Arts > Photo > War > James Nachtwey

Artist Talk | James Nachtwey: Documenting War & Conflict

video    Fotografiska    13 November 2025

One of the world’s most respected photojournalists,

James Nachtwey has spent over four decades documenting war, conflict,

and the human cost of injustice.

His retrospective "Memoria" brings together nearly 150 photographs

and a film by Thomas Nordanstad, arranged in narrative sequences

that reveal both the brutality and the compassion found within moments of crisis.

In this artist talk, Nachtwey reflects on his lifelong commitment to bearing witness

— from the frontlines of war to the quiet aftermath of human suffering.

He shares insights into his process, his ethical approach to storytelling,

and his belief that photography can be a force for empathy and change.

Memoria is not only a record of conflict,

but a testament to humanity’s capacity for compassion,

even in the darkest of times.

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwcOaR_6No8

War photographer    2001

James Nachtwey : photographe de guerre (2001)

video    documentary    The Mirrorless Man

Depuis plus de 20 ans,

le photojournaliste James Nachtwey (1948) visite des pays déchirés par la guerre,

comme le Kosovo et le Rwanda, filmant les destructions.

Même s'il n'est qu'un simple observateur,

il ressent néanmoins les effets immédiats des terres ravagées.

Ces images sombres contrastent avec la réserve calme de Nachtwey

alors qu'il repousse les accusations d'exploitation de la tragédie.

Le réalisateur Christian Frei attache une petite caméra vidéo

à l'appareil photo de Nachtwey

pour une vue plongeante de la destruction, de la douleur et,

finalement, de l'espoir.

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUiohIC1dYU

James Nachtwey

No caption

https://fotografohotel.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/rwanda.jpg 

https://fotografohotel.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/james-nachtwey/

James Nachtwey    USA

https://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/
james-nachtwey/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
James_Nachtwey

https://www.mediapart.fr/studio/documentaires/culture-et-idees/
dans-l-objectif-de-james-nachtwey-photographe-de-guerre - March 2026

https://www.bbc.com/news/
world-asia-66886613 - 23 September 2023

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2021/jun/03/
the-jobs-went-the-drugs-moved-in-americas-addiction-nightmare-
in-pictures - Guardian picture gallery

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/nov/18/
some-of-the-darkest-places-in-the-world-
joaquin-phoenix-on-a-photobook-about-slaughterhouses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0XqoMX6Wmo

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/05/
world-words-photos-matter-photojournalism-reportage

https://www.wpr.org/art/
remembering-9-11-through-lens-photojournalist - September 11, 2015

https://time.com/3693784/
james-nachtwey-30-years-in-time/ - 18 September 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/nov/16/
criticism-critics-photography-susie-linfield

https://archive.nytimes.com/lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/
behind-37/

https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2009/10/
a_photographers_take_on_island.html

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/oct/05/
infectiousdiseases.photography

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/
arts/design/28nach.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=AGKZhNK_pHw - TED, March 2007

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/dec/12/
pressandpublishing.Iraqandthemedia

https://www.npr.org/2002/03/23/
1140434/war-photographer

https://www.npr.org/2000/03/06/
1111064/photojournalist-james-nachtwey

https://www.npr.org/1993/01/11/
1106663/photojournalist-james-nachtwey-knockt-way

https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/24/
magazine/romania-s-lost-children-
a-photo-essay-by-james-nachtwey.html 

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New York Times > Lens

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https://archive.nytimes.com/
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New York Times >  Exposures

Exposures was an Opinion forum for photography,

curated by Jeffrey Henson Scales from 2011 through 2023.

https://www.nytimes.com/column/
exposures  

NPR > The Picture Show / Photo Stories from NPR        USA

http://www.npr.org/sections/
pictureshow/

Guardian > Photography        UK

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/
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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/series/
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mybestshot