Region 1 Visual Journal(ism)

In 2007, James Nachtwey got $100,000 and one wish to change the world. He took that money and embarked on an 18 month/7 country project documenting the epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis or XDR-TB. You can watch and listen to him talk about his project while accepting the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) prize last year. A three minute video of his photos runs right after his speech.

The project was launched on October 3, 2008 amid mysterious hush-hush for maximum worldwide impact. Time magazine, Boston Globe and blogs everywhere are buzzing (sorry, a bee is zig-zagging through my office).

Nachtwey is a master at framing a chaotic, violent world in the most beautiful, disturbing and stunning ways. Yet, my favorite image so far is of two people just hugging in Thailand. That quiet interaction is a different kind of Nachtwey moment. An everyday moment that happens in good and bad times. The space isn’t bursting with tension. The emotion is silent without visceral horror. Yet image hits home.

My wish is that he never retires.