James Nachtwey

Experience an evening with iconic photographer James Nachtwey. Hear his captivating stories and gain insight into his remarkable career.

James Nachtwey is an American photojournalist and war photographer. He has documented armed conflicts and social issues, spending time in South Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Western Europe and the United States.

Nachtwey was present during the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and produced a well-known and related body of work. In 2003, Nachtwey was injured in a grenade attack on his convoy while working in Baghdad, from which he made a full recovery. His many honors include the Overseas Press Club’s Robert Capa Gold Medal (five times), World Press Photo award (twice), the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Grant in Humanistic Photography and the Leica Award (twice). Nachtwey has worked with TIME magazine as a contract photographer since 1984.

His photos recently appeared in the February 13 “Great Performers” issue of The New York Times Magazine.

Moderator

Ken Light

Professor Ken Light is a documentary photographer focusing on social issues facing America. His work has been published in thirteen books, in magazines, numerous anthologies and in a variety of media, from digital to motion pictures. He has exhibited internationally in over 200 one-person and group shows and his work is part of numerous collections including the San Francisco MOMA, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the International Center of Photography and the American Museum of Art at the Smithsonian, Library of Congress and many others.

He is a recipient of a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Photographers Fellowships and the Dorothea Lange Fellowship. He recently celebrated 40 years of teaching at Berkeley Journalism.

About Fotovision
Fotovison (2003—2011), was a San Francisco Bay Area non-profit dedicated to creating, nurturing, and educating a community of social documentary photographers. The founding board of directors and executive director included working documentary photographers and writers. Fotovision served artists and journalists who sought to help one another, connect photographers to resources, organize classes and workshops, and featured world-class talent at public book signings, lectures and events. It created an endowment at Berkeley Journalism following its closure.