ABSTRACT
In order to most effectively produce a visual record of a moment in time, its inventors labored to find the best combination of light-sensitive chemicals. The ethical debates within the realm of conflict photography can be contentious, the missteps can make the people angry, but the absence of visual documentation altogether is a terrifying notion. Invoking the language of “light,” Bernstein’s words have echoes throughout the preceding interviews, as the practitioners of conflict photography likewise describe a deep commitment to the principles that undergird the free press and democracy. Conversations on Conflict Photography aims, at its core, to challenge its readership. Photojournalist James Nachtwey, whose image of a starving man had such a powerful impact in classroom, has said that his own conflict photography is “specifically trying to mitigate against war itself.”. Photography occupies the epicenter of vital and sometimes ferocious debates about picturing others’ suffering or documenting them in states of conflict.
