I recently watched the movie War Photographer by Christian Frei.The film was released in 2001 and won numerous awards. It’s a documentary about photojournalist James Nachtwey and his career as a war photographer.
Nachtwey has spent much of his career covering conflict in many different regions of the world. Many times he puts himself in great danger to document the story.
A recent post on PhotoPhilanthropy.org titled, “War photographer: a dangerous idolatry“, brings up the question about moral obligations surrounding war photography and applying it to photojournalism or humanitarian photography.
The article discusses the issues about photographers obtaining permission to photograph their subjects. It states that in war type situations it may be difficult to obtain permission but in “non-violent-photography” there should be “some level of collaboration between photographer and subject”.
In War Photographer you see examples of both. In one instance Nachtwey is shooting during intense fighting where asking permission would be impossible and in another scene Nachtwey is documenting a family grieving over a lost family member. In the latter he states, “Those pictures could not have been made unless I was accepted by the people I’m photographing”, referring to the fact he had collaborated with the family prior to shooting.
Hans Durrer wrote an article on Soundscapes stating, “when the people portrayed feel ashamed of their portraits, there clearly is something wrong with this kind of photography.” Durrer believes there should be “chemistry” and “collaboration” between the photographer and the subject.
My personal opinion is, it depends on the photographer and the situation. More so the situation. The photographer ultimately is going to have to make the decision on how to shoot their subject. Typically I do have some type collaboration with my subject before shooting, but have also shot without asking permission. In both cases I felt like I captured the moment in a respectful manner.
Below are two of my images. The “Child Praying” image was shot on the spur of the moment, while the image od the “Old Man” was taken after some collaboration.
Filipino Child Praying - June 2006 |
Old Man in Dhaka Bangladesh - Feb 2010 |
Both Gregory and Durrer’s articles bring up great points and I think neither is right or wrong, they are just part of the ongoing debate.
NOTE: In this article I use the term “photographer” referring mainly to photojournalist, humanitarian photographers, and war photographers.
Feel free to post your comments on the topic below.
RESOURCES:
War photographer: a dangerous idolatry
Soundscapes – Hans Durrer
War Photographer – Documentary
James Nachtwey
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