David Seymour chronicled wars and the lives they shattered from the 1930s to 1950s. In the process, the photographer, who went by the nickname Chim, somehow found a way to get close enough to capture the spirit -- and hope -- in his subjects.

"If you look at many of Chim's photos, and ask yourself what happened in the 3 minutes before that photo was taken, you'll mostly come to the conclusion that he made a personal relationship with these people," says Seymour's nephew, Ben Shneiderman, who contributed to an exhibit of Seymour's works currently at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

"He didn't surprise them, he didn't photograph them from a distance or over their shoulders...," Shneiderman says. "He made a close, personal and emotional relationship."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.