why you should know about tim hetherington and chris hondros

Gentle readers,

Getting serious tonight.

I just found out about these photographers last week. They were both very young. Here is my opinion piece about them:

There is no doubt Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros lived to get the once-in-a- lifetime shot.
They were probably still hunting for it when they died.
When the daily news is peppered with stories of people who die for no reason, why even care about these men?
Both photojournalists were killed last week in Misrata, Libya. Reports are they were killed by a rocket propelled grenade. (The Russian words for rocket propelled grenade actually mean “anti-tank grenade launcher,” which made me think of the capacity to kill that the device has.) One story stated the circumstances of their deaths are still unclear.
When I first heard about their deaths, I was tempted to not pay very much attention. Then I realized I wanted to find out more.
Hetherington did documentary work and special projects and Hondros took pictures for Getty Images.
What is it to you? Some would say the two men acted in a cavalier manner by taking the risk of being in a war zone, when they could have been happily photographing children or ice cream cones in New York. They chose to visit Libya and they knew what could happen.
You should care because if Hetherington and Hondros (and other journalists, both reporters and photographers) did not want to share the ugliness of war, did not want to bring a jolting visual to your day, you would not know what is going on.
Without knowing who they were, you may have already viewed one of Hondros' photos or seen part of Hetherington's documentary (Restrepo) and shuddered or were changed because of it. If this is the case, then these two men-- one was 40 and one was 41--have already directly affected your life.
I was interested in their deaths because I enjoy photography (though my main camera right now is a point and shoot). Another twist explaining why I wanted to write this is because Hetherington and Hondros died doing something they love. The adrenaline rush they felt while traipsing around Libya is something I seek in life. They were killed, tragically, in the midst of a bloody conflict. The nanometer of brightness is that they were doing their life’s work when they died.

Luv,
Alice

n.d.h.