One Story

Through his different experiences as a photojournalist, James Nachtwey “thought he was covering different things, [but] ultimately decided he was covering one thing”. These experiences helped Nachtwey to realize that his photos served a much bigger purpose than he originally imagined. Instead of covering war, critical social issues, global health issues, or crime and punishment in America, he discovered that was really covering reality and the experiences that people share. Nachtwey was using his skills and abilities as a photojournalist to share the stories of other individuals who might have never received this opportunity. Nachtwey consistently put himself in dangerous situations and pushed himself to the edge of human experience in search of these individuals and the stories that they carry. As he stated himself, these “photos give a voice to those who would not have one”.

Nachtwey’s experiences were shaped into one complete, circular story with the realization that we all share similar emotions through our different experiences. Tragedy, pain, heartbreak, hope, and courage are just a few of the emotions that Nachtwey was able to capture within his pictures from all over the world. His photographs shaped a story about people. People from different cultures, background, religions, ideologies, lifestyles, families, and beliefs live in the same world and experience the same emotions. These individuals may find themselves in different situations, but these situations ultimately shape the same sense of feeling within everyone. As a photojournalist, Nachtwey conveys these emotions in a manner that makes them relatable for all viewers. The realization that this was possible and necessary truly resonated with Nachtwey, and it provided him with an opportunity to help others experience what he describes as a “vital story” that needs to be told.

It’s amazing that the media and journalism can have such a profound impact on people, even the ones that produce it. Nachtwey’s experience with his own photographs and images had a powerful effect on his own mindset. He found himself looking beyond the image to try and understand the person in the story. I believe that his eventual goal is for others to witness the same phenomenon that he came across when taking pictures of the terrorist attacks on September 11. It’s more than just the issue being photographed that Nachtwey wants to develop, but it’s an understanding that we are all people living in this world together. Although he may have wanted to appear objective in doing this, it’s difficult to overlook a small amount of bias from Nachtwey through his dark, painful images. In a sense, all journalism operates in this manner, giving individuals a specific story about a specific topic, but hoping that they will use it as a catalyst towards understanding the deeper issues hidden behind the words and photographs.

Kody Frey