Pictures At an Execution

By Scott MacLeod James Nachtwey, Kevin Carter, Cobus Bodenstein, Gideon Mendel

Two weeks ago, the world's media were flooded with bloody, unforgettable images from South Africa: two white, neo-Nazi militiamen -- wounded in a gun battle with black troops in the black homeland of Bophuthatswana -- were executed in front of a crowd of stunned photojournalists. What was it like to record this brutal scene? Time's Johannesburg bureau chief Scott MacLeod asked several of the photographers involved.

James Nachtwey, TIME: "I assumed the army would come up and arrest the ((militiamen)) and take them to the hospital. No one thought they were going to be killed. We thought they were safe because we were there, ((that)) they wouldn't shoot them with cameras around. It was totally unreasonable."

Kevin Carter, Reuter: "I had my back to the scene, and a double shot rang out. Everyone headed for cover. I did the same. Straight after, I looked back and saw ((the soldier)) about to shoot the second chap. I shot two frames off. ((Later)) everyone was 'well done-ing' me. But I knew I had missed the shot. I made the mistake of running for cover instead of turning around, coldly analyzing the situation and shooting a great execution picture . . . Why didn't we help them? I personally appealed to a policeman, 'Take your prisoners and lock them up.' But some ((other)) poor policeman had just discovered one of the bodies that the ((neo-Nazis)) shot, a civilian. He was angry and just said, 'F--- it,' and shot them . . . Inside, a voice is screaming 'My God!' But it is time to work. Deal with the rest later."

Cobus Bodenstein, Johannesburg Sunday Times: "I took a few overalls of the whole scene. I was wondering what to do next. ((Then)) I heard a shot and saw a head jump. I lifted the camera and started shooting until the ((shooter)) turned on us, screaming in Tswana, pointing the rifle at us. Ten of his colleagues seemed to cock their rifles. So we ran away. I knew that lunacy was playing a big role . . . If any journalist, especially a white journalist, would have so much as touched those people, we would have died with them. I don't believe I am the hand of God, just the eye."

Gideon Mendel, Network Agency: "Photographers are aware that violence is a valuable commodity. When I heard that some photographers had been at ((the execution; Mendel shot the aftermath)), I said, 'F---, I missed the event.' That's a rather peculiar thing for a human being to say. 'Damn, I wasn't at the scene of a killing.' I am disturbed at seeing hoards of photographers chasing after violence, although I am a part of it."