Hardships And Sacrifice In Being A Combat Photographer

Joao Silva, April 6, 2011. Silva is recuperating at Walter Reed hospital after a land mine exploded under him in Afghanistan while he was taking photographs for The Times. Michael Kamber for The New York Times

The Inner Lives of Wartime Photographers -- New York Times

This has been a grievous season for the tight-knit tribe of combat photographers. For The Times, the sorrow began last October, when a land mine exploded under Joao Silva while he was shooting pictures of an American patrol near Kandahar, Afghanistan, destroying both of his legs and shredding his intestinal tract. This spring, three other photographers working for The Times — Jehad Nga, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario — were among the numerous journalists who disappeared into the custody of Libyan state thugs, where they were beaten and terrorized before we could negotiate their release. The darkness deepened by several hues last month when two admired lensmen — Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros — were killed while embedded with Libya’s hapless rebel militia.

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My Comment: I have always been critical of the media .... but I also recognize the sacrifice and hardships that some have to go through to get the story. This is one reporter/photographer's story.