emilio

New York Times

On Assignment: Emilio Morenatti Is Injured
By David W. Dunlap

Original post | Emilio Morenatti, a 40-year-old photographer for The Associated Press whose pictures from the Middle East have been likened to artwork, was badly wounded Tuesday in southern Afghanistan when the vehicle in which he was riding was struck by a roadside bomb. The blast also injured Andi Jatmiko, 44, a videographer for A.P. Television News from Indonesia.

The journalists have been embedded with United States troops. They were taken immediately to a military hospital in Kandahar, according to the A.P. Mr. Morenatti lost a foot during an operation on his leg. Mr. Jatmiko also suffered leg injuries and two broken ribs.

“We are grateful for their bravery and their commitment to the news,” said Tom Curley, the president of the A.P.

Mr. Morenatti, a Spaniard, is based in Islamabad, Pakistan. He won first place this year as Newspaper Photographer of the Year in a contest sponsored by Pictures of the Year International. In recent months, perhaps his best known photograph was a tender portrait of a young boy sleeping under a gauzy mosquito net at a refugee camp near Peshawar. Its almost Renaissance quality moved Dennis Stock of Magnum to call it “pure art.” It also prompted a lively debate about making beautiful images from human suffering.

“On a daily basis, Morenatti conistently produces a series of powerful, stellar images; wherever he is,” said Michele McNally, an assistant managing editor of The Times. “He has a unique, sensitive eye. He is a master of light and color, framing and narrative. You can always tell it is a Morenatti picture.”

Tuesday’s bombing was not Mr. Morenatti’s first harrowing misadventure. In October 2006, he was kidnapped in Gaza and held captive for 16 hours. In the wake of this incident, he wrote: “After all this, it might be hard to go back to Gaza. But I hope to do so soon.”

He sounded the same theme last month when he appeared in Los Angeles to accept the Newspaper Photographer of the Year award, according to an account in LA Weekly. “I told my boss the situation in Pakistan is very complicated right now,” Mr. Morenatti said. “Anything can happen and I don’t want to miss it.”