Christopher Hondros was a renowned war photographer who died in 2011 at age 41 while photographing the war in Libya. He had covered conflicts in many countries since the late 1990s and received numerous awards for his impactful photography. Hondros used various photographic techniques to capture the human impact of war in a compelling way. He was dedicated to documenting conflicts around the world to show humanity amid the carnage and help prevent future wars.

1. CHRISTOPHER HONDROS
03/14/70 - 04/20/11
Christopher Eric Hondros was born on March 14th, 1970 in New York City. He as 41 years old at the time of his
death, April 20th, 2011, in Libya while on an assignment. He was photographing the war in Libya and died from
injuries sustained by a grenade attack from the Libyan Government. He is survived by his mother, a World War
ll child refugee, his fiancé, and brother.
Chris's photographs were routinely seen in The Washington Post, Newsweek, The New York times, and the Los
Angeles Times. At the time of his passing he was employed by Getty Images. He had been covering world
conflicts since the late 1990's in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, the West Bank, and Liberia. Through his
career he has earned many awards such as "multiple honors from World Press Photo in Amsterdam, the
International Pictures of the Year Competition, the Visa Pour L'Image in France, and the John Faber award
from the Overseas Press Club. In 2004 Hondros was a Nominated Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Spot News
Photography for his work in Liberia, and in 2006 he won the Robert Capa Gold Medal, war photography's
highest honor, for his work in Iraq. He's also been named a 2007 "Hero of Photography" by American Photo
magazine, and was a 2008 National Magazine Award finalist", according to his personal website.
As mentioned before, Hondros had been covering major world conflicts since the late 1990's and continued to
do so until the very moment of his death in April of 2011. It has been said that Hondros took on very dramatic
photo series of these conflicts. This was the most common and expressive form of photojournalism during this

2. time. One of his most dramatic images can be seen below, of a child who's parents have just been killed by
Untied States forces, taken in Iraq in 2005.
Photo By Chris Hondros
Image Source: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/may/11/chris-hondros-obituary
With any given photo, the photojournalist uses certain tools to create a photo that inspires, motivates or opens
eyes. In this photo Chris Hondros uses the subjects expression to show how terrified the boy in the photo is.
His parents have just been killed by American armed forces and Chris Hondros took this photo to show the
immediate aftermath of the terrible things that occur during times of war. The subjects expression clearly shows
terror and shock. Another tool that is used here is the quality of light. Here you can see the young child very
clearly, yet the American soldier is not in the light of the picture they are in the background and in the dark.
This is used to showcase the boy and his emotions more than what the American soldier is doing. And a third
tool the is used in this photograph is the exposure time. A slower shutter speed was used to create a blur effect
on the moving solider in the background of the photograph. This creates a more dramatic effect on the photo as
well as once again showing how face pace and interrupting that war can be.
As it is clear in the photo above, Chris Hondros's motivation for such dramatic and heartbreaking photos, was
the horror and realities of war. As his parents were both child refugees from WWll, that was his inspiration and
motivation to capture images that showcase current wars and conflicts. In a quote from Jamie Lee Curits on her
Hondros documentary she says, "“There will always be humanity amidst absolute carnage and chaos and
brutality. If we don’t believe that, then we’re lost,” Curtis insists. “[The] message that comes from someone
who puts [himself] on the line to tell the truth is that humanity has to win. Every time". This was something that
motivated Chris Hondros to risk his life in order to capture these photographs. In another quote from a New
York Times Article, his colleague describes his motivation for photojournalism as this " “He was just so
incredibly curious about every aspect of war and every aspect of every country he was going to,” said Mario
Tama, a Getty colleague. “I don’t think he was obsessed with the ‘bang bang’ moments. He was obsessed with
understanding local culture and how the American presences disrupted those traditions and the flow of everyday
life".
Chris Hondros uses digital camera technology to capture his images from all around the world. This helped him
stay on the go, take pictures quickly and effectively, and send hi photos to his respective employers/editors for
them to add to their magazines and/or websites, while he was away in different countries all over the world. The
picture below was taken with his digital camera in 2005 in Iraq.

3. Photo By Chris Hondros
Image Source: https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/finding-chris-hondros/
Chris Hondros has a style that her creates in his photographs. Other tools that he uses in the pictures to create
the effect and the picture that he wants include; Rule of thirds, Use of Shadows, and Contrast Appropriate.
The Rule of thirds in this photo can be seen by splitting the photograph into three sections; the first US soldier,
the children, and the second US soldier. The main subjects of this photo are obviously the two children. He did
this to showcase the children's fear from what is happening to them, and to not focus on the soldiers. The use of
shadows create a dramatic photo that barely makes the children's fear on their face visible. The contrast in
Chris's photo also makes the image very dramatic and there is not much else to look at other than the main
subjects in the photo. The darkness behind the soldiers creates an unknown quality to the photo.
Throughout his career as a photojournalist, Chris had discussed challenges and ethical dilemmas that he had
faced among the years of him working, especially in different countries. He is quoted in an article from the
Chicago Tribune as saying, "There were many instances when I pulled out of a situation because some subtle
cues tipped me off. Or, in the case of a fist-sized rock skimming past my temple during one of the rock
fusillades not so subtle -- I called it a day after that.The whole thing you just have to keep in mind is the
dynamics of the day. The three main groups, the anti-Mubaraks, the pro-Mubaraks (who were more hostile) and
the army and security services. On any given day, the lines held by the groups changed so you had to adjust
accordingly. It was hard to keep track of who was where. You just had to keep an eye on things. Avoiding
danger is not all that different from a lot of situations in other countries - you don't want to stand out - like
covering street crimes in Brazil. You don't want to look like a photographer. You have to put your cameras
away, that kind of thing - until you have to work. I sometimes grow a beard in certain places….but it doesn't
really fool anybody". He is answering a question here about making split, safe decisions and how to avoid being
labeled as journalist or photographer in countries where that may not be welcome or acceptable.
As well as ethical dilemmas, Hondros has also had his share of bias dilemmas. When asked a question in the
same article from the Chicago Tribune about finding it odd to be involved in conflict zones where people are
brutally attacked and murdered, knowing that people in America "complain about their coffee being too hot at
Starbucks", he answers in a way that not all would be able to relate too. He says "I'm long since used to that.
I've made peace with the fact that people live in divergent ways in the different parts of the world at any given
time. And many people have to deal with similar issues, like say social workers in our own country who often
must experience the cruel realities of inner-city life and then come home to their own relatively wealthy

4. households". Showing that he has no bias towards people involved in war or people in America who may not
realize how lucky they are.
Christopher Eric Hondros has made an enormous impact on society from his pictures, his war lectures, and until
the very day he died. Along with the two photos above, there have been many more that have made a historical
impact on the was society as a whole looks as victims of war. His photos have continued to impact the world,
long after his passing. Below are two more photo that can accurately represent his impact on soceity.
Photo by Chris Hondros
Image Source http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/chris-hondros-testament-war-photography/
This photograph, although not as similar as the last two, still shows Christopher's photojournalistic style though
the use of certain tools. He uses In Focus principle to keep the women in this photo on focus and the rest of the
image out focus as to only capture this women's expression. Another principle he uses here is Abstraction. The
content of this photo is pretty clear after looking at it for only a few seconds. There is visible subject matter that
can be easily recognized as a women, saddened by whatever is going on around her. Upon further research on
could find the actual content of the photo. A third principle that is used in this photo is the use of color. The
color of this photo not only creates a beautiful photograph but also something that can be experienced because
of the vibrant colors and clarity of the picture through the use of color.

5. Photo by Chris Hondros
Image Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/12-intense-photos-from-chris-hondros-2014-6
In this fourth photograph we can see more of Chris Hondros's style coming through in the use of the
background complimenting the composition of the photo principle. The background of this picture adds to
the overall drama that this image is meant to showcase. It is important to the composition of the picture because
it highlights the little boy in the midst of the rubble created from war. A second principle used would be
keeping it simple. The photo is just of the little by, no one else with a very un-distracting background. The
simple composition of this photo grabs the viewers attention and makes them feel a certain way. Which carries
over to the final principle used, What feelings toes the image create?. This image is supposed to make you
think about not only how entire cities can be destroyed during war, but also families and people. People do not
think of these wars that happen so many miles away from them as real, but they are very real for the people who
live in those areas and experience that destruction. Chris Hondros was trying to bring light to those feelings in
the photograph.
Christopher Hondros has made a remarkable impact on society as well as the many people that knew him. As
mentioned he is survived by his mother, bother and fiancé. As well as his loved ones, Chris has made a long
lasting impression on those who knew and worked with him. In an article published by Time.com, many people
have nothing but nice things to say about him such as Pancho Bernasconi, he vice president of editorial at Getty
Images. She said "It is difficult to put into words the one thing I learned from Chris as I have yet to fully
recognize all I absorbed from him. The things you learn from friends and colleagues reveal themselves at
different points in your life and that was and is very much the case for me with Chris. In reflecting on our
professional and personal relationship, I’m struck most by Chris’s ability to be present and in the moment. It’s
what made him such a profoundly talented photographer but it’s what also made him such dear and important
friend to so many of us. It is a lesson that is still seeping its way into me and I am grateful to have been shown

6. its power by such a good and decent man". It is clear that he as highly respected in his field and did nothing but
god things.