Photojournalist to share work, experiences

In the midst of chaos, James Nachtwey has been there to capture the emotion and reality of today's wars. \nNachtwey is one of the world's most influential war photographers of the late 20th century, according to an IU news release.\nNachtwey will visit Bloomington to talk about his experiences at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. His talk is sponsored by the School of Journalism and is free and open to the public.\n"Jim likes to call himself an anti-war photographer, not a war photographer," said Steve Raymer, journalism professor and longtime friend of Nachtwey. "The message of his images -- whether they are from Darfur in the Sudan, or the Middle East, or of horribly wounded U.S. soldiers in Iraq -- is that all of us share a common humanity and responsibility for the fate of our fellow man and woman."\nNachtwey has worked on extensive photographic essays in Nicaragua, Lebanon, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Bosnia, Kosovo and the West Bank, among other places.\n"He has had such a wealth of experience around the world and has seen so many things," said Tim Street, communication assistant for the School of Journalism. "It's amazing to have someone here who has done that."\nIn 2001, he covered the events of Sept. 11 and created a photo essay for Time magazine.\nRecently, Nachtwey was featured in a film called "War Photographer," directed and produced by Swiss author Christian Frei. \nFrei followed Nachtwey on a two-year trip through wars in Indonesia, Kosovo, Palestine and other locations. Frei attached special microcameras to Nachtwey's photocamera to capture every crucial moment of his trip.\nNachtwey will share clips from this documentary as well as photographs from his career.\n"Students will learn that it is the responsibility of every journalist to be a good and a compassionate witness, and that knowing the truth -- however painful or difficult to look at -- can set students free from their cynicism and disengagement with the world," Raymer said.\nLike many photographers, Nachtwey is self-taught, Raymer said. He graduated from Dartmouth College and soon left for New Mexico to learn journalism on the job at a small newspaper. \nNachtwey began at the bottom, and was able to work his way up to be one of the greatest photojournalists of his generation, Raymer said.\nHe has received the World Press Photo Award twice and been named Magazine Photographer of the Year seven times.\n"We are excited to have him," Street said.