Jeff Widener
Encyclopedia
Jeff Widener is an American photographer, best known for his image of the Tank Man
confronting a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square
during the 1989 Beijing riots
which made him a nominated finalist for the 1990 Pulitzer. Prior to the picture, Widener was injured during the night event of June 3rd, 1989 after a stray rock hit him in the head during a mob scene on the Chang Ahn Boulevard. His Nikon F3 titanium camera absorbed the blow, sparing his life.
The "Tank Picture," repeatedly circulated around the globe, (except in China where it is banned) and is now widely held to be one of the most recognized photos ever taken. America On Line selected it as one of the top ten most famous images of all time.
Jeff grew up in Southern California where he attended Los Angeles Pierce College
and Moorpark College
majoring in photojournalism. In 1974 he received the Kodak Scholastic National Photography Scholarship beating out 8,000 students from across the United States. The prize included a study tour of East Africa.
In 1978, Widener started as a newspaper photographer in California and later in Nevada and Indiana. At age 25, he accepted a position in Brussels, Belgium as a staff photographer with United Press International. His first foreign assignment was the Solidarity riots in Poland.
Through the years, he has covered assignments in over 100 countries involving civil unrest and wars to social issues. He was the first photojournalist to file digital images from the South Pole. In 1987, he was hired as Associated Press Picture Editor for Southeast Asia where he covered major stories in the region from the Gulf War to the Olympics. Other beats included East Timor, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Burma, Syria, Jordan, India, Laos, Vietnam, Pakistan and many more.
Widener is now based in Hamburg, Germany.
Tank Man
Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man achieved widespread international...
confronting a column of tanks in Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
during the 1989 Beijing riots
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
which made him a nominated finalist for the 1990 Pulitzer. Prior to the picture, Widener was injured during the night event of June 3rd, 1989 after a stray rock hit him in the head during a mob scene on the Chang Ahn Boulevard. His Nikon F3 titanium camera absorbed the blow, sparing his life.
The "Tank Picture," repeatedly circulated around the globe, (except in China where it is banned) and is now widely held to be one of the most recognized photos ever taken. America On Line selected it as one of the top ten most famous images of all time.
Jeff grew up in Southern California where he attended Los Angeles Pierce College
Los Angeles Pierce College
Los Angeles Pierce College, also known as Pierce College, Pierce, is a community college that serves more than 23,000 students in the northern Chalk Hills of Woodland Hills, a community within the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California.The college began with 70 students...
and Moorpark College
Moorpark College
Moorpark College is a California state college located on a property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. It was established in 1967 and as of 2006, had an enrollment of 16,580 students and 175 full-time faculty members....
majoring in photojournalism. In 1974 he received the Kodak Scholastic National Photography Scholarship beating out 8,000 students from across the United States. The prize included a study tour of East Africa.
In 1978, Widener started as a newspaper photographer in California and later in Nevada and Indiana. At age 25, he accepted a position in Brussels, Belgium as a staff photographer with United Press International. His first foreign assignment was the Solidarity riots in Poland.
Through the years, he has covered assignments in over 100 countries involving civil unrest and wars to social issues. He was the first photojournalist to file digital images from the South Pole. In 1987, he was hired as Associated Press Picture Editor for Southeast Asia where he covered major stories in the region from the Gulf War to the Olympics. Other beats included East Timor, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Burma, Syria, Jordan, India, Laos, Vietnam, Pakistan and many more.
Widener is now based in Hamburg, Germany.
Background
- 2010-Present Freelance based in Hamburg, Germany
- 1997-2010 The Honolulu Advertiser - Staff Photographer
- 1995-1997 United Press International Miami - Staff Photographer
- 1987-1995 Associated Press - Southeast Asia Picture Editor Bangkok, Thailand
- 1984-1986 The Miami News - Staff photographer
- 1981-1984 United Press International - Brussels, Belgium - Staff photographer
- 1980-1981 The Evansville Press - Staff photographer
- 1979-1980 The Las Vegas Sun - Staff Photographer
- 1977-1979 The Whittier Daily News -Staff photographer