I borrowed the documentary War Photographer from Elephant Pharmacy yesterday...this film follows renowned photojournalist James Nachtwey through some of his assignments in Kosovo, Indonesia and the West Bank (among others) and answered one question that frequently came to mind-- how are these photographers able to take close-ups of grieving people, corpses, riots, conflicts and what not? you just really have to be there. and not only do you take shots; you also experience the smells, the sounds, the dirt, the horror yourself... while some choose to take pictures from a distance, some really go close up and go all out... and it can be a really dangerous profession at times...

i have also always wondered why people would allow photographers to capture them in their very worst moments... but as James Nachtwey put it in the film, because they also realize that it's a way of letting the world know about the injustice that's happening to them, that these pictures are perhaps the only way (and a very powerful one too) they can reach out for help....(i'm not quoting him, just rephrasing what i think he said) i just think it's so cool, to have individuals like him willing to take on that responsibility...

to see some of James Nachtwey's work, you can go to his gallery