Can you feel it?”

Of freakin’ course…

You don’t need to go to a war zone to create tension in a photo… you can create tension anywhere, with any subject, if you know what you are doing.

It is innate… for a few of the “chosen” one’s. Jim is one of those.

Filing johnnie, Faith Adams tuesday. Factors inside, seyx Sky Lpoez Jenna Hzae revealed. …

James Nachtwey does extremely admirable work but to create drama where there is little can be a cop out.
We as photogrpahers can create drama and stir emotions through the use of certain cliches and understood gestures (thus the usual type of music that plays when a sad scene occurs in a movie).

Like a love song that can exaggerate the romance of the mundane but in effect exoticizes the mundane.

On a philosophical level maybe it is dishonest and loses the true sense of the space and time of the event, instead creating a fantasy for the viewer to indulge in and making them cultural tourists.

But on an assignment basis for a magazine it is perfect

Whenever I think an assignment was tough or I’ve had a rough day, I sit down, go through these books and get my head on straight.

Nachtwey lives the walk. His work motivates me to try to ratchet my work up a higher level.

I especially like the farmer guy with the hat and white beard.

He’s also won a TED award (100k) and a Heinz Achievement Prize (250K)

I don’t think he needs to do commercial work. He’s kind of like the Greg Crewdson of photo-j. Crewdson famously did one “commercial” assignement for “6 Feet Under” before swearing off any commercial work.

Except that I believe Nachtwey actually still touches his camera.

If anyone wants to see what a ‘normal’ assignment by Nachtwey looks like, browse through the VII site and look for his Bill and Melinda Gates shoot or a few others.

At the risk of raising up a storm, of the six pictures posted here only the second and fifth really make an impression on me.

Stock, Books, Workshops + Assignments.

I’ve always wondered how Natchwey made a living. Editorial shooters are crying poverty and aside from a recent piece in Time, I don’t see his byline much so, he must be shooting more advertising and commercial than I realized. Anyone know where the bulk of his work appears?

I agree – it’s of very limited value and ultimately a silly discussion.

Jim used to shoot pictures for the Albuquerque newspaper but he kept developing his talent until one day he became one of the top photographers in the world.

“I bet you are italian(something I deduced from her name and her english). If you don’t recognize the power and the quality of Nachtwey’s pictures you really are a “belva”(roughly, a banshee, a howling wild animal, and part of edvige’s screen name). It often happens that I disagree with the opinions of APE, but not in this case. Take a little time to think it over before judging. Our opinions don’t just speak of the things we criticize, they also speak about us.”

What inspires me as a photographer is the fact that there were millions of bland uninteresting images available to be taken by lesser photographers who found themselves in exactly the same spot as Nachtwey.

I could go on, but I usually avoid preaching to a choir + 1.

It would also be interesting to see the results of sending a wedding or corporate shooter to cover the aftermath of a conflict.

Your being italian probably has not much at all to do with your opinion of Nachtwey’s pictures and if that’s what you thought I meant then we have not understood each other. I simply have great difficulty-and it seems I’m not alone in that here- understanding your reasons for not liking the Nachtwey images. I also happen to think that your comment about “empty esthetism of the image that doesn’t have the power to tell a story…” actually does apply to some of the work that APE seems to responds to favorably.

“I bet that you are not Italian. If you are, you do not recognize the power and the quality of the images of Nachtwey; they are really a wild beast. I often do not share the opinions of BEE, however in this case I do not. Take a little time to reflect well before awarding. Our opinions speak only of the things that we criticize, but speak also of those….”

…errr…FISH-anity…??

of it all.

or he would document the lives of the hardworking, underpaid servers and cleaning staff at the average hotel.

whatever he did, it would be several layers deeper than what you would expect and would probably make you want to cry.

I hope that nachtwey gets to read this thread.

another vote for war photographer. fantastic film. I try to lend my copy out to everyone i know.

scommetto che sei italiana. se non riconosci il potere e la qualita’ delle immagini di nachtwey sei davvero una belva. capita spesso che non condivido le opinioni di APE, comunque in questo caso non e’ cosi’. prenditi un po’ di tempo per riflettere bene prima di aggiudicare. i nostri opinioni parlano non solo delle cose che critichiamo, ma parlano anche di noi….