The Painful End of Kevin Carter- The Photographer Who Couldn't Withstand His Own Camera

Kevin Carter was a South African photojournalist who gained international recognition for his striking.

Born in Johannesburg in 1960, Carter began his career as a sports photographer before transitioning to photojournalism in the 1980s. He covered some of the most significant events of his time, including the fall of apartheid in South Africa, the famine in Somalia, and the conflict in Sudan. However, it was his Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a starving Sudanese child and a vulture that made his work to be recognized worldwide.

Early Life and Career of Kevin Carter

Carter grew up in a middle-class family in Johannesburg and showed an early interest in photography. Upon completing high school, Carter decided to pursue a career as a pharmacist but later dropped out of his studies. He was subsequently drafted into the army but sought to avoid combat duty in the infantry. As a result, he enlisted in the Air Force and served for four years.

In 1980, Carter witnessed a black mess-hall waiter being insulted and took a stand to defend the man. Unfortunately, this resulted in Carter being badly beaten by the other servicemen. Following this incident, he decided to go absent without leave and attempted to start a new life as a radio disc-jockey under the name "David". However, he quickly discovered that this was more challenging than he had anticipated. As a result, he made the difficult decision to return to the military and serve out the remainder of his required service.

In 1983, Carter began working as a weekend sports photographer. The following year, in 1984, he joined the Johannesburg Star newspaper as a photojournalist. During his time there, Carter became known for his powerful and impactful images that exposed the brutality of apartheid in South Africa.

During his time as a photojournalist, Carter witnessed countless acts of violence and brutality in South Africa. He documented murders that resulted from beatings, stabbings, and gunshots. In addition, he also witnessed the barbaric practice of necklacing, in which a tire filled with oil is placed around a victim's neck and set on fire.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photograph: The Story Behind It

In March 1993 Carter had the opportunity of going to Sudan to photograph the growing famine in the region.

While there, he took several images but the photograph that would make him famous – a haunting image of a starving Sudanese child collapsing on the ground as a vulture loomed nearby. The photograph, which was published in The New York Times in March 1993, quickly became a symbol of the horrors of famine and the plight of the African continent.

Following numerous inquiries from concerned readers regarding the fate of the young girl in Kevin Carter's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph, the New York Times took an unusual step and released an editor's note to provide information on the matter to the public;

“The photographer reports that she recovered enough to resume her trek after the vulture was chased away. It is not known whether she reached the [feeding] center.”

The photograph by Kevin Carter won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in April 1994.

Carter's Life Ends

Despite his success, Carter struggled with the emotional toll of his work. He suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, which he attributed to the horrors he had witnessed during his career. In July 1994, just months after winning the Pulitzer Prize, Carter took his own life by carbon monoxide poisoning.

I'm really, really sorry. The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy does not exist. …depressed … without phone … money for rent … money for child support … money for debts … money!!! … I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain … of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners … I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky.

— Kevin Carter(the last note he left)