War Photographer: James Nachtwey

Photography can change the world or at least make a difference. Photographs of war and suffering have initiated changes in perception and action. James Nachtwey uses photography to communicate with the world, not as art. He provides an outlet for people who are suffering to tell the world what they have been through. He said the only satisfaction he gets out of his work is that he may be able to bring attention and relief to the people who are suffering.

He does not just watch and take pictures, but sometimes he becomes part of the action and he experiences their pain. The movie showed him coughing in a cloud of poison gas, running through city streets and dodging bullets, and helping to move the injured in war zones. He has had many horrible diseases from traveling to so many parts of the world. He has seen others killed and even tried to talk a mob out of killing a man. It is not possible for him to stand there and photograph like most photographers. He has to move or he could be killed. His work is very unselfish because he is risking his life with the hope that someone might see his pictures and bring relief to the suffering.

I find it amazing that he is able to control his emotions and endure watching so much human pain and injustice. He has dedicated his life to photography and bringing stories of human suffering to the world and all he has are frightening and sad pictures. I can barely look at some of his pictures, let alone try go into the world and take these photographs. I also admire his patience for publishers and popular media. If his photographs were published in popular magazines and newspapers or shown on television, they could be seen by more people and bring more relief. However, publishers only want what will sell - happy, trendy, idealized views of the world. As Nachtwey says, they do not give people enough credit. People like helping other people, it is human. They want to know when injustice and suffering exist in the world. They cannot see suffering for themselves, so Nachtwey and other photographers show them the pictures.

Nachtwey said that to cave in to his emotions would be useless. He says he channels them into his photographs and I think this gives his pictures a sense of deep sadness and pain that is almost unbearable to look at. What he sees is horrible and then, all of his emotional reactions - fear, despair, discomfort, anger - heighten the impact of the photograph on the viewer. The photograph is only a fragment of what the photographer sees. Nachtwey's pictures are only moments, but this one moment of suffering is unacceptable to people. One moment is all it takes to start a change in the world.