Shooting War : 18 Profiles of Conflict Photographers

by Anthony Feinstein

Conflict photographers are visual historians, bearing witness to stories that must be told. The images they produce seize our attention and, moved by what we see, troubling questions come to mind. What has become of these victims of war whose plight has been so memorably captured on camera? How did human behavior turn so dark? Shooting War builds on this narrative by asking a different set of questions that to date has received little, if any, attention. What of the person taking the photograph? What might they have experienced? Neuropsychiatrist Anthony Feinstein provides the answers in a series of essays, one each for 18 of the world's preeminent conflict photographers. Complementing each essay is a single, iconic photograph around which the text is built. The essays, derived from face-to-face interviews with the photojournalists, relatives, and close friends, give new and revealing insights into those factors, professional and psychological, that motivate photographers to enter zones of conflict repeatedly and the consequences that come from exposure to grave danger. These may include grievous physical injury, PTSD, moral injury, and prolonged bereavement for colleagues lost. What emerges from these interviews and analyses is a different, unique appreciation of the world of the war and conflict photographer. In addition to opening a new line of investigation into photographers and conflict, the book includes a definitive foreword by Sir Harold Evans, himself a world-renowned commentator on conflict and photography. A comprehensive index of photographer biographies and the wars and conflicts they have photographed is cited. This ground-breaking book will stir interest in the essential work of the men and women who, armed with only a camera, venture into the world's most dangerous places.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2018

Reviews

[Pam Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book flowed smoothly from story to story. I'm not sure how the author decided to order the stories as they are not in chronological order. Each one is 4-5 pages long.

My biggest issue with the book is the title. The book is called Shooting War, 18 Profiles of Conflict Photography, but roughly a third of the pictures in the book are not war related. One shown on the back of the book is from the Haiti earthquake, another is from the Oklahoma City bombing. Neither is from a war or conflict, but instead a crisis.

I enjoyed reading the stories of these men and women, and marveling at their resilience and resolve.

[Hans Brienesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great tome, full of information on war correspondents. Not the usual dramatic images of dead bodies, nor the spectacularly fortuitious images such as the "Napalm girl" but just one image that congeals just what the photographer endured. These 18 photographers have their thoughts and feelings explored in a short but by no means a paucity of information. It tells of what just drove these persons to record what they did, and the effects of doing so. Feinstein goes beyond the surface to present their story.