James Nachtwey
PhotographerKnown for: conflict photojournalism across five decades
James Nachtwey has covered conflicts in El Salvador, Afghanistan, Somalia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Rwanda, and Iraq, among other theaters, and has received the World Press Photo of the Year award multiple times. He was a founding member of the VII Photo Agency in 2001. Christian Frei's documentary War Photographer (2001), which attached a miniature camera to Nachtwey's camera to film him at work, is among the most widely seen films about photojournalism.
Gear & Materials(2)
Nikon
The F3 was Nikon's professional 35mm SLR from 1980 to 2001, succeeding the F2 and serving as the primary camera of photojournalists for two decades. Its titanium shutter curtain was rated for 150,000 cycles, and the modular design accepted interchangeable viewfinders, motor drives, and data backs. It was the dominant tool in conflict photography through the 1980s and early 1990s.
“Multiple Nikon F3 bodies are shown in use in Christian Frei's documentary "War Photographer" (2001); Nachtwey has also discussed the camera in interviews about his conflict photography practice.”
ILFORD
HP5 Plus is a 400 ISO black-and-white film manufactured by ILFORD in various forms since 1937. Its wide exposure latitude and consistent performance when push-processed to 1600 or 3200 ISO have made it a long-standing choice in documentary and landscape photography.
“Nachtwey's black-and-white conflict photography has been shot on ILFORD film; his use of HP5 Plus is documented in interviews about his working process and technical approach.”
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