Not Exactly 2 Peas in a Pod



In Search of 'Martyrdom'
Gaza, 2002
James Nachtwey



James Nachtwey is the subject of the 2001 documentary "War Photographer" (see here), and is noted for his ability to immerse himself in the action and witness its aftermath, and to really capture what's going on. He explained the importance of his work in terms of giving a voice to people who otherwise wouldn't have one, enabling their story to be publicised to the wider world. However, this is also at the expense of normal rules of 'civility' since under no other circumstances would it be acceptable to photograph people in the deepest pits of despair. His work, being in a natural setting (i.e. that he is not influencing it), can be described as raw, and incredibly powerful - though I believe this power comes from the subject, not the picture, which only serves to illustrate.

War isn't his only focus, but he also has works attempting to highlight poverty, environmental pollution, disease and may other accounts of human suffering. For instance, he had a personal drive to capture the situation of orphanages in Romania. These resulted from a regime that 'encouraged' large familes in order to build up the workforce, yet the parents couldn't support their children so many were abandoned (for a fuller story, see here). The photo I chose for this is very minimalist and in black and white (distinctive for many of Nachtwey's photos) - empty.

An Orphan in an Institution for "Incurables"
Romania, 1990
James Nachtwey



John Lennon and Yoko Ono
New York, 1980
Annie Leibowitz

 Annie Leibovitz's life and work is also documeted in the 2006 film "Annie Leibowtz: Life Through a Lens" (see here). She is also a very highly regarded professional photographer, but of a completely different sort. Her area of expertise is celebrity portraits. Although her work is commissioned by the likes of Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines and much of the time is highly stylized, she expressed how important it is that the pictures capture some ounce of the subjects' personalities. In order to achieve this, she had to spend time living with and getting to know her subjects, so that they could trust her and act naturally in front of the camera (sounds an awful lot like 'participant observation, ne?). The photo I chose to use on the left is infamous not only for being the last photo of John Lennon alive (a few hours before he was shot), but for capturing the nature of a relationship that so many people didn't seem to want to accept, perfectly.

Perhaps the only point of comparison between these two photographers is the fact that their works are both human centred. Both are striving to use their pictures toward gaining a greater understanding of the nature of people (in whatever circumstances). So what, as an anthropologist, can be learned fom them? Perhaps just that you can't enter into a situation already supposing to 'know' what to expect. The people who are to be investigated have to show you in their own way, but before they can do that they have to accept you. That's the only way to truly comprehending how another's mind works and how their world appears to them, which can then be taken and accurately reresented to others on the outside.