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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Extraordinary Storytellers: War Photographers [Watch (HLS stream): Extraordinary Storytellers: War Photographers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Kks1qiUc.m3u8) (11:48)  _Published 2012-05-24. Extraordinary Storytellers: War Photographers_ --- Jul 27, 2023 3:25 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [How to Photograph at Night](/video/UkEDGERp/) ### How to Photograph at Night [Photographing TIME's Star Wars Cover](/video/KXrQmNTF/) ### Photographing TIME's Star Wars Cover [The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Trailer](/video/hovcxqIy/) ### The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Trailer --- ## Transcript [ SOUND ] Adell to Six. Adell to Six keep your two. [ MUSIC ] [ SOUND ] I see the kind of photo journalist who covers war to be somebody who has never won an incredible amount of bravery and ability to put themselves apart from the circumstance they're in. Part of it is determination. Part of it is a great eye. Part of it is just cold blooded courage. They're the ones that actually run towards a conflict when everybody else is running away. Your ears are working as well as your eyes and you, you just, you have to be, almost totally aware to, to be able to shoot the pictures and to stay alive. In those moments, you put your own emotions on hold. You have to. World War Two was the first big war where there was so much coverage. And Ralph went into this and came back and gave the, the nation, the, the world some unforgettable images. The thing about Ralph and all people like him, that are great at their jobs, the thought of not doing the job they're sent to do doesn't even enter in their minds. I mean, as I said, Ralph's great skill was not only did he talk a good game, he executed. But what Ralph really had going for him, and I can't emphasize it enough, was this, just this boyhood enthusiasm. Every assignment Ralph tackled, he tackled with this wonderful enthusiasm. It wasn't just a single picture. It was a body of work. It was not just a photograph. His pictures were never just photographs. The one image that I find the most beautiful is the picture of George Lott, the medic who was wounded in France and Ralph covered that in a photo journalistic way. He had been injured in battle where a mortar went off next to him. And there's a picture there where they're applying casts. And the pain in George Lott's face, in this very healthy, otherwise looking muscular soldier, in excruciating pain. That's one of the most unforgettable pictures that I think he's done. As he covered these people in foxholes, and during battles he realized yeah, I'm giving up a lot being here probably, but not near as much as what they're giving up They're putting their life on the line. It's dangerous for me out here. You know, but I can withdraw, they can't. I mean think about sleeping in the trenches for days on end and living with the soldiers. Our guys lived, and Ralph in particular, lived with these guys. Ralph's picture's of the war are, are really unbelievable, and Ralph's stories about the pictures are even better. It's really more his personality. And, and just getting in to know people cuz that's how I got to know him, from his friends. And he could have just been another photographer, but he's the one everybody remembers. [ MUSIC ] To really know what it's about for yourself, that's, I think, what drives most journalists. We, we wanna know. We're curious. We wanna know what's happening, and I'm sure with Larry there was a good deal of that. [ SOUND ] My father was born in London and lived and was based in England as a photographer up until 6, 61. He spent most of 62 shooting in Vietnam and that story ran in Life in January of 63. It was called The War in Color, and that is often sort of described as the, as the story that brought Vietnam to the American people. It was the most important story. And I think it comes as a surprise to people who perhaps do, do safer jobs, that that a person going and facing bullets and explosions and horrible situations everyday. The idea that they might not be thinking about their vulnerability seems absurd. Well, February the, the tenth was the anniversary of the day my father's helicopter and the other photographers on board was shot down, and that was 71, so it's been quite a while now. And he was 44 when he died. There have been moments, yes. When your lips go dry and you sort of lick those, yes. Anybody that does not, does not have any fear, then he's a complete idiot. That, that was a terrible day because you realized that so much talent, I mean, all the other photographers on that chopper with him were incredibly good photographers, talented at what they do. And it was just a really great loss. But in terms of dedication to their job, I mean, there was no other place that any of them would have rather been. Than to be on the helicopter chasing down that story. For example, if you look at, at that great spread, that he did in Life with the Marines, you actually pop up 13. You really see the full arc of a very dramatic story in those photographs. Jim Folly, the crew chief, was the quintessential boy next door. He was 21 years of age a typical young American man. The thing that was surprising about the Yankee Papa 13 was that it kind of brought home in a very personal way, that it wasn't just a lot of helicopters, and a lot of stuff going to Vietnam. But it was a lot of young guys with it and when this guy is shot it, it really resonates through the crew. And, you know, the famous picture of, of this poor guy weeping for his buddy at the end of the story. It's a, it's a very respectful but a very powerful picture. And so often I wonder whether it is my right to capitalize as I feel so often, on the grief of others. But then I justify my own particular thoughts by feeling that if I can contribute a little to the understanding of what others are going through, then there's a reason for doing it. The great war photographer Robert Capa said if you're not, if your pictures aren't good enough, you're probably not close enough. Well, Jim has been right on the front line. He's gotten closer as anybody else. But, he's also closer emotionally. It's important to him to, to bring those images home to all of us. To, to make us uncomfortable. To make us look at those pictures and to hopefully bring about change. He has been relentless in his complete and undying devotion to telling the tale that needs to be told and giving a voice to the people who don't have a voice. He's always better when things are kind of, out of his control. And so that's his niche, he's really the best at going out there and trying to make some sense out of the chaos. With Jim, it's not just luck. There's a tremendous amount of planning and thought that goes into, well which plane do I take? [ LAUGH ] You know, which, which direction do I go? He's covered every war since the Vietnam war, and then he's gone on from that to covering global health issues, and social injustice of all kinds. The crazy thing about Jim is he woke up one day and decided he's gonna be a photographer. That's the force of Jim Nachtwey's biography and his personality. He taught himself to be a great photographer. It is true that great photographers have an uncanny knack to be in the right place at the right time. They also, unfortunately, sometimes have the very bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that's certainly what happened to, to Jim after 9 / 11 when just, he happened to be at his apartment in downtown New York and he rushed out an, and, and took obviously wonderful, provocative, moving photographs. [ MUSIC ] He spent 30 plus years trying to in a way make the world a better place. Try and tell stories, bring attention to situations which most people just shy away from. Most people aren't interested. Jim's been there. He's, he's, he's shone, shone a light into these dark corners of human existence and hopefully through that we will pay more attention and hopefully effect some sort of change. He has such a broad range over these almost 30 years of work. And in each of those categories, I can think of amazing images that will go down in history. I mean, he has a huge legacy. He could have done any of these things once and made a big mark and he's just, there's so many that we can't even name them all. He's done so much for Time magazine in telling the world about what is going on. It's important that we try and keep the pictures and the memories alive with the people. It's, it's much of what photography is based on, is on the work that's gone before. As I said before, he's one of a kind. There is no better, if he doesn't deserve it, who does? To see life, to see the world, to eyewitness great events and Ralph Morse, Larry Burrows and Jim Nachtwey more than fulfilled Luces definition of what photography should be about. 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