"The Napalm girl" photographer: Retire but "will take picture until I die"

(VNF) - This month will mark the end of Nick Ut's 51-year journey with the Associated Press (AP) as photojournalist. Nevertheless, Nick's photography journey, like what he shared, will never end.

Nick Ut owns a portfolio of famous images, and the most stunning of all is "the Napalm girl". The photo which later was named “The Terror of War,” won its author the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography.

The Napalm girl - Nick's historic Pulitzer-winning photo (source: NY Daily Times)

Nick showed the world the brutal reality of war through his camera lense - that's what many photojournalists do. But not many people know, after capturing the terrifying moment, the photographer decided to put his camera aside and become part of a beautiful humane story.

Nick did not run away, instead, he chose to stayed. After giving "the napalm girl" some water to drink and cool off her burning body, Nick later transported the girl to a nearby hospital where doctors there saved her life.

Photojournalist Nick Ut and Kim Phuc (L) in Cologne, Germany in front of a screen showing his iconic 1972 photograph of Phuc running from a napalm attack. (Photo by Reuters/Ina Fassbender)

Nick is also well-known to Hollywood celebrities. (source: Nick Ut facebook)

Nick Ut, born with the Vietnamese name Huynh Cong Ut, is the 11^th of 12 children in a family in the South of Vietnam.

He was recruited by the AP in January 1966 at the age of 15, and became a combat photographer two years later after capturing pictures of an attack near his home.

"The Napalm girl" represented only a small slice of the horror Ut saw during those war years. As a combat photojournalist, Nick had covered Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos during the Vietnam War. Endless tragic situations were captured through his lense every day for most of the 10 years of conflicts.

Nick Ut and Richard Kennerly - content contributor of CNN (source: Nick Ut's facebook)

Nick moved to Los Angeles in 1977 after a few years working for AP's Tokyo bureau (Japan).

As a passionate photojournalist, in over the past 40 years in US, Nick has covered various headline incidents and events in Southern California, including earthquakes, the Rodney King riots, the O.J. Simpson case, and various Hollywood shows and ceremony.

In over half a century working for AP news, Nick's hard work and talents were recognized worldwide by numerous reputable awards, including the 1972 World Press Photo Award for Spot News Photography and the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography.

In September 2012, Nick was inducted into the Leica Hall of Fame for his dedicated work in photojournalism.

Nowsdays, the retired 66 year-old photographer plans to spend more time taking care of his two grandchildren and...taking pictures.

"I'll take pictures until I die. My camera is like my doctor, my medicine." Nick laughed./.

"I'll take picture untill I die" said the retired photojournalist (source: Nick's facebook)

( VNF )