One of my motivations to be a photojournalist is the idea that some day my photos will allow someone to be educated/informed about a situation that is negative and inspire a movement toward better days.
The great war photography James Nachtwey has said it better than I ever could. (He would rather be called an Anti-war photographer.)
"Why photograph war? Is it possible to put an end to a form of human behavior which has existed through history, by means of photography? The proportions of that notion seem ridiculously out balance. Yet, that idea has motivated me.
For me the strength of photography lies in it's ability to evoke a sense of humanity. If war is an attempt to negate humanity then photography can be perceived as the opposite of war and if it is used well it can be a powerful ingredient in the antidote to war.
In a way if an individual assumes the risk of placing himself in the middle of a war in order to communicate to the world what is happening, he's trying to negotiate for peace. Perhaps that is why those responsible for perpetrating a war do not like to have photographers around.
What you see in the field... is unmitigated pain injustice and and misery. It's occurred to me that if everyone could be there just once, to see for themselves what white phosphorus does to the face of a child or what unspeakable pain is caused by a single bullet ... if everyone could be there to see the fear and the grief just one time, then they would understand that nothing is worth letting things get to the point that it happens to even one person, let alone thousands. But, everyone cannot be there and that is why photographers go there, to show them, to reach out and grab them and make them stop what they are doing and pay attention to what is going on.
To create pictures powerful enough to overcome the diluting effects of the mass media and shake people out of their indifference. To protest, and by the strength of that protest to make others protest." - James Nachtwey | A monologue from War Photographer
And I will leave you with that to ponder and a speech by James at TED. Link
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