, while looking for the shot he still shows certain amounts of humanity and not losing himself.
What kind of personalities do you think photojournalists have to have?
There has to be a sense of disconnection or separation from your surroundings because in order to cover certain stories you would need to be able to hold your emotions in tact and not let them control your actions or your work. However there must be a good balance because when we see James with people we still see his sense of humanity in dealing with others especially ones in the situations he is capturing. You would also need a strong will of character so as not to lose everything your own personal self belief and morals.
What kind of subjects does Stern Magazine cover?
Stern Magazine covers many of the same issues which James covers in his work from war, famine, poverty, conflict, basically it covers social documentary.
What pictures end up being used?
The pictures which will make the final print will most likely be the most striking, the hardest hitting images. Sometimes the most shocking or violent.
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