I see a darkness

I want to be a photojournalist, a war photographer. I'm dumbfounded on how to go about mastering the art of war photography. I'm not even certain that it is a realistic goal. But still I want to capture images of conflict and war. I want to raise awareness about these issues and make them more publicly available.

The idea of war photography came about in 1859, around the time of the American Civil War when it was predicted that photography would be able to visually document future wars correctly by generating precise documentation of battles, soldiers, and all other things war-related. War photography captures images of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas, depicting the terrors of war and the acts of sacrifice.

VII Photo Agency was formed in September 2001 [days before the 9/11 attacks] and ever since this inception, VII has been responsible for creating and relaying to the world many of the images that define the turbulent opening years of the 21st century. VII documents conflict - environmental, social and political, violent and non-violent - to produce an unflinching record of the injustices created and experienced by people caught up in the events they describe.

There are so many incredible and powerful photographs that come out of this genre of photojournalism.

This photo by James Nachtwey, one of the founders of VII Photo Agency, really captures a sense of the sorrow of this Romanian child. Nachtwey does a lot of his shooting in black & white and it really seems to isolate the subject that he wants to highlight. The angle that this is shot on lends a sense of tension to the image and the never-ending rows of beds gives a feeling of loneliness and hopelessness. I think that James Nachtwey has done a great job in this image of showing the results of the conflict in Romania.

I find this image by Zoriah Miller so captivating. Like the previous photograph, it is in black & white which keeps the viewer focused on the subject matter and not distracted by the colors. I love that he has chosen to show the results of conflict in a non-violent manner. The line of kids helping each other up and over rubble in an area completely destroyed by war is such a beautiful image.

Marcus Bleasdale has been photographing events in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the past 8 years and has photographed everything there from child soldiers to elections. I just love the way that this picture of a child soldier is composed. I like that it shows a little boy riding his bike down the dirt road with a rifle slung over his shoulders. The boy seems to have so much determined energy and it is so terrifying that his energy is being focused on such a horrific childhood.

Some of the images that come out of the conflict and war photojournalism genre can be difficult and disturbing to look at, but it is important to be aware of the atrocities that are happening in the world, and at the very least, not to take our own comfortable lives for granted.