James+Nachtwey

=__JAMES NACHTWEY__=

James Nachtwey grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Dartmouth College, where he studied Art History and Political Science. He started off as a newspaper photographer in New Mexico, then moved onto New York, and finally worked as a freelance photographer. He covered the civil dispute in Northern Island during the IRA hunger strike, and since then he has devoted himself to documenting wars, conflicts and critical social issues. He has worked in many countries while working for Time Magazine. He is also one of the founding members of the photo agency VII, and has had many solo exhibition all over the world, making his work very well known. He has also received numerous honours for his spreading of awareness, such as the Martin Luther King Award, the Magazine Photographer of the Year (7 times), the International Center of Photography Award (twice) and the Bayeaux Award for the War Correspondents (twice).

The things that influenced him weren’t other photographers, but the situation that the world is in. The first issue that influenced him was the Vietnam War and the American Civil Rights movement which he learned about while he was studying at Dartmouth College. Seeing the determination of survivors or the bleak look of those that have given up hope inspires him to take photographs so that the rest of the world knows about the things that are happening as well. I think that his influences are the positive reactions of change that occur after other people view his photographs, because photographs are the face of change. He photographs different wars, conflicts and social issues, mostly in black and white photography. He has worked in countries such as Guatemala, Rwanda, Russia, Afghanistan, Bosnia and many more. All of these countries were/are experiencing some sort of dispute, which is what brought him to them. His photography on War has won him the Bayeaux Award for the War Correspondents twice, which further proves that his work inflicts change. His photography contains a mixture of peaceful and calm events, to the sad and horrific events that happen in this world. Most of his photography is black and white, and taken from the 'losers' side in wars. He uses a lot of contrast with the black and white, but also with the actual subjects. He also uses a great amount of diagonal lines, which creates depth. He uses repeating to make the pictures deeper, like the houses in the background (second and seventh), or the people (first, sixth, eighth). He doesn't usually use the rule of thirds that much, instead he puts the subject in an area where one can easily see them while still being able to see the background which creates the story. All of his photos have some sort of a story, whether it is one of becoming a man (last) or one of heroin addicts (first). He also frames his subjects with their surroundings for instance the white figure surrounded by ruins (second) or the patient surrounded by the white tile walls (fifth). He also manages to capture both facial and body expressions in his photos, such as the cry for help (sixth) or the silent thank you (fourth) to the peaceful acknowledgement (last) or the need to support oneself (fifth). Most of his photos do not have a huge light difference, with the exception of the first, fourth and eighth. He uses light to silhouette the subject, or to make them be the main character of the photo. Some of the shadowing he uses creates a sense of depth or a sense of fore and background. He also uses shadowing to make the facial or body expression stand out. Background 20/20 Influences 5/5 Style/Genre 5/5 5 Photos and Description 25/25 Total 55/55