I’ve been aroused from my blogging slumber by the death of photographer Remi Ochlik, killed in a barrage of gunfire and shelling by government forces in Homs, Syria. With bleary eyes, I watch the headline news coverage of his demise, and I wonder, what motivates photographers and journalists to document war in this era of western cynicism and desensitization to violence? No doubt, there are as many reasons as there are war photographers, and they are deeply personal. Still, I can’t help but imagine that there exists at least a vague commonality of purpose that compels journalists to collect these images of horror for a public which is largely indifferent. In this except from Christian Frei’s film War Photographer, James Nachtwey offers an eloquent meditation on this subject, accompanied by imagery that is both ghastly beautiful.

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