Disgusting People
Nothing more laughable than an artists justification for what they do. Nachtwey says something like: "I use the camera to channel all my emotions of what I am seeing", or something to that effect. Well of course he does, but at the expense of his subjects. Although at this point he certainly has become desensitized to the situations he is capturing.
Anyone who has spent a lot of time behind the camera, video or still, realizes that the equipment creates a comfortable mental buffer between you and the subject. It's why camera guys keep rolling when it might be a good idea to help out instead.
Case in point: "The Bridge". Documentary about people jumping off the Golden Gate bridge. I'll spare you the full context, but at one point a still photog starts taking up close pictures of a women on the rail getting ready to leap. In an interview, he describes what he was doing, but than the realization of what he was seeing hit him. He put down the camera and coaxed the girl off the rail. Now, should he have waited and captured the ultimate human emotion?
To my point. Nachtwey is not helping anyone. Only himself. I'll spare you my opinion of the magazine. Those "gentleman" have truly lost touch in the interest of their product.
There is the argument that says he is telling the story so the world can know. Really?? Know what? I am quite certain he could go on a cadaver hunt and shoot some wreckage without sticking a camera in the face of an individual grieving. If he gets tired of his craft, he'll have a future in local news.
Nachtwey is not a voice, channel, or anything for his subjects. Human misery is not art, it is sadistic and exploitive. Take a good luck at what he is doing and try to put yourself in the subject's position. If you are truly being honest you may see what I see.