Vocation, word derived from Latin? Vocare ?, which means “call”. Better known as a skill that leads the individual to pursue a particular career or profession. James Nachtwey knows that word well. Born in Syracuse, USA, in 1948, he is now one of the greatest photographers, definitely a vocation photographer.
James grew up in Massachusetts, where he had access to a quality education, specializing in art history and political science, areas that would serve as an important reference for the future as a conflict photographer, owner of a work full of important photographs that he would have seen.
- He began working from a young age on ships of the U.
- S.
- Merchant Navy.
- A place that allowed him to start photographing.
- Learned to take photographs on his own.
- While working as an assembly intern and then driving trucks.
His photographs, clearly by vocation, are synonymous with inequality, extreme poverty, ethnic and political conflicts in the modern world. It was during the Vietnam War that James Nachtwey was sure of the importance of his profession.
In nearly five decades of work, he began his career as a freelance photographer for American magazines, his first major international coverage was in civil movements in Northern Ireland in 1981, it was on this occasion that he began to specialize in photographing conflicts and precarious situations. .
Owner of a remarkable documentary photography, Nachtwey is considered one of the bravest photographers of our time, with a shy personality, he transforms his goals into a powerful weapon of social change, because he believes that photography helps to denounce what is wrong, what is it’s wrong. wrong or what is unfair.
Many professionals in his field compare it to none other than Robert Capa, the biggest name in war photography in the world. A sensible comparison, as James Nachtwey has covered the greatest massacres and social conflicts of recent decades: he has documented ethnic and extreme conflicts. poverty in Africa; countless conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe; inequality in Latin America.
Despite his professionalism and worldwide recognition, the photographer has already revealed in some interviews his concern for the future of conflict photography, for him it is increasingly difficult to get people interested in this type of photography, because our society is obsessed with celebrity photos and fashion.
A Times photographer since the 1980s, James Nachtwey has remained active, received the biggest awards and decorations for his work in photography, arguably an example of a professional who likes what he does, committed to humanitarian values and social causes. , we can appreciate your work.