Burn publishes its first sponsored essay

 Burn Magazine is publishing a Nachtwey essay on tuberculosis (here). 2 important things about this; 

1 it is well done and scary as hell. If you weren't worried about TB before watching this you will be when you are done, and that is Nachtwey's point. As always he hammers it home with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. However a wrecking ball with stunning commitment to the subject.

2 Burn got sponsorship for the essay. That means that Burn is moving into the realm where photographers can be paid for what they do.  There is nothing wrong with making a living at social documentation. Thank god people like Nachtwey and Richards have been able to stay in business all these years. They are an important part of our social conscience. 

-Stephen Alvarez

Comments

[kenji]

i totally agree with Stephen. What burn is doing is good for both sides of the camera. just a quick note: apart from Natchway, Salgado also works on sponsorship at the moment with the project Genesis. would that be the way to go now?

[Stephen Alvarez]

@duckrabbitblog
Interesting point, and one that echos comments I used to hear about Gene Richards work on crack in the early 1990's. Other photographers loved the work, unless of course they were black. Many of my black friends viewed the pictures as almost racist. I remember one photographer saying "the man can only shoot a brother when he's down." The same could be said about Nachtwey.

Ultimately, I am not certain how valid that criticism is.

The plague of crack that swept american cities was horrible, and it disproportionately effected african americans. Making those photos wasn't racist on Gene's part. On the part of publications showing only Gene's photos and no other view of african americans, now that might be racism...

TB is a horrible disease that is scary. How do you show it in a way that is both sensitive to the subject and compelling enough to make people take notice? It is a tough line to walk.

[duckrabbitblog]

'If you weren't worried about TB before watching this you will be when you are done, and that is Nachtwey's point'

Infact that's also the problem for many people working on health projects relating to TB and HIV in the developing world. When you create fear, you also create stigma. So much damage has been done by the overuse of imagery of people just about to die from AIDS and the fear those images have helped create, even in very educated communities.

This is not an accurate or balanced representation of TB. This does not give an accurate or balanced voice to those who have acquired this form of TB.

I think its interesting how photographers seem to love this work and yet health practitioners working in the field generally despair at this kind of approach. There must be a better way of serving one purpose (awareness) without damaging another (care and support of those suffering from the disease).

[Maureen]

Nachtwey's work moves me beyond words. I'll plan to take a look at Burn. Thank you for bringing it to attention.