Inspired by war

Every photographer I know or follow has picked up a camera either by curiosity or following an awakening. There's always a moment, an event, a person, a situation that inspired them. It's rare and probably even impossible to run into a photographer that will say: "Meh...I don't know...I just take pictures". It just doesn't happen! At least not to me anyway!

There's something intriguing about picking up a professional camera for the first time. In my case, I knew I had absolutely no idea what I was doing but at the same time felt an incredible eagerness to just create. I was immediately taken back to that instance that sparked my curiosity to learn about photography and more importantly how to use a camera.

James Nachtwey - "War Photographer"

I have never, to this day, seen a TV show, a series, a movie, a documentary or anything else that has impacted me more than Christian Frei's War Photographer.

I remember seeing War Photographer for the first time in 2008 and perhaps it was a culmination of my love for history, my studies in politics and my recently acquired job as a political advisor that had me transfixed by the powerful images I was watching.

Essentially, this documentary follows world renowned war photographer, James Nachtwey, in several of his assignments while he covers some of the most heart wrenching, cruel and deadly conflicts in the world.

It's one thing to see images taken during wartime in a magazine or newspaper and a completely different thing seeing what these war photographers have to put themselves through to deliver those images.

I was instantly inspired! I wanted to be James Nachtwey! (Well, not really! I could never muster enough courage to do anything remotely close to being a war photographer!) I knew I wanted to capture people's feelings, emotions and expressions in an image and freeze them in time. And that's what I did and hope to continue to do!

Working in politics, gave me a certain privilege to practice photojournalism and I really enjoyed it but over the years I've slowly drifted away and transitioned into other styles.

That's exactly what I love about photography. There really aren't any boundaries and as technology quickly evolves we're starting to see some amazing artists creating incredible and inspiring stuff which in turn pushes us to grow and more importantly to learn.

(Photo credit: Rwanda, 1994 - Survivor of Hutu death camp, James Nachtwey, www.jamesnachtwey.com)