Testament

Testament is a collection of photographs and writing by late photojournalist Chris Hondros spanning over a decade of coverage from most of the world’s conflicts since the late 1990s including Kosovo, Afghanistan, the West Bank, Iraq, Liberia, Egypt, and Libya.

Through Hondros’ images we witness a jubilant Liberian rebel fighter exalt during a firefight, a U.S. Marine remove Saddam Hussein’s portrait from an Iraqi classroom, American troops ride confidently in a thin-skinned unarmored Humvee during the first months of the Iraq war, “the probing eyes of an Afghan village boy,” and “rambunctious Iraqi schoolgirls enjoying their precious few years of relative freedom before aging into more restricted adulthoods.”

Hondros was not just a front-line war photographer, but also a committed observer and witness, and his work humanizes complex world events and brings to light shared human experiences. Evident in his writings, interspersed throughout, Hondros was determined to broaden our understanding of war and its consequences.

This unyielding determination led Hondros to take dozens of trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, even as the news turned elsewhere. During these “routine” trips, Hondros examined and observed daily life in these war-torn societies. His inventive Humvee picture series frames the ever-changing landscapes of these countries, offering a glimpse into the daily lives of those most affected by conflict.

Chris Hondros covered most of the world’s major conflicts and disasters since the late 1990s, including Kosovo, Afghanistan, the West Bank, Iraq, Liberia, Egypt, and Libya. Hondros was also a frequent lecturer and published essayist on issues of war, and he regularly wrote for the Virginia Quarterly Review, Editor & Publisher, the Digital Journalist, and other news publications.

Hondros, a staff photographer for Getty Images since 2000, was a two-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Photography: in 2004, for his work in Liberia, and posthumously in 2012, for his coverage of the Arab Spring.

During his career, he received dozens of awards, among them honors from World Press Photo, the Pictures of the Year International competition, Visa pour l’Image, and the Overseas Press Club, including the John Faber Award for his work in Liberia and the Robert Capa Gold Medal, war photography’s highest honor, for his work covering the conflict in Iraq.

The Chris Hondros Fund was established to honor Pulitzer Prize-nominated photojournalist Chris Hondros, who covered most of the world’s conflicts since the late 1990s. He was killed on April 20, 2011 while on assignment in Misurata, Libya.

The Fund seeks to continue and preserve Hondros’ distinct ability to bring shared human experiences into the public eye.

To this end, the Fund supports and advances the work of photojournalists who espouse Hondros’ legacy, vision and also raises awareness and educates the public of the issues facing photojournalists that reporting on issues that often go unreported.

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