This has been a grievous season for the tight-knit tribe of combat photographers. For The New York Times, the sorrow began last October, when a land mine exploded under João Silva while hewas shooting pictures of a U. S. patrol near Kandahar, Afghanistan, destroying both of his legs and shredding his intestinal tract.
This spring, three other Times photographers— Jehad Nga, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario — were among the numerous journalists rift gold who disappeared into the custody of Libyan state thugs, where they were beaten and terrorized before we could negotiate their release. The darkness deepenedby several hues lastmonth when two admired freelance lensmen— TimHetherington and Chris Hondros— were killed while embedded with Libya’s hapless rebel militia.
Covering conflict is perilous for anyone — reporters, local stringers, the drivers and interpreters we depend on — but photographers aremoreexposed, in at least two senses of the word. They need a sustained line of sight to frame their photographs; a reliable source is never enough.
And they rift gold cannot avert their eyes; they have to let the images in, no matter how searing or disturbing. Robert Capa’s famous advice to younger photographers — ‘‘ Get closer’’ — translates in combat to ‘‘ get more vulnerable,’’ both literally and emotionally.
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