Photographers Salute Slain Photojournalists
Photographers from around the world are mourning the loss of two of their own. Hundreds of people within the photography world paid tribute to war photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, both tragically killed in Libya last week, while attending the Sony World Photography Awards in London on Wednesday.
Hondros and Hetherington received not a moment of silence, but a moment of applause. Pictures of the two were shown on large screens as the event’s invited guests saluted the two men for their bravery and lasting contribution to photojournalism.
It was world renowned photojournalist Tom Stoddart’s heartfelt tribute that prompted the audience to rise. “Last week we lost two giants of contemporary photojournalism,’ he said, adding that Chris and Tom were “exceptional young men” who were “smart, passionate, courageous and committed to making a difference.”
Hondros and Hetherington were killed last week when their convoy was struck by mortar fire in Libya’s beseiged city of Misrata. A memorial service for Hondros was held in Brooklyn on Thursday. The funeral’s final speaker was his fiancee, Christine Piaia, whom he was set to marry in August.
The touching tribute put a somber note on the night’s events, in which Argentine photographer Alejandro Chaskielberg was named photographer of the year for his series “High Tide,” a visual examination of the people inhabiting the river islands of Paraná Delta in Argentina, many of whom had never seen a camera before.
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