RIP Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros

It is a terrible day for photography as we have lost two of our own.

Andrew and I were fortunate to meet Tim Hetherington and see some of his work at a private event at the International Center of Photography. I’ve read a smattering of news articles and blogs since he passed away yesterday, and I concur — he was a quiet, humble man who had an air of “bad ass-ness” to him. He had to be; he was a war photographer.

I met Chris Hondros a few years ago when he spoke at the Eddie Adams Workshop, and then attended a party he threw with Todd Heisler last summer in Brooklyn. Of course, I’d seen his work before, but at the Eddie Adams Workshop, the one thing I really remember was this: Most photographers are really guarded with their work, only showing the final, reworked image — toned and cropped to perfection.

At this particular workshop, Chris showed us a sequence of about 100 images that he shot in Iraq that led up to one of his iconic images of a young girl squatting and crying, covered with a smattering of blood. Many of the images were unusable or just plain bad. But out of that sequence, this incredible image popped out so obviously, and I felt stunned at the artistry he possessed to create it. It struck me that showing those images to 100 students was the most generous gesture he could have made. Most shots are no good, but we strive to find that one image that will really tell the story.

My condolences go out to the family and close friends of both photographers who gave their lives to show us the tragedies of war.