This movie, War Photographer was by far my favorite out of the other two. It journeys James Nachtwey on his own journey as a documentary war photographer. The mood of the film was very depressing. Being a war photographer is definitely one of the most difficult kinds of photographers to be. You must constantly have courage to be documenting such depressing situations. The film shows him on many different travels. Of those, the photographs from Kosovo and Indonesia are by far my favorite.
There was a photograph showing Kosovo after the war. All you can see is wreckage and I immediately tried to think of a story. Who lived there? Did they all die? I think it is such a strong image because of the mass destruction of the area. There was another photograph that really triggered me and that was one of a crying lady in front of a house. The composition for starters is absolutely beautiful. Although she is in the center of the frame, I don’t mind it much because the house behind her is angled and falling apart so although she is the subject, my eye doesn’t necessarily stay on her. The high contrast of the photograph also adds to the drama.
There was another photograph from the Kosovo Batch that really caught my attention and that was the photograph with all of the corpses on a dumpster truck. There is a hand on the corner of the image that was really beautiful. I am not sure whether it was intentional or not, but it looked like it was almost reaching out for one last touch.
There is something very serene about James. Unless he is narrating, he never speaks or makes any expressions. While shooting he takes his time and is respectful of his subjects. I really wonder what he is thinking and how he is so calm and collected while in such frightening situations. He said that documentary photography is almost connected to theater which I thought was funny. He said that the difference is that he is actually on the stage and that there is no script. That was a very unusual comparison for him to make.
Probably the most disturbing image I saw in the video was the little boy with no legs. Just from looking at him, it seems he would be in a lot of pain yet he has such an apathetic facial expression. Perhaps he is way too young to realize how devastating his situation is. James stated that these are the only times you can photograph these types of images. These people want the world to see what they are going through. These kinds of documentations would be impossible elsewhere because it would be more of an intrusion rather than eye-opening. Those people see it has having a voice.
The photographs in Indonesia were mainly of poverty situations. I almost find those to be more powerful then the after-war Kosovo ones. The reason being is because these people have lived like this their entire lives rather than had a war come destroy everything. It really opens my eyes to how good we have it in America and how the things people complain about daily are not even real issues.
There were a couple of photographs of a family that stood out to me. The father was missing an arm and a leg. He had a wife and four children. The amazing part to learn for me was that they lived on the ground in between two railway tracks. They don’t even have a shack to live in. These people work for cents a day and guaranteed work harder than some people do in a lifetime. How do they sleep at night?
James expresses that his photographs are only a small portion of what he experienced there. He tries to emulate what he saw through his images. Although they are very strong pictures, they are only small doorways to the devastation happening in these 3rd world countries.
There was a photograph showing Kosovo after the war. All you can see is wreckage and I immediately tried to think of a story. Who lived there? Did they all die? I think it is such a strong image because of the mass destruction of the area. There was another photograph that really triggered me and that was one of a crying lady in front of a house. The composition for starters is absolutely beautiful. Although she is in the center of the frame, I don’t mind it much because the house behind her is angled and falling apart so although she is the subject, my eye doesn’t necessarily stay on her. The high contrast of the photograph also adds to the drama.
There was another photograph from the Kosovo Batch that really caught my attention and that was the photograph with all of the corpses on a dumpster truck. There is a hand on the corner of the image that was really beautiful. I am not sure whether it was intentional or not, but it looked like it was almost reaching out for one last touch.
There is something very serene about James. Unless he is narrating, he never speaks or makes any expressions. While shooting he takes his time and is respectful of his subjects. I really wonder what he is thinking and how he is so calm and collected while in such frightening situations. He said that documentary photography is almost connected to theater which I thought was funny. He said that the difference is that he is actually on the stage and that there is no script. That was a very unusual comparison for him to make.
Probably the most disturbing image I saw in the video was the little boy with no legs. Just from looking at him, it seems he would be in a lot of pain yet he has such an apathetic facial expression. Perhaps he is way too young to realize how devastating his situation is. James stated that these are the only times you can photograph these types of images. These people want the world to see what they are going through. These kinds of documentations would be impossible elsewhere because it would be more of an intrusion rather than eye-opening. Those people see it has having a voice.
The photographs in Indonesia were mainly of poverty situations. I almost find those to be more powerful then the after-war Kosovo ones. The reason being is because these people have lived like this their entire lives rather than had a war come destroy everything. It really opens my eyes to how good we have it in America and how the things people complain about daily are not even real issues.
There were a couple of photographs of a family that stood out to me. The father was missing an arm and a leg. He had a wife and four children. The amazing part to learn for me was that they lived on the ground in between two railway tracks. They don’t even have a shack to live in. These people work for cents a day and guaranteed work harder than some people do in a lifetime. How do they sleep at night?
James expresses that his photographs are only a small portion of what he experienced there. He tries to emulate what he saw through his images. Although they are very strong pictures, they are only small doorways to the devastation happening in these 3rd world countries.
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