War Photographer

Recently, a reader and fellow photographer, Kenn Ellis, sent me a copy of director Christian Frei's documentary film, "War Photographer." He also sent along the BBC's most-excellent series, "The Genius of Photography." (I'll post some words about that series in a future update.)

I know I've posted about Nachtwey a number of times on this blog. I suppose, in part, because I so admire the man and his work. I think you'll agree, my admiration (and most likely yours) is well-earned.

"War Photographer" examines the work of photographer James Nachtwey. It provides many insights into the photographer's working life as well as his thoughts on his experiences. It also contains scads of powerful images he's captured plus plenty of footage of Nachtwey shooting in dangerous environments. His images are often captured in places where the closest many of us will come to them is by reading about them in print or watching sanitized video clips on the news.

I was mesmerized by this film. If any of you have opportunities to view it, don't hesitate. It's powerful, illuminating, and thought-provoking.