I was viewing a documentary called War Photographer. It is about one of the famous war photographers amidst us today James Nachtwey. We would have never realized the reality of war as described in this documentary. We are so oblivious to all these happenings. Mainstream media does not do justice these days with respect to what is going on different war fronts. Look at the following video to get an idea of what James goes through. People really interested, can borrow the DVD war photographer from the King County Library.

   Wondering what the title has to do with this post.. Well i searched for photo journalism on live search and the first link I hit is this. VII is a photo agency formed by 7 of the famous photo journalists, now contains more than 7. They publish pictorial essays of the various events they are covering in here. Most of these pictures do not appear in the mainstream media. I was particularly thrilled by this one taken by James Nachtwey on September 11, 2001.

   I have never given so much importance to war photographs although i have been intrigued by the concept ever since i saw Brad Pitt take pictures in war in Spy Game. Watching this documentary has made me appreciate a whole new dimension of war photography. It is a tough job to keep your emotions in check, avoid getting yourself killed and then let the rest of the world know what is happening at the battle front.  

   That being said, there are people who abuse war photography for their personal gain and propaganda. I came across this nice little clip on you tube which explains how people capitalize on war photographs and how people misuse the horror for their personal propaganda. Here's the clip..