James Nachtwey, USA – 2009 Honoree

James Nachtwey’s career as a war photographer began in 1981 when he covered civil unrest in Northern Ireland.  Since then he has photographed more than 25 armed conflicts as well as dozens of critical social issues. 

He has received the Robert Capa Gold Medal, World Press Award, Magazine Photographer of the Year, and I.C.P. Infinity Award multiple times.  He has been named recipient of the TED Prize, the Heinz Foundation Award for Art and Humanities, the Common Wealth Award and the Dan David Prize.  “war photographer,” a documentary about his work, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002. 

His photographs are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Bibliotheque nationale ­­de France, among others.  Nachtwey has been a contract photographer with TIME Magazine since 1984 and is a founding member of the photo agency VII.

Internews honors James Nachtwey for his courage and visual eloquence in bearing witness to the human cost of war, humanitarian disasters, and other critical social issues around the world.

Witness Photography by James Nachtwey

James Nachtwey’s talk at TED

2009 Internews Media Leadership Awards