Cowboy Photographers

Photographers who dare venture into combat zones and taking pictures are people who deserve the utmost respect. Some might find them crazy for going into these life-threatening places, but they do it for a good cause. They endeavor to inform the world of the horrible actions that occur and show us what we don't realize is happening right now. Cowboy photographers are those who get thrills and chills from being in dangerous war zones and getting shots of adrenaline running through their veins. Their motives are different from other photographers who journey into these high-risk areas.

Journalists display courage when they arrive in warring countries. They face life-threatening situations and their actions are all for the greater good. They try to make it known the tragedies that happen in these countries filled with hate and war. There is a difference between these photographers and cowboy photographers. The bravery presented by cowboy photographers are certainly valiant, but it is not on the same level as the courage displayed by other photojournalists. The journalists interviewed in Dying to Tell the Story emitted images quite opposite of the "cowboy photographer." Photojournalists developed rules from their own experiences, one of the more serious being, "Your life is more important than any photo." Who else would show the world the pictures you've taken and the horrible things you've seen.

In the movie, we saw the BBC war correspondent Martin Bell and his story of how he refused to wear a protective jacket while interviewing civilians. Sure, this action could have possibly been fatal, but how else would he have gotten the interviews? How does it look to the helpless civilians, almost like flopping fish out of water while he's nicely protected and toasty in the jacket? His choice to do this can definitely can be seen as foolhardy and could have costed him his life, but he had to do so or there was no story to tell at all. It seems sort of hypocritical, but really, he didn't do it for the rush or the thrills and chills. He simply did it to help get his point across. And that makes all the difference when drawing the line between true courage shown by photojournalists and the foolhardy bravery of cowboy photographers.