kent_tolley2 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Eliot - I do remember stories of Serbian victims as well especially as the war spread to Kosovo. When you unleash the dogs of war there is gonna be some sh|t to pay and there probably is no safe place to go. I can only imagine that what is right and wrong begins to loose distinction in a firefight. To be honest I was very involved in this story during the actual events but I have not kept up with it. For instance I have not followed the war crimes trials which are still underway. Thank you for your post because now I am going to follow up on this. I would like to see ALL of James Nachtwey's photographs from the Balkans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 It's nice to see so much discussion of the photo. (That's sarcasm, it's obvious that some people here have no interest in photography.) Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_somerset1 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Eliot, I don't disagree with any of those quotes. However, you're making a claim that Serb atrocities in Bosnia "pale in comparison" to Muslim atrocities. This is not true. Before you cite "hundreds" of dead Serbs at Srebrenica, remember that the Srebrenica massacre was a systematic, genocidal murder of 8,000 Muslim men and boys -- if you were male and Muslim, that was your death warrant. What pales in comparison? The press demonized the Serbs. Furthermore, the press simplified the conflict by continual reference to "Serb" rather than Bosnian Serb forces, suggesting it was simple aggression by Serbia rather than a civil war by Bosnians who did not want to secede from Yugoslavia. Canada's former ambassador has also suggested that NATO deliberately provoked the war in Kosovo by arming the KLA, to provide a means of disposing of Milosevic. The supposed Serb massacres of Albanians in Kosovo have been debunked by UN investigators. Since NATO forced the independence of Kosovo, reprisal killings of Kosovar Serbs became a serious problem. BUT -- none of this changes the original facts of Bosnian Serb atrocities in the Bosnian war, which remain the most serious war crimes committed in the Balkans. Thus my complaint that you overstate the case. By the way, check out www.bloodandhoney.com for Ron Haviv's work from Yugo, which is a good photographic overview of the conflict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliot_rosen1 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Jeff, the photos are great. I like Natcheway's work. No one is arguing that he is a terrific photographer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric merrill Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 I like the photo as is. To me, this is a photo of Any Sniper. Without the face, it's an anonymous sniper. If more of the face were in the shot, it starts to become more about the individual and less all the snipers scattered around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent_tolley2 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 What focal length do you think Nachtwey used for this shot and is it the right FL and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_somerset1 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Getting back to the photo before Jeff kicks me: There are situations where facial expressions matter a great deal -- usually away from the action -- but when someone is firing a rifle he's just a guy firing a rifle. And here the guy could be completely in silhouette and it would make no difference -- all Nachtwey needs is a guy firing a rifle out the bedroom window. The photo is about the location rather than the guy doing the shooting. What we're getting down to here I think is a question about what conflict photography should actually show us. Is it the fighting and the fighters, or the nature of the war, or the victims, or what? What do we want Nachtwey to tell us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_murphy1 Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Saw a better print of this photo in a recent book on combat photgraphy this afternoon. Looks the the ratio is off on this shot above--not 35mm. In the book it is certainly a 35mm ratio (seems like some on the left has been cut off above) and shows more detail and contrast than what appears on my monitor. Much stronger presentation. Oh, and more detail in the sniper's face, I might add. In that rendition the shot is not as murky, muddled and confused and the things that some have said about the longish distance, wide angle aspect of the shot come to light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent_tolley2 Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 Would that book be "Inferno"? His books are really expensive but then considering he is the best in the world it's not so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent_tolley2 Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 Yea, look at the print. That's not 35mm shape in print above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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