When I posted Emerging Photog, I didn't figure it would create this incredible dialogue about war and peace and the role of the image maker in the mix. Harikrishna, an alumnus of IIT-Madras and now a photojournalism student at the University of Texas, Austin (everyone, APPLAUSE) has had some interesting things to say. But they lie buried in the comments section. Well, no more. Here is his last comment in its entirety:

I have been seriously thinking and debating about the effect of war on photographers particularly after I saw the film War Photographer on James Nachtwey. My conclusions about him as a person came after I spoke to people who have interacted with him. All of them deeply admire his courage, but they are equally saddened by how the war adrenaline addiction has sapped the life out of him. He hopes to change the world with his photographs, but sadly things have only gone worse in the world since he has been making pictures. There seems to be no hope in almost all his pictures. What we see is just hopelessness and emptiness. Can they inspire us for a better world? I am yet to meet someone who would not be utterly dejected after seeing his book Inferno. There seems to be no hope in the world of James Nachtwey. Only desolation and destruction. Can such a tunnel vision change our hearts to make peace with each other? I dont know. This has lead to a lot of soul searching in my own personal life. Can we separate our work and our life? Would Nachtwey's vision of the world be same if he had a personal life where he enjoy simple pleasures? I dont mean to pass any judgements about his personal life, but the issue I am interested in is the Cause and Effect.

Somehow Larry Towell‘s war photographs comes to my mind. I read his pictures differently. They touch me more than some graphic war pictures made under herioc circumstances. There is no heroism or adreneline rush in Larry Towell's. His pictures are quiet. They make me reflect on the situation. Nachtwey's pictures make me think about the photographer. I am caught in the photographic composition. The light and everything else. Everything except the meaning.

Each image maker has her/his own approach to the subject at hand. Bearing witness to the horrors of war or the pleasures of life is a gift. The resulting images, which can be pedantic, need not be so all the time. Don't the images which hit us over the head and instruct also desensitize us in the long run? “Yet another image of a starving child,” we say. The images may have been shot by Nachtwey, Eugene Richards or Mary Ellen Mark. That doesn't matter. As Harikrishna laments, isn't it time we focused on our subjects rather than ourselves? I am curious how you bring empathy to what you do and with those you work – no, you don't have to be a photographer to answer that question.

In asking you to do this, I am reminded of Robert Cole's book – The Call Of Service. Coles, a Harvard university professor and psychiatrist who started the moribund DoubleTake magazine is a wonderful teacher. When I lived in Boston, I snuck into one of his sessions and was astounded by the breadth his knowledge. The book, which “examines the idealistic motives of people who engage in volunteer work, community service or civil rights activism,” is a fascinating read and I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

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Via Sheila Krishnan, a photojournalist:

I recently bought the book Baghdad Blues by David Turnley from Barnes and Noble, and think its awesome. I just think he's a great photographer and I got the opportunity to meet him at MSU a couple years ago, and he was also a real down-to-earth guy. About the book, he includes personal journals of his experiences in Baghdad along with the images, and thats one of my favorite parts. For young photojournalists who are just starting like myself, learning about how you live and how you shoot in different environments (like war) is really interesting.

Also, here are two images Sheila made at her last internship:

Thomas Dunlap, 91, of Newark, gives Dorothy Dunlap, 87, a kiss on the cheek during a party for their 70th wedding anniversary Saturday at the Richard Shank Center in Newark. ” Give and take,” said Dorothy Dunlap, when asked what keeps a marriage together. The couple celebrated their anniversary with their eight children, all who continue to live in the Licking County area.(Sheila Krishnan, The Advocate)

Ohio State senior defenseman Doug Andres and Michigan State junior forward Mike Lalonde watch to see if a puck gets past Ohio State senior goalie Mike Betz during the second period of the OSU vs. MSU hockey game Saturday at Value City Arena in Columbus. The Spartans won 3-0. (Sheila Krishnan, The Advocate)

Luc Delahye‘s photojournalism has always had an epic quality about it.

“At the heart of the discussion was the financial and artistic crisis that photojournalism is currently going through.”

He shoots for Magnum, but from this Peter Lennon interview in The Guardian, I get the sense he really is out there dodging bullets and making images for himself.

Sebastião Salgado's WORKERS: An Archaeology of the Industrial Age was a gargantuan body of work that fueled my desire to become a documentary photographer. Now comes MIGRATIONS: Humanity In Transition.

For six years and in more than forty countries, he focused his lens on the plight of the dispossessed, both on the road and in the refugee camps and urban slums where they lived.

An exhibition of more than three hundred photographs, will be on display at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from February 1 through March 28, 2004.

Read more about Salgado's exhibit here.

Via Shahidul Alam

The World Press Photo Foundation, based in Holland and Bangladesh's Drik photo agency have made it possible to showcase the work of hundreds of world class photographers in Dhaka.

It's an amazing feat that the exhibit is again back in Dhaka. Had it not been for Alam's persistence and a stern letter to the organizers over 11 years ago, the exhibit would have as usual catered only to the countries in the West (rendering moot the words “World Press”). It's to Alam's credit that WPP has made Dhaka an almost annual stopover. This year's chairperson of the jury happens to be Alam!

Alam says, “With hundreds of people seeing the show every day, and excellent media coverage, it might appear as if the staging of WPP photo in Bangladesh was a smooth well organised affair. As Marc will testify, the reality was very different. For those of you who have seen the show at the gallery or online, this behind the scenes look will provide an amusing take on a potential disaster.”

The crates had arrived at Zia International Airport on the 24th of December 2003, but the journey from Zia to Dhanmondi took considerably longer. The opening was at 4:00 pm on the 7th January 2004. By 3:30 pm, the crates hadn't arrived! We did know they had left the airport, and was able to tell the Dutch Ambassador that it was safe for him to come over. The head of the caretaker government, our chief guest, Justice Habibur Rahman was already on his way. The adrenaline was flowing!

The exhibit will run from January 7 through January 29, 2004. Read more about it here.

Two photojournalists to watch out for at this exhibit are the American photojournalist based in New Delhi, Ami Vitale and the Belgian photographer Bruno Stevens who shot a story on the Hindu-Muslim riots.