The Online Photographer

Here I Am: The Story of Tim Hetherington, War Photographer (U.K. link )

Anyone read this yet? Alan Huffman is an experienced author, and the opening reads well. If you've read it, I'd be interested to know what you think.

It's possible Tim H. might become a touchstone war photographer of our times, because of his connections to two countries (the U.S. and the U.K.); the Academy-Award-nominated film Restrepo: One Platoon, One Valley, One Year, which he co-directed with "Perfect Storm" author Sebastian Junger; the fact that his boots-on death was reported around the world; and now this. And that he looks the part to the nines probably doesn't hurt in the eyes of superficial pop culture. He was, by the accounts I've encountered, a sincerely compassionate, intelligently thoughtful guy.

Mike

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

BH: "I have not read it, or heard of it until now. Just wanted to chime in and say everybody should see Restrepo if you haven't already."

FraserGJB: "I haven't read this book, but war's unbearable loss was brought home to me listening to this love letter from Emily Bachere, girlfriend of photojournalist Remi Ochlik. He was killed last year covering the seige of Homs, Syria with Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin. The BBC Radio presenter Paddy O'Connell was, understandably, barely able to continue with his segment, and I was reduced to tears myself."

Phil: "This might be of interest, too, as it's the Facebook page for Sebastian Junger's film Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? about his friend Tim Hetherington. It will be shown on HBO in April."

Stephen Mayes: "I've read the book and it's disappointing to the point of being shocking in its lack of depth. It reads like an adventure story that starts and finishes in a hail of bullets and explosions, but Hetherington's adventure was altogether deeper and more innovative than the book suggests. It's true that Hetherington's exploration took him into conflict but he spoke frequently of his disdain for the common representations of war as being about the hardware; instead he tried to explore the 'software,' meaning the people and their experiences. He studied his own motivations carefully and navigated conflict and its representation with astonishing self awareness. Sadly Huffman's book is a rushed production that talks in depth about action with little time to study Hetherington's motives and the extraordinary significance of his work. Huffman fails to adequately represent his subject."