insights into photography
Horst Faas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning combat photographer who became one of the world’s legendary photojournalists in nearly half a century with the AP, captured these images during the Vietnam War. Faas died Thursday, May 10, 2012 in Munich at age 79.
There is an obituary by Olivier Laurent on the BJP site here
We have decided to feature his work from the Vietnam War as collected together by the excellent Denver Post here
Hovering U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into tree line to cover the advance of Vietnamese ground troops in an attack on a Viet Cong camp 18 miles north of Tay Ninh on March 29, 1965, which is northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border. Combined assault routed Viet Cong guerrilla force. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
Vietnamese government troops are silhouetted against palm tree and jungle background as they cross a wooden bridge en route to the village of Ap Ba Nam, deep in southern Camau province on August 24, 1963, during a 5-day mission against Communists. The mission, which ended on August 20, was accomplished by about 4,000 government troops. The area south, east, and west of Camau province is a Viet Cong stronghold. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
A U.S. crewman runs from a crashed CH-21 Shawnee troop helicopter near the village of Ca Mau in the southern tip of South Vietnam, Dec. 11, 1962. Two helicopters crashed without serious injuries during a government raid on the Viet Cong-infiltrated area. Both helicopters were destroyed to keep them out of enemy hands. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
In this Aug. 1962 file photo, South Vietnamese government troops from the 2nd Battalion of the 36th Infantry sleep in a U.S. Navy troop carrier on their way back to the Provincial capital of Ca Mau, Vietnam. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
As U.S. “Eagle Flight” helicopters hover overhead, South Vietnamese troops wade through a rice paddy in Long An province during operations against Viet Cong guerrillas in the Mekong Delta, December 1964. The “Eagle Flight” choppers were loaded with Vietnamese airborne troops who were dropped in to support ground forces at the first sign of enemy contact. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
See more of these astonishing images here
Horst Fass
One of my favourite sites for photo-journalism is The Denver Post, this series of images and story are a testament to the quality they produce. Excellent news that Craig Walker has won the Pulitzer Prize for his work
“Denver Post photojournalist Craig F. Walker, who chronicled in intimate, affecting detail a young man’s journey from a high school student in Lakewood to a soldier fighting in Iraq and then back home, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography Monday.”
See the full article and pictures here
Between his high school graduation and the bus ride that would begin his journey to basic training, Ian Fisher reveled once more in the civilian life that was defined by his buddies, his girlfriend and his family. But the long good-bye slowly segued into the reality of his enlistment and the difficult road ahead. June 1, 2007. 2:03 p.m. Ian returns a phone call to Sgt. 1st Class Gavino Barron, the commander at Ian’s Army recruiting office. Barron was making sure Ian was on track for enlistment. When he was 17, Ian had joined the Army’s Future Soldier Training Program, which prepares recruits for the enlistment process. Barron recalls his initial impression of Ian: “He wasn’t in it for the money. He was only in it for God and country. That’s the reason most infantrymen join.” #
June 20, 2007. 12:41 p.m. “I want to go home. It makes me feel like I have an excuse. I’ve been thinking about everyone,” Ian says. He waits to speak with Sgt. 1st Class Robert Russell, the recruiting command liaison, to outline his injury and make a new claim: A drill sergeant mistreated him for not seeking permission when he got an X-ray the night before. #
Sept. 15, 2007. 3:22 p.m. Following a long day – on top of a long week – and suffering from heat rash, Ian finds himself back at his tent, bowing his head in prayer. He explains later: “I’ve been praying that God takes this stuff off my back.” #
Dec. 10, 2008. 8:20 p.m. Ian, center, and Buthmann pull security detail for a meeting between a psychological operations team and some local residents who were near the site of a rocket attack two nights earlier. The meeting is over quickly; the team doesn’t find what it is looking for. #
See all the images and read the stories here
This is an interesting article where the author has asked a number of photographers which point and shoot (compact) camera they use. Mine by the way is a Canon G10
“Do professional photographers really use point-and-shoot cameras? Surprisingly, yes.
Using Facebook and Twitter, I just completed a little of my own unscientific research. I wanted to find out which digital point-and-shoot is the camera-of-choice among professional photographers. Just over 50 professional photographers responded, and most of them are included here.
Some well-known photographers responded to my call, including: Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers David Hume Kennerly and Brian Smith; “Strobist” David Hobby; Washington DC photojournalist David Burnett; Outdoor/Adventure photographer Corey Rich; and Lifestyle/Advertising photographer Tom Hussey.
I asked each photographer the same questions: What camera do you use; what gadgets and add-on accessories do you use; do you have any pro-level advice for others using this camera; and I asked them to supply a picture they shot with the camera.”
If you want to see what is shot by who read on
Although not asked to contribute I would say I like my G10, I bought it because I wanted a compact camera with an optical viewfinder and with aperture priority controls and exposure compensation. Here is my picture
Oxford School of Photography 