Recent Events

Literary Cafe:

The Restrictions on Freedom of Speech in Europe
an evening discussion with award winning photo-journalistJeff Widener.

Sunday,  August 23, 2015 7:30 pm

Location:   235 Fourteenth Street, Santa Monica

Admission: $15.00

Parking: Street

About Jeff Widener: 

Jeff Widener is an America photojournalist best known for his now famous image of a lone man confronting a column of tanks during the June 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising which made him a nominated finalist for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize.

During the night event of June 3, 1989, Widener was hit in the face with a stray protestor rock during a mob scene on the Chang’an Avenue. His Nikon F3 titanium camera absorbed the blow, saving his life. The "Tank Picture", repeatedly circulated around the globe (except in China where it is banned), is now widely held to be one of the most recognized photos ever taken. America Online selected it as one of the top ten most famous images of all time.

From an early age, Jeff pursued his passion for photography and in 1974 while attending Reseda High School in California; he was awarded the Kodak/Scholastic National Photography Scholarship beating out 8000 students from across the United States. He later worked on daily newspapers in Indiana, Nevada, Florida and Hawaii. In 1981 at age 24 he joined United Press International in Brussels, Belgium as an overseas wire service photographer and from 1987-1995 he was the Associated Press Southeast Asia Picture Editor based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Through the years, Widener has covered major news stories in over 100 countries from the Gulf War to the  Polish Solidarity movement, Khmer Rouge fighting in Cambodia, Pope John Paul II visit to  Papua New Guinea and the 1988 and 1996 summer Olympics games to name a few. Other beats included Afghanistan, Cambodia, East Timor, Burma, Laos, Syria, Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Israel including the South Pole where he was the first photojournalist to transmit digital images on a news assignment.

During his career, Widener has received numerous citations including the DART award from Columbia University, The National Headliner award, The Overseas Press Club, New York Press Club, Scoop award in France and he was the first non-Italian to win the Chia award in Italy.

Widener has held lectures at Harvard University, Ohio University, Utah State, The University of Hawaii, Hong Kong University and the Honolulu Academy of Arts. In depth media interviews include Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post and Smithsonian Magazine. Jeff  has also been featured on various television and radio programs which include the  PBS Charlie Rose Show, BBC Television, MSNBC Rachel Maddow Show, CNN Anderson Cooper 360 show, NBC’s Caught on Camera, The CBS Sunday Morning Show, NPR Radio, RTE Ireland National Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Widener currently freelances out of Hamburg, Germany.