“I have been a witness and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated.” -James Nachtwey
James Nachtwey has been a truck driver and member of the merchant marine. He was hugely influenced by the images from the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. This interest led him to teach himself photography during his time in the merchant marine. He began his photographic career in New Mexico in 1976. By 1980 he was in New York City.
Northern Ireland
In 1981, Nachtwey covered the strife and fighting in Belfast during the IRA hunger strike.
Time Magazine
James Nachtwey has been a contract photographer for Time since 1984 covering assignments of conflicts and wars and social issues producing photo essays from datelines in ElSalvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza, Isreal, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Somalia, Sudan, South Africa, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Romania, Brazil and in the U.S.
Photo agencies, exhibitions, awards
He has been a member of Black Star (1980-85), Magnum (1986-2001), then became a founding member of VII.
His work has been on exhibition at the International Center of Photography (New York City), the Bibliotheque Nationale de France (Paris), the Palazzo Esposizioni (Rome), the Museum of Photographic Arts (San Diego), Culturgest (Lisbon), The Canon Gallery and the Hasselblad Center (Sweden) and many others.
He has received the Martin Luther King Award, Henry Luce Award, Robert Capa Gold Medal (twice) World Press Photo Award (twice), Magazine Photographer of the Year (7 times), the ICP Infinity Award (3 times) the Leica Award (twice) and Alfred Eisenstaedt Award to name a few. He is also a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.
All photographs (except the portrait) are © James Nachtwey
Thanks to jamesnachtwey.com for biographical information and photographs.
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